Shaw Direct Satellite Signal and Dish Alignment questions

[Skyllio]

Hi i just moved to a new town..hay river,NT and just bought a starchoice dsr319 receiver, there already was a starchoice dish at my apartment in a highrise, i am having problems getting any signals, when i connect the cable from the dish to the receiver my is signal 6-7%...i've been trying all day and the best i got was 12%..i have the elevation right and even move it but still can't get anything better than 12...could there be something wrong with my lnbf?

[Moose57]

That low a signal sounds a lot like just sky noise and no signal at all.

Check my last post in the tough location thread for an smartphone app that might help.

You might also had a dud lnb.

If the dish is elliptical, is the skew correct?

Have you verified what is the correct reference mark for the elevation on THAT dish?

Sometime it's the centre of the bolt and on others, it's the edge of metal in the window.


Is it a oval or elliptical dish?
Did that dish ever work?

A bit more info please.

[tico]

From "tech central"

http://www.shawdirect.ca/english/cus...al_quality.asp

QUOTE:

Very low numbers

If your signal strength reading is under 60 consistently and doesn’t seem to change when the weather does, the dish may come out of alignment.

A single-digit number often means there is a problem with the connection between the receiver and dish.

Even without any signal from the satellite, the dish will have a rating of about 20.

END QUOTE.

I would be thinking this means you should be double checking that coax that runs to the dish. Are you sure you are connected to the dish or did you just assume that a wall plate or cord coming out of the wall led to the dish. In any case, it sounds like a dud LNBF or bad connection, or no connection. If possible, run a new (test) line of coax directly to the LNBF to narrow down the possibilities.

Also, you just bought a SC 319. Used? Are you sure it works?

[Skyllio]

No i bought it new from audiotronics..i'm guess there still selling the star choice receivers in the north, i bought a new cable when i got the receiver and hooked it up to the lnbf directly. my dish is a SC 75e..i think thats an elliptical one and my landlord did say that the dish did work before....but when i moved in the dish was pointing the wrong way compared to the other SC dishes here. I read the installtion guide for online and am using the correct reference mark. I left the skew on 90..the guide say's it is easier to find the satellite on 90.

[Skyllio]

would the elevation change if i was like on the 8th floor?

[tico]

Elevation not changing at 8 stories (well, maybe a couple millionths of a degree).

[joshuals]

Are you tuned to Channel 299 when you try to find the signal? If your receiver is new, and not yet authorized, this is the channel you should be using. You will not see a picture, but you will be able to use the signal meter on this channel.

What pointing data are you using? According to one source I've used, you should be using an azimuth of 174.8 and elevation of 20.9. The fact that you (or the dish) are on the eighth floor is irrelevant to the elevation setting.

What method are you using to rough-point your dish? If you're using a compass, have you properly applied the correction from the true azimuth to the magnetic azimuth? As Moose57 pointed out there are applications available that will eliminate the need to mess with a compass. One such application is Disphointer--dot--com that will show you a graphic on your PC of where the dish should point at your location.

I left the skew on 90..the guide say's it is easier to find the satellite on 90

In my limited experience, leaving the skew at 90 is ok while you're initially searching for the signal. I'm not sure whether the pros do this or not, but until you're ready to fine-tune the signal, the skew setting doesn't matter much.

[tico]

This isn't going to be very helpful, and I mean no disrespect - the initial thought was correct, but the effect is so tiny.

I couldn't resist figuring it out... the change in elevation setting would be 1.6 10,000th's of a degree for a dish 120ft (about 8 stories) off the ground in Hay River NT.

[Skyllio]

I've been using dishpointer dot com to get the dish pointing in the right way and for the elevation..i'm suppose to be pointing it at anik2 right? I'm gonna try again this morning and the dish very very slow...hopefully its not the lnbf...i can't really afford a new one until next payday which is in another 2 weeks

[Skyllio]

here's the lnb on my dish:





its an: Eagle dtv32 dual output lnbf
input:12.2-12.7GHz output: 950-1450MHz

do these still work with shaw direct?

[joshuals]

i'm suppose to be pointing it at anik2 right?

That's correct. Notice that the eye of the LNB that is in line with the LNB support arm is marked "Sat B" on the plastic housing. The "Sat A" eye is offset to the right (to the west). Therefore, the dish and LNB support arm should be "looking" in the direction of Sat B, or Anik F2. The signal from F1R, which is east of F2, will then be reflected to hit the Sat A side of the LNB. In effect, the signals criss-cross when they are reflected off the dish.

Since you are not the original owner of the dish, just take a glance at the writing on the LNB label. If you have a 75e dish, the LNB should also be labelled "75e". A 60e LNB will not work with a 75e dish, and vice-versa. It's worth a check to be sure they match before resorting to ordering a new one. Who knows what the previous owner might have tried?

Along those lines, since you're in Canada, won't Shaw replace the LNB free of charge?

Have you confirmed that there are no obstacles in the line of sight? You said you found the dish totally mispointed. This could indicate that the previous owner simply abandoned it, having found that, after mounting it, it did not work. Just a thought......

Are you in an area where there are no Shaw-authorized installers who could help you out?

[Skyllio]

i made a post with the pic of the lnb but i guess the moderator has to approve it first, on the lnb it doesn't show 75e or anything like that, all it say's is :
Eagle dtv32 dual output lnbf
input 12.2-12,7 GHz output:950-1450 MHZ

And i'm not sure if shaw as an authorized installer here...the guys at audiotronic just gave me a number to a guy who does...but he charges like $60. I'll try phoning shaw and see if they will replace it....maybe they will since i'm a new customer.

[Skyllio]

ok so i called shaw and they gave me a few pointers to try to see if it would work...put everything to default and put the elevation as low as it can go and start from there and slowly make my way up until i can get a signal....they also said i have to fax them an old bill showing that i was living in a previous address because the old customer living here as unpaid bills with them...than they said if i still can't get the signal they will fly someone in who can set it up and install a new dish if necessary.

[tico]

That LNB looks like, and as far as I can tell by searching Eagle DTV32, sounds like a circular LNBF. You need a linear LNBF for shaw direct. Circular works with BellTV, DirecTV and DishNetwork. Is the dish branded? Can you get a picture of the actual face of the dish?

[Skyllio]

yea i can..i'll upload in a few min