# Dish 211 and Dish1000 pointing to 129 Orbital



## thedataman

I currently have a Dish 811 receiver and 2 satellite dishes, one pointing at the 119 and 110 orbital locations, and one pointing at the 61.5 location. The Dish pointing at 61.5 has trees in the line of site and gets about a 70% signal during October to April but gets 45 - 50% during the Spring and summer months. I called Dish Network and asked if I could swap out the 2 satellite dishes for a Dish 1000 and a new 211 receiver and was told that they do not install the Dish 1000 in Massachusetts as they have had problems gaining strong signals from the 129 orbital location? Has anyone heard of this? They suggested I reach a local installer and see what their experience has been but I have not been able to reach anyone.

They also suggested having the 61.5 dish repositioned to the 129 orbital and giving that a shot? Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Chris


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## Mikey

They're telling you the truth. The 129 footprint excludes New England and South Florida. Your best hope is to reposition the 61.5 dish to an unobstructed location.

And :welcome_s


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## thedataman

Mikey said:


> They're telling you the truth. The 129 footprint excludes New England and South Florida. Your best hope is to reposition the 61.5 dish to an unobstructed location.


Damn......the entire tree line is in the 61.5 sight....looks like I am out of luck....

I had heard there were plans to move some of the HD content to 148, is that still happening?


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## Mikey

thedataman said:


> Damn......the entire tree line is in the 61.5 sight....looks like I am out of luck....
> 
> I had heard there were plans to move some of the HD content to 148, is that still happening?


Not that I'm aware of, except maybe some local digital channels for the Western states.

How good are you with a chainsaw?


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## thedataman

Mikey said:


> Not that I'm aware of, except maybe some local digital channels for the Western states.
> 
> How good are you with a chainsaw?


Pretty good...except the trees are about 75 feet tall and not on my property....I am pretty much SOL I guess....

What is the issue with getting the to 129 anyway? Curvature?


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## harsh

thedataman said:


> I had heard there were plans to move some of the HD content to 148, is that still happening?


It would be worse for you if they did. 148 would be at 1.5 degrees above level versus the 15.3 degrees of 129.

If 129 had as much punch as 61.5, you could probably get away with 129, but clearly, it is a weak sister.

You might press someone at Dish Network as I've heard that they are contemplating a larger 129 dish for folks in Seattle. A larger dish pointed at 61.5 or 129 may fix your problem.


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## thedataman

harsh said:


> It would be worse for you if they did. 148 would be at 1.5 degrees above level versus the 15.3 degrees of 129.
> 
> If 129 had as much punch as 61.5, you could probably get away with 129, but clearly, it is a weak sister.
> 
> You might press someone at Dish Network as I've heard that they are contemplating a larger 129 dish for folks in Seattle. A larger dish pointed at 61.5 or 129 may fix your problem.


The tech at Dish recommended trying to take the dedicated 61.5 dish and point it at the 129 to see if that would work....has anyone tried that?


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## harsh

thedataman said:


> What is the issue with getting the to 129 anyway? Curvature?


The problem is all about the curvature of the Earth. As the surface of the Earth is curved, so is the Clark Belt where all of the geosychronous satellites live. Here's a link to the calculator I used to figure your look angles:

http://www.hollsco.com/Products/SatCalc/index.asp


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## Grandude

harsh said:


> The problem is all about the curvature of the Earth. As the surface of the Earth is curved, so is the Clark Belt where all of the geosychronous satellites live. Here's a link to the calculator I used to figure your look angles:
> 
> http://www.hollsco.com/Products/SatCalc/index.asp


Not sure about this but I also suspect that his location might be on the very fringe area of the 129s footprint. (but certainly worth a try)


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## clarkbaker

Dataman..

129 from MA?! Are you nuts!! Kansas is in the way!!

I've heard of folks making that connection but they had to mount on a 500 ft. cell tower and turn the dish upside down (so that the receiver arm is on top) to get the signal to bounce into the Dish from such a low horizon angle. Likely its bouncing off the earth too...

Also.. I think that is SO low that your basically looking at a low quality signal going that way as well. (atmospheric issues).. not to mention someone might stand in front of it in your neighbors yard.

If you have a dish at 61.5 and your getting 'some' signal. in the 40's. I suggest the following.

1. Chain Saw as previously suggested.
2. Gasoline on the Roots of the Trees. (Year round leafless)
3. Purchase a larger dish.. which will capture MORE signal. It would only require you to swap your 61.5 dish.. and you can 'not' mess with the other setup. Satguys and some aftermarket dishes. Get one for ONE LNB.. not a multiple LNB's or Sats. You want a 'singular focus Dish. 40" should do the trick.4. You have have a PoWERED Switch like a DPP 44? That often helps too. Upgrade your switch to powered.. but likely you have that already.
5. Dont even think 148 is any better. That puppy sits over Hawaii... and your in MA. I don't think so.

Dish 811 or ViP 211 it won't matter. Its not your receiver.. its the dish.



thedataman said:


> I currently have a Dish 811 receiver and 2 satellite dishes, one pointing at the 119 and 110 orbital locations, and one pointing at the 61.5 location. The Dish pointing at 61.5 has trees in the line of site and gets about a 70% signal during October to April but gets 45 - 50% during the Spring and summer months. I called Dish Network and asked if I could swap out the 2 satellite dishes for a Dish 1000 and a new 211 receiver and was told that they do not install the Dish 1000 in Massachusetts as they have had problems gaining strong signals from the 129 orbital location? Has anyone heard of this? They suggested I reach a local installer and see what their experience has been but I have not been able to reach anyone.
> 
> They also suggested having the 61.5 dish repositioned to the 129 orbital and giving that a shot? Anyone have any ideas?
> 
> Thanks
> Chris


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