Signal Strength

[jrv331]

I did a little tinkering with my dish over the weekend to see if I could raise my signal strength. My 77 satellite varies from 60-63 and my 61.5 satellite varies from 49-52. Ive done about all I can do. Are these signal strong enough to withstand the winter months or should I have a service call to see if they can tweak it further?
Thanks
John
N/E Ohio

 

[garys]

Not sure about 77 (since I do not have EA), by 61.5 are 60-70's, so it may need just a little tweak. You can leave it as is to see if it holds up and try to adjust if not good enough.

 

[jrv331]

Sorry, I meant 72 not 77. I'll see how it goes the next month. Even with the low signal my channels look fantastic.
Thanks
John

 

[NR2D]

I didn't see what receiver you have but I know that last month when I upgrade my 2 411s to 211K's the signal strengths were quite a bit lower. I tweeked both my Dish 500 and my Dish 300 (for 61.50) and it made a little difference in the strength reading but before and after the pictures were perfect. I do remember seeing that in a firmware update, I think for the 411s, that Dish re-did the signal strength sensitivity to more accurately accurately reflect the signal strength of the satellites. I don't remebr seeing anything for the 211Ks but their readings are around 50 - 60.

Rich Dunklee
NR2D

 

[jrv331]

Sorry for the lack of info, I have a 1000.4 system with a 722/222.
Thanks
John

 

[iwannarock1]

I wish we were getting those strengths in Minnesota! That 1000.4 is a pain in a alot of techs asses up here. Enjoy that 60%+ strength. Over 40% should be just fine also, that's about the best we can get in Minnesota with that P.O.S. dish.

 

[webbydude]

I did a little tinkering with my dish over the weekend to see if I could raise my signal strength. My 77 satellite varies from 60-63 and my 61.5 satellite varies from 49-52. Ive done about all I can do. Are these signal strong enough to withstand the winter months or should I have a service call to see if they can tweak it further?
Thanks
John
N/E Ohio

Not sure if those are good enough to hold up to the heavy snows. Especially if you live up in Cuyahoga county. I've already gone on record on NOT being a D1k.4 fan. With that said, perhaps the larger reflector will hold up better to rain fade than (2) D500s.

The typical levels I've been getting for the 61.5 are mid to high 50s...and low 60s for the 72. Truth be told, about what you're currently getting.

 

[btrain]

I'm getting around 45-50 on 61.1 and 72 and i'm getting ~15 on 77 (which causes issues sometimes). Is there anything I can do about that?

 

[w0fms]

Hey.. I have a new install and I've had all sorts of problems. I should apologize that I'm asking a Western Arc question in this thread that's mostly Eastern Arc.


First ex DirecTV installers (second day doing Dish net) came an pointed the dish too far West so we only got 119 and 129 (but it worked good) on Saturday. They mounted the thing (and 1000.2) on the wall and it seemed to clear.

In a near-blizzard on Sunday, the second installer came and aligned it for 110,119,129 and now 129 is dropping out a lot. The second installer said he'd come back to tweak on Monday and didn't show Monday or today. I had Dish schedule a Saturday tweak but I hope he comes out before then. The dish is now TOUCHING the siding on the house. Rubbing on the vinyl siding.

I suspect that I will have to have them move the dish and have six holes to fix in the siding this spring...

Anyway, I'm just curious what signal levels I should see from 110W (I'm getting about 60-65), 119W (45-50 currently) and 129W (0-30 currently usually about 20).

I have 211k receivers (one with the EHD option).

Dish Advanced Tech support claimed 30's-40's is as good as it gets on the current 129 satellite. Is this correct?

The 129 signals are unlocking several times a day now. I'm not happy. Especially since much of my DVR'ed stuff is ruined. Weather is okay (clear).

IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD.

Thanks,

Fred

 

[GravelChan]

Fred, just do a search on "Ceil". Dish just put a new satellite in orbit. It will replace the one at 129. Probably be up and going by this time next month. It'll cure your (our) problems with 129.

 

[Stargazer]

I'm getting around 45-50 on 61.1 and 72 and i'm getting ~15 on 77 (which causes issues sometimes). Is there anything I can do about that?

What size is the dish at 77? A larger dish should help and prevent interference from the nearby 72 satellite. It seems like the dish needs fine tuned to get a better signal. I get a signal a lot better than that on 77.

 

[david_jr]

Not sure if those are good enough to hold up to the heavy snows. Especially if you live up in Cuyahoga county. I've already gone on record on NOT being a D1k.4 fan. With that said, perhaps the larger reflector will hold up better to rain fade than (2) D500s.

The typical levels I've been getting for the 61.5 are mid to high 50s...and low 60s for the 72. Truth be told, about what you're currently getting.

I have the 2 D500's with a two week old upgrade to HIDEF and have been having considerable dropouts on 61.5 during snow events. When I say events, I don't mean blizzards, I mean a foot or less of snow. What happens is during these storms the high def channels drop out a lot, but SD from 110 & 119 remains rock solid. Signal strength during blue sky on 61.5 was about 58. Are other people having these problems with 61.5 during snow? Should I try to tweak dish's pointing? Should I call the tech back to repoint? Or should I just live with it? Also have noticed on my VIP722 that it locks up requiring a reboot when I go to the dish point screen. It has done that 3 or 4 times to me now.

 

[highdefjeff]

I have the 2 D500's with a two week old upgrade to HIDEF and have been having considerable dropouts on 61.5 during snow events. When I say events, I don't mean blizzards, I mean a foot or less of snow. What happens is during these storms the high def channels drop out a lot, but SD from 110 & 119 remains rock solid. Signal strength during blue sky on 61.5 was about 58. Are other people having these problems with 61.5 during snow? Should I try to tweak dish's pointing? Should I call the tech back to repoint? Or should I just live with it? Also have noticed on my VIP722 that it locks up requiring a reboot when I go to the dish point screen. It has done that 3 or 4 times to me now.

Your problem could be due to the direction that your weather approaches. If it is approaching from the East, the storm clouds will be in the path of your 61.5 dish. Storms approaching from the South-west would most likely affect the 110/119 dish. You can wax your dishes and achieve some improvement in rain and quicker release of snow buildup on the dishes.

110 and 119 have larger signals AND ALSO, they don't require as much information per second to achieve the picture. They should always hold better than an HD feed with even the same signal if that were possible.

Your signal doesn't sound bad for the 61.5, though.

 

[highdefjeff]

Hey.. I have a new install and I've had all sorts of problems. I should apologize that I'm asking a Western Arc question in this thread that's mostly Eastern Arc.


First ex DirecTV installers (second day doing Dish net) came an pointed the dish too far West so we only got 119 and 129 (but it worked good) on Saturday. They mounted the thing (and 1000.2) on the wall and it seemed to clear.

In a near-blizzard on Sunday, the second installer came and aligned it for 110,119,129 and now 129 is dropping out a lot. The second installer said he'd come back to tweak on Monday and didn't show Monday or today. I had Dish schedule a Saturday tweak but I hope he comes out before then. The dish is now TOUCHING the siding on the house. Rubbing on the vinyl siding.

I suspect that I will have to have them move the dish and have six holes to fix in the siding this spring...

Anyway, I'm just curious what signal levels I should see from 110W (I'm getting about 60-65), 119W (45-50 currently) and 129W (0-30 currently usually about 20).

I have 211k receivers (one with the EHD option).

Dish Advanced Tech support claimed 30's-40's is as good as it gets on the current 129 satellite. Is this correct?

The 129 signals are unlocking several times a day now. I'm not happy. Especially since much of my DVR'ed stuff is ruined. Weather is okay (clear).

IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD.

Thanks,

Fred

If you stand behind the dish, is your house on your left side?

 

[btrain]

What size is the dish at 77? A larger dish should help and prevent interference from the nearby 72 satellite. It seems like the dish needs fine tuned to get a better signal. I get a signal a lot better than that on 77.

I'm not sure what you mean by the size of the dish at 77. I have a 1000.4 dish, so there is only one. I'm kind of new to this, so maybe it's something I could look at?

Also, it does seem to get worse with bad weather, but only on my 222 box, not on my 722 DVR, but they both are pulling from the same dish and I've swapped the cables.... Weird.

 

[UnSat]

The Plumbness of the mast or pole is a key factor in getting the best signal strength, no matter what dish or what orbitals your trying to hit.

Line of sight is just as important and in some cases you might have LOS for 110 and 119 but not for 129. The az ,el and skew settings for 1 dish to grab 3 different bore sights.A mast that is out of plumb or a dish with inaccurate settins or a partial no line of sight will hamper your signal strength.

Good signal strength for Sat 110 is mid 70- mid 80 .Same for 119. 60 and above for 129

Sat 61.5 signal strength 60 and above ,no matter it being a wing dish or a Eastern Arc set up.

Sat 72 and 77- 60 and above.

The skill and abillity of your installer will determine your signal strength nothing else.

 

[thamac]

I did a little tinkering with my dish over the weekend to see if I could raise my signal strength. My 77 satellite varies from 60-63 and my 61.5 satellite varies from 49-52. Ive done about all I can do. Are these signal strong enough to withstand the winter months or should I have a service call to see if they can tweak it further?
Thanks
John
N/E Ohio

I have checked mine and consistently have an average strength of between 40-50 on all sat locations.

61.5 seems to have more variances depending on what transponder I tune into. There are several that have zero signal....I'm sure they are foot printed out of my area.

I was told by the installer that the signal range for a 1000.4 (on the strength meter) is different than a dish 500 and 40-50 is actually pretty good. If you are getting better than 50 I would say that is very good.

So far there have been no issues with signal loss during a couple of rain storms that we have had. I can't provide any input on snow being in Florida

 

[UnSat]

I have checked mine and consistently have an average strength of between 40-50 on all sat locations.

61.5 seems to have more variances depending on what transponder I tune into. There are several that have zero signal....I'm sure they are foot printed out of my area.

I was told by the installer that the signal range for a 1000.4 (on the strength meter) is different than a dish 500 and 40-50 is actually pretty good. If you are getting better than 50 I would say that is very good.

So far there have been no issues with signal loss during a couple of rain storms that we have had. I can't provide any input on snow being in Florida
________________

GET A NEW TECH

 

[thamac]

GET A NEW TECH

When I have a problem I will