72% to 84% signal level and 0% signal quality

manueldaco · #1 (**permalink**) 12-26-2005, 12:45 PM

I have installed my new 36" motorized dish with a coolsat 5000 platinum and have set everything to exact specifications for my area which is Montreal, but am only getting 80% signal level and only 1 to 7 fluctuating signal quality when I adjust from left to right as well as dish elevation one degree at a time up or down for the sattelite nearest to my true south which is 196 degrees on the compass. I suspect that it could be the long coaxial cable run of 96 feet. Can anyone tell me if this could be the cause of the weak quality signal? Thank you in advance. Appreciate the help - :mozilla_smile:

rainman · #2 (**permalink**) 12-26-2005, 02:01 PM

96 ft is not that long more like a bad connection check the connectors. and recheck alignment very small movements make a big difference.

manueldaco · #3 (**permalink**) 12-31-2005, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainman

96 ft is not that long more like a bad connection check the connectors. and recheck alignment very small movements make a big difference.

Hi,

Checked and rechecked everything but still no Quality signal. I only get a strong signal level - from 72% to 84% depending on the satellite. On the Coolsat 5000 Platinum there are two bars, one for level and one for quality.

Here's exactly what I've been doing:

I have installed my 36" satellite dish w/motor HH90 up on the roof of my house and there are no obstructions whatsoever, when I change satellites on the receiver, the dish turns from east to west and vice-versa with no problems at all, all cables and connections are new and correct (checked and rechecked many times), all angles for my area (Montreal-dish elevation: 38.2°, Latitude: 45.5 N, Longitude: 73.6 W, aimed at true south 194° with compass, are all set right, (also checked and rechecked many times), the post is also perfectly plumb on both sides.

I have also inputted the correct latitude and longitude values in the receiver setup and all satellites are set to USALS mode.

The cable run is a brand new 100' (30 meter) RG/6 coaxial cable.

In my first attempt at aiming the dish I wasn't able to get the quality bar on the receiver to move at all, but the signal level bar was at 72% to 84% depending on the satellite. So, I bought a signal finder, the ones with the needle and the buzzer. By the way, what's the buzzer for? I used it according to instructions connecting it between the receiver and LNB and moving the knob to move the needle to level 5.

I then moved the dish to the nearest satellite to my south, which is 72.0W AMC 6, by using the receiver in USALS mode. I then proceeded to slowly adjust the dish from side to side and also adjusted the dish elevation one degree at a time up and down. The needle moved up a little but wasn't able to get it to go much higher than a mark on the scale, from 5 to 6 only.

I then checked the reading on the receiver again but there is no change. I have tried scanning satellites anyway but of course since there is no signal quality, no channels show up.

What am I doing wrong? I am getting quite frustrated with this and I simply don't know what to do next. Could the LNB be damaged? If so, how can I test it? The LNB is a FSKU-V Universal Single LNBF.

Or could the motor be malfunctioning? And how can that be tested? All components are brand new. Can I rule out a problem with the receiver?

Any helpful information will be very much appreciated and I thank you in advance : )

manueldaco · #4 (**permalink**) 12-31-2005, 02:29 PM

oh, just one more thing...

I have read somewhere that you need to download and update the Coolsat 5000 Platinum software. Is this true? If so, where do I get these files? I just bought my receiver brand new. I would think that it's up to date right? Thanks in advance for your input

rainman · #5 (**permalink**) 01-02-2006, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manueldaco

oh, just one more thing...

I have read somewhere that you need to download and update the Coolsat 5000 Platinum software. Is this true? If so, where do I get these files? I just bought my receiver brand new. I would think that it's up to date right? Thanks in advance for your input

i don't use a coolsat so not much help on the update. but if new should have latest update i notice you did'nt give your motor angle do you have this set to your latitude. if so it seems like an adjustment problem make small movement's up and down and left to right.

starman · #6 (**permalink**) 01-02-2006, 08:46 AM

I don't have a coolsat so can't help you with the update but I can't imagine it not working. Updates usually fix little annoying things, the receiver should still function.
Your receiver should be set to 10600 for lnb frequency in the settings. You need to be on an active transponder when searching for the signal. On AMC 6 I get 12142 V SR 2.573 really strong here and its always on. If that isn't showing in the Coolsat you can enter it manually then start searching for a signal. Like Rainman said 100 ft of cable should be no problem.

manueldaco · #7 (**permalink**) 01-02-2006, 11:38 AM

Hello Rainman,
Hello Starman,
Thank you for your replies.
My motor angle is set to my Latitude 45.5° N.
This morning I have removed the motor and am now trying to get a signal quality for AMC 4 without the motor. I'm going for this satellite because that's where the Portuguese channels are, so for now if I can get this one I will be quite happy. I'll motorize the dish again later in the spring when the weather is better.

What's happening now is that instead of getting AMC 4 I think I'm pointing more towards 110W echostar 6 8 because I get a signal quality there that goes up to 60% when I try to scan, but it fluctuates from 0% to 60%. It's not stable. I guess that rules out a malfuctioning LNB. Does this mean that if I move the dish eastwards I will hit AMC 4 ? AMC 4 is 101°W.

Thanks for the input : )

rainman · #8 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 08:30 AM

yes you want to move east also use your receiver on active transponder on amc 4 you should find it. check out sadoun site under installaton it will give you proper angles and astimuth adjustments. :mozilla_smile:

manueldaco · #9 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainman

yes you want to move east also use your receiver on active transponder on amc 4 you should find it. check out sadoun site under installaton it will give you proper angles and astimuth adjustments. :mozilla_smile:

Hi,
I did that and got AMC 4 but something weird is going on. I hooked up a satellite finder at the dish and got the best signal possible but on the receiver the quality signal bar just goes from 0% to about 23% up and down but stays mostly at 0%. Could never get it to go to over 50% and turn green, but when I scanned for channels in blind mode at times it jumped to 65% and turned green. stayed there for a bit and got about 12 channels but could not get the ones that I'm looking for. What do you think is going on?
The signal level is quite good though. About 88%.

How do I know whether the transponder for this satellite is active or not? Where do you get the active transponder values for the various satellites?
Sorry for asking so many questions but I'm a newbie at this and I'd like to learn as much as I can. Thanks in advance for the great input - :mozilla_smile:

bobkat · #10 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manueldaco

Where do you get the active transponder values for the various satellites?

Right here ---> http://www.lyngsat.com/amc4.html

The transponder with the Portuguese channel, and I believe there is only one channel, is # 24.

kat

starman · #11 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 05:27 PM

It sounds like you are making some progress. The signal indicator in a fta receiver is really useless, all it tells you is that the lnbf is getting power, you could point the dish into the ground and still get a high signal. Quality is what you are looking for. If you are getting an intermitant signal maybe check your connections, make sure everything is tight.
You need to go very slow, with small changes. Just a small nudge on the dish can sometimes mean the difference between 0 and 100% quality.

manueldaco · #12 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 11:00 PM

I've found AMC 4 and used signal finder to adjust for best signal but on the receiver the quality bar shows 0%. When I blindscan I get a couple of channels when the quality bar goes to 65% and above and turns green for a few seconds at a time. The image on some channels is quite good while on others it goes from bad to non viewable. Could the routing of the cable have something to do with it? At the roof the cable goes into the attic through 8 foot metal pipe. The pipe isn't touching any other metal though, only wood. Could that have an effect? I also suspect the LNBF. Is there a reliable method for testing it?
Thank you for the input. Appreciate it : )

kevision · #13 (**permalink**) 01-03-2006, 11:29 PM

What you describe sounds like a simple alignment issue. Pick one of the newly found channels and very very slowly move the dish for best quality, then blindscan again.

the metal pipe should not cause any interference. Your LNB is probably ok.

On some recievers, I suspect they make the quality indicator jump like that on purpose. Perhaps to indicate that you have just passed the beam, then it falls to the more accurate signal finding gain. That's just my theory.

starman · #14 (**permalink**) 01-04-2006, 09:22 AM

Are you sure you are on AMC4? Can you verify from Lyngsat that the channels you are seeing are on AMC4, or maybe a nearby satellite?

manueldaco · #15 (**permalink**) 01-04-2006, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starman

Are you sure you are on AMC4? Can you verify from Lyngsat that the channels you are seeing are on AMC4, or maybe a nearby satellite?

No, I'm not sure. You're probably right. It's probably a nearby satellite that I got instead. I will need to verify.

I'm afraid that for now I'll have to stop tweaking with the dish. The weather is turning bad. Snow and cold. Will have to wait for more favourable weather.

As soon as that happens, I'm putting the motor back and adjust from there but I'm not sure whether I was pointing the dish to my true south when I had the motor on the dish. My true south (Montreal) is 180°+14=194°. This is the way I was doing it...I was placing the compass needle on 194° and pointing the dish towards the S. I now think that this is probably wrong. Shouldn't I instead place the needle on the S and point the dish towards 194°?

Thanks for your input and patience, appreciate it : )
Manuel

starman · #16 (**permalink**) 01-05-2006, 09:16 AM

"Shouldn't I instead place the needle on the S and point the dish towards 194°?"

Yes, this is the way you should be doing it.
I know your dish is on your roof so you probably don't have a lot of room to manouver but you need to get away from the dish(metal) when you are using the compass, otherwise the metal will give you false compass readings.
If you're going to try the motor again, you need to look for either AMC 6 active transponder 12142V SR 2573, or SBS 6 11741H SR 6616. Both of these are pretty close to true south for you.

manueldaco · #17 (**permalink**) 01-05-2006, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starman

"Shouldn't I instead place the needle on the S and point the dish towards 194°?"

Yes, this is the way you should be doing it.
I know your dish is on your roof so you probably don't have a lot of room to manouver but you need to get away from the dish(metal) when you are using the compass, otherwise the metal will give you false compass readings.
If you're going to try the motor again, you need to look for either AMC 6 active transponder 12142V SR 2573, or SBS 6 11741H SR 6616. Both of these are pretty close to true south for you.

Thank you...I will be doing so as soon as the weather permits it and will let you know how it's going. :mozilla_smile:

manueldaco · #18 (**permalink**) 01-05-2006, 09:41 PM

The FTA system that I purchased came with a Universal LNB. I have read somewhere that in North America it serves no real purpose using a Universal LNB and for those new to FTA tv a Standard LNB is much easier to use and the most reliable. Is this true? Should I switch to a Standard LNB? My system is a Coolsat 5000 w/motorized dish and using USALS to calculate the dish positions.