Trouble Aiming 1000.2 Dish

[Corey Gilles]

Guys I am new at the RV thing. I recently purchased a Vip 211z and a 1000.2 on a tripod to use for my RV.
I am currently in Hampstead, NC 28443 (zip) trying to aim my dish for the first time and getting frustrated.
The first question I have is that I seem to get conflicting numbers from my dish receiver and dishpointer.com
I originally tried pointing my dish with the numbers from the receiver when you go under menu 6,1,1 for dish point. I use my zip, dish 500, transponder 11 and sat 119. The numbers it gives me are Elevation 34, Az 239, Skew 131. Dishpointer.com for this exact location gives El 30.9 Az 246.6, Skew 44.0
Skew is completely different and I am not sure which one to use. Ive tried both but still having trouble.
Basically I can get locked on to 119W, but cant get anything from 110 or 129.
I have one of the analog signal meters which does seem to help me find the first satellite, but no matter how much i try and fine tune I cant get the other 2.
Am I getting the correct satellite? Maybe im locking onto 119 with the wrong LNB. How can i tell?
I tried the foil over the outer 2 LNB's and I am still showing locked on 119. Remove the foil and no change.
Also when I am aiming the dish after it is skewed I should be looking at the mounting brackets on the back of the dish where it mounts to the tripod right? Not where the LNB's are pointing?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ChadT41]

I answered you on the dish forum, but, might get some good help here too.

 

[Brussam]

I seem to be repeating myself. Oh, I am.
In eight years I have never had to tweak the Skew. Set it to the desired valve and leave it alone.
The numbers you get from a receiver are for a DPP 500 dish and are wrong for a DPP 1000.2. Trust the DPP 1000.2 manual or go to dishpointer.com, being ssssure to select the Multi-LNBF Dish 1000.2 (110W, 119W, 129W)

On the Switch Check screen, the satellites should be 119 - 110 - 129

If you are displaying 129 - 119 - X then the 119 LNBF is pointing at the 129 satellite and the 110 LNBF is pointing at satellite 119. Hence you need to switch the dish to the left.

Stay away from the foil business. You could be blocking the LNBF that is electronically attached to your meter. The recommendation to having the 119 LNBF being selected is key. Make sure the Check Screen is set to satellite 119 and a transponder 11 or greater. Since this is a dual tuner, make sure both tuners are set to satellite 119 and you can't be sure what tuner is connecting to what coax.

 

[Corey Gilles]

Thank you for the help Brussam, and sorry to make you repeat yourself. I've done some reading on forums but havn't stumbled upon that.
I just assumed that a huge difference in skew like that would make a difference. Anyway I ended up resetting the dish to all the numbers from dishpointer.com.
I just went out and messed with it a little more and i have something going on that I didnt have before. First of all I am getting the message Locked on 119W with a 72 signal strength.
When I do the switch test and it shows the satellite inputs. I am getting a green OK under port 1 satellite 119
For ports 2 and 3 I just have an X.
The other day when I was trying to get this aimed all 3 of those inputs gave me green OK's
What does this mean? Yesterday I could have the dish completely the wrong direction and I would still get all 3 OKs
Sorry to sound dumb, but once I figure this out the first time I will be good to go.

 

[Brussam]

I just checked Dishpointer.com for Zipcode 28443, Under Multi-LNB dieshes, selecting Dish 1000.2 (110W, 19W, 129W) and the numbers are
Skew = 133.9, Azimuth = 246.7 mag, and Elevation = 30.8.

If you used 44 for Skew that will give you what you are observing. Or was that a typo?

 

[SomeDishGuy]

Ditto for what everybody is saying here. The page at Menu-6-1-1 (Point Dish) is for the Dish 500 dish. It's really an artifact from the old days when people would install their own dishes, and that was so they could so it. Those who have guided you to dishpointer.com are correct, you can select the model of dish you use (1000.2, 1000.4, etc) to get a more accurate elevation, azimuth, and skew.

As a Dish employee, my opinions are my own, and do not represent my employer in any way, shape, or form.

 

[Corey Gilles]

Well I have some updates. Brussam, after re-reading your first comment about dishpointer.com I realized that I was NOT using the setting for Multi LNBF Dish. I was just choosing 119W and those numbers were not correct. I scrolled way down the list and there was a listing for the 1000.2 multi LNBF. Changed the skew around and I once again tried to aim the dish. I got it to lock in on 119W with about a 65 signal strength and did a test switch. All 3 inputs came back with Green OK's and it showed all 3 satellites locked in once the test completed.
It literally took me 3 minutes to aim it once I got all the settings correct on the dish. No wonder I was so frustrated before. I guess no matter how many times you try, if your dish is not set properly you are going to have issues.
Thank you guys again.

 

[ChadT41]

Congrats.

 

[Brussam]

Once you know where to get the correct data, aiming a dish is relatively easy. Even easier with good tools.