Need satellite hookup advice

[Campagnola]

I'm hooking up an oval dish with 3 LNB's. I've zeroed in on the 101 degree satellite with a great 95% signal. What do I now do with the other LNB's??? How are they pointed?? Maybe the problem is that I haven't received my HDTV STB yet and have the cable hooked up to my non-HDTV receiver. I've set it to oval dish. Satellite's 110 and 119 remain "measurement not yet taken". Please advise.....:(

[greggae]

Hmmm.....not sure. I have the triple lnb dish and a Hughes E86 receiver. Generally, when you get a good signal from the 101 satellite, you should have a signal from the other two. It may need to be tweaked a bit to get the max on all three. You kinda have to split the difference between the three on the pointing.
My reciever's setup menu allows me to select an oval, 2lnb or 3lnb dish and it also has an auto detect feture that recognizes the dish and the multiswitch. Once that is done, you can check the signal on all three birds.
So....... I am not clear....does your receiver recognize the other two satellites. It sounds like it does, but having oval dish selected does not sound right. DTV? What kind of dish is it? You do have a multi-switch right?

[Campagnola]

I still don't have an HDTV receiver yet....the 3 LNB's are connected to my non-HDTV STB. However, I did configure that receiver for an oval dish. It recognizes all three birds. The primary one is the 101 degree dish which comes in at 96% strength. After you establish that signal connection you can go to the next step for signal capture. The next two are on the same configuration selection as satellite's for the 110 and 119 birds. It's message is something like "measurement not yet taken". It recommend moving the dish 3 degrees. But when I do this I lose the 101 satellite. That's the problem. Maybe if I had an HDTV STB (which I'm waiting for), the configuration would be simplified and better suited for a multi-bird signal connection.

[greggae]

OK.....what brand is your STB? If it is possible, I would get the 101 locked in, but then sweep with the disk to see if you can get the 119 bird at all. You need to have your polarity set for your location. Just forget about the 101 after you get it locked in. If you can get the 119 at all, then it is probably a pointng problem. I'd check your elevation and polarity. I asked before, is this DTV? If you can't get the 119 or 110 at all, I'd say your STB just isn't ready. In some ways that does not make sense, since you seem to be saying that it does know that they are there to be picked up. More info about your STB and dish would be helpful.

[Campagnola]

My STB is a digital RCA model 485. Goes into a SONY KPWS500. I just relocated my dish on my roof just to make sure a distant tree crown wasn't involved with this. I've re-established the 96% signal on 101. Tomorrow I will do some suggested "sweeping" and see what I can pull in. I have to hurry...my Samsung 160 arrives on Thursday or Friday and I'm anxious to put my money to good work. I settled on Samsung and will hope that my long held feeling that Samsung was Kmart quality won't hold up....:)

[Campagnola]

Finally got my new Samsung 160. It's set up for oval 3 LNB. Still can only get the 101. This is very frustrating. Dish is RCA. Incorporated multi-switch. 4 cables coming out of it. RG6 runiing to Samsung. Sat C LNB installed. Strong signal on 101. Have scanned sky trying to pick up ANY signal on 110 and 119.....no luck. Maybe the internal Multi-switch is shot/defective???? Is there a way to test? I think I may end up hiring some person with installation credentials....sure would like to save the $$$ though.

[spetsu]

Well, I had the same problem until I found out my orientation was incorrect. It is possible to receive the 101 A signal even if you have no proper orientation. If your multiplexer was no good, you would get no signal on all LNBs.
It's really a pain to get the true correct orientation. The 101 is the easiest to acquire because all installation is geared towards it. The other two birds will come in with a lot less signal strength.
Make sure your mast is level and plumb and does not move up or down when the dish is mounted. If all else fails, play with the dish rotation. It sounds to me like that is where your inherent problem lies.

[spetsu]

Also, it sounds like you did not switch to the signal acquisition in your set-up menu. The STB does not automatically take the signal strength of the other two LNBs. You have to manually move the cursor/pointer/selector to the second and third LNB signal acquisition in your set-up menu and get the signal strengths there.

[javmo]

greggae

With your E-86 hugues do you have an outdoor antenna for OTA? If yes how did you set it up in the receiver to get HD ?. and finally how is your conection from the box to the TV? Is your OTA signal from the receiver to the TV via component or COAX?

Campagnola

I also had some problem with installation and I was able to fix it by 1. correct aligment and change position. I agree is very frustrating and in my opinion (and Wife) a waist of time.

[greggae]

I have an indoor antenna and do have it hooked up. You need to go into the menu for the receiver, under AV setup to scan for local channels. My connection is pretty much like the setup on page 2-9 of the manual...for HD TV with a VCR.
The set-up of all of this can by trying, but once you get it to work, it is great. I just got my Sony HD TV and it is great. Not at all a waste of time to me! Good luck to you.