91West reception on 1.2m

Discussions specifically related to master ku band satellite television.
Post Reply
will
TVRO Member
TVRO Member
Articles: 0
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:03 pm

91West reception on 1.2m

Post by will » Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:32 am

Hi guys,

I got a motorized 1.2m Ku band dish which works fine and tracks the arc. It gets all the regular Ku channels, but I have trouble with hockey feeds on 91W. Either I can't lock them at all or just barely and easily lose the signal.

ABC news on the same transponder comes in loud and clear but the hockey feeds are elusive. Anybody else have the same problem? Are the hockey feeds just on a weaker mux? Will an 8ft or 10ft mesh/solid dish receive these channels?

User avatar
mountainman
TVRO Moderator
TVRO Moderator
Articles: 0
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2014 1:24 am

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by mountainman » Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:16 pm

Those signals should be receivable on a 1.2m ku solid.

Try adjusting your declination/elevation and fine tuning your dish.

I am using a BUD for both C and Ku reception. On ABCNews I get 90% quality. On a baseball feed earlier tonight I got around 80%. The sports feeds are always HD and DVB-S2 with higher FEC rates so quality will always be slightly less.
Global Moderator
Feed Hunter
-10ft Mesh Polar Mount Dish
-Master Receiver:SkyboxF5
-Slave Receivers: Azbox Premium HD+(4:2:2), Azlink S1(Turbo 8PSK)

User avatar
tvroadmin
TVRO Administrator
TVRO Administrator
Articles: 1
Posts: 902
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:00 am
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 56 times

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by tvroadmin » Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:43 pm

Transponder power output could also be playing a role here. I can't be certain with your particular case, but most recently, Cinema+ on 40.5W went ITC. At the same time, the broadcaster reduced the power output making it difficult to receive the signal even with a 10ft dish (although it was okay with 12ft).

Now that Cinema+ is scrambled, they are broadcasting with maximum power again and I am told that even an 8ft dish can pick it up. Coincidence? I honestly don't think so. The broadcaster was simply making upgrades to their signal and had to turn off the encryption. To prevent most big dish users from viewing their ITC signal, they lowered the EIRP.
Administrator
([email protected])

Satfan3000
TVRO Member
TVRO Member
Articles: 0
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:21 am

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by Satfan3000 » Sun Oct 19, 2014 1:16 pm

I've been having the same trouble myself and I believe that the power output has something to do with it. Although, my dish is a 90cm Fortec Star so it is smaller in size. The LNB is skewed for the NBC feeds on AMC1 which may be a problem, but last week there was a hockey feed which was breaking up and I found that setting the lnb to 0 did not help at all. The NBC feeds (including the weaker east feed) comes in very strong even in heavy rain. The dish and motor have been tweaked to receive these feeds.

I find the most HD (DVB-S2) wild sports feeds are usually within 37%-39%Q. Once it gets below the 37% threshold I lose the picture.

I want to upgrade the dish to a 1.2m but the two suppliers in my area are out of stock and won't be available until week. The weather here is already getting colder and I'm afraid I won't have time to get on the roof to replace is and tweak it in time. Also, the existing dish is on a J-pole with brackets and it has to handle the new weight.
Attachments
CAM00048.jpg
CAM00048.jpg (428.72 KiB) Viewed 15679 times

will
TVRO Member
TVRO Member
Articles: 0
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:03 pm

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by will » Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:04 pm

Calgary vs Winnipeg is on right now
12128 H
15000

I can barely get a lock and then it pixelates and I lose it.

For sure they have reduced the power to prevent the FTA public from viewing it. They want you to subscribe to Sportsnet or Rogers or whoever owns the rights to Canadian hockey these days.

At the downlink facility they must be using 2.4m or greater solid KU band dishes for reception, which means only guys with big dishes will get these games.

Satfan3000
TVRO Member
TVRO Member
Articles: 0
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:21 am

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by Satfan3000 » Sun Oct 19, 2014 10:13 pm

I think you are right, if you can barely pick up that game with you 1.2m dish, I couldn't even scan it in.

You know I think that the broadcasters see us posting these feeds and bring it down. I got games before and now I can't get any. I was thinking of getting a 1.2m but what is the use if you can't get them I won't here either.

will
TVRO Member
TVRO Member
Articles: 0
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:03 pm

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by will » Mon Oct 20, 2014 8:58 pm

I've got my 1.2m on a motor so if I peaked the elevation and skew at 91W, I am sure I can get a bit more juice out of those signals!

I am pretty sure if you installed a stationary 1.2m and peaked it at 91W, it would get the NHL games.

Probably better route though is to use a big C band dish for these hard to get signals.

One other thing: Is it possible these NHL games are being broadcast in circular DBS polarity? If that were the case, out linear LNBs would be struggling like we've observed. Is it possible the Nimiq 6 satellite is broadcasting the NHL games and not Galaxy 17?

User avatar
tvroadmin
TVRO Administrator
TVRO Administrator
Articles: 1
Posts: 902
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:00 am
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 56 times

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by tvroadmin » Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:20 pm

It is probably not a polarity issue but rather a power issue.

Whether an oversight by the broadcast engineers or intentional is another story.

At any rate, you can watch these NHL games on a big dish with the proper Ku feed apparatus.
Administrator
([email protected])

Satfan3000
TVRO Member
TVRO Member
Articles: 0
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:21 am

Re: 91West reception on 1.2m

Post by Satfan3000 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:41 pm

It all depends what an acceptable size. 1.2 m is probably the most i could go.

1.8 m or bigger requires ground installation. Which is not an option for me.

I also believe the make and model of dish plays a big part of getting acceptable quality levels.

The options here in Canada are very limited to cheap made Fortec Star dishes and 1m Winegard dishes.

Post Reply

Return to “Ku Band Satellite”