signal strength

[inf3kted]

i have a set up a c-band satellite dish, the only signal i have is the signal intensity which is 81%, and signal quality is 1%. tried to change the azimuth and elevation based on dishpointer.com but didn't change the signal quality.

what can i do to increase the signal quality

thxs

 

[richyrich]

i have a set up a c-band satellite dish, the only signal i have is the signal intensity which is 81%, and signal quality is 1%. tried to change the azimuth and elevation based on dishpointer.com but didn't change the signal quality.

what can i do to increase the signal quality

thxs

Signal quality is based on:

1) How well the dish is tuned to the satellite it needs to aim at
2) How well the lnb/lnbf picks up that exacting signal the dish is receiving
3) How well the receiver tunes with it's supplied parameters, such as correct SR setting, etc. for the channel it wants to tune.
4) The channel being sent from the provider depends on the amount of bandwidth it uses, and it's combo of signal "qualifiers", which is then transmitted, and affects how quickly it can be scanned or picked up with a quality reading. which is a part of "signal quality"; these are the video/audio program (PID/AID) numbers, whcih uniqely identify...

Therefore, without quality, no picture will show.

A good installation tool for you might be a digital/programmable satellite meter. These meters allow the technician to programme the satellite wanted into the meter, then they can aim for that "one satellite" and "one quality" that their client needs...

Your problem sounds like the dish needs to be aimed to the exact satellite your receiver is set on to receive, that is, use you receiver as your metering device for the satellite in question by setting up the channel manually to tune one tuning selection. Check for other transponders on the satellite, a second transponder can be easier to find and make tunig your dish a little easier at first, then tune for max on the channel/channels you want.
Other possibilities are that the channel/channels have moved recently, changed a parameter, or are not compatible with the kind of receiver you are using, because they do change "formats" occasionally, or on command by contracting with those "other" companies for inclusionary reasoning.

 

[B.J.]

i have a set up a c-band satellite dish, the only signal i have is the signal intensity which is 81%, and signal quality is 1%. tried to change the azimuth and elevation based on dishpointer.com but didn't change the signal quality.

what can i do to increase the signal quality

thxs

Can I assume that this is a fixed dish, since you're talking Az/El? If it's motorized, I don't think that dishpointer place is of much help.

However, as the other response suggests, you probably aren't aimed at the sat, and until you are, you won't see any quality. There is always signal, but you only see quality when you're locked onto a transponder.

However, besides aim, there are several other issues that people run into. First of these is that your receiver must be tuning an active transponders. Receivers generally come with transponder lists that are obsolete, and if your receiver is trying to tune a signal that doesn't exist, you will NEVER get any quality, even if it's aimed perfectly. Also, you need to have the LNB type/LO freq entered correctly or you generally won't be able to tune a transponder even if you're sure it's active and you're aimed properly.
Anyway, it might be helpful to describe more what you've done, and what your hardware is, and whether you're sure you're tuning an active transponder. People on this list probably won't be of too much help with that since we can't see the same sats, but hopefully you know what sat transponder you're trying to hit.

 

[Skyscanner]

Quality = picture, which is really what we're intersted in. Rich and BJ have it right but #1 What bird are you aiming at? #2 Do you have the bird in your installaton menu? #3 Do you have a known hot transponder freq, polarity, and symbol rate programmed in? Go to The LIst and find one. #4 Are the settings [LNB Freq, type, power, etc] for your LNB correct? #5 Get your receiver and monitor on site. #6 Align your dish to the Azimuth, Elevation, and skew for the bird you want. #7 Go to "manual scan" menu of the bird you want in your receiver, make sure the bird, hot transponder, freq, polarity, and symbol rate are in display. #8 GRADUALLY move your dish while watching the signal and quality "meter". Understand that 1 degree of movement on earth = about 400 miles at satellite distance, it doesn't take much to be way off. #9 Watch both SIGNAL and Quality. In most cases, signal will DECREASE the CLOSER you get to a satellite, and INCREASE the FURTHER you are away [the opposite of quality]. The difference is slight, may be only a percent or 2, so watch close. When you swing your dish east or west, and you see a dip in signal, that means you are close to a bird, but it may not be the 1 you want. When the SIGNAL is lowest, adjust elevation also looking for lowest signal and if you are as close as you think you are, the quality might pop up. If it doesn't, you may be pointed at a neighboring bird. Sometimes when the SIGNAL shows the minimum after fine adjustment for AZ and EL, a blind scan can be done, even tyhough no QUALITY shows, and if channels show up, they can be compared to The LIst to determine what bird you have hit and you can adjust east or west to get where you want. Some might disagree with me on the information I gave you on SIGNAL, but it has proven reliable for me. Anyone who has a motorized dish can see the fluctuations in SIGNAL [and of course quality] when their dish swings, and can see the signal is highest between birds. Good luck

 

[richyrich]

AZ/EL

One prob people run into while aiming a dish is that each location on earth has a different "magnetic deviation" which is the amount of ingress magnetics plays with a compass. This "amount" of deviation, based on where you are at on the earths globe, MUST BE ADDED or Subtracted from the compass reading, giving you a different point to point at in the sky, and affects your southern-most satellite selection, and where the "clarks arc" is. Because geographics and compasses have this interaction, it can affect the dish AZ reading upwards of 20 degrees, alot...

 

[B.J.]

.....
#3 Do you have a known hot transponder freq, polarity, and symbol rate programmed in? Go to The LIst and find one.
......

Assuming that "au" means Australia, he might be better off looking at Lyngsat, because there isn't anything in the list visible from Australia. But maybe au means something else.

...... In most cases, signal will DECREASE the CLOSER you get to a satellite, and INCREASE the FURTHER you are away [the opposite of quality]. The difference is slight, may be only a percent or 2, so watch close. When you swing your dish east or west, and you see a dip in signal, that means you are close to a bird,....

I have seen behavior like this occasionally on Ku when there are strong DBS sats nearby, but I think in general I've observed signal strength increasing when closer to the sats, particularly on C-band. Of course that could depend on specific receivers or meters, which can behave differently. In general I usually ignore signal strength readings from DVB receivers because they aren't very sensitive to change, and sometimes can give misleading behavior.

 

[Skyscanner]

BJ
I agree wholeheartedly, not every situation is going to be the same for everyone, just saying it has been reliable for me. If the OP is from Oz, who knows what that would mean. Can you imagine pointing North to get Q? How weird is that?

 

[inf3kted]

Signal

i have 2.3m motor satellite, adjusted elevation azimuth and LNB by satellite finder to maximum signal which i can get.

when i connect to the SONYSTAR receiver through DISEQC positioner, comes up with test(c) 00l test 1(h) and a black square it says 'no signal'. when i go to add channel it comes up with this:

satellite :test(c)
TP:2/3
TP freq: 03940
symbol rate: 05950
polarity:V
search:free
____
signal intensity: 67%
signal quality: 1%
signal status unlocked : 0/1000000

when i go to search
test(c)
LNB freq 09750
symbol rate: 05950
trans freq: 03940
polarity: V

all the numbers are defaulted

question is why don't i have a signal and how can i set up to use Asia SAT 2 or Asia SAT3s or any Asia SAT, also how can i get all those numbers like LNB freq, Trans freq etc and how to put them in.

thanks

 

[Skyscanner]

Infr3kted,
One possible problem I see is that it looks like you are trying to get C band and your lnb freq is 9750. Try 5150 if C band is what you are trying to rx. Not familiar with your particular receiver, but they all have a satellite installation menu that allows you to change those values. If you don't have the manual, you'll just have to experiment. Go to or search for http://www.lyngsat.com/Free TV from Australia to see what satellites have signals in the clear that are viewable from your location. According to Lyngsat, most of the TV viewable in Australia is KU band, but there are some C sats. For example if you wanted to see what's on Intelsat 8, click on it and what's available free will be light tan in color and have an "F" in the grid. If you were to want BBC News for example, it will show the TP freq at 3940, horizontal polarity, and a symbol rate of 27690. If that's the bird you want, program those into your installation menu in the appropriate place. The grid will also give you the PIDs, but until you get QUALITY, they won't matter to you if at all, as when you lock the signal QUALITY, your receiver downloads all that information when it installs the channels. If the Asiasats are viewable from your location, you should be able to get the look angle for your area from an online satellite locator. As Rich mentioned, try to find 1 that gives the "magnetic deviation" for your area because that can be several degrees off and every 1 degree at your dish = about 400 miles at satellite distance in space. It doesn't take much to be way off.

 

[Mikey11]

Signal quality is based on:

1) How well the dish is tuned to the satellite it needs to aim at
2) How well the lnb/lnbf picks up that exacting signal the dish is receiving
3) How well the receiver tunes with it's supplied parameters, such as correct SR setting, etc. for the channel it wants to tune.
4) The channel being sent from the provider depends on the amount of bandwidth it uses, and it's combo of signal "qualifiers", which is then transmitted, and affects how quickly it can be scanned or picked up with a quality reading. which is a part of "signal quality"; these are the video/audio program (PID/AID) numbers, whcih uniqely identify...

5) Dish Size