Bell - 91W Nimiq 6 in NYC

[Carnivore]

Can anyone tell me what the recommended dish size is to receive 91W Nimiq 6 in the NYC metro area now?

For 82W I'm using an 85cm (33 inch) round dish, which is about the smallest that will work here. It pulls in a signal strength of around 65 on the weakest transponder.

I never bought a new dish when Bell updated the 91W footprint, but better late than never I suppose. I just need to know what size dish is needed here for that one. Or as an alternative, can I use one dish to pull in both satellites in place of the 85cm dish I'm currently using for 82W?

 

[Mr Tony]

in NYC the "stock" dish should be fine
http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/288807-Bell-coverage-maps-(both-91W-amp-82W)

if you see for 82W it drops off rapidly before NYC

 

[Carnivore]

Hmm, well my 91W signal is currently zero with my "stock" 20-inch dish which is still in my system from the old days. Maybe the LNB failed or it's out of alignment. Did the aiming at 91W change a little when they switched over to the new footprint? Guess I'll play with it this weekend and try to see if it's alive.

 

[Carnivore]

I was able to nudge the stock dish enough to read the satellite. I guess the signal level meters on my receivers don't start registering anything until they see something in the mid-40's. The highest signal I can get is about 50% though, so I guess I'll need to move to the next size dish up. At least now I know and it should be an easy fix, thanks.

 

[Carnivore]

Ugh, well I thought it would be an easy fix. I installed a 30-inch Winegard DS-2077 today and cannot seem to re-acquire the signal on 91.1W. Is skew adjustment critical when aiming at this satellite? This Winegard dish doesn't provide skew adjustment but I'm not trying to acquire 2 satellites on the same dish and I thought Nimiq 6 used circular polarization making it unnecessary. But I've tried everything with elevation/azimuth so I'm wondering if I chose the wrong kind of dish.

 

[Kraven]

Are you using a circ. LNB w/ the Winegard dish?

 

[Carnivore]

I'm using the same LNB that was mounted on the stock Bell Dish. I just swapped it onto the Winegard arm which accommodates the same D-mount type LNB. So the LNB, switch and wiring are all the same, I just changed the dish.

 

[Mr Tony]

Ugh, well I thought it would be an easy fix. I installed a 30-inch Winegard DS-2077 today and cannot seem to re-acquire the signal on 91.1W. Is skew adjustment critical when aiming at this satellite? This Winegard dish doesn't provide skew adjustment but I'm not trying to acquire 2 satellites on the same dish and I thought Nimiq 6 used circular polarization making it unnecessary. But I've tried everything with elevation/azimuth so I'm wondering if I chose the wrong kind of dish.

circular polarity (as Bell is) does not require skew.
(The only reason the stock 20" dish has skew is because you are aiming at 2 satellites which are at different spots in the sky)

 

[Carnivore]

I figured it out. I accidentally had both dishes locked on the same satellite. Fixed that and now I'm getting 60~75% signal levels from 91W with the 30-inch dish depending on the transponder. That's about the same as I'm getting from 82W with the same size dish.

So for posterity, it looks like the answer to my original question is you need a 30-inch dish to pull in each of Bell's satellites in the NYC metro.

Thanks for the help.

 

[CanuckInNY]

Hi Carnivore,

I've been away from the forum for a while, but up until a week ago, I've had trouble-free reception in NYC for over a year with a Winegard 30" dish and a modified Y-adapter to receive both 91 and 82. Today, I have 0 signal on all 82 TPs, and 50's on most 91 TPs. I checked the dish thinking something got loose or bent, but it looks fine.

Has anyone else noticed a recent signal loss on 82 (or 91) south of the 49th? Next step is to check the dish aim, but that's a 2-man job. Any comments either way are appreciated. I'll try swapping LNBs next to see if it's the LNB on 82.

Thanks!

I figured it out. I accidentally had both dishes locked on the same satellite. Fixed that and now I'm getting 60~75% signal levels from 91W with the 30-inch dish depending on the transponder. That's about the same as I'm getting from 82W with the same size dish.

So for posterity, it looks like the answer to my original question is you need a 30-inch dish to pull in each of Bell's satellites in the NYC metro.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Carnivore]

It's working OK for me in the NYC metro. 82 looks normal, 91 is a *bit* low but that might be due to a tree on the fringe of my line of sight. Try swapping the LNBs. FWIW I get the highest signal on TP 22 for 82W, and TP 4 for 91W.

 

[CanuckInNY]

It's working OK for me in the NYC metro. 82 looks normal, 91 is a *bit* low but that might be due to a tree on the fringe of my line of sight. Try swapping the LNBs. FWIW I get the highest signal on TP 22 for 82W, and TP 4 for 91W.

Thanks for the confirmation. I swapped the LNBs, and the problem stays with 82. 91 isn't great, only 19 TPs have signal, ranging from 48 to 60. I'm glad to know that the problem isn't with a footprint change, or my LNBs. I'm guessing some high-ish winds recently may have nudged the dish a little. Strange how 91 is still marginal and 82 is a total bust since previous pointing showed that both satellites peaked at the same position before.

Time to call a friend over a rooftop-livingroom video chat

 

[CanuckInNY]

Well, I thought I'd post an update in case it saves someone else some debugging time in the future. I did tweak my aim, gaining a couple of percent on 91, but still no sign of 82. Turns out water got inside the coax connector at the SW21 (yup, 82 side was so bad the center conductor snapped off when I unscrewed it). I replaced the two lengths of cable and put weather-resistant compression connectors on (had been using hex-crimp type). Both satellites are back up, ranging from low 50s to 71. I'll take it

So, bottom line, coax cables are susceptible to the elements, especially if you use cheap connectors. Save yourself some headache and use good quality hardware!

 

[miguelaqui]

OK Let's make a real map of the N6 footprint!!!!!! Who knows how to do it? The signal does indeed go much further than listed, as long as you have a larger dish.

 

[LongWinter]

Hello fellow Canadian satellite enthusiasts. I am a Canadian expat that just moved to Long Island (Suffolk County) from Ottawa and have kept my Bell subscription active. I am having problems with my installation and could really use the help. Obviously, I would be willing to compensate anyone who would take time out of their busy schedule to help out. Please PM me if you can help. I really am desperate.