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Shaw Direct Satellite Installation Discussions - See Post 1

538K views 1K replies 193 participants last post by  -Jim- 
#1 ·
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?

Here is the method for switching your receiver to accept the Dual Quad or the Triple xKu LNB. This is temporary and goes away if your receiver reboots, etc.

Shaw Direct In Areas South of Canada (Mexico, US, etc)...



Link to Shaw Direct for Alignment video, etc. See link below:

 
#2 ·
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.
 
#3 · (Edited)
From "tech central"

http://www.shawdirect.ca/english/customercare/techcentral/signal_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?
 
#4 ·
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.
 
#7 ·
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.
 
#8 ·
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.
 
#9 ·
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 :(
 
#11 ·
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?
 
#12 · (Edited)
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.
 
#13 ·
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.
 
#14 ·
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?
 
#17 ·
Ah-hmmmm.....the plot thickens......

This is the type of LNB that can used for DirecTV, DishNetwork, Bell, and other "circular polarity" applications. Shaw requires a "linear polarity" LNB, if I'm not mistaken. Hopefully someone more tech-savvy than I can confirm this.....

Does your dish have the Shaw logo on it ?! If so, it appears that you may have some kind of cob-job setup here. This could explain why your dish is pointed in a direction other than that needed for Shaw....it likely was used for some other satellite service.

Whatever the case, the LNB in the photo can receive signals from only one satellite. The 2 outputs allow you to connect 2 receivers, but each receiver will get signals from the same satellite. The standard quad Shaw LNB has two white circular "eyes" that partially overlap. Each "eye" receives one satellite, and the firmware in the receiver takes care of switching from one satellite to the other as you change channels.

Check out the standard Shaw setup in the lower left of the top photo at this link:

http://www.global-cm.net/SC75Eassembly.htm
 
#21 ·
Looking at the link of the SC dish setup posted by joshuals it makes more sense. I didn't think that you could fit a standard rectangular "bell style" LNBF on a SC dish. I see now that the larger SC LNBF has a little plastic rectangle to fit on the arm - so mechanically interchangable - electrically, not.

You will need that installer to fly up or you need to find a SC LNBF. I wouldn't tell them about the linear/circular issue, the CSR's can get a little cranky if you know more than they do. You need to release the information to them gradually until they make the decision you want them to. Start by playing dumb and say that your LNB doesn't look like the one in the manual, and someone told you it looks like a Bell LNB.
 
#22 ·
i told them that it didn't look like the one in the manuel...she said that they made all different kind of lnbf's before and that if its hooked up to the sc dish it should work....then she started saying that the dish itself is probably broken..it doesn't look like it...anyways the're gonna send me a new dish by mail and said it might take up to 7 or 10 days :( oh and she said that on dishpointer dot com that they use the starchoice satellite that is 4 up from the bottom of the list...never noticed that before.

its still the same info as anik 2 tho
 
#23 ·
she said that they made all different kind of lnbf's before
They did....but to my knowledge, they never had one that even vaguely resembled the one in your photo.

It is possible to use a linear LNB with Shaw that is pretty much identical in appearance to the one you show in your photo. But again, it will only receive one satellite. At one time I had such a set-up at my winter home in the US because I was only interested in French programming, and that all comes from F2. The advantage was that replacement LNB's of that kind were readily available in the US, whereas the standard Shaw LNB is available only in Canada and only from Shaw.

Sounds like you're on the right track to get a new dish/LNB from Shaw....once it arrives there are enough folks on this forum who can walk you through getting it pointed in the event you run into trouble.....
 
#24 ·
You certainly need a new QUAD LNB at minimum, a whole new setup would be best though.

The other reason the LNB won't work, aside from the circular polarization vs liner issues are the frequencies.

The circular run at the mentioned 12.2 -12.7 GHz.
A SD linear operates below that in the 11.7-12.2Ghz band.

Your pretty much hooped on both counts then.

In addition, running the lnb, while it does mount on the dish, upsets the focal point by about 2 or 3 degrees.

A SD LNB for that arm uses either a bracket with a ring that chokes the neck of the LNB or has a molded base that aligns everything properly.

I have used the 24 & 33" oval SD dishes with the same DTV32 LNB's for 'other' services very nicely once I compensate for the slight elevation errors.
I find the larger gain in marginal conditions much better than the normal 18" pizza pans.
 
#26 ·
satellite tv finder alignment tool software

Hello,

Not sure if this is the place to ask but it is the provider I am with.

Does anyone know of any software version of a finder alignment tool? Something that you could hook up to your laptop and to your dish that would notify you when you are directed at a satellite and which satellite it is? Maybe even tell you your current elevation and such.

I'm curious because I live out in the boonies and for me to get a hand held finder alignment tool would take me a few tanks of gas to get one. It would be easier for me to get a software version.

Respects,

Lhlalyam
 
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