Slimline re-align suggestions?

[PATECO]

DBS satellites have a focal point for the peak that is about 3° wide while the new KA satellites have a focal point for the peak that is only about 1° wide. So it is possible for you to be peaked on 101° and 119°, and still off by up to 2° for 103°. That is why Directv's instructions for peaking the AT9/AU9 dish are so complex. They are trying to get you to find the exact center of the 3° DBS signal peak, so that you will be peaked on the 1° KA signal peak.

Now that 103 is active, Things are a little easier. You should now be able to use the on screen signal meter to repeak for it.


In the setup menu got to the view signal strength matrix screen, and choose the signal meter. Pick a 103° transponder that was showing signal in the strength screen matrix, and then, using a cel phone or walky talky, have one person adjust the fine azimuth by about 1/4 turn at a time while the other checks the strength on the on screen meter. Once you have peaked the azimuth, lock it down and do the same with the fine elevation adjustment. Once that is peaked, retry the azimuth one more time, but you will most likely be as good as you are going to get. Finally, go back to the strength matrix screen and check all the birds to make sure you have not adversly affected the other sats. Since 101°, 110°, and 119° have 3° peaks, their signals should still be almost the same as before you adjusted for 103°.

 

[tds4182]

Well the tech came out today. "D* hasnt trained anyone in this area on how to peak for 103".. "we dont even have a signal meter for it yet"


I said: "well why did D* even send you here", "I dont believe it"

he repeaked the 101,110 and 119 locations and now my 103b readings are between 75 and 88. A lot better than 30-40

I cant believe D* has been installing these dishes with untrained contractors!!!!!!!!! Driving a D* truck even.

V, they don't do this to everybody, just YOU.

Remember, just because you think they're out to get you doesn't mean they're not.

 

[VewDew]

DBS satellites have a focal point for the peak that is about 3° wide while the new KA satellites have a focal point for the peak that is only about 1° wide. So it is possible for you to be peaked on 101° and 119°, and still off by up to 2° for 103°. That is why Directv's instructions for peaking the AT9/AU9 dish are so complex. They are trying to get you to find the exact center of the 3° DBS signal peak, so that you will be peaked on the 1° KA signal peak.

Now that 103 is active, Things are a little easier. You should now be able to use the on screen signal meter to repeak for it.


In the setup menu got to the view signal strength matrix screen, and choose the signal meter. Pick a 103° transponder that was showing signal in the strength screen matrix, and then, using a cel phone or walky talky, have one person adjust the fine azimuth by about 1/4 turn at a time while the other checks the strength on the on screen meter. Once you have peaked the azimuth, lock it down and do the same with the fine elevation adjustment. Once that is peaked, retry the azimuth one more time, but you will most likely be as good as you are going to get. Finally, go back to the strength matrix screen and check all the birds to make sure you have not adversly affected the other sats. Since 101°, 110°, and 119° have 3° peaks, their signals should still be almost the same as before you adjusted for 103°.

Thank you for these instructions, that is exactly what I was looking for. Now I would do it myself but I am afraid of heights and don't get along with tall ladders at all.

 

[flaflafloey]

The first thing I would suggest, since you don't like heights, is get the dish off the house and plant a 4x6 in the yard, connect the base to the 4x6 as low as you can for the least obtrusive look, cut away the rest of the 4x6. When you take the dish off the house, try not to move it on the base, and now all you need to do is point it the same way it was on the house. I find that over time, tweaking will need to be done, so being afraid of heights is bad for you with where the dish is. The other thing I have is a wireless transmitter for video(purchased for other reasons). I put a 13 inch tv out with me by the dish, connected to the box that has rf capabilities. I did all my adjustments myself and got readings much higher than the original installer gave me. 10 to 15 percent higher on some satellites.

 

[mro17931]

I am new to this forum, but not new to satellite tv. I have recently bought a HDTV, and called D* for an upgrade. Here is my experience:

Last week, I had my system upgraded to the hr20-700, and the 5 lnb dish. The installer did an overall good job with the install, but when I repeatedly checked the signal levels from 103b, I was seeing 35-60 signal strength on both tuners and all transponders. 101 and 119 were in mid to high 90's. (Location is north east of Atlanta).

After seeing other posters readings in the 85-97 range, I decided that maybe he didn't peak the signal correctly. Knowing that the tilt angle was correct, with the signal levels I was seeing at 101 and 119, I looked up the manual for the 5 lnb dish for any answers, and lo and behold, there it was.

You can have nearly perfect readings across the board for the Ku band sats, and have next to nothing on the Ka, which has a much smaller boresight, or beam width. With this information, I proceeded outside with my 1/2 socket, and ADD son, (not really, but he's ten which means about the same) watching the signal strength meter for 103b.

Now, what I did is not what is recommended by the manual, but knowing the tilt angle was correct, it only seemed logical that my antenna was misaligned by a small margin in either the azimuth or elevation. I chose to test the azimuth first, as the fine tune screw was easier to get to, and tried to nudge the antenna to the right, to see what effect it would have on the signal at 103. I was then very surprised to find that the tech didn't lock down the dish!

After a few choice expletives, I pulled the antenna back to the approximate location it was at, and then my son said the signal on 103 went to the mid 90's. After a few minutes of trying to peak it further, I locked it in place. I went inside and checked 101, 103, 110 and 119, and now have 90+ on each sat and tuner. I should note, the signal levels on 101 and 119 improved about 5 points each after this tweak as well.

Bottom line, you can do it yourself fairly easily but please read the antenna manual first. You do not need a Ka band sat finder to do a good alignment, just a decent knowledge of geometry, and ONLY adjust one axis at a time.

Background Disclosure:

I have experience on the space side, having worked in the satellite industry for twenty years. I have had a hand in building components for many satellites, primarily microwave waveguide switching devices for receive and transmit applications for commercial and military birds. (DTV-7 was among them).

 

[Ramy]

Ramy,
When you did your adjustment, did you happen to notice if you lose any signal from the other sats ?

Jimbo

I didn't lose any signal on mine. They actually got a little better. I teaked 103(b) to about 97 and then some of the main ones went up to 100 on some tps.

 

[NutFlush920]

I have the sidecar now. I ordered another HR20 and the installer is comming next Saturday. Apparently they are brining me the new slimline with them. I would like to put either one up at my summer home and keep the other at my primary home. Is the side car or slimline easier to self install?

From what I have read, the slimline is a pain to self install. I was thinking of just having the installer take down the sidecar and put up the slimline. I should then just have to make minor adjustments to it as my summer home is only about a half hour away from my primary home.

I have always been able to self install the 3 lnb myself and woudl consider myself more than able to install a 5 lnb dish. Any thoughts would be greatly appriated.

 

[djarenz]

Self-Install Slimline

I installed the slimline last week to replace my Gainmaster that was on a 2 inch dia pole mount. Biggest difference is the 5 lnb dish aligns to 101 (Ku) not 110. I used a meter to fine tune as recommended by D* and believe it would be a "team" effort to align without the meter. At the very least your mount must be level to start, and use SolidSignals PDF guides and video.