# Dish Pointing



## paxnw (Aug 12, 2014)

I apologize in advance if this has been covered to death in the past. 

I recently moved my Dish 1000 dish as some trees were starting to interfere with the 119 signal. Got 110 & 129 just fine, but had been losing some transponders on 119. 

Moved the Dish to a better and higher location that is definitely clear of the trees.

Kept the elevation and skew where they were previously (when I'd originally been getting all three signals just fine).

Now I'm pulling in very strong signals on 119 and 129, but I can't seem to find and lock into 110.

Clearly I'm doing something wrong, but what?

Many thanks for any suggestions.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Since you have issues with not getting 110W, you elevation is probably too low and you're pointed too far West (or you still have LOS issues). The skew in the Pacific Northwet is such that more than just the azimuth is in play. Cover the 110W LNB lens (it is marked on the LNB as such and is also the westernmost horn) with foil or a rag and see what happens. If 119W drops out, you'll know that you're pitching low and inside.

This is why it is imperative to have the mast plumb.


----------



## paxnw (Aug 12, 2014)

It's been raining, so the roof is a bit slick. When it dries out I'll give your suggestion a try. I worked really hard to ensure that the mast was plumb, but I'll check that as well.

I'll post again with the results once I get up there.

Many thanks.


----------



## paxnw (Aug 12, 2014)

Had something of a break in the weather and was able to go up and have a fresh look. Yes, the mast was somewhat askew along one axis. I corrected that and then reacquired 119. Tried elevating till I lost signal, then dropped back down till I picked it up again. Temporarily locked in at decent (but not) peak strength to try your rag trick and, to my surprise, 119 stayed unchanged regardless of which exterior horn I covered -- meaning 119 is coming in through the middle. That's where it's supposed to be, right? But still no 110. I then tried playing with the skew, cycling it all the way from about 75 to 105 and back to 90 with no change. This was on 110, transponder 11. Nothing.

At that point I was about to continue experimenting with the skew while on 119 and/or 129 but it started to rain sufficiently to bring me off the roof. Still have 119 pretty strong and 129 very strong but no 110.

And, I have to say, I'm now more confused than ever. As I moved the dish further away from the trees generating LOS issues with 119 (but no LOS of 110 in that location) I can't see how I could be having LOS issues here. 

Any further ideas?

Thanks again.


----------



## paxnw (Aug 12, 2014)

BTW -- damn cute dog.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

I use dishpointer.com to visually locate my dish location on the satellite image and set the skew and elevation and leave them alone. I've had to bump the elevation up a degree a couple of different times (especially when using the DISH aiming tables) but it was usually close enough.

Given LOS, it is pretty difficult to get a good signal 119W and 129W on the appropriate feed horns and not get some signal on 110W unless something is wrong with the LNB. If you line up the correct two stars in the Big Dipper, you can't miss the North Star.


----------



## paxnw (Aug 12, 2014)

Hey Harsh,

Thanks for the dishpointer.com tip. If weather is dry tomorrow I will go up and take another crack at it. I will redo your rag test one more time, just to be sure, and I'll bring a GPS up there as well to verify azimuth. If there's an Android version of the LOS app, I'll utilize that as well. Basically, it'll be no holds barred as I try to finally get this thing resolved.

Win or lose, your help has been invaluable. Much obliged.


----------



## paxnw (Aug 12, 2014)

Hi Harsh,

Okay, problem solved. For the record it was, in fact, an LOS issue. I didn't think it could have been, but I was wrong. The solution was getting the "Satellite AR" app for my Android phone, which utilized my phone's camera to overlay the satellites I was looking for over the real time image of my property with its multitude of trees. I'd moved the dish to a pole that was substantially higher than before and so was convinced I was clearing the tree line -- and I couldn't actually line up my phone with the dish without risking falling off the roof, so I took the app and started looking for other places I could move the dish to that registered as clear on the app. The final (optimum) location turned out to be far lower and easier to mount -- below, rather than above where the dish had been originally. Very counter-intuitive, and I sure as hell would never have thought of it without the app. Bottom line is that the Satellite AR app is the ideal satellite finding tool when needing to find some space through a lot of trees. Dish was moved, pointed and locked in to strong signals from all three sats in less than an hour. 

Thanks again for all your help.


----------

