# 129 and 61.5 question



## Stephen J (Mar 26, 2006)

Hi, I just upgraded to HD today and have a question. The installer gave me an Dish 1000.2, however; I am not very happy with the signal levels for 129. My question is, if I use my old Dish 500 to receive 61.5, will the receiver be able to know to use 61.5 instead of 129, if both the Dish 1000 and the Dish 500 are conected? Thanks.


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## BNUMM (Dec 24, 2006)

Stephen J said:


> Hi, I just upgraded to HD today and have a question. The installer gave me an Dish 1000.2, however; I am not very happy with the signal levels for 129. My question is, if I use my old Dish 500 to receive 61.5, will the receiver be able to know to use 61.5 instead of 129, if both the Dish 1000 and the Dish 500 are conected? Thanks.


Yes, if the signal from the 61.5 is not blocked. Also, make sure everything that you want is on the 61.5. Some regional sport networks are only on the 129 sat..


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

Well my scenerio is a little different but here goes.

I have a Dish 1000, a Dish 300 and a DPP44 switch.

I wanted the receiver to pull from 61.5 for all HD except my Atlanta HD locals which are on 129.
I put 61.5 on port 3, 129 on port 4 and it pulled everything from 129.
I put 61.5 on port 4, 129 on port 3 and it pulled everything from 61.5 except my Atlanta HD locals which it pulled from 129.
Your results may vary.


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## dclaryjr (Mar 11, 2007)

BNUMM said:


> Yes, if the signal from the 61.5 is not blocked. Also, make sure everything that you want is on the 61.5. Some regional sport networks are only on the 129 sat..


I wouldn't say "some" -- more like "all but one."


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## bowheat11 (Apr 16, 2007)

Hopefully the Dish installers in areas outside of Knoxville know that (A) RSN HD's actually exist and (B) you have to "see" 129 to get them.

My access to 129 is supposed to be installed this afternoon (fingers crossed). If it doesn't like sunday somebody is gonna pay big time.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

I have the dish 1000.2 . I also have a side sat dish for 61.5 plugged into the triple lnb. IT is made to default to 129 sat . The only way to get the 129 sat out of the mix is to cover with tin foil and run a check switch . Then it will see 110/119/X/61.5 in your check switch matrix. But of course you won't see 129 at all. I have found that with the new software if I try to do this now I will get frequent check switch messages to run a check switch. IF I leave all 4 sats in the matrix I don't.


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## Grandpa Train (Mar 19, 2005)

BNUMM said:


> Yes, if the signal from the 61.5 is not blocked. Also, make sure everything that you want is on the 61.5. Some regional sport networks are only on the 129 sat..


The only sat Most folks around my neighborhood don't get is 129. So what sat do they put FSN South on(BRAVES), 129.
I have 110,119,105,61.5, Two dishes.


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## bowheat11 (Apr 16, 2007)

Grandpa Train said:


> The only sat Most folks around my neighborhood don't get is 129. So what sat do they put FSN South on(BRAVES), 129.
> I have 110,119,105,61.5, Two dishes.


Can the 129 be "seen" in Montgomery??? If it can then send an e-mail to [email protected] and ask for it.

I did the same here in Knoxville and I finally got mine last night (for free). Seems to work pretty well and I especially like that the switch is in the LNB of the dish 1000.
There is a lot less clutter on the back of my house without the dp-34 attached to my house.

Braves/Cubs tonite in HD on 370!


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## R_Childress (Jan 4, 2006)

I live in Bristol and got my 1000.2 installed yesterday. So far works great. Signal strength is hovering around 90 on transponders on 129 and around 100 for 119 & 110. Installer said that that is the highest signal he's gotten on 129 to date. To credit the installer, he was very knowlegdeable and very professional. He is from Suburban Services and really kenw his stuff.


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## kbuente (Mar 25, 2007)

bowheat11 said:


> Can the 129 be "seen" in Montgomery??? If it can then send an e-mail to [email protected] and ask for it.
> 
> I did the same here in Knoxville and I finally got mine last night (for free). Seems to work pretty well and I especially like that the switch is in the LNB of the dish 1000.
> There is a lot less clutter on the back of my house without the dp-34 attached to my house.
> ...


When you saw the game in HD was it with the Braves' announcers or the Cubs' announcers? Can someone in Chicago watch a Cubs game in HD when the opposing team's RNS carries the game in HD? 
In Chicago the games was on an ALT RSN, Comcast Sportsnet Plus...but was in SD only. 
Did anyone see it in HD in Chicago? Or just those in Atlanta?


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## bowheat11 (Apr 16, 2007)

Braves...

It was a HD upconverted??? copy of FSN South


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## farmerdave4 (Apr 19, 2007)

Can 129 be seen in North Texas? I have a dish 500 and one at 61.5. Dish said I have to contact a Local installer for Dish 1000 in order to get 129. I want FSNSW HD but I have no idea if it is worth paying to have my dish upgraded. I have seen so many bad comments about signal loss.


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

farmerdave4 said:


> Can 129 be seen in North Texas? I have a dish 500 and one at 61.5. Dish said I have to contact a Local installer for Dish 1000 in order to get 129. I want FSNSW HD but I have no idea if it is worth paying to have my dish upgraded. I have seen so many bad comments about signal loss.


:welcome_s
The Dish 1000 sees 129 very well here in OKC. But, you don't need to get another dish. Just swing the 61.5 dish over to 129 (you'll probably need to do some tweaking). Everything that's on 61.5 (nationally) is on 129.

Fact is though, FSN SW HD is pretty much a bust right now. It's been blank here since they lit up almost 3 weeks ago. There'll be some Rangers games there starting next month, but not a lot. I'm hoping there'll be a Big-12 or Pac-10 game there in HD every week during football season.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

The 129 sat can be seen every where in Texas ,except three southern cities of HArligen and Laredo and Corpus Christi.


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## dclaryjr (Mar 11, 2007)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> The 129 sat can be seen every where in Texas ,except three southern cities of HArligen and Victoria and Corpus Christi.


That line comes straight from Dish support files but it's really strange. The more accurate statement would be to say it can't be seen south of a line running between Laredo and Victoria. There are scores of cities affected--I don't understand the point of picking out three.

The fact of the matter is that the 129 can be seen just fine in Corpus Christi--all it takes is a 30 inch dish. I saw it with my own eyes this weekend. Someone mentioned in another thread that the Dish 1000 won't work because of it's geometry and that may be true. I could add the 30 inch dish myself but I'm not going to spend any money on it until I see some evidence that there will be enough programming on FSN Southwest to make it worth it. Meanwhile, I'm working on Dish to do it for me. I'm guessing the odds are slim but it's worth a shot.


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## Miner (Oct 29, 2004)

Dave,

How was the signal when the 129 bird oscillates? I have the 24" dish here in the Seattle area and when the signal drops, I will sometimes (not every oscillation) lose signal on the weakest TPs for a minute or 2.

As for the cities that don't receive 129, the map went along county lines, if I remember. I doubt the satellite's signal cuts quite that path but seemed to be an easy way to draw it on the map. When I was down there, 129 didn't exist yet, but I could pick up 61.5 fairly easily. I didn't try 148 back then because the HD demo channel was only on 61.5.

I think we're less than a year from the new 129 satellite, Both south Texas and the northwest will sleep easier.

Miner


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

Take a look at this map of the 129 footprint. IT will tell you ALL The places that the dish 1000 is not supposed to reach. It includes areas in the North east and the north west, and the extreme 3 counties of TExas too. You can see for your self that it does include the 3 counties. It also says a dish 1000 can not see these areas. It doesn't say that a 30 " dish can't see them though.

Scroll to the bottom for the map for areas that the dish 1000 can not be used.

www.ekb.dbstalk.com/satmaps.htm


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## dclaryjr (Mar 11, 2007)

Miner said:


> Dave,
> 
> How was the signal when the 129 bird oscillates? I have the 24" dish here in the Seattle area and when the signal drops, I will sometimes (not every oscillation) lose signal on the weakest TPs for a minute or 2.


I couldn't tell you. He's only had that dish up for a week but he says his readings have been between 88 and 105 (or something close to that) when he has checked. There isn't a whole lot out there on the HD RSNs to watch at present, and that's the reason for wanting 129 here.


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## dclaryjr (Mar 11, 2007)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> Take a look at this map of the 129 footprint. IT will tell you ALL The places that the dish 1000 is not supposed to reach. It includes areas in the North east and the north west, and the extreme 3 counties of TExas too.


No it doesn't. The three areas shown in color covers something like 15 or 16 counties. The map says exactly what I said earlier--basically everything south of a line drawn between Laredo and Victoria. That's a huge area and includes many more cities than Corpus, Laredo, and Harlingen.



> It doesn't say that a 30 " dish can't see them though.


Thanks...that supports my point that you misspoke when you said that 129 couldn't be seen. It can--you just need the right equipment.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

Okay then there are a number of counties that can't see the 129 sat with a dish 1000. I only see three cities listed on the map and the map is from a distance it isn't a sat image of all 16 counties. My point is that the foot print is not good for the 129 in those southern areas of TExas with a Dish 1000- which is the main way most people have access to the 129 sat. 

Let us know if the 30" sat dish works for you and if it is consistent in its delivery of a viable signal. I know that the north western parts of the country are using a 24 "and 30" side sat dish for 129 sat and maybe the southern tip of Texas could do the same.


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## dclaryjr (Mar 11, 2007)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> My point is that the foot print is not good for the 129 in those southern areas of TExas with a Dish 1000- which is the main way most people have access to the 129 sat.


You're absolutely correct!!



> Let us know if the 30" sat dish works for you and if it is consistent in its delivery of a viable signal.


Well, hopefully Dish will do this for me. If not, I may or may not do it myself. But if I do end up with one, I'll take notes!!


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## ggivens (Dec 7, 2003)

ssmith10pn said:


> Well my scenerio is a little different but here goes.
> 
> I have a Dish 1000, a Dish 300 and a DPP44 switch.
> 
> ...


Could you explain how you know which sat your receivers are getting the HD channels? I have a Dish 1000 and Dish 300 and a DP44 switch. My 61.5 feed is directly to to the DP44 switch which I think is your configuration. I'd like the default feed to be 61.5 except for FoxSports SW on 129. My understanding is that receivers will always go to 129; it's in the software, but maybe that's only if you go through the dish 1000.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

There is no rhyme or reason to why it defaults to 129 or if it stays there. Yesterday I checked on an hd channel that should of been coming off of 129 and it was coming off of 61.5 instead. IN fact all hd channels were coming off of 61.5 on my living room tv and off of 129 on my bedroom tv. I am using the dish 1000.2 sat dish,that looks at 110/119/129/61.5 on a side sat dish plugged into the triple lnb. Later in the day I checked again and they were all coming off of 129 again on the living room dvr. There is no rhyme or reason and I can't reproduce it.


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## alangant (Jul 25, 2005)

Here in north Texas (Plano), I am getting my 622 installed in a few days, and wonder what dishes and signals they will use. I currently have a dish 500 pointed at 110/119, and another 500 pointed at 61.5, all fed through a DP34 switch.

Thanks for any information; I want to be sure the installers choose the "best" solution.


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## kbuente (Mar 25, 2007)

When I had my Dish 1000.2 installed, trees blocked my 129 line of sight. But my Dish 500 worked just fine.

In order to get some HD, they put up a 61.5 and I got that near 100. My local HD however is on 129....which I didn't get until today. The dish installers are now putting up a separate Dish 500 with a single LNB pointing to 129, and feeding that to a DPP44...so now I will have my 110/119, 129, and 61.5 (I also get sky angel on that). All of this, by the way, was free to me---I just had to continue to be an HD customer, which i was anyhow when Dish 1000 was attempted but failed.

My success in getting 129 is credited to the internal installers from E*, not the sub-contractor. And I got reception over 85 to 100 on most of my 129 transponders too! It impressed the installer...now they are finishing the pole work, trenching the cable...they had to put the 129 dish out in the back yard to achieve line of sight. Meanwhile my 61.5 is on the garage and dish 500 up on the roof. Or maybe they kept the 1000 on the roof I'm not sure...

So for those told you can't see 129, don't give up. If your initial installer won't help, send a note to [email protected] or was it [email protected] anyhow it works!


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## alangant (Jul 25, 2005)

Upgrade complete. The installers had to reschedule once, as they didn't have a 622 over the weekend. All done during a second visit. They left a 500 dish connected to the 501 and 508 (no switch), and replaced the second 500 dish with a 1000.2, which has three LNBs to capture 110, 119, and 129. The 1000.2 apparently has DPP switching built in to the LNBs, and can use a single cable to a splitter for the dual tuner receivers.

So, now I have no switch at all, and a connection point for another receiver on the 1000.2 if I want a 3rd HD receiver.

They also discovered a bad LNB on the old dish, so that dish now has DPP LNBs as well.


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