SK-1000, 110 strong, 119 weak, 129 nada!

[fejputnam]

I just installed an SK-1000 on the roof of my motorhome. The installation was very straight forward with one exception. When I attached the SK-1000 to roof, I made sure it was lined up perfectly parallel to the centerline of the roof. I applied the caulk, put in the screws and put on the final coat of caulk. When I activated it for the first time, to my chagrin, I discovered that the dish had not been located at the stop. So instead of being perfectly parallel to the centerline it is about 2 degrees off.

Will this affect the performance? The reason I ask is, when I test the installation the IDU shows it locking onto 119, 110, and 129, but on my Dish VIP722 it shows a signal strength of 55 for 110, 25 for 119, and no signal strength for 129. I haven't run "check switch", but it does show that it is communicating with all three LNBs. And yes, there is a clear LOS to the satellites. My zip is in Florida at 32073. I have no trouble with the three signal strengths on my house installation with a fixed dish.

As a result, I only get a small subset of my normal channels and the irritating message that something is blocking my reception.

Is there something I need to do to tweak up the signal strength on 119 and 129?

Thanks.

[Bill Adams]

Does the Winegard controller display *119 *110 *129 (the asterisks are important)?
If so, I would go ahead and run the check switch routine. When completed you should see the switch type as DPP 1K.2 If you start the check switch routine and you see the switch type already listed as DPP 1K.2 then just exit out and report back.
Let us know what you are seeing.

[fejputnam]

Yes, the asterisks were beside each of the satellite numbers and the switch type was DPP 1K.2. I didn't run the switch test as the correct switch type was already listed.

[Bill Adams]

What specific model Dish receiver are you using?

[Winegard Tech Help]

fejputnam,

Are we 100% sure we have a clear line of site? Florida can be iffy in areas but given the zip code we are well within the dish's aiming capability.

The satellite peaks on 119 , but we're decreasing our signal as we go further down the arc. The threshold for the IDU to identify a lock is lower than the receiver needs to show signal.

I would enter the user menu by pressing and holding enter and then under search mode, lock to each satellite in manual mode and check the signal strengths. We could have a slight alignment issue that may be causing decreased strengths.

[fejputnam]

My receiver is a Dish VIP722. And yes, there is a clear line of sight, no trees or buildings are in the way.

[Bill Adams]

I would suggest that you run the check switch routine again while connected to the Trav'ler and let us know what the results are.

[fejputnam]

Update: I hooked everything up again this morning and it worked perfectly. The first time I tried it yesterday there was a tree in the way but the control unit still showed asterisks by 119, 110, and 129. However the VIP 722 could only detect signals on 110 and 119.

Next I moved to the RV to an area that had lower trees and no buildings, once again asterisks by all satellites, but no go on the 722. About that time a thunderstorm rolled in and the SK-1000 went into search mode and couldn't lock onto anything. So I gave up.

This morning I moved into the center of a parking lot with no trees/buildings any where around and this time it locked right in with signal strengths of 75 on 110 and 119 and about 30 on 129.

I'm a happy camper again.

[Winegard Tech Help]

fejputnam,

That sounds great!

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