Help with Dish Net and Eastern Arc Satellites

[JeepTJ5]

I am in Arizona now and this year my Dish HD reception (Sat 129) is very poor; lots of pixilation and audio dropouts. I am using the Winegard "Carryout" antenna which I used last year and it worked fine, but is almost unusable this year. I have no explanation, but that's the way is. (110 and 119 are OK) I have moved the antenna to several different positions, and it's now on top of the rig, and the sky view is unobstructed.

I am wondering if anyone has any experience in changing to Dish's eastern arc to use different satellites? Perhaps this will solve my weak signal problem from the 129 satellite. I just don't know how to do it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated...

[TechWriter]

You'll need a Dish 1000.4 dish which comes with an Eastern Arc LNB set, but you can also buy a Western Arc LNB set from eBay -- which I suggest so you can swap LNBs if you want.

You'll need a good tripod like one of these: Satellite TV for RV - Tripod - Slimline - Dish - DirectTV - RV television - Recreational Vehicles - RVers - DishTV - Satellite Dish - FTA - Tripod

And a good sat meter. I use an Accutrac III+ because you can see the signal strengths of all 3 sats at one time. Very, very handy:Acutrac III Plus Satellite Meter is the best meter for DirecTV and DISH Network

[Bill Adams]

You should not need any new equipment you just need to reset the carryout for the Hybrid or Eastern Arc option. The hybrid will keep you on 110 and 119 but point to 61.5 for HD. This will be quite low in the sky from AZ but you should get the signal. The Eastern Arc option will put ALL of your satellites very low on the horizon and while it might work you may have issues if there is any rain anywhere between you and the satellites.
Have you run a new check switch routine with Super Dish and Alternate both checked? If not, power off the Carryout, setup the receiver for the 119 satellite and transponder 12, power up the Carryout and let it lock on. Once the antenna stops searching run the check switch with the above options and verify that you are seeing an SW64 switch and reception on all 3 satellites.

[Wayne M]

I agree with Bill that you should not need any new equipment.

I use the Carryout exclusively as my satellite receiver antenna. I have the dip switches inside the unit set for the standard (with HD) reception. So switches 4, 7 and 8 are in the "DOWN" position. I have not had any problems traveling from Texas to Calif. and on up hwy 101 to Washington using those switch positions. One thing you may wish to try is running the coax cable directly to the satellite receiver. There could be a problem in the "Switch box" that most MH's have for distribution.

The Carryout manual specifically states that there are certain areas within the U.S. where the Carryout may experience limited or no coverage of the 129 degree satellite for HD programming. These areas include Washington, Oregon and California and limited coverage "MAY" extend past these areas. As I stated, we did not have a problem on our trip that I can recall.

If you wish to try the Hybrid mode, in areas where DISH network settings fail to provide HD programming, the switches are 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 down.

The Eastern Arc extends in a crescent moon curve from the top of North Dakota, to the bottom West end of Arizona. Especially for the North East, one may wish to set the switches to 2 and 5 down.

All switches not indicated as being "down" should be in the "up" position. (This is the DIP Switch inside the dome of the Carryout.

Good luck.

p.s., I'm not sure how important the sequence of operations are, but here they are in case you forgot the manual:

1. Receiver on
2. Verify you are getting the menu screens
3. Connect power for the carry out.
4. Unit will search
5. After finding correct satellite it will check for alternates
6. Unit stops moving for more than a minute it should be locked on
7. No signal - see trouble shooting

SW64:
1. Before turning on Carryout
a. Turn on tv and satellite receiver
b. Receiver is on the "point dish" menu
2. Turn n Carryout system
3. Wait for unit to stay on satellite 119
4. You have six minutes to complete the Check Switch
5. When completed the menu will indicate SW64. You should see 119, 110, 129 and all should have OK. If it has anything other than SW64 or an "X", repeat the check switch. (My note: when completed, if it asks you to save, save it)
6. you should be good to go. Once you have completed a Check Switch and SW64 is showing correctly you do not need to run a Check Switch unless you are using a different antenna.

The above are for reference and in case anyone else left the manual at home.

[vito.a]

I suspect you are experiencing the Dish 129 outage that has been reported the last few months. It should only affect your HD channels. I think it should be resolved this month.

[JeepTJ5]

First, thanks to all of you that replied. I really appreciate the good ideas.

I had not heard that the 129 Satellite was having problems again. I would imagine that with a full size dish perhaps the problem isn't as apparent. I will be back home in a few days and I can check out the fixed dish. I hope that is the problem, because the eastern arc may not be too good in southwestern Arizona. As I said, the Carryout antenna worked fine last winter. I will be back in the area in early January and I'll check out again.

Thanks all!