Some Direct TV issues I have found plus a question or two.

[Dee]

I have been traveling with direct TV satellite system in my rig now for several years. I can usually whip out my home built tripod with the dish on it and find my satellites within a few min, however what I do not always get is my local channels , some time I do other times no go .
It seems when I zero in on the satellite and get a good 85-90 % i get great reception but no local then if I sometimes raise the up angle they will come in.
I usually can find the correct compass angle easily but the elevation when I loosen the clamps it is very hard to move it just a fraction does anyone know of a setup that has a micro adjust knobs like the new HD dish for direct TV has?
I hope this is not too confusing? I just red read it and it sorta makes sense?
Dee

 

[danemayer]

It may not be micro adjustments, it may be that you're on the edge of the local station spot beam from the satellite. We can get Austin stations over most of Texas. But 20 miles north into Oklahoma and the reception was marginal even with a 98% signal.

 

[TXBobcat]

Normall you can't get local channels when you are abt 150 miles from your home. This has been the case for a long time. It has to do with stations and local advertising. Dish got into serious trouble for switching areas when we travel outside the channel beam.

 

[cookie]

Here is a link to a spot beam map. It may be helpful. SPOT BEAM.
Your right about the micro adjustments on the new HD dish set up.
Maybe it's time to upgrade.

Peace
Dave

 

[simsfmly]

You didn't mention what type of dish you're using. If its an older one that only gets 101, 110 & 119, your locals might be on one of the other birds. Only when you can receive all 5 birds can you be sure to get all the locals, even when you switch locales.

 

[Dee]

You guys are very right I should have put my satellite info into the post.
I am using a Direct TV Multi Satellite LNB 18x20 Dish antenna
ZKF-DX54
Now I hav thought about the newer oval direct TV dishes which have the micro adjust but I am not sure they are better and They take up a lot more room in storage
and I read on Direct tv site that they are harder to pick up a satellite?
I am confused about all of this?
thank you guys so much for your help. don't know what I would do without this site.
D

 

[danemayer]

You guys are very right I should have put my satellite info into the post.
I am using a Direct TV Multi Satellite LNB 18x20 Dish antenna
ZKF-DX54
Now I hav thought about the newer oval direct TV dishes which have the micro adjust but I am not sure they are better and They take up a lot more room in storage
and I read on Direct tv site that they are harder to pick up a satellite?
I am confused about all of this?
thank you guys so much for your help. don't know what I would do without this site.
D

The larger oval dishes can be more difficult to aim, but some people do aim them without difficulty. The benefit is that you get high-def, assuming your service, receiver, and TV are also high-def.

Some people have hinged the LNB arms to fold against the dish, making them easy to store. I just remove the 4 bolts that mount the dish to the rest of the assembly. Once separated, both pieces store in small spaces.

The dishes are pretty sensitive to damage. If they bang around or fall over, it doesn't take much to reduce the best possible signal strength from 98 down to 85.

 

[Mrsfish]

"The dishes are pretty sensitive to damage. If they bang around or fall over, it doesn't take much to reduce the best possible signal strength from 98 down to 85."

dan- that being said, how do you travel your dish. We are going satelite this month (World Cup fanatics) but I do worry about how to pack the dish so as not to cause damage.

 

[danemayer]

I take the dish off the mast and slide it into the front compartment next to the generator, alongside the mast and cables. They're separated by cardboard. I slide the LNB out of the arm and carry it in a plastic box alongside, with a 2nd LNB used for aiming. The reason there are 2 LNBs is that I use SWM, but my old meter is not compatible with the SWM LNB I have, so I have a 2nd LNB (multiport) for aiming.

 

[SeattleLion]

You didn't mention what type of dish you're using. If its an older one that only gets 101, 110 & 119, your locals might be on one of the other birds. Only when you can receive all 5 birds can you be sure to get all the locals, even when you switch locales.

DirectTV only uses 3 locations now. They stopped using 5 some time ago. The new Winegard Trav'ler 3, only hits 3 birds and gets all HD and SD. It's unclear to me about locals.

 

[cookie]

DirectTV only uses 3 locations now. They stopped using 5 some time ago. The new Winegard Trav'ler 3, only hits 3 birds and gets all HD and SD. It's unclear to me about locals.

That's not exactly correct.
With looking at three satellites you will not get some music and Spanish channels.
I found that with the 3 LNB I was missing more music than I wanted to.
Also I believe that in some parts of the country you will need the 5 LNB.
I have both the 3 and 3 LNB dishes.

Peace
Dave

 

[DocFather]

DirectTV only uses 3 locations now. They stopped using 5 some time ago. The new Winegard Trav'ler 3, only hits 3 birds and gets all HD and SD. It's unclear to me about locals.

I have the roof mount SK-SWM3 TRAV'LER DIRECTV Slimline with 3 LNB's. It picks up every music channel that DirecTV offers and I get all but 2 local channels. Not sure what happened to those 2 but they are not essential for me either.

 

[porthole]

I have been traveling with direct TV satellite system in my rig now for several years. I can usually whip out my home built tripod with the dish on it and find my satellites within a few min, however what I do not always get is my local channels , some time I do other times no go .
It seems when I zero in on the satellite and get a good 85-90 % i get great reception but no local then if I sometimes raise the up angle they will come in.
I usually can find the correct compass angle easily but the elevation when I loosen the clamps it is very hard to move it just a fraction does anyone know of a setup that has a micro adjust knobs like the new HD dish for direct TV has?
I hope this is not too confusing? I just red read it and it sorta makes sense?
Dee

Ever check the signal to all 32 transponders?

 

[dave10a]

Here is a great resource for all venues of Satellite that may be of interest.. http://www.satelliteguys.us/

 

[SeattleLion]

Ever check the signal to all 32 transponders?

All transponders are not active in most areas of the country.

 

[porthole]

All transponders are not active in most areas of the country.

You still need a baseline. If you don't know what is normal, diagnosing the issue is more of a challenge.

 

[JanAndBill]

On my dish I drilled out the rivets that attached the arm to the dish and replaced them with bolts and wing nuts. That way I can slide the arm off for travel. My wife found a zippered Christmas wreath at Wal-Mart on clearance for $4. Slide dish and arm in the bag and zip it up. Packs away in any of the compartments.