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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:

 
#109 ·
So I have been playing with the alignment for awhile and the best I can get on the 4-7 option screen is 67% and my Ecb/no: is always 0.0dB. I am tempted to go over to the neighboor and ask if I can see how his is set up and maybe try plugging my receiver or even LNB to test my equipment. This is starting to drive my wife crazy. So u can only imagine how I feel.

Any suggestions are welcome.
 
#112 ·
Shaw Direct Dish alignment

I am trying to align my dish to receive sd channels on shaw direct.I have no trouble tuning in most of the hd channels and I have tried using channel 299 to tune the signal but can not get any signal strength. When I switch to Channel 300 I can tune it in easily at a signal strength of between 88-95 but if I move the dish in any direction I lose the signal.Skewing the dish has made no difference in the channels I am getting.Any ideas would be appreciated
 
#113 ·
Welcome Aboard M8!

Skip,

Welcome to the fray.

First please define what gear you have => Dish, LNB, & Reciever, (Multiswitch?) as subtle differences in troubleshooting occur depending on what is installed. Is this the first time any of the gear has been used? Is the mast for the Dish plumb (vertical) in both planes? Where are you located ? (So we can check your elevation, asimuth & skew values. Or you can check them at Dishpointer.com )

Assuming the gear is not defective, my first guess is you've dialed into F2, and drifted off the FR1 bird. There is only a 4 degree difference between the 2 Birds, and it's not hard if the mast is not plumb. F2 has mostly HD Channels and some radio stations. However try channel 700 (SRC Montreal (CBFT)). I think it's an SD channel on F2.

Try Channels 335, 417, 653, 457, 331, & 409. These are all on different transponders on FR1. So if you get none of them, you are definitely not tuned into that Bird. Even if you don't subscribe to a channel you can find out what it's signal strength & quality values are by going into the Options Screens and check out installation and tuning.

I hope this is helpful.
 
#114 ·
Shaw Direct dish alignment

Hi Jim
Thanks for your response
It is a new eliptical dish with the quad LNB.The receiver is the new essentials HD and there is no multi-switch.I know that the receiver is working correctly and that the dish and LNB are also in good shape.The mast is plumb.For whatever reason I can't pick up the F1 bird.I have all the F2 channels.I know that the two are only 4 degrees apart but no matter how long I try I can't pick up the F1 bird.Any ideas?
 
#115 ·
if you go to channel 299 or 400, on your controller press options, 4, 7, what does the signal strength and ECB NO have for values? Also in your original post you say you get MOST HD, I assume this means your not getting ALL, so which one's aren't you getting. Skew on the eliptical dish should make a difference, so my guess is that perhaps you aren't 100% plumb. Posting your location would be much helpful as well.
 
#116 ·
Trees in the way!

So my brother had an "installer" put up a 60e on the roof today, and he can't get F2 signa at all, complete flat line, F1 is solid, he suspects because of a few large trees. What options are out there for safe secure pole/tripod, i'm trying to get an estimate on how high the trees are.. will a bigger dish make a difference in this case?
 
#117 ·
I'd move the Dish to a better location => or cut down the trees.

So my brother had an "installer" put up a 60e on the roof today, and he can't get F2 signa at all, complete flat line, F1 is solid, he suspects because of a few large trees. What options are out there for safe secure pole/tripod, i'm trying to get an estimate on how high the trees are.. will a bigger dish make a difference in this case?
Danny,

A Bigger Dish may help marginally but it sounds like F2 is solidly blocked out. (My research is that a 75e gives about 10% better signal strength. But adding 10% of Zero is still pretty much Zero => when you need 70%...)

If say 10 foot trees are the issue, you need a pole 10 feet high to get over them. If they are 20 feet you need 20 feet, and so on.

My take was any Dish on a pole above 12 feet or so on a roof would get pushed easily by the wind. (Remember your Torque equations from school...:rolleyes:) You'd have a tough time running strong enough guy wires to hold it into position. It would be like a sail up there. Besides, how would you fine tune it? (I'd love to see the photos of someone trying...)

I went all through this last year. See my thread at:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125300

I'd move the Dish to a better location => or cut down the trees. :cool:
 
#118 ·
Quick update, all my equipment is working fine. My LNB if fine all cables are good receiver is showing a great signal strength for both tuners and EVEN option 4-4 (the satellite tuning screen) works great!!

How did I do it....... I coughed up $90 for some installer on kijiji to come and do that all (according to the wife the best $90 spent as its done and over with)

My location and mounting was not good. tree in the way and the screws that I used were no thicker then soda straws so it would only require a slight breeze to move. The installer laughed and said he will mount the dish properly and align it.

45 min total job of which 42 min was remounting the dish. LOL I could not believe it :eek: I guess I had to go through what I did to realize it looks easy but its not. Plus he had a digital sat meter so he knew exactly what he was pointing at :rolleyes:
 
#123 ·
Losing F1 at night

For the last few nights I've been losing several channels on F1, Numbers during the day are 80 % with 5 ECB which is quite good for the arctic. Then at night for the past few nights, I get 0's across the board on several channels. Then this morning I try the same channels that I lost ( NHL Net, certain CBC's) and the are back up to 5 ECB....Yesterday I tried re aligning, and I am peaked. Could Solar transit be the cause?
 
#128 ·
284=96%...299=nothin'!

Hey all,

I'm at my witts end with this. I've been working on it for 2 days now.

I have a HDDSR-600. My dish is a shaw dish with a Quad LNB.

Rigt now I have it mounted on my deck about 6ft off the ground. It's now taking the place of my Bell dish which was in the exact same location.

I have a direct RG6 line from the lnb to the reciever. No switches or couplers.

If I have the reciever set to channel 284 I can get 96% signal.

Now if I change the channel to 299 and try to tune it in I get nothing at all. And I mean nothing on the signal meter. Tried adjusting everything. Nothing makes a difference.

If I go to the SYSTEM STATUS page and look at the Signal for Tuner 1...The best I can get it is about 65. I turn back to the signal meter and theres nothing.

Can anyone lend some advise?

Cheers
Brad
 
#129 ·
Sounds like you are aiming at the wrong satellite. If I'm not mistaken 284 is an HD channel on F2 and you want to be aiming towards F1 (299) when setting the dish up. F2 should fall in place if you have the skews and angles right.
 
#130 ·
Ya I totally agree. Problem is I can get 284 no problem. Took like 3 minutes, but getting 299 has been impossible. Adjusted everything. Even checked both my neighbours dishes and both are the same as mine. I plumbed and leveled the J-arm in all directions and still nothing. Not even getting a blip of signal.

Im in the belleville area. So I'm 236/29/120.

2 days worth of aiming. Not a happy camper
 
#131 ·
Is 299 the only channel you don't get? If you are also not able to get a selection of other channels that would prove/disprove if it is aiming.

Can you borrow a neighbors box for a few minutes to test your aiming and connections? This would also help to prove or disprove receiver or installation.

In every satellite installation I have done myself, at two different sites, with SD and FTA hardware, using multiple different shapes and sizes of dishes - my initial setup issues have always come down to aiming, mast plumb, or cable/connectors.
 
#135 ·
Just like Paint by Numbers...


Marrow,

IMHO you are totally dialed into F2 and missed FR1. Take your dish off the mast and ensure #3 below is true.

Here's my method to setup a Shaw Direct Dish. It's really just like paint by numbers.

Setting up /Tuning a Dish should take less than an hour if you've got good gear, a clear line of sight to the Birds, and:

1 : Got reasonable access to the Dish for adjusting / tighening
2: You've got a reciever and TV close by for tuning - with power
3: Your mast is vertical in both planes (plumb) and solidly mounted


According to Dishpointer your settings in Belleville, Ontario are:
Elevation: 31.0°
Azimuth (true): 219.6°
Azimuth (magn.): 231.7°
LNB Skew : 27.2° CW


According to Shaw's Manual its'
Elevation: 31.0°
Azimuth (magn.): 232°
Skew : 117°

Then set your Elevation to 31.0° and Skew @ 90° (to start).(Tighten them down.) Mount the Dish onto the mast but don't clamp it too tight. (You want to be able to easily rotate it on the mast.) Connect your cables & turn on the TV and set the Reciever to 299. Take a compass reading and aim the dish 20° east of what you think is the right direction. Turn the Reciever onto channel 299 and put it onto the signal strength meter in Options.

Then pan westward in 2° increments stopping for 15 seconds between adjustments to let the Reciever advise if you are seeing the Bird. If you get 20 degrees past where you thought the Bird was then adjust the elevation up 1° and pan eastward using the same methodolgy above. If you get 20 degrees past where you thought the Bird was then adjust the elevation down 2 degrees, and pan westward using the same methodolgy above.

If you've got good gear (cables, connectors, LNB, Dish, TV and the Reciever) and you've followed the above (paying particular attention to the mast and skew at 90° initially) you cannot fail to find F1R. Once F1R is found then try to find the sweet spot be moving 1/2° increments in one direction until the signal strength no longer is gaining but is starting to drop off. Then go the other way until you find the maximum signal obtainable with the present elevation and skew @ 90°. Then lock the dish down for Azimuth.

Then Tune the Receiver to Channel 700 (which is on F2) and I'll bet you'll have a decent signal. If not, now you can adjust the Skew to max out the signal. Again do it in 1° increments allowing 15 seconds between adjustments to let the Reciever advise if you are seeing the Bird, and what signal strength it's giving you. Once F2 is found then try to find the sweet spot be moving 1/2° increments in one direction until the signal strength no longer is gaining but is starting to drop off. Then go the other way until you find the maximum signal obtainable.

Now you switch back to channel 299 and see what impact your Skew adjustments did. The rest is just fine tuning and compromises so both Birds are strong.

In BC the weakest channels seem to be Channel 264 Classic Channel Lineup (319 Advanced Channel Lineup) and Channel 260 Classic Channel Lineup (312 Advanced Channel Lineup). Once you've got both Birds strong you can try to find out which transponders are poorest for you and use those to tweak your dish. By then you'll be into Ecb/no values for tuning :rolleyes: like I am here:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125300&page=12
 
#138 ·
You don't tune new receivers with 284 anymore. They come pre-programmed with a default map which has 299 in the proper place, for non Extended LNBFs anyways.

Anyhow, I moved my dish from one corner of the house to the back of the deck (due to construction that will be happining). I just set the dish on the pole in the new location, and it worked right away, no turning.

I recommend you set the skew and elevation right away, as per the dish install manual.
 
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