xtreme newbie, many questions

**brentb636** · #1 June 13th, 2006, 06:59 PM

I'm a FTA newbie and there are some "odd" things that bug me, and I wonder if the "phenomena" are normal for the Xtreme.

I've managed to get the box working on Echostar 7 and 6,8 . Lots of channels.
When I power up the box, there is no reception at all until I start selecting channels, and after maybe 7-10 channels, up comes the signal.

Is the receiver "thinking" all this time, perhaps decoding the various signals until it locks on the right combination ? Once it's up, it stays working unless I change channels a lot, then we go through the same procedure again.

Normal ? I have nothing to compare it to, except the standard DTV and DN boxes. They, of course, are a little more polished.

I'm amazed that I can get so much off the dish. Looks like EVERYTHING up there !

:-?

**newbiee101** · #2 June 13th, 2006, 09:22 PM

Looks like a switch problem.

What switch are you using? Preffered switches are Dsicq, SW22, etc.
Try Changing the switch. It should work properly then.

Cheers!!

**brentb636** · #3 June 14th, 2006, 08:25 AM

A switch problem makes sense, I suppose. Especially since I'm using a Dish500 dish ( which I imagine has an integrated switch ) and the dish is being used by my wife's DishDVR box simultaneously .
I have a seperate DTV 3 LNB dish , but haven't received the mount for it yet, so I'm playing on the Dish 500 dish. The smart thing would be to hold my questions until I get the DTV dish mounted and see if the symptoms persist.
Thanks for the feedback.

**brentb636** · #4 June 14th, 2006, 05:49 PM

Well,
The earlier problem was a switch problem apparently. My tripod mount arrived, so I tried aligning my DTV 3 lnb dish with echostar 6 at 110 degrees. Apparently I screwed up. I have a strong signal ( about 93 % ) but once I scanned the satellite and got a bunch of useable channels, they are definitely not DN . Playboy is on 780 for one thing. I found out that I don't even have a compass around the house, so there is a lot of approximating going on here.

Is the DTV dish suitable for trying to get a single satellite ? Should I disable 2 lnb's by covering with foil ? If so , which lnb should be singled out for use.

My understanding is that the DTV phase III dish has a built in switch. How should I enter THAT fact into the satellite date on the Ariza Xtreme ?

So many details ! So little that I know "for sure" .

:-)

**brentb636** · #5 June 14th, 2006, 06:33 PM

These channels seem to correspond with BEV listings . Anyone know what satellite they would be carried on ?

:-?

**derbyinc** · #6 June 14th, 2006, 07:02 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by brentb636

These channels seem to correspond with BEV listings . Anyone know what satellite they would be carried on ?

:-?

bev is 82 and 91

you need 110 And 119.

the easiest way to do this with out a compass is use your dish box and point the dtv dish.

the dish boxes will tell you what sat your on when you get close to it.

hope this helps

**brentb636** · #7 June 14th, 2006, 07:30 PM

Thanks,
I had just finished finding the BEV info myself. Nice to have you confirm it ! Using the DN box to aim the satellite is an inspiration ! Double thanks. I'm beginning to suspect that the DTV dish is not the best to learn with , but I'll keep fumbling through. The various calculators to set your aim point ( elevation, azimuth, tilt ) seem designed for a single lnb dish ( what a surprise ) and that has thrown me off a lot.

Well, it's good weather, and lots of time to experiment and learn.

Thanks again

**brentb636** · #8 June 20th, 2006, 08:14 AM

I put together some information from various other posters on this forum ( and another site ) and finally successfully found the solution to my original switch problem.
With the latest fta bin file for the Xtreme, the LNB selection of OSC-DN (Oscillator-DishNetwork) is present . Using that setting, and putting 119 on Disecq port 1
and 110 on Disecq port 2 gives me an almost perfect autoscan. Some channel duplication, but no problems.

As a newbie, I find myself sometimes reading old posts ( which contain somewhat obsolete solutions ) and that can make life difficult. Smack myself in the head and pay attention to the most recent information first, and then go backward to learn some history.
"Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it " .

:-)

**Jban** · #9 June 21st, 2006, 02:05 PM

I'm a newbie hopefully this helps me out

**brentb636** · #10 July 5th, 2006, 07:20 PM

To continue my adventure, I've now set up my motorized 31" dish, with an Invacom QPH031 Linear/DBS LNBF . It's on my back deck so far, but will end up on the roof. Most of my southern sky is blocked by local trees, but through a notch or two in the shrubbery I can pick up Nimiq 1 ( 91 W) , Echostar 6,8 ( 110W ) and several other true FTA birds. It's really pleasing to see that dish accurately track from one bird to the next, and get TV channels from the birds. ( True, one bird is all oriental stuff, but it's cool nonetheless) . I set this unit up on my deck because when I was on the rood, I realized I didn't know much about how the FTA receiver handled the motor, so I wasted a lot of time. Practicing aiming and setting it up on the ground is time well spent. There are several posts by Grynner in one of the forums on using USALS mode to setup the system. That was pretty much my guide, and it worked just fine.

Tomorrow I'll be on the roof with my receiver and a small TV and try the final install. No trees in the way up there, so I hope and expect many more birds to choose from.
By the way , as of now, 7:15 pm EDT, BEV ( Nimiq 1-91W bird) has a lot of TV on it, but none of the high priced stuff.

:-)