# 129 Issues



## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi,

Not sure if this is the section to post this, If it needs to be somewhere else, let me know.

Last few weeks I've been having trouble with 129. signal ranges from 18 to 24 in strength, not much higher than that.

110 and 119 have 72 and 80 strength respectively. No issues there.

On overcast/rainy days, it's bad. Well, Blue skies today and as I'm watching The ID channel, it keeps losing signal from partial to full, and pixelating in between.

Nothing has changed. Dish position same.

Check switch today shows OK. The other day when it was rainy/overcast, check switch showed "yellow" on 129.

I've got a 222k on a dish 1000.4 western arc. I'm in northwestern Pa.

I don't have service protection as I'm on a fixed income.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

If it s a recent problem... has there been any severe weather (particularly with wind) that could have moved the dish out of alignment? You can expect some signal issues when the dark clouds are overhead, but if you are having issues on a clear day, you may not be properly peaked.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I'll try to replace the 129W LNBF if it separate one or whole block if not


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi stewart,

Not realy windy, just rain. We have plenty of cloudy days during the winter, no problem with that. [ Plenty of wind too for that matter]

Could it be the LNB?


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

P Smith said:


> I'll try to replace the 129W LNBF if it separate one or whole block if not


P,

it's a triple LNB.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

or whole block if not


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

P Smith said:


> or whole block if not


Are you saying replace the triple LNB? I don't have any spares, only single ones


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

if you have whole D500 or such dish - try with your separate LNB, just to check if signal is OK and main LNBF is flacky


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Yeah... the next place to think would be the LNB or perhaps a leaky connector that allowed rain to get in and corrode. You could try looking at any/all outdoor coax connectors to see if any of them look rusty or otherwise funky.

The next step would be trying a new LNB if you have one... which could be tricky if you don't have equipment to swap out to match what you have (or a spare wing dish to try for 129).


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Well, I do not have a spare triple LNB, or a wing dish either, but I can look at the connections to see if they are funky looking.

No rain today and still 129 continues to pixelate/lose signal. Very frustrating. Never had signal problems with the other sat provider... :bang .

I don't know what percentage of HD is on 129, but it seems like A LOT.

Are 129 problems handled with a separate dish? The signal for this sat has never been on par with the other two since the beginning, but the installer said it was fine.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Depending on where you are, sometimes having 129 on its own dish is an improvement. When I was on western arc for a while I had my 129 on its own dish and I almost never had any issues except for during the severe black-cloud weather.


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

I would try flexing the dish up and down and then left and right *without loosening any bolts* while listening to the tone generated while in the menu at the point dish screen and 129 selected. Just tune to a station on 129 which is having the problem as an easy way to get that transponder on the point dish screen.

If you can't set up a test near where you can hear the change in tone, then get someone to listen for you, perhaps on a cell phone.

It could be just a simple tweak to improve reception on 129.


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

OK.

I took apart the LNB and checked the connections. They are tight and appear non corroded.

I checked other connections and they are fine.

I called Dish, as I was explaining the problem, it occurred to me this started last week after a few days of rainy/ overcast crap weather. Not much wind, just rain.

I'm going to request a second Dish if they cannot get a decent signal. The rep said 35 is the Minimum for acceptable signal level, and mine was never high. certainly no where near 110 or 119.

A friend asked why don't they make a bigger dish? I told him it would probably be too top heavy. [?]

To flex dish, I would need another body who understood what I was trying to do.

I'll try that next if I can find someone.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

just ask him read SS numbers constantly while you'll do try "bending" the dish's reflector
you should do that very SLOW


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## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

Have you checked the plastic "eyes" on the LNB for water? Sometimes they crack and water enters and weakens the signal even on dry days.


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Both techs just left.

Lead guy said it is a tree issue. How the tree in question got in the way in only the last week is a mystery to me.

I asked about the LNB being bad, he said during the system info check, all three sats would have shown no signal if the 129 LNB was bad.

I have a pole mount which always worked well for me, especially in the winter. Now they said there's no other option but the roof three stories up.
Or, Eastern arc, BUT I lose all my locals.

Are they right about the LNB issue? [ no signal across the board if 129 lnb was bad? ]

They didn't even look at the LNB.

Does anyone have knowledge on this?

I was hoping for a better outcome than what I got. :down:


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

BS of uneducated techs - they don't know how LNBF electronics working; it's more complicated circuit then oversimplified Yes/No Good/Bad ...
and their such laziness ... man ! how hard to replace to new LNBF on pole mount ?!


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

thanks, P.

My thoughts exactly. Start with replacing the LNB ,right?

Easier than going up three stories.

After going through all the bs of relocating which I'd rather not do, what if it is the lnb?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I would hung there now... need to be sure if the LNBF is partial faulty or not


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

I've had very good techs sent out but also guys who were basically mechanics following mechanical procedures. It's a lot like calling CSRs. Sometimes you get a good one and sometimes you get a loser. Call tech service and tell them about your experience. They should be able to get someone better qualified out there. Or if you know the company they came from, call and talk to the manager. 

The only way I can imagine they wouldn't have tried a different LNB is that they didn't have one on the truck. It happens a lot here. I've had more than one scheduled appointment delayed because the repair crew had to go back to the shop for parts on the previous stop. It would have been the easiest thing to try and would have settled the issue immediately. They seem to have jumped to the most difficult solution awfully quickly.

I will say there are situations where a tree can suddenly become a problem though. Years ago I had a ground level dish that had worked for a couple years. Then the neighbor's ash tree got a growth spurt one spring. When it fully leafed out I had no signal at all. Literally happened within 9 days while I was on a trip. Had TV when I left. Had nothing when I got home. Relocated the dish and everything was fine.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Yeah, the tree thing can seemingly happen "overnight" when you consider that the tree does still experience growth without leaves... so if you had a tree about to be in your way last season, it continues to grow over the fall and winter and early spring and then when those last new leaves come in, suddenly you have a blockage that wasn't there a year ago but it kind of happened within the last week.

That may or may not be your actual problem here... but it isn't outside the realm of possibility if everything else checks out ok.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

just use Satellite AR applet for your tablet or smartphone to see if LOS is good


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

well, I cut part of the suspect tree in question and regained some signal [ at 47 now]

There is one more piece of that tree which, if cut, may give me more, but that tree is High and sits on a lot which belongs to a foreclosed property.
I believe I found the right LNB on Ebay, I might go ahead and buy it and replace the existing one, just to be sure.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Lesson 101: trees grow faster than I thought, lol.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

,you have best chance now, while it on a foreclosure


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

I'm still considering it.

I'll let you know how this turns out! :righton:


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

I would assume, maybe wrong, that any property owner has the right to remove the limbs from any tree extending over his property.

The tree owner may object to climbing his tree for you to do so however.
A well placed ladder might avoid this problem however.

Just be careful, I recently smashed my thumb when the rope used to pull the extension up on
my ladder broke and the extension came down so fast I couldn't move fast enough, or even think
fast enough to avoid it. Sure did hurt and I was lucky as, I suppose, my thumb could have been
slice off. I got lucky. :blackeye:


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

You know - Eastern Arc might not be the death knell you say it is. What locals do you get ? it is quite possible they are on 61.5 or 77 (72.7 is almost all the national cable channels).

It's also well known that 129 is kind of low in the sky for the NE anyway. It's impossible for me due to trees, but 110 and 119 work great.


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