Slimline DIY alignment problem

[colbogic]

I currently have a regular 18" dish that works fine. I added a new slimline 5 lnb (4 output AU9) dish to my roof next to the old dish. There is sufficient distance between the two dishes and no obstructions. I dragged a TV up to the shed roof and worked using the receivers (HD21) signal meter. I followed dithering procedure best I could, but not having an expensive signal meter makes this tough.

I have high 90s to 100s on 101, 110, 119, and 103ca and a few on 99s. The problem I am having is getting all zeros on 99c and 103cb. This means no local HD channels, missing HBO HD, Discovery HD etc... I do have some HD like EncoreHD.

I have adjusted the fine adjustment screws on both elevation and azimuth trying to get any signal on either 99c or 103ca to the point where signal gets degraded across 101, but never ever get anything other than zero on 99c or 103ca.

Is it possibly a defective LNB or more likely needs more alignment.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Jimbo]

I currently have a regular 18" dish that works fine. I added a new slimline 5 lnb (4 output AU9) dish to my roof next to the old dish. There is sufficient distance between the two dishes and no obstructions. I dragged a TV up to the shed roof and worked using the receivers (HD21) signal meter. I followed dithering procedure best I could, but not having an expensive signal meter makes this tough.

I have high 90s to 100s on 101, 110, 119, and 103ca and a few on 99s. The problem I am having is getting all zeros on 99c and 103cb. This means no local HD channels, missing HBO HD, Discovery HD etc... I do have some HD like EncoreHD.

I have adjusted the fine adjustment screws on both elevation and azimuth trying to get any signal on either 99c or 103ca to the point where signal gets degraded across 101, but never ever get anything other than zero on 99c or 103ca.

Is it possibly a defective LNB or more likely needs more alignment.

Any help appreciated.

Check your Tilt, if you have strong numbers on the 101, the others should fall into place and a slight adjustment should peak them to usable levels.

 

[colbogic]

Check your Tilt, if you have strong numbers on the 101, the others should fall into place and a slight adjustment should peak them to usable levels.

Thanks for the response, I'll check that this afternoon and let you know if that worked.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the response, I'll check that this afternoon and let you know if that worked.

If your tilt is where it should be and you have strong signals on the 101, use the dithering adjustments to fine tune the 99 and 103, look at the 99 and 103 C first, thats the Conus, the S is your spotbeam locals.

 

[colbogic]

If your tilt is where it should be and you have strong signals on the 101, use the dithering adjustments to fine tune the 99 and 103, look at the 99 and 103 C first, thats the Conus, the S is your spotbeam locals.

Well I checked the tilt first, and I am peaked at 119 at 100%. I dithered 101 to peak at 97%,

I am in the high 90s on 103ca. I just can't get anything to come up on 99c or 103cb.....always all zeros. i tried doing the tilt slowly, watching the 99c and 103cb, but nothing. I also tried turning elevation and azimuth screws slowly while watching 99c and 103cb....nothing, all zeros.

I tried a second receiver....same thing. I want to make sure I am not taking anything for granted. I got my dish from solidsignal (AU9-S) non SWM with four outputs (link below).

In receiver setup, I am choosing Slimline-5, and multiswitch instead of SWM. I hope this is correct. Also, would one of those cheapy meters on ebay work for this, or would they do exactly what the receiver is doing?

I also think it is weird that I can pick up signal on the spot beams 99s and cannot get anything on 99c (starting to think it is the LNB, even though brand new)

Just to reiterate, the problem is only with HD....everything else working fine (which I guess is 99c and 103cb.)

Any more help is appreciated.

DIRECTV Five LNB Ka/Ku Slim Line Dish Antenna for MPEG-4 C HD Programming (AU9-S) - DIRECTV Slim Line - AU9-S -

 

[yrag]

I have the exact same problem. I get high numbers on 101, 103, and 119. About a week ago the channels on 99c began pixelating a little at first then more and finally a searching for signal message on those channels. I then tried tweaking the dish and using using the receiver as a signal meter and went through the same thing you did and had the same results. I called Directv and they are sending a service agent out tomorrow. The dish has been up for three years. I suspected the BB Converters but its unlikely they both would blow at the same time. I tried switching cables and checked all connections and reset the receiver several times but the problem only got worse.

 

[Kanon]

Well I checked the tilt first, and I am peaked at 119 at 100%. I dithered 101 to peak at 97%,

I am in the high 90s on 103ca. I just can't get anything to come up on 99c or 103cb.....always all zeros. i tried doing the tilt slowly, watching the 99c and 103cb, but nothing. I also tried turning elevation and azimuth screws slowly while watching 99c and 103cb....nothing, all zeros.

I tried a second receiver....same thing. I want to make sure I am not taking anything for granted. I got my dish from solidsignal (AU9-S) non SWM with four outputs (link below).

In receiver setup, I am choosing Slimline-5, and multiswitch instead of SWM. I hope this is correct. Also, would one of those cheapy meters on ebay work for this, or would they do exactly what the receiver is doing?

I also think it is weird that I can pick up signal on the spot beams 99s and cannot get anything on 99c (starting to think it is the LNB, even though brand new)

Just to reiterate, the problem is only with HD....everything else working fine (which I guess is 99c and 103cb.)

Any more help is appreciated.

DIRECTV Five LNB Ka/Ku Slim Line Dish Antenna for MPEG-4 C HD Programming (AU9-S) - DIRECTV Slim Line - AU9-S -

Your problem is you need to peak off the 101, and then dithered the 99 in. The 119 is no longer being used in most mpeg4 markets. the 3 you need is 99 101 103. thats it.

Have a great day.

 

[Kanon]

in other words..... your pointed to far to the right.

 

[colbogic]

in other words..... your pointed to far to the right.

Thanks for the response.

Alright, so I have around a 97% reading on 101 which is as good as I could get.


So I should then change to 99c and adjust elevation/azimuth and try to get a signal?

Like I said, I can't even get a reading on the 99c at all, simply zero.

Do I need a meter for this or is the receiver good enough?

 

[colbogic]

yrag, if you could let me know how the service guy fixed it, that would be awesome.

 

[freckldgrl]

The receiver should be good enough. Might just take a bit more finesse.

yrag, if it was the bbands then you'd have problems on the 103 also. Sounds to me like you have an alignment or loss of los for the 99.

 

[Jimbo]

Not all that likely, but could also have a bad LNB. (or going bad)

 

[colbogic]

Alright guys I think I figured it out....thank you for all the help. I will post another update when I have it truly fixed. I actually think my dish is aligned properly, I saw in the corner of the satellite signal screen "B-Band Converter required" I guess I hadn't thought much of it and thought this box had it built in (H23 did).

Well, after some research the H24 does not have the wide tuner built in (Jimbo, you were a part of that thread discussion) and does need a B-Band converter when not part of a SWM installation (which mine is not).

This explains why I am getting zeros on the 99 and 103 (I expected at least a weak signal). Without the converter, the receiver can't read the signal.

yrag, since you have the EXACT same problem, make sure you have a B-Band converter coming out of the back of your receiver and I would try replacing it first if you do. If you don't have one, that may be the problem.

Thanks again guys, all the troubleshooting looks like it will pay off.

 

[Kanon]

Alright guys I think I figured it out....thank you for all the help. I will post another update when I have it truly fixed. I actually think my dish is aligned properly, I saw in the corner of the satellite signal screen "B-Band Converter required" I guess I hadn't thought much of it and thought this box had it built in (H23 did).

Well, after some research the H24 does not have the wide tuner built in (Jimbo, you were a part of that thread discussion) and does need a B-Band converter when not part of a SWM installation (which mine is not).

This explains why I am getting zeros on the 99 and 103 (I expected at least a weak signal). Without the converter, the receiver can't read the signal.

yrag, since you have the EXACT same problem, make sure you have a B-Band converter coming out of the back of your receiver and I would try replacing it first if you do. If you don't have one, that may be the problem.

Thanks again guys, all the troubleshooting looks like it will pay off.

You are 100% correct you need that converter
also this video might help out to make sure you have pointed the dish the right way. YouTube - DIRECTV Ka Ku 5 LNB Satellite Dish Installation Part 3

 

[colbogic]

Thanks Kanon, that is a good video, I'll definitely use it to fine tune when the converters come in.

Thanks again.

 

[Jimbo]

Alright guys I think I figured it out....thank you for all the help. I will post another update when I have it truly fixed. I actually think my dish is aligned properly, I saw in the corner of the satellite signal screen "B-Band Converter required" I guess I hadn't thought much of it and thought this box had it built in (H23 did).

Well, after some research the H24 does not have the wide tuner built in (Jimbo, you were a part of that thread discussion) and does need a B-Band converter when not part of a SWM installation (which mine is not).

This explains why I am getting zeros on the 99 and 103 (I expected at least a weak signal). Without the converter, the receiver can't read the signal.

yrag, since you have the EXACT same problem, make sure you have a B-Band converter coming out of the back of your receiver and I would try replacing it first if you do. If you don't have one, that may be the problem.

Thanks again guys, all the troubleshooting looks like it will pay off.

The ONLY recvrs that don't need the BBC's are the H/HR23, unless your using a SWiM set up.

I thought you said you had good signals on the 99 (somewhere, could have been a different thread ) if you had them, then it's not a BBC issue, that said, if you DON'T have the BBC's on, you'll never get the 99 and 103 to come in.

 

[rkr0923]

I had that problem when I installed mine but I had the converters installed, tells you that at dish setup screen. Played with tilt and everything but nothing worked. I did setup again and boom, all started working fine. Maybe you should a reboot.

 

[truckracer]

Ka band is going to be more "touchy" since its got a tighter beamwidth than KU band.
be sure your pole is perfectly plumb and set your tilt on the recommended setting although you may have to fine tune it a hair. I am a c band person an i can tell you pointing a 12' dish on a ku satellite is just as bad..move it one hair the wrong way and you have nothing.

 

[yrag]

Well the service guy came out, looked at the dish and the line of sight and determined that a couple of branches on a large fir tree had grown out and in the way of the 99 sat. He move the dish from the deck to the roof and got all sat numbers to register in the high 90s. He was very professional, switched out my old lnb and put in a swm. He said it takes very little to interfere with the 99 satellite signal. I am now good to go for at least five years until the trees grow. So I guess I would advise you to check to make sure nothing has crept up in your dish line of sight and to have a service tech to re-align your dish.

 

[freckldgrl]

yrag, I'm glad they got you fixed up & it was a positive experience!