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Cozi TV 103W hard to get?

16K views 62 replies 10 participants last post by  zinco 
#1 ·
Hello folks,
So since I've been hearing 103W no longer has an odd ball skew I thought I'd try to get Cozi TV on my motor but it cans in not... no quality at all on that TP. Does this feed go down or is it just because my dish is too small and it's DVB-S2?

Located in Southwest NS.
 
#2 ·
Where are you looking?
NBC informed their affiliates that the TP that Cozi is on will be decommissioned this week. The new TP is 11760...Otherwise same parameters.
 
#4 ·
It's an S2 signal, so you need a DVB-S2 receiver, and everything has to be 'spot on' with no interference from adjacent satellites. What size is your antenna?

I just checked, and can confirm 11840 is still up, but it IS going away soon. So if your still trying, do look for 11760. It's actually about 1/2 a dB to a dB better SNR wise than 11840 is here, so it should be slightly easier to lock.
 
#6 ·
yeah, no doubt, If ya look at the footprint of SES 3 Ku on Satbeams.com/footprints, I am near the border of the 48/50 dBW contour. You, in Nova Scotia are on the border of the 44 and 46 dBW contour. anywhere from 4-6 dB delta at the extreme worst.
I receive them stable at over 13 dB SNR on a 7.5' C/Ku mesh, and probably around 12 dB SNR on the fixed 1.0 x 0.7 elliptical Primestar antenna (made by Channel master), with original feed/electronics.
Being DVB-S2 8PSK at 5/6 FEC, they require a minimum of 9.5 dB SNR to lock, so either antenna has plenty of margin here.

You might need a commercial 1.2m antenna just to lock them.
 
#8 ·
Additionally, it may be tough to do on an STB given their typically crappy signal quality meters. I use a PC based tuner for fine tuning when I need to. Many STBs won't show any quality at all below lock, so it can be like pissing in the wind, if ya don't have an S2 signal ya can lock on the same satellite to peak/fine tune.
One can't count on peaking via a DVB-S transponder on a satellite, because DVB-S is more 'forgiving" slop alignment wise. ie most of the Vertical are DVB-S, and most if not all of the H are S2 on that satellite.
 
#10 ·
The skew is set to 0 on the dish since it's on an SG2100, which skews the entire dish as it scans the arc, I have played with it a bit though on a strong TP but I got that as good as I can get.

It's been raining on and off and been quite cloudy so if I have any hope of getting this with my current setup I'll have to wait for a nice clear day. In the meantime I'll continue drooling over a bigger dish.

Surprisingly I actually got Montana PBS with just USALS briefly before it started pouring rain on 125W. First time I've ever locked that bird after tweaking everything. The other TPs didn't come in though on 125W.

Anyone know of any dealers where I can get my hands on a larger dish? All the "dealers" I find online either sell hack equipment or max size dishes 36inches.
 
#12 ·
#13 ·
Best to look around for a dish on Kajiji or around the neighborhood. If you can find one of those 1.2m prime-star or channel master dishes that would be the best for receiving. I have used a 36 inch stationary dish for 103 that works ok but not much headroom for rainy weather etc.
 
#16 ·
yeah they recently moved it from freq 11840 to freq 11760,and decommissioned the old 11840 freq in the process. Historically, 11760 was always just a tad bit better than 11840 in terms of signal to noise ratio, so it always came in slightly better. In theory should translate to being slightly easier to receive.
 
#18 ·
I use an old Primestar antenna with the original feed electronics for 103W, and it works just fine. here's a couple of pictures including the 'Mold' part number. Which indicates the reflector is 1 meter wide by 70 cm high.

https://db.tt/7Es5D7kQ
https://db.tt/qdCQuQch

What receiver are you trying to use with your 36" antenna? And do you have a make/model of the antenna and feed you are using?
Who did the antenna installation, and what tools were used to install it?
 
#19 ·
The receiver is a Linkbox 9000i. The Dish is an offset by RP tech or something. The LNB is the Avenger PLL.

I installed the dish myself. I tune to the Huntington Webcams. I get the cams but no Cozi. From what I read, I'd need a 1.2 or more.

Are you in Montreal?
 
#20 ·
No, western NY
I think you can manage with a 1.0 m. Smallest I have seen used around here was a 90 cm Geosat pro steel reflector.
It was marginal but it worked, we had 10 to 10.5 dB snr on it at the time, with 9.4 dB being the bare minimum required to lock it.
And that was while on the old funky skew AMC 1 satellite. The new SES-3 satellite is stronger,
and no longer requires the 'funky skew'. So I am guessing the same dish would result in about 11 to 11.5 dB now
when properly aligned under the same weather conditions. I easily get 13.0 to 13.5 dB on my Primestar Antenna.
And 14 to 15 dB on the BUD with clear weather. A commercial quality 1.2m offset with a Norsat LNB would be
able to get 15 to 16 dB when aligned correctly. Consumer grade 1.2m I would subtract at least a dB or so.
With some careful alignment you should be able to capture with what you have.

Was the avenger PLL actually designed for that reflector & vice versa?
Is your mounting pole perfectly plumb?
I like to use a fence post level for that test, as it will show you whether your plumb on two sides at once.
The huntington beach signals are DVB-S, not DVB-S2. With DVB-S you can be quite sloppy alignment wise
and still get a signal. Not so with DVB-S2. Everything needs to be dead nuts/spot on.
 
#22 ·
@Jorgek using what LNB? Was it hard to get a fix?
@majortom Thanks for answering my questions. My 36" is called "FTA Tech" and as I said I have an Avenger PLL. I don't think they are made for each other.

I tried to get Cozi before the snow arrived. I did not have much luck. I will try again once the snow goes away. I'm planning to get all the Retro Channels. I have RTV via 97W. I have MeTV via OTA. Cozi TV seems the Best. MeTV is very well packaged. RTV is now mainly old B&W stuff, not as interesting as it used to be.

I'm aware of the DVB-S2 issue. The problem is that I have few trees that are Strategically placed, I shall say, that block me from having a good satellite view spot. I guess I have to put a mast in the ground.
 
#23 ·
Also the Avenger PLL at this end. Actually it was not hard to locate. If you can zero in on 97W then its just a small nudge over to 103.
I use the beach cam TP 11942/20000/V to zero in on 103.

My dish is on the Stab 90 motor. Once properly aligned it accurately goes to any sat that you select.

The Avenger PLL works well on a variety of dishes without a problem.
The 33" dish is some generic brand, nothing fancy.
 
#25 ·
Signal is around 90 and Q is 75. Though I think the reading on the S9 are a bit on the generous side.

Is the skew on the LNB set correctly? Are the LNB settings correct in the receiver setup menu? The Avenger is a "universal" type of LNB.
I would carefully tweak the dish and LNB for max S and Q. The best way is to have the receiver at the dish when tweaking. That's how I always tweak my dishes.
 
#26 ·
If you have trees in the path, you definitely have to either move your dish location further away from them to clear them, or get the dish mounted up higher to clear them. On your house or sumthin maybe??
How tall are the Trees???
 
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