!URGENT! Need satellite pointing advice

[d1abolic]

Alright, i'm going crazy here trying to point my Dish 500. Could someone tell me what i'm doing wrong? I have a Dish 500 with Twin LNB. I took one of the cables that is coming out of it and plugged it into my receiver. I have switches too but i heard that when pointing, i need a direct connection. So anyway, that's hooked up and i'm moving the dish all over the place and i can't get a lock on the signal. I've been trying for like an hour now and still nothing. I'm not using a compass or anything, just trying to do it manually because my neighbor has the exact same dish right beside me so i can see where it's pointing. And besides, a buddy of mine also pointed his DirecTV dishes manually and it worked for him. So anyway, i can't get this damn thing to work. What am i doing wrong? I tried unscrewing everything and just moving the dish around freely in the approximate direction - all i ever found was the BEV satellite which isn't the one i'm looking for. Nothing else. I tried setting the elevation to 26, which is supposedly the one i need. Tried moving it all around with that elevation and nothing.

 

[d1abolic]

Also, what's the transponder thingie in the menu? It lets me enter a 2-digit number there. What does that do?

 

[MrBond]

You really should use a compass, it makes finding the correct direction easier. Once you bolt the dish in the correct positions as dictated by your reciever (when you input the zip code of your location) and line it up at the correct compass reading, it should be fairly easy to find the bird. Small movements are best. Get someone to watch the signal meter for you when you move the dish, then have them tell you the minute you get a peak.

It took me all of 15 minutes to aim my dish and get a 115 (out of 125) signal. Keep trying

 

[LostHiWay]

First off make sure your dish is both level and plumb. This is very important. Make sure you set the Skew exactly as it says on the screen and DON'T adjust it!!. Next get the elevation and azimuth from the onscreen guide and adjust the dish to those postions.

After all this is done point the dish according to the compass and start moving it millimeter by millimeter till you get a signal. Do this until you get the strongest signal you can get. Then start adjusting the elevation and azimuth to fine tune it. DON'T ADJUST THE SKEW!!

That should help

 

[d1abolic]

Ok once again guys, i am trying to do this manually. I don't even have a compass. Some people told me it could be done so i decided to try it the easy way. So what you guys are saying is that it's not gonna work that way?

Also, the connectors are fine. I just got signal, but from the wrong satellite - Bell ExpressVu. In fact i must have stumbled upon it 3 or 4 times, but that's it, no other sats. Strange i always thought Dish and BEV shared the same birds?!

 

[d1abolic]

How much can be done without a compass? I am in Canada, so i can't use the on-screen menu to get the info. Someone pointed me here and that gives me azimuth (useless since i got no compass right?) and elevation. What about the skew, where do i get that? Maybe if i can get the elevation and skew right it'll make finding the bird easier?

 

[Jesta]

I have had 3 different instances of people calling me over for help in pointing thier dishes only to find out they didn't quite read the manual close enough and see that the cable from the lnb needs to be in SAT IN and not ANT IN, just a small oversight that I seem to run into quite often. If you have already double checked this then ignore my rambling

 

[d1abolic]

LOL i'm pretty sure the cable is hooked up fine since i can get a lock on the wrong satellite. Hmm speaking of the phone, anyone wanna help me out over the phone? If anyone out there is a pro in this field and knows how to do everything and can answer some questions, PM me with your # and i'll give you a ring.

 

[d1abolic]

I don't understand what the skew does. You say set it as it says on-screen? On the screen there is elevation and azimuth. Since the on-screen is for US only, i use that site i linked above and it also only has azimuth and elevation. Now, i assume the azimuth is useless since i have no compass? The elevation, however, shouldn't be, right? According to the site, elevation for my city for that bird is 26. So i set it to 26 and i can move it left and right all i want and it'll never find a thing.

 

[MrBond]

Being in canada doesn't help much. The signal strength up there can't be good, because they don't try to broadcast there (where it's legal to pirate the signal)

Edit: oh, and the skew is the amount the dish is tilted one way or another.

Tomorrow, stop by your neighbor's house with a compass and check his azimuth. Get his elevation and skew settings from his dish and set yours exactly the same.

 

[d1abolic]

Dammit, i think it's the weather. Because it's snowing lightly and the sky is very cloudy. It's just not right. I found both 110 and 119 birds but the signal just keeps dropping. Last time, i found the 119 and i yell to my dad "STOP!" so he stops moving the dish and we waited for about 5 seconds, the signal meter was moving between 70-80. Then slowly dropped to 50. Then i told him to screw in the bolts to leave it that way for the night and the signal just died. Go figure. It's freezing so we're going to try it again when the weather is better.