# Is anyone else having problems with the FOOD hd channel



## araghava (Aug 29, 2006)

I'm unable to receive this channel. I usually get a blank screen. Once i got an error that the 622 was not able to lock onto transponder 27 (i think), sat 129.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Yes, intermittently. I lost it last Tuesday for most of the day and part of last night. I'm not sure what the problem is.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

You're probably having issues due to the problems with the 129 Sat. There are a number of threads on here talking about it, but the signal on most transponders on this bird tend to drop dramatically every 30 - 50 minutes or so.


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## araghava (Aug 29, 2006)

Where can i find a list of channels and their corresponding sat and transponder. I could then check if it's specific to that transponder or to the satellite.

Thanks.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Rob Glasser said:


> You're probably having issues due to the problems with the 129 Sat. There are a number of threads on here talking about it, but the signal on most transponders on this bird tend to drop dramatically every 30 - 50 minutes or so.


FWIW, I believe I'm receiving HD from the 65 sat.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

araghava said:


> Where can i find a list of channels and their corresponding sat and transponder. I could then check if it's specific to that transponder or to the satellite.
> 
> Thanks.


Check out the Echostar Knowledge Database, linked at the top of this page, http://ekb.dbstalk.com/


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

gsarjeant said:


> FWIW, I believe I'm receiving HD from the 65 sat.


Well, then that is probably not it, unless you have a weak signal on 61.5.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Rob Glasser said:


> Well, then that is probably not it, unless you have a weak signal on 61.5.


Oops - 61.5. Thanks. I'll check the signal strength. As I said, mine's intermittent, and only that channel. Certainly not the end of the world, but I'd be interested to know if there's anything about Food HD that would cause the sort of issues that araghava and I have seen.


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## TallGuyXP (Sep 19, 2006)

gsarjeant said:


> Oops - 61.5. Thanks. I'll check the signal strength. As I said, mine's intermittent, and only that channel. Certainly not the end of the world, but I'd be interested to know if there's anything about Food HD that would cause the sort of issues that araghava and I have seen.


I just set up my new VIP622 on Friday and I also have experienced loosing FoodHD. While FoodHD is not available, all the other HD channels work just fine. I usually turn to another channel and put FoodHD in a small pip window so I can see when it comes back. It's usually back in 30-60 seconds.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

TallGuyXP said:


> I just set up my new VIP622 on Friday and I also have experienced loosing FoodHD. While FoodHD is not available, all the other HD channels work just fine. I usually turn to another channel and put FoodHD in a small pip window so I can see when it comes back. It's usually back in 30-60 seconds.


Ah. The couple times that I've lost it, it's been out for an hour or so. Tonight it's out again, as are HGHD and ESPN2HD. The rest seem ok. I checked the signal strength from 61.5, and it's in the low 60s. That seems a bit low, no?

EDIT: I see now that I really need to find out which transponder carries the flaky channels. That will be a task for later in the week.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

My experience has been Low 60 is about when you start to run into issues. Not sure if it is the magical number, but in my experience that is why I start to get Video break up and audio loss.


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## araghava (Aug 29, 2006)

I've never been able to get FOODHD. Tried again yesterday. This is something Dish needs to look into.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Ron Barry said:


> My experience has been Low 60 is about when you start to run into issues. Not sure if it is the magical number, but in my experience that is why I start to get Video break up and audio loss.


Thanks, Ron. Apologies for cross-posting, but this seems to be a more general problem for me with channels on transponders 20 and 22. I started a thread about that issue in the HD discussion forum, since I don't think the problem is with the my 622, if that's helpful at all.

Should I be looking into repointing the dish?


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## Slordak (Dec 17, 2003)

Yes, you should be looking into repointing the dish. There's nothing wrong with this channel fundamentally; other 622 users are able to view it without issue and without constant break-ups or loss of signal.

If you have a Dish 1000 and you're getting this channel off 129, then good luck to you. This is precisely why I demanded use of my existing pair of dishes to receive 110/119 and 129 via separate satellite dishes.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Thanks. I have a pair of dishes (500s ?), with one pointed at 61.5. I'll see what I can find out about retargeting the 61.5 dish.


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## nitz369 (Dec 15, 2005)

Okay, so lets say that I have the same channel problem. I have 4 sats right now including the 129 and the 61.5. How do I know if I am getting those channels from the 61.5 or the 129.

If I am getting them off of the 129, how do I change to the 61.5?


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

nitz369 said:


> Okay, so lets say that I have the same channel problem. I have 4 sats right now including the 129 and the 61.5. How do I know if I am getting those channels from the 61.5 or the 129.
> 
> If I am getting them off of the 129, how do I change to the 61.5?


Tune to the channel that you want to check. Then press "Menu", then 6, 1, 1 and you will be at the screen that gives you the satellite, transponder and the signal strength. You can't change the satellites that are picking up these channels. This is done by E*.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

I asked this in the other thread, but I should probably stick to this one. I'm thinking about retargeting my 61.5 dish as suggested, but I'm not sure if that's something that I can do myself or if I should call Dish to send someone out. Any tips?

Also, it crossed my mind last night that there may be a problem between the dish and my tv as well. Is there something that isn't ridiculously expensive that I can use to test signal strength along the cable?

Thanks.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

and then like that *poof* they were gone.

Tech coming out Friday. Probably just a targeting problem. Will post again if I get a resolution.


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## psumattDE (Mar 29, 2006)

Tp's 20 and 22 off of 61.5 SUCK.

I receive 90+ on all other TP's - but for 20 and 22, I only get around 70 and 75 respectively.

There is something seriously wrong with these TP's - however DISH continues to put the new National HD stations on them.

And now - the new 3.63 software on the 622 DVR (and I have no reason why) is showing these two TP's at a signal level 10 points BELOW what it was before the software update. This is being mentioned in other posts as well here (and on the other site)

Right now, my TP20 is showing a 60 signal level - when up until yesterday it was always 70. Nice work with the 3.63 software.

Not a very brilliant move.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Ugh - that's too bad. I'm seeing the same thing. The stations are back today (had some clouds yesterday, but nothing that should have caused total signal loss - the 110/119 sats were fine), but at about 10 points lower. I was in the low 60s on a clear day before, even on the "good" transponders. Now I'm in the low 50s, and 20 and 22 fluctuate between no signal and the teens. That's disappointing.

I'm at least hoping that the tech can get me a stronger base signal to begin with. If the software is causing a 10 point loss in signal strength, I'd rather it be off a base of 80 or 90 than 60.


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## Todd H (Aug 18, 2006)

You guys have me curious. I'm going to check my signal strength on those 61.5 transponders when I get home. I haven't had any trouble with Food Network HD disappearing on me, but I don't watch enough to notice if it did.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Cool. Let us know how 20 and 22 compare to the others, if you don't mind. Even if everything's coming in fine for you, that could be helpful information.


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## Todd H (Aug 18, 2006)

I checked at lunch and I'm getting around 95 each for both transponders. Hope that helps.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

Thanks, Todd. It gives me hope, at least, though I am a bit north of you. I'm not sure what effect that will have. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow.


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## gsarjeant (Sep 15, 2006)

I said I'd reply if I got any sort of resolution, and I have. The tech just came back out and my dish was indeed out of alignment. The elevation was off by 2 degrees and the azimuth was out of whack as well. He retargeted it, and now I'm getting signal strength in the 80s and 90s for everything but 20 and 22. 22 is in the mid-high 70s and 20 is in the mid 60s (occasionally going up to the mid-70s).

So, I'm seeing the same behavior from transponders 20 & 22, but at least my base signal is stronger due to the retargeting, so it shouldn't be as much of an issue in the future. All of my channels are back now, which is a good sign (I still wasn't receiving Food, HG and ESPN 2 earlier this morning). I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it, though.

Interestingly, the first time he retargeted we did a check switch and after it finished the signal strengths were knocked down by 10 points again. He went back up and repeaked, which gave me stronger signal than before. This time, I didn't do a check switch when he was done ("Doc, it hurts when I do this...").

In addition, the tech was very friendly and helpful (as he was when he installed the unit in the first place). I hear that support can be hit-or-miss, but I've been pleased with it so far.


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