Community Forums

Jocat54 · 11-28-2008, 06:27 PM

I think I finally figured out why I can only get one satellite at a time. After reading many online topics and replacing the single lnb with a dual lnb, it finally sunk into my thick head that without being able to adjust the skew on the dish it was only going to get one satellite at a time. Am I correct in assuming this?

Thanks, John

Jocat54 · 11-28-2008, 06:27 PM

I think I finally figured out why I can only get one satellite at a time. After reading many online topics and replacing the single lnb with a dual lnb, it finally sunk into my thick head that without being able to adjust the skew on the dish it was only going to get one satellite at a time. Am I correct in assuming this?

Thanks, John

Bob (WA0MQE) · 11-29-2008, 12:35 AM

Depends if you're referring to Dish Net or DirecTV. Dish Net needs skew, but DirecTV does not. Unless you're also referring to HD on DirecTV then a DirecTV dish needs skew also.

Bill Adams · 11-29-2008, 04:36 AM

Both Dish and Direct have the same skew requirement. This has nothing to do with the service but rather the fact that all of the satellites are at a slightly different elevation. The skew moves one (or more) LNB's higher than the others and allows the reception from more than one satellite.
As an additional complication, if you are a DirecTV customer trying to receive the HD programming you need a new special LNB which will receive both KU and KA band programming. If you happened to be in the TX area you might be able to get all 3 with this LNB and your crank-up as the skew would be nearly 0. However, any travels to the East or West would negate this ability.
The Dish Network satellite are farther apart and would always require a skew.
If you want to pick up multiple satellites at the same time (the one at a time method works OK in many cases) you will need a new antenna mounted on a tripod or one of the roof mounted automatics. There is no way to modify your crank-up to handle the skew from inside.

Jocat54 · 11-29-2008, 04:52 PM

Thanks Bill,
I have dishtv, no HD, I also have a portable dish 500 with dual lnb which works ok, I was just messing around with the old crank-up on the roof just to make sure it would work in case of inclement weather and I wouldn't have to go outside and mess with the portable. Besides that I can't stand for something not to work, just gotta mess with it.
John

Bill Adams · 11-29-2008, 06:52 PM

You can still use your crank-up in the rain with your Dish 500 service, you just can't get both satellites at the same time. Once you have the main 119 satellite the 110 is usually just 10 degrees (or so) to the left and down 3-4 degrees. If you get the hang of it you can switch satellites in just a few minutes. It's not fun, but it beats setting up in the rain!