# Signal Strength



## johnc847 (Dec 15, 2011)

What is the lowest decent signal strength we should have? And how much loss in picture quality is there with lower signals?


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## gokartergo (Jul 8, 2011)

Every area is different on what there min. signal levels should be.. Tell us what area you are in and we can look up what your min and average signal levels should be.. Also if you have ea or wa . You don't really loose picture quality on signal levels.. You drop picture.


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## johnc847 (Dec 15, 2011)

gokartergo said:


> Every area is different on what there min. signal levels should be.. Tell us what area you are in and we can look up what your min and average signal levels should be.. Also if you have ea or wa . You don't really loose picture quality on signal levels.. You drop picture.


Im in arkansas, zip code 72120. What do you mean by ea or wa? Sorry I'm new.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

johnc847 said:


> Im in arkansas, zip code 72120. What do you mean by ea or wa? Sorry I'm new.


Eastern Arc or Western Arc i.e. which direction your dish is pointed. We are about in the middle of them. Think our HD local channels are on Eastern Arc.


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## gokartergo (Jul 8, 2011)

Yep eastern arch or western arch. If you grab the remote control and hit menu Then hit #6 then #1 then #1 Then hit check switch.. But don't run the test.. You will see where it says three different sat numbers.. Can you tell use what numbers are on there.. Then hit cancel a few times to get out of there..


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## johnc847 (Dec 15, 2011)

Here is what was listed.

77 - Echostar 77 West - 53% Signal
72 - Echostar 72.7 West - 57% Signal
61.5 - Echostar 61.5 West - 60% Signal


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## gokartergo (Jul 8, 2011)

One more thing.. What is the closest big city.. My chart does not go by zip code.. So I have no idea what area it is.. And that means you are on the EA or eastern arch..


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## gokartergo (Jul 8, 2011)

OK,, Little Rock Min signal levels for 72 are tp 15=47 tp 17=51 tp19=51 and tp21=52 for sat 61.5 tp 10=45 tp14=49 tp29=52 and tp31=41 fpr sat 77 tp13=42 tp 16=42 tp 20=43 and tp 21=45

The TP stands for transponder.. on the check switch screen you can see the transponders switch that to any of those numbers above to the sat.. If any of your levels are below these.. You need to get your dish peaked.. I can also get what the average is for your area if you want them..


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

Those average signal readings seem like they could be useful for anyone with a DISH installation. Are they available anywhere online for users to look up?


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## gokartergo (Jul 8, 2011)

Those are not average.. Those are the lowest levels they should be.. Sorry,, I have them on a exel spreed sheet..


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

I'm in Illinois north of I-80 halfway between Chicago and Moline. Use satellites 110, 119, 129 and 61.5. Chicago locals are mirrored on 61.5 and 129 signal is poorest of all the satellites. My 622 receivers default to 129 but often switch to 61.5 for a better signal if the channel is on both.

Do you have average or minimum signals for this location?
Thanks.


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

View attachment 19114


This is the excel sheet. Please note that it goes by DMA, satellite, and transponder (you change the satellite using the bottom tabs)

I posted this somewhere here before, but couldn't find it


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## gokartergo (Jul 8, 2011)

Thanks Matt.. Couldn't remember where I pulled them from...


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

gokartergo said:


> Thanks Matt.. Couldn't remember where I pulled them from...


You're welcome 

It's very useful


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## CeeWoo (Dec 1, 2008)

[email protected] Network said:


> View attachment 27693
> 
> 
> This is the excel sheet. Please note that it goes by DMA, satellite, and transponder (you change the satellite using the bottom tabs)
> ...


Thanks for posting those Matt. My numbers (for my DMA of course) seem to run about 10 pts higher across the board so I'm good with that


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## Papote (Oct 4, 2005)

[email protected] Network said:


> View attachment 27693
> 
> 
> This is the excel sheet. Please note that it goes by DMA, satellite, and transponder (you change the satellite using the bottom tabs)
> ...


Puerto Rico is not included here.


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

Papote said:


> Puerto Rico is not included here.


It's in there (next to Puerto rico)


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## mcholak (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks for that chart, that is going to be very helpful! This may be another question for a seperate thread, but how sensitive are these systems to the placement of the arm that holds the LNB? I'm trying to get my dish realigned at our cabin after a branch fell on it. I noticed that the arm doesn't sit in exactly the same place it used to and I'm wondering if I just need to keep playing with the aim of the dish or if I need to repair/replace it.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

They are very sensitive. If the geometry of the arm or the reflector are changed, it may be nearly impossible to get good signal strength. Fractions of an inch out of alignment can make a dish almost useless.


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## mcholak (Dec 27, 2011)

Great. I suppose the follow up question then is, do I try to fix this or just call Dish? There aren't any screws holding the arm in, it's basically two indentations on the frame attached to the dish and two indentations in the arm. It's held in by the frictions/tension of the tight fit. I could drill out these indentations but if I'm off just a bit then I'd be no better off than I am now, right?


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Buy a replacement dish, yours has been damaged and it may be quite difficult to fix it.


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## javrua (Jan 4, 2012)

Matthew,

Thanks for the STBH chart. Can one imply from the STBH chart that signal from sat 72.7 can be received in Puerto Rico? I have a 6 foot dish I could point up there.

Javier


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## javrua (Jan 4, 2012)

Matthew,

Thanks for the STBH chart. Can one imply from the STBH chart that signal from sat 72.7 can be received in Puerto Rico? I have a 6 foot dish I could point up there.

Javier


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

javrua said:



> Matthew,
> 
> Thanks for the STBH chart. Can one imply from the STBH chart that signal from sat 72.7 can be received in Puerto Rico? I have a 6 foot dish I could point up there.
> 
> Javier


Unfortunately only 119 and 110 are supported in Puerto Rico. I'm not sure why the other satllites are listed on the chart. I do know that some customers in PR have a 61.5 dish installed, but this is not something that we officially support.


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

mcholak said:


> Great. I suppose the follow up question then is, do I try to fix this or just call Dish? There aren't any screws holding the arm in, it's basically two indentations on the frame attached to the dish and two indentations in the arm. It's held in by the frictions/tension of the tight fit. I could drill out these indentations but if I'm off just a bit then I'd be no better off than I am now, right?


That isn't a friction fit those are spot welds. If the welds are broken you definitely need a new dish.


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## festivus (Nov 10, 2008)

I've always had frequent rain fade so I decided to do some digging here and found this thread.

According to the spreadsheet in this thread and my readings I have:

Sat# - Mine (sunny day) - Approx Avg Columbus - Approx Min Columbus

110 - 66 - 74 - 65
119 - 63 - 80 - 71
129 - 42 - 55 - 45

Forgive me, I don't know a whole lot about the transponder numbers and which ones I'm supposed to be worried about. So I grabbed the avg number for that satellite. At any rate, it looks to me like my dish needs adjusted, doesn't it?

I'm pretty handy but I'm scared to death of loosening any of these bolts and making it worse. My Dish says 1000 on it. My point dish screen advised these numbers when I go to some of the satellites. Also saw these numbers on the dish website for my zipcode:

Azimuth - 228
Elevation - 33
Skew - 122

So what's the best way for a common man to aim this thing properly? What tools do I need? Thanks in advance.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

festivus said:


> So what's the best way for a common man to aim this thing properly? What tools do I need? Thanks in advance.


A telephone and a major credit card or cash work nicely. But if you want to do it yourself a socket wrench and plenty of patience should work.

Some people buy signal meters (I've received a couple for free with other purchases) off of eBay or elsewhere but I have not found them useful. (Professional signal meters are too pricy for me.) Without a meter at the dish you will need some way of seeing the signal levels on a DISH receiver. My dishes are installed at ground level and there is a convenient window nearby where I can put a tv and see the receiver's "point dish" screen. Others have used radios or cell phones to talk to someone inside that will read the numbers.

The key is small adjustments. The bigger the adjustment the more chance you'll mess things up (and end up using the tools mentioned at the beginning of this reply). Loosen the bolts enough that you can turn the dish side to side and up and down but not so loose that it moves uncontrollably. Make a small adjustment ... check your numbers and decide if you're going the right way. If your numbers are going up make another small adjustment and check the numbers again. Eventually the numbers will begin to drop. Make a small adjustment back to raise the numbers again.

Watch the numbers when tightening the bolts. I've made adjustments that were lost when I tightened the bolts. Self adjustment can be frustrating ... but it can be rewarding when you do improve your signal yourself.

Two other things to note. Don't adjust the skew. Once set that should be left alone. And look at the mount and the sky. If your dish has lost signal from the original install it may be because of a bad mount (lag bolts coming loose from the house or a pole that is beginning to lean) or because something has grown between your dish and the sky. Adjusting the dish will not solve these problems. Fix the root of the problem (the mount or the tree).


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## festivus (Nov 10, 2008)

Thanks, James. If we get a nice weekend day I might give it a shot. Or wait til spring. I'd like to try it before the rainstorms begin.


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## festivus (Nov 10, 2008)

Sorry, one more question. To which satellite (110, 119, or 129) should I be tuned when peaking the signal? Thanks.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I usually start with the weakest one, but CHECK ALL THREE to make sure you don't make the others considerably worse.


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

If I feel the need to peak the signal(s) I first just physically twist the dish from side to side and then up and down without loosening any bolts. This will immediately tell you if some improvement can be made and which direction to go before loosening anything.

My dish is located on the eaves close to the outside garage door and I have a Dish receiver in the garage attached to a TV and simple audio system. I crank up the volume on the AV receiver so I can hear the tone when manually twisting the dish. Takes a few seconds and, voila, I know what I have to do.


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## festivus (Nov 10, 2008)

Wow. This is incredibly aggravating and confusing. My signal strength depends to which channel I was tuned on that particular satellite. Different transponder I guess.

My setup is solid. No way I can move the dish much at all without loosening a nut/bolt.

Yesterday, clear day, I was getting:

110 - 52 - ESPN HD
119 - 70 - regional SD sports network
129 - 39 - local channel "spotbeam"

No matter what I did to the damn dish, I could not get the 129 reading over 41. I even tried the skew depite the advice not to do so. It didn't help either. So I put it back to where it was. My line of sight looks open.

So now I have:

110 - 45 (lost 7) - ESPN HD
119 - 73 (gained 3) - regional SD sports
129 - 41 (gained 2) - local channel "spotbeam"

Spent 2 hours up and down the ladder. So is there a chance that I just can't get any better? At 39 the locals would go out in a moderate rainstorm. Not sure how much it's going to help to have 41. If I can't improve this it makes me want to leave Dish.


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## festivus (Nov 10, 2008)

I had been having trouble with one of my 622's. Powering down on its own, having to unplug and plug to get it to come back on. So I called Dish about that so they're sending a replacement 622 to me.

While on the call I mentioned my bad signal and the fact that I noticed a -9 LNB drift on the system screen. They sent someone out immediately. The guy is here now. Apparently, with my dish (a 1000 I think) I wouldn't be able to get a much better signal, if at all. So he's installing an upgraded dish. A 1000.2 I think. It looks a lot bigger. He said that it will improve my reception quite a bit. Everything is covered I guess. Makes me pretty happy.


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## eeegeek (Aug 9, 2010)

I have always had "complete signal loss" on my 922 ch 122 (SIFY). It never bothered me. Now several channels show complete signal loss (TBS, HIST, HGTV and FOOD all HD). I checked the signal strengths - here is what I see
77 has a strength of 21-25 depending on transponder
72 has around 22
61.5 is OK with a value of 56
118 has a value around 52.

I live in northeast area.
Do the low signal strengths on 72 and 77 contribute to signal loss on HD channels? I don't have a service plan and to have someone come out willcost me money. Should I sign up for service plan and then call them? I knew the initial installer didn't do a good job of pointing the dish (it has been more than a year) with the way he was fumbling with things.
thanks


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## tymekeeper (Jan 11, 2008)

I would call and ask for the service plan. It is $6 a month and you can cancel after 150 days. A service call without is $90 I believe, so well worth it. I asked very nice since I already needed my dish realigned after a new roof was put on and they gave me one service call for free.


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