Tech-challenged old guy questions

Question

Thanks to earlier posts, I got the TV4RV set-up and for the most part, it has worked great. Lately, I've been running into problems and have some questions to get me back on track.

We stopped at a friend's house who had D-TV SWM so I just hooked the the HR-24/500 DVR into his splitter and it worked great. However, we found out that SWM is a plug & play set-up so it configured the DVR for SWM. After working through the system setup, I think the SWM is removed but not sure because its not working.

(1) Which LNB: the label on the LNB starts out with SL3K4... so is this an SL3? I ask because a D-TV tech who helped us earlier said it was a Slimline 5.

(2) Is 101 the satellite I should be aiming for? If not, which one should I be using for the initial aiming?

(3) The dish has been blown over a couple of times and has a couple small dings on the outer rim - will these be a problem? Or, could the mounting/adjustment bracket possibly been twisted or warped?

(4) The signal on the (commonly referred to as a cheap one - DMS 950) Satellite Finder seems to run in pulses where there are usually 2 different tones and then it stops. Is it supposed to do this or is this an indication that my aim is still way off? I'm assuming that the tone will be continuous once its getting close.

(5) Finally, would one of the higher end meters like the BirDog, AIM or Applied Instruments make this pretty idiot-proof or just add another level to this frustration. When I say idiot-proof, I want to set-up the dish, roughly aim it, hook up the meter and have it tell me to turn left-right, up-down, etc. until I have a strong signal; then unhook it, connect the cable, get a beverage and watch TV. Are these higher end meters able to do that?

I apologize for taking up so much time but I know it doesn't have to be this hard. Thanks,

Mike

2oldman · Answer

(2) Is 101 the satellite I should be aiming for?
yes

(3) The dish has been blown over a couple of times and has a couple small dings on the outer rim - will these be a problem? yes. The Slimline dish is sensitive - assuming that's what you're using. You don't say.

(5) Finally, would one of the higher end meters like the BirDog, AIM or Applied Instruments make this pretty idiot-proof or just add another level to this frustration?
A Swift Hitch camera (or eq) to view the TV screen is much simpler. You already have a good meter in your receiver.

sandia_man · Answer

No experience with SWM as we use a Slimline 5 (same dish as home) mounted on a homemade stand, and utilize the HD receiver from our bedroom to view all our Directv channels while RVing. I use the dish settings dictated by the receiver for the zipcode I'm camping, level the mast, and use compass to point dish to sat 101. I'm usually pretty close to start, I attain the highest signal as indicated by receiver's signal strength meter slowing spanning the dish across the southern sky. After about 5 minutes I have a better than 80% signal, at this point I stopping moving dish side to side and tweak my stand ever so slightly to get in the 90%+ range, and all the other sats come right in.

Once you've done it a few times it becomes quite simple. Only time it takes more than 10 minutes is when I'm trying to shoot between the trees or other obstacles. We use the same set-up as home which really simplifies the set-up as it pertains to the receiver. We used the 18" round dish for years and heard aiming the HD dishes was more difficult, suffice to say that has not been our experience. Other than the HD dish being bulkier subsequently requiring a larger storage area, we find it to be nearly as easy as we still focus on locking in on sat 101. Good thing about living here in NM is that the spot beam for local channels is large allowing us to get all of our local channels as long as we're within NM which at times can exceed 250 miles from home.

bill_satellite · Answer

Swampman597 wrote:Thanks to earlier posts, I got the TV4RV set-up and for the most part, it has worked great. Lately, I've been running into problems and have some questions to get me back on track. We stopped at a friend's house who had D-TV SWM so I just hooked the the HR-24/500 DVR into his splitter and it worked great. However, we found out that SWM is a plug &amp; play set-up so it configured the DVR for SWM. After working through the system setup, I think the SWM is removed but not sure because its not working.(1) Which LNB: the label on the LNB starts out with SL3K4... so is this an SL3? I ask because a D-TV tech who helped us earlier said it was a Slimline 5.If the LNB has only one single housing then it is an SL3 and not an SL5 (3 separate LNB's).  If the LNB has a green label on the outside it is a SWM3 LNB.  If not it's a standard SL3 (non-SWM) LNB.(2) Is 101 the satellite I should be aiming for? If not, which one should I be using for the initial aiming?101 will get you the DirecTV standard def. (SD) programming.  The SL3 would be pointed to 99, 101 and 103 to get all of the DTV programming including HD.(3) The dish has been blown over a couple of times and has a couple small dings on the outer rim - will these be a problem? Or, could the mounting/adjustment bracket possibly been twisted or warped?This is bad!  If the dish is tweaked at all you should still be able to get focused on the 101 satellite but getting all 3 is unlikely.  Even if you get 101, the signal strength might be lower than would be expected by a straight reflector.(4) The signal on the (commonly referred to as a cheap one - DMS 950) Satellite Finder seems to run in pulses where there are usually 2 different tones and then it stops. Is it supposed to do this or is this an indication that my aim is still way off? I'm assuming that the tone will be continuous once its getting close.(5) Finally, would one of the higher end meters like the BirDog, AIM or Applied Instruments make this pretty idiot-proof or just add another level to this frustration. When I say idiot-proof, I want to set-up the dish, roughly aim it, hook up the meter and have it tell me to turn left-right, up-down, etc. until I have a strong signal; then unhook it, connect the cable, get a beverage and watch TV. Are these higher end meters able to do that?If you can afford a Birdog, it's the best there is.  You might be able to find a used one and save some money.  Just be sure the battery is good!  With a bit of practice (and a straight reflector) you will learn to point it with a bit of time and patience.  There is a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it it's not too bad.  You need a good compass.  You need to have the mounting post plumb and level and you need to take your time.  There can be a delay between the time the antenna is properly pointed and the time the signal appears on your satellite receiver signal meter.I apologize for taking up so much time but I know it doesn't have to be this hard. Thanks,Mike

swampman597 · Answer

Thanks everyone.I think its time to get another dish because of the falls before looking at other options. We had no idea the winds in Texas and New Mexico could be so bad. Winds like some that we've see out west are called hurricanes back in Florida. :-) From Key West to Whidbey Island (Seattle) in 6 months has taught us alot &amp; fortunately - we've avoided all of the bad storms. Still more to learn &amp; enjoy but am so appreciative of everyone's help.

swampman597 · Answer

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your advice. I flagged down a DIRECTV van and asked if I could buy a new dish from him. After explaining why I wanted a new dish, he gave me a new one and all the associated hardware - at no cost. I tried to give him some money but he refused. Kinda makes me happy I've stayed with them since 1997.

The old dish was really warped from the falls and setting up the new one was a breeze - as usual. Sadly, I didn't realize it was so warped until I got a new one.

So, thank youse's again.

Mike

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