I have not heard of anyone receiving the Bell signal much beyond the Canadian (100-200 miles, maybe). A larger dish might help but I am doubtful.
If you are not using a Bell LNB with your antenna the chances of reception are also greatly reduced. Last I checked Bell was all broadcast on the KU band so you would need that style antenna and the spacing between the LNB's would need to be the same or very close.
Receivers will give false reading when being fed incorrect data so it's hard to speculate what all is going on with your current setup.
