Is DirecTV stronger in the East than in the West?

[mikestock]

In January we took a trip from Birmingham, AL to Phoenix, AZ and returned. I noticed that the further west we traveled, the lower our signal strength. Part of the time we were only using SD via the King Dome and part of the time I was using a Slimline3 SWM setup on a tripod. I always set the tilt based on my location. I began the trip at around 33.5° latitude and ended up in Phoenix at about the same. 33.5° was about the highest latitude at which we set up during the trip. I know, to expect the signal to degrade as I move north but not east to west.

I expected that through Texas I would have experienced a near 100% on the 101 but every move west I saw reduction. In Phoenix, where I set up the Slimline 3 my signal on the 101, 99 and 103 with a perfectly blue sky were well below what I normally get around Birmingham. It wasn't a big deal because I never lost any programming.

It is, just a curiosity to me. Is DirecTV intentionally sending a stronger signal east of the Mississippi than west.

[mikestock]

Sorry.. I'm talking about the horizontal strength bar on the next page in the DTV setup.. I think it's the signal strength screen (or maybe signal meters).

That is good for searching by relative strength but only gives the signal strength on the Transponder 1.

[2oldman]

mikestock wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I have noticed nothing like that. I don't recall ever seeing anything over 95%.

I am sitting and looking at my 101 signals being received by the small, King Dome dish. I get 100% on transponders 18 and 28 nd also get 97% on several others.

Sorry.. I'm talking about the horizontal strength bar on the next page in the DTV setup.. I think it's the signal strength screen (or maybe signal meters).

I just get over 90% on that screen, check the other two sats, and I'm done. This is a Slimline dish.

[mikestock]

2oldman wrote:
I have noticed nothing like that. I don't recall ever seeing anything over 95%.

I am sitting and looking at my 101 signals being received by the small, King Dome dish. I get 100% on transponders 18 and 28 nd also get 97% on several others.

[2oldman]

I have noticed nothing like that. I don't recall ever seeing anything over 95%.

[SCVJeff]

Likely because they need to plow through much more dense weather than in the west. Look at the concentration in Florida. There is no reason a CONUS coverage can't be flat. This is by design

[mikestock]

Ed_Gee wrote:
The original poster did not say what programming he was using ... According to what I find, DirecTV also makes good use of spot beams and the original poster could have easily been moving out of his Alabama spotbeam pattern.
DirecTV Satellite footprints and spot beams
Then again, even the CONUS footprint shows a deteriorating signal on the 101 satellite moving from Alabama to Texas.... as a previously poster said.

If by "programming" you mean carrier, it is DirecTV. Sometime SD and sometime HD.
I left the local spot beam, as expected, early in the trip. Actually, managed to get DTV to give me NY network access (another story: after being denied they just suddenly showed up). I guess I never knew there was that much difference, east to west. I have made trips in the past and experienced signal loss which I attributed to latitude difference. This trip I stayed basically at the same latitude.

Looking at the source satellite locations of longitude 99/101/103 west, they appear to be centrally located, more or less, in the US. The 101 longitude runs along a line near Armarillo, TX. This adds to the puzzlement, in my mind, as to why the East is stronger than the West. I gather that most people in this discussion are of the opinion that the signals are, to a degree, directional.

[SCVJeff]

Assuming we are talking about CONUS coverage, there should be little difference in RCL across the country at any given Latitude, that's how the CONUS antennas are designed. Any satellite sitting in the center of the N. American arc, like 101 will have similar coverage on either coast being slightly stronger in south Texas. I can't find my Hughes CONUS coverage maps either or I'd post them 😞

BTW- Direct, or anyone else do not specifically have satellites to only cover east or west. It doesn't work that way

FOUND EM: Wish they had the contour numbers.. 😞

[CA_Traveler]

Terminology I guess, the use of east/west satellites implied Dish to me. The DTV local spot beams I've looked at have the same basic signal level near the center and degrade outward. The national channels signal levels except for 103 do vary some across the country but the programming does not vary unlike the local spot beams.

I would not expect SF spot beam map to have any less signal strength than a eastern spot beam map.

[Ed_Gee]

CA Traveler wrote:

Ed_Gee wrote:
Satellite tv providers have satellites for both the eastern U.S. And the western U.S. It sounds to me like you were leaving the primary footprint of the eastern satellite and failed to change your receiver over to the western longitude satellites,

True of Dish but DTV has 3 birds for all of the lower 48 and Alaska.

The Dish setup if why you read about some of the antennas that work on the eastern arc or western arc but not both.

The DTV 99 bird shows the highest signal for Florida but it's more than adequate throughout the 48, far west Canada and Alaska.

The original poster did not say what programming he was using ... According to what I find, DirecTV also makes good use of spot beams and the original poster could have easily been moving out of his Alabama spotbeam pattern.
DirecTV Satellite footprints and spot beams
Then again, even the CONUS footprint shows a deteriorating signal on the 101 satellite moving from Alabama to Texas.... as a previously poster said.

[CA_Traveler]

Ed_Gee wrote:
Satellite tv providers have satellites for both the eastern U.S. And the western U.S. It sounds to me like you were leaving the primary footprint of the eastern satellite and failed to change your receiver over to the western longitude satellites,

True of Dish but DTV has 3 birds for all of the lower 48 and Alaska.

The Dish setup if why you read about some of the antennas that work on the eastern arc or western arc but not both.

The DTV 99 bird shows the highest signal for Florida but it's more than adequate throughout the 48, far west Canada and Alaska.

[Ed_Gee]

Satellite tv providers have satellites for both the eastern U.S. And the western U.S. It sounds to me like you were leaving the primary footprint of the eastern satellite and failed to change your receiver over to the western longitude satellites,

[CA_Traveler]

99 and 101 have less loss in the east while 103 is the same throughout the 48 and Alaska.

[TucsonJim]

What you experienced is exactly what the footprint map shows. I tried to post a copy, but I'm having a problem with my PC. Do a search on "DirectTV Footprint Map".

Jim