We finally pointed our dish correctly, and we've done everything right, but somehow we aren't getting anything. Is there anyone in the southeast area of Michigan who can come and help us out? We'll go into private messages once I find someone.
OTHER Seeking Support in Southeast Michigan
- Thread starter Mr. Sheep
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It's not likely you'll find someone these days that's familiar with C-Band. No one here. I'm it and my experience was confined to analog broadcast, other than Dish and DirecTV.
Are you certain the elevation and offset are correct for your area? What are you using to find a signal?
I'm using a Ku-Band dish, not C-Band. Yes the elevation, azimuth, and skew are correct. I'm using a Freesat v7 to find the signal and even when we set it just right, we get 60% signal intensity (means it's getting a signal, but nothing from said signal).It's not likely you'll find someone these days that's familiar with C-Band. No one here. I'm it and my experience was confined to analog broadcast, other than Dish and DirecTV.
Sent from my SM-G955U using the SatelliteGuys app!
That just means (as I have stated before) , the receiver is has a good connection to the LNBF. You have to lock the quality bar. Have you entered a good KNOWN active transponder for the satellite you are trying to hit?
This may sound like a silly question, but is your mounting pole Plumb? If a pole is off just a little, it translates to a complete miss up there. If everything is correct as you say it is, you should be able to sweep the dish from side to side and find a signal. Remember, move it in very small increments. It has to have time to lock onto the signal.
You didn't by any chance use twist on F-Connectors rather than crimp on? Most inexperienced people do not fold the braided shield back over the insulation on the outside of the cable before screwing the connector on and you up with an ungrounded connection.
I put in about half of the Ku transponders for that bird, and it hangs at 60% signal intensity, but no signal quality. We are positive that we have our dish pointing in the right place, but it's just not getting anything and we have no idea why.
We don't have a mounting pole for it. We just screwed the stand on to part of our deck. It has a very clear line of sight to the satellite, and the stand is very sturdy, but we still don't pick up anything.
First off, don't get discouraged. First time setups can be difficult but once you get the idea it does become easier. There are many good people here willing to help. I believe from previous posts you were looking to get 87w. Have you tried to get 97w? It has a very strong signal and is fairly easy to find. You could then mark your position and work your way east to 87w. What are you using to determine that you are pointed at the satellite (compass, angle finder, phone app, etc). If you are only a fraction of an inch off in elevation/azimuth you will get nothing. Also, if you could post some detailed pics of your setup (dish, lnb, mount) from several angles (front, back, side, dish scale, lnb skew) it may be helpful.
Even using a stand, the tube the dish slides down over has to be plumb just like a ground pole. I assume the stand (Tripod) has telescopic legs for leveling it. If you put your level on it, does it show level on all sides? If not, that could be your problem. At this point, it's a process of elimination. If it's a wall mount like those used to mount a Dish or DirecTV to the side of a house, the tube where the dish mounts on has to be level as well.
Issues like this can be a little frustrating, but when you figure it out, it seems like it's always something simple you overlooked. I installed C-Band systems for 30 years, but those were analog systems. Digital was a whole new ballgame for me. Digital is much more sensitive and less forgiving than analog, and I'm still in the learning phase. You'll get it, be patient. Lots of good people in here willing to help.
I also have a freesat v7hd. I recommend you use a satfinder , because this unit might need a reboot to get the signal to show up on the screen. I have a sathero 200, but the 100 model would do the trick. If not, try to find a freesat satfinder on ebay, they go for about 50$.
It seems to me that your confidence in the pointing of your dish is likely misplaced. In other words, you cannot say that you are pointing the dish in the right direction until you have locked on a transponder and adjusted for the best signal quality. Any geometric device such as compass, phone app, is only giving approximate directions. We cannot state that enough.
Beside the great advice given above (known transponder), I will add my advice: get one of the cheap satellite finders - they can be found online for less than $10. The thing plugs in between the LNBF and the receiver, and as the dish gets a signal and loses it, the gadget will make squealing sounds. It is not a very accurate tool by any mean, but it is still very convenient. With that in place, you move the dish slowly sideways until you get a higher pitch noise and then lose it. Go back to the location of the highest pitch, and do a blind scan. You might get something - in that case look up the listings on lyngsat and try to identify the channels and figure out what you are pointing at. If you get nothing, it might be that you are pointing at something that your receiver can't tune to, like a DirecTV satellite for example. In that case, move the dish again, maybe a a slightly different elevation, and look for another high pitch sound location.
I find that in that part of the sky, the easiest satellite is Galaxy 3C @ 95W, with the Chinese channels. Anyway, once you have been able to receive something, anything, it's easy to hop to the other birds
Beside the great advice given above (known transponder), I will add my advice: get one of the cheap satellite finders - they can be found online for less than $10. The thing plugs in between the LNBF and the receiver, and as the dish gets a signal and loses it, the gadget will make squealing sounds. It is not a very accurate tool by any mean, but it is still very convenient. With that in place, you move the dish slowly sideways until you get a higher pitch noise and then lose it. Go back to the location of the highest pitch, and do a blind scan. You might get something - in that case look up the listings on lyngsat and try to identify the channels and figure out what you are pointing at. If you get nothing, it might be that you are pointing at something that your receiver can't tune to, like a DirecTV satellite for example. In that case, move the dish again, maybe a a slightly different elevation, and look for another high pitch sound location.
I find that in that part of the sky, the easiest satellite is Galaxy 3C @ 95W, with the Chinese channels. Anyway, once you have been able to receive something, anything, it's easy to hop to the other birds
One thing I liked about the HDVR1200 is the feature that allowed you to create a channel. You could add the frequency, polarity, symbol rate and the PID info and you could store that channel. Once it was stored, you could leave it on that channel and move the dish until you hit the satellite and it would pop on. Once in a while, you'll hit a channel on the wrong satellite with the same information and it will pop on, but if you watch it a bit you can tell it's not what you're after.
So there's a problem. I just got the satellite finder in the mail today. It gets a full signal on the finder and when I plug in my receiver, it just gets 60% as usual. I have no idea what the problem is at this point.
Sent from my SM-G955U using the SatelliteGuys app!
Sent from my SM-G955U using the SatelliteGuys app!
So, isn't there a knob to turn the sensitivity of the satfinder down?
Use that, and then try to fineadjust the dish.
Totally discard your 60%-bar, but look for ........ what is already written twice above. I'm not going to repeat it.
Or, if there's no sensitivity knob, what kind of satfinder do you have? (picture?)
greetz,
A33
Use that, and then try to fineadjust the dish.
Totally discard your 60%-bar, but look for ........ what is already written twice above. I'm not going to repeat it.
Or, if there's no sensitivity knob, what kind of satfinder do you have? (picture?)
greetz,
A33
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