why no LOS for HD on 5-LNB when there is on my 3-LNB?

[akgarrett62]

i have a strong signal on my D* R16 receiver...why do they tell me i have no line of sight for the dish to upgrade to HD? and i'm guessing they're talking about a 5-LNB dish?

some tree limbs, but that hasn't hurt my current signal.

 

[al]

Phase 3 dish "looks" at 101, 110 & 119 WL. Slimline5 dish "looks" at the same birds, PLUS 99 & 103 WL. Most likely your tree limbs are blocking 99, as 103 is between 101 & 110. Can they locate the Slimline5 to a different location?

 

[dishrich]

If this has been you're first tech visit, call for another. Probably got a lazy tech at the end of the day...

 

[akgarrett62]

actually he came by first thing this morning. i got a 2nd opinion from an independent D* dealer again later on this morning, a good friend, and he said it doesn't look good.

what about this...install a pole of my own next to the street lamp pole out by the street, and use that as install point. i can prob get height of 15-20 feet high mounting point if i do that...and i could use some thin metal ties to secure it close to the street pole...concrete in the ground of course.

good idea?

 

[rad]

That does not sound like a good plan to me.

Anyway, what satellites did they say you can't get? Chance are you don't need 110 and 119, just 99, 101 and 103. If you can see 99, 101 and 103 then tell then you want this dish, DIRECTV AU9-SL3 Three LNB Ka/Ku Slim Line Dish Antenna and SL-3 LNB Combo (AU9-SL3) | AU9-SL3 [DIRECTV Slim Line] | J MOUNT BAU brace au9s a9s aus-9 au-9s Ka/ku dish directv band dish Ka Ku zipper sl3 sl-3 direc-tv direct tv satellite LNB LNBS slimli which they may not have yet. If they don't you could always go buy one yourself then tell them to install it.

 

[akgarrett62]

yeah it's those two sats that i apparently cannot get.

Is the "Legacy HD Programming" it talks about on that link where the HD channels are moving to MPEG 4 from MPEG2 ?

so what are those other two sats for now?

 

[uncrules]

yeah it's those two sats that i apparently cannot get.

Is the "Legacy HD Programming" it talks about on that link where the HD channels are moving to MPEG 4 from MPEG2 ?

so what are those other two sats for now?

All of D*'s HD channels are at these two positions in the sky. There are 4 total. 2 at 99 (one for national HD and one for HD locals) and 2 at 103 (one for national HD and one for HD locals).

 

[akgarrett62]

do you mean 2 sats at 99 and 2 at 103? i thought each of the five are at different "points".

yeah, i just read that all D* national HD channels are moving to 99 and 103. ...so what's the point of 110 and 119?

 

[rad]

...so what's the point of 110 and 119?

The old national HD (MPEG2) channels are still on 110 and 119. 119 is also used for some local SD channels along with a bunch of international programming channels.

 

[akgarrett62]

so can i just purchase the new HD DVR receiver from local Directv store, and use my current dish since it's using the 3 sats i apparently need for HD and Standard channels?

 

[rad]

so can i just purchase the new HD DVR receiver from local Directv store, and use my current dish since it's using the 3 sats i apparently need for HD and Standard channels?

Are you sure that your dish is seeing the 99, 101 and 103 satellites and not the 101, 110 and 119 satellites? If you don't see 99, 101 and 103 then you won't have any of the new MPEG4 HD channels which are 99/103, just the old MPEG2 HD channels, theres only about 10 of them, which eventually will go away.

 

[Zynergi]

If you are getting good signals but the installer cant guarantee no service interruption due to trees/wind or growth for 1 year they wont install it. So with a "it's close" it more than likely wont happen professionally as no one likes to do 3 hours worth of work just to have it charged back 3 months later, plus it is against D* Contracts to install in such a situation. They actually require a 10 degree window on the last sats and down, most will go to 5 degrees as 10 is a huge hole.

You could always try the install yourself, or look up a "hack" that would allow you to use your current dish with a ka/ku LNB.

 

[akgarrett62]

i found out something interesting this morning. over the weekend i saw my dish is a 1 LNB. and found out from the installer who is an indy dealer (good guy) that we only run off of one satellite through the Nashville market. how crazy is that!

but, he told me that EVERYONE who is getting HD has to have the 5 LNB ? is he pulling my chain? i MUST have LOS in my front yard...i have more vision of southern sky there than i currently have in the back where my dish is currently set up.

any thoughts? thanks for all the help so far.

 

[rad]

i found out something interesting this morning. over the weekend i saw my dish is a 1 LNB. and found out from the installer who is an indy dealer (good guy) that we only run off of one satellite through the Nashville market. how crazy is that!

but, he told me that EVERYONE who is getting HD has to have the 5 LNB ? is he pulling my chain? i MUST have LOS in my front yard...i have more vision of southern sky there than i currently have in the back where my dish is currently set up.

any thoughts? thanks for all the help so far.

If you don't have any HD or international programming it's not crazy, all the SD core programming comes from the 101 position.

It has been true that anyone getting HD gets the 5LNB which sees 99/101/103/110/119 but that is starting to change, depends on what market you are in. As it's been mentioned you can either get DirecTV to install the nre 3LNB which sees only 99/101/103 for your HD or go buy one yourself and have then install it.

 

[akgarrett62]

It has been true that anyone getting HD gets the 5LNB which sees 99/101/103/110/119 but that is starting to change, depends on what market you are in. As it's been mentioned you can either get DirecTV to install the nre 3LNB which sees only 99/101/103 for your HD or go buy one yourself and have then install it.[/quote]


makes sense, but will they install a dish that i purchased myself or just say no?

anyone know how hard to align 5 LNB?

 

[rad]

It has been true that anyone getting HD gets the 5LNB which sees 99/101/103/110/119 but that is starting to change, depends on what market you are in. As it's been mentioned you can either get DirecTV to install the nre 3LNB which sees only 99/101/103 for your HD or go buy one yourself and have then install it.

makes sense, but will they install a dish that i purchased myself or just say no?

anyone know how hard to align 5 LNB?[/QUOTE]

Here's a link to the install manual, http://www.solidsignal.com/manuals/Slimline_Dish_Installation_Manual.pdf, take a read and see if you think you can do it.

As for your install question, don't know for sure but I don't see why they would have an issue with installing a 3LNB vs. the 5LNB on a slimline dish.

 

[akgarrett62]

i noticed over weekend many dishes that point into trees...some branches/limbs like 20 feet away still w/leaves. mine isn't even that close.

 

[Jared Twomey]

i noticed over weekend many dishes that point into trees...some branches/limbs like 20 feet away still w/leaves. mine isn't even that close.

yep... there is a lot of installs out there not done properly. A "professional" tech will not do the install if there is not a clear window, or if future growth will effect the signal.
But then again, there are plenty of hacks out there that will throw the system in just to get paid, and disappear a few months down the line when you start having problems.

 

[jdspencer]

i noticed over weekend many dishes that point into trees...some branches/limbs like 20 feet away still w/leaves. mine isn't even that close.

Because of the geometry of the dish it only looks like the dish is pointed at the trees. The sat signal actually comes down at a higher angle than what it looks. Notice that the LNB arm is offset from the dish.