# 129 as a weather warning system



## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

I've finally found a reason to have our locals and several other HD channels on the 129 satellite. It's a pretty good weather warning system. The weak signal starts dropping out whenever even a moderately heavy storm approaches from the southwest. That alerts me to go to the computer and check the radar. If our locals and HD came from the strong signal on 61.5 or 110 or 119, I'd have no warning at all. 

I still haven't tested this warning system with tornadoes. And I hope I never have to.


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## LinkNuc (Jul 4, 2007)

my 129 has been dropping too, (just east of cleveland) I haven't had any problems to this date so far, but especially with the recent storms, its like clockwork...my locals are on 118.7 but the HD's go bye bye as storm comes in.


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## jpeckinp (Nov 6, 2006)

The heavy fog was killing mine the other night.
I thought I might have been kicked out of alignment by the storms earlier in the day but when I checked it the next morning I had a 57 reading on TP30 on 129 so everything was fine there.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

The replacement sat for 129 is currently scheduled to launch at the beginning of 2009 (pushed back a few months due to the AMC-14 launch failure).


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## ruffledrooster (May 13, 2008)

I use the 129 for that as well...here in St. Louis I get FSN-MW HD on it, so whenever they are broadcasting in HD I can always tell when rain is on the way. Though lately the storms have been bad enough it usually knocks out everything anyways...we had one come through about a month ago that actually knocked out my XM for about 10 minutes. I guess it has something to do with the electromagnetic forces in a t-storm. Rain doesn't help either.


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## booger (Nov 1, 2005)

My locals were put on 61.5 luckily but the rest of my HD is on 129 and the signal fades when it's cloudy. Not when its raining, and not during a thunderstorm but just cloudy. 110, 119 and 61.5 have excellent signal ratings for me.

Is it true that 129 is just too low on the horizon for most?


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## Presence (Mar 14, 2004)

129 sucks ass. If we are here complaining, I cannot imagine how many more Dish subscribers experience the exact same problem.


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

booger said:


> My locals were put on 61.5 luckily but the rest of my HD is on 129 and the signal fades when it's cloudy. Not when its raining, and not during a thunderstorm but just cloudy. 110, 119 and 61.5 have excellent signal ratings for me.
> 
> Is it true that 129 is just too low on the horizon for most?


61.5 has just about everything 129 has in HD. They had to mirror the HD on 61.5 since 129 totally misses parts of the Northeast and South Florida. I don't even have 129 right now (I just got upgraded to a 622 as a replacement for a 921/942). I do have 61.5 (thanks to my "lifetime" Sky Angel subscription). I was happily surprised to get FSN Ohio (during Indians games only) which I thought was only on 129. Now FSN Ohio is a 24/7 HD channel (according to their promos), so if it's 24/7 on 129 then I am missing something.


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## TechnoCat (Sep 4, 2005)

I had troubles with 129 also. Then I installed a larger dish. Solved the problem. Spend $100 and those problems at least will go away.


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## Marriner (Jan 23, 2006)

I have 129 picked up by a separate dedicated dish. Not Dish 1000. Signal is good. (It also helps that i am in the south)


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## levibluewa (Aug 13, 2005)

and switched to Directv. No signal drop-outs, period! After a year-and-a-half of hell! The 129 is pure junk!


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

My 129 is a wind speed detector. Whenever gusts get over 15 mph, one small tree limb bounces slightly into the signal path breaking up the signal on transponder 7 (ironically that includes the Weather Channel). When the speed gets over 25 mph all transponder signals break up. Really cool! Unless I want to watch TV.

Signals from 119 are on the other side of the tree and except with high winds and freezing rain or snow, I don't ever see a meter reading under 30 on it.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

levibluewa said:


> and switched to Directv. No signal drop-outs, period! After a year-and-a-half of hell! The 129 is pure junk!


Is it me or are there a lot of trolls hanging around lately?


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## 47HO (Apr 11, 2008)

phrelin said:


> My 129 is a wind speed detector. ... Really cool! Unless I want to watch TV.


:lol: LMAO


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## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

RasputinAXP said:


> Is it me or are there a lot of trolls hanging around lately?


They just love to sneak in a say na na na na like the 5 yr olds that they are. :hurah: :hurah:


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## Rduce (May 16, 2008)

129's signal is usually in the 22 to 23 range for me, a sparrow flying thru the beam will generally disrupt my service....


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Presence said:


> 129 sucks ass.


Typically eloquent post by Presence.

I only lose 129 with a severe storm approaching.


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## DNSFSS (Apr 4, 2008)

In the NW you will lose signal on the 129 every 25-60 minutes or anywhere in between, guaranteed. It puts the techs in a bad position when the customers think you are lying to them when a CSR tells them there are no signal problems. Can't wait for that new sat!!!


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## plainsman (Nov 16, 2006)

DNSFSS said:


> In the NW you will lose signal on the 129 every 25-60 minutes or anywhere in between, guaranteed. It puts the techs in a bad position when the customers think you are lying to them when a CSR tells them there are no signal problems. Can't wait for that new sat!!!


I installed a 30" dish and moved the 129 lnb from my 1000-dish to the new one. it was tough to aim -- very small sweet spot. I mounted it on a retaining wall, guying out the 4 corners so it doesn't move. very solid signal, no dropouts unless weather is dire.

my writeup of the whole project is somewhere ... it wasn't all that hard to do - most of a Saturday, w/ running for more cement anchors. really worth doing - given the amount of HD programming which comes down from 129.


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## Presence (Mar 14, 2004)

peak_reception said:


> Typically eloquent post by Presence.


Typical newbie commentary.


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## TechnoCat (Sep 4, 2005)

DNSFSS said:


> In the NW you will lose signal on the 129 every 25-60 minutes or anywhere in between, guaranteed. It puts the techs in a bad position when the customers think you are lying to them...


I installed a dedicated 30 inch dish. Problems with 129 went completely away. Maybe not thinking of a solution is what put the techs in a bad position?


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## DNSFSS (Apr 4, 2008)

30 inch dishes are not a very good option for E*..costwise or other. I would love to be able to aim to 3 birds with one dish, plus that would make customers happy with only one dish like D* uses. I know I don't want a 30 inch or a meter dish on MY house thank you very much. I barely wanted 2, although I can get the 61.5 so I'm doing just fine for HD 



TechnoCat said:


> I installed a dedicated 30 inch dish. Problems with 129 went completely away. Maybe not thinking of a solution is what put the techs in a bad position?


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Yes, many customers are already quite upset that they have 2 dishes, but making one of them so much larger will mean that some percentage of them will cancel. Also, those larger dishes aren't stocked in most areas, and generally not reimbursed for, so since Dish isn't paying for it, most folks aren't getting it.


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## brant (Jul 6, 2008)

well i thought something had been installed wrong w/ my system because i'm having these same problems. dish is scheduled to be @ my house tomorrow morning to check the problem. i guess there's nothing they will be able to do. i'm really getting sick of this audio/video sync problem i'm having. they've got to do something to fix that.


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## reddice (Feb 18, 2003)

I am getting HD installed soon. I have a Dish 500 and a Dish at 61.5. The Dish techs are saying I need a Dish 1000 for 129 for HD channels. If they are all mirrored on 61.5 and it is a much stronger signal maybe when the tech guys come I should tell them not to install a Dish 1000. Looking at the chart, all of my HD locals and HD channels are on 61.5 already.


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## dartonviper (Mar 10, 2004)

when checking the 129 I always use 3 transponders. #5 is @ 45-48 #6 25-30 and #9 40-45 . That's here in southern Minnesota. This summer I have my son working with me and we have been playing around trying to get the signal a little hotter by not using my meter and putting him in front of the tv on the phone with me while I'm tweaking the dish but the signals just don't get any higher on a 1k.2 dish.


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## brant (Jul 6, 2008)

dish tech came this morning to check signal problem; somehow, the signal was as perfect as it could be and the highest i've ever seen it. even the signal on 110 & 119 was higher than usual. so, there was nothing he could do. he did say that his other trouble calls today were all for customers calling about signal problems. i just know that tomorrow its all going back downhill.


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## Geordon (Sep 27, 2007)

We lose the signal at the start of any big rain storm lately. Must be 129, since all we watch is HD. We do get 110, 119, and 129 on one dish. As fpr D* -- not an option for me, as the HD satellite is too low to see above my treeline.


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## brant (Jul 6, 2008)

we had a heavy rainstorm today, while the guy was here, and the signal on 129 was flawless. up until today, even the lightest of clouds would cause signal interruption. any type of rain would knock out 110 also, which is where several of my HD channels come from according to the info box. as of right now I still have great signal and no audio/video sync problems. i hope it stays this way.


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