Forums > Specific Focus > Technical Mexico

RogerMacB

Jan 21, 2011, 9:26 AM

Post #1 of 21 (7148 views)

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Dish TV -- Mexico City

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Hello! Skipping the long involved story of how, I arrived in Mexico City for a fairly extended period in August 2010, bringing along a DISH TV account, and my receiver as well. ( a VIP 612, if that matters.) Having found this forum only after I arrived, I discovered that DISH had reconfigured to make it much harder to get a signal from here -- just about the time I was signing up prior to the move.

As things stand now, Jan 2011 -- is it even possible to get a DISH TV signal here in Mexico City? What satellite should I be aiming for? What sort/size of dish antenna do I need -- and can anyone point me at a supplier/installer for same?

I'd say that a 6-foot dish is just about the maximum size I can get away with.

Roger

johanson / Moderator

Jan 21, 2011, 10:21 AM

Post #2 of 21 (7135 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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Sadly what I know is the sizes needed just South of Guadalajara along the shores of Lake Chapala.

For the satellite at 110 degrees West, you can get some of the channels using a 4 to 6 footer, for the mostly SD channel satellite at 119 W they recommend at least a 1.8 meter and better yet 2.4 meter, and for 129W with most of the HD channels you need at least a 2.4 meter but that size is marginal.

Again, it will be different in D.F. So don't use my data to determine the sizes you need.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

(This post was edited by johanson on Apr 2, 2011, 6:31 PM)

redevil66

Feb 9, 2011, 5:18 PM

Post #3 of 21 (6971 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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You can get your 612 working as follows:

Sat 61.5 with 1.80 m. antenna
Sat 110 with 1.20 m.antenna
Sat 119 with 1.80 m.antenna
Sat 129 with 1.80 m antenna

You will have almost all HD channels and you'll lost some of the 110.

RogerMacB

Feb 12, 2011, 9:36 AM

Post #4 of 21 (6939 views)

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Re: [redevil66] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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Dear Johanson & redevil66

Thanks for the information! Just a couple of quick follow-up questions.

Your note got just a little garbled at the end. The last line was

You will have almost all HD channels and you'll lost some of the 110.

Did you mean that I will not be able to get the stuff that's on spotbeam, but just the CONUS channels on 110?
I looked at http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/dish110_sid.html and I think I can live with that.

However, given the layout of where I am, I can really only have one dish -- and preferably the smaller one. That leaves me with a 120 CM (or maybe I can get away with a 180 CM dish) pointed at 110. That might mean I won't get everything -- but I'll get a lot more than the nothing I'm getting now.

If there was something I really needed to see, I assume I could repoint the one dish to nail one of the other sats. Would that work?

I have a line on some used antenna and LNB, but in case that falls through, does anyone have a suggested brand or vendor for these items? Is there some gear or gadget that would facilitate occasional, manual, repointing? (Strict budget here.)

Thanks in advance for more help!

Roger

PS -- Unrelated note. I need a molex-to SATA power cable for a SATA drive, and I haven't found a local store that sells them. Anyone know something, or is it mail-order time again?

R.

johanson / Moderator

Feb 12, 2011, 11:13 AM

Post #5 of 21 (6928 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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What I think redevil66 meant was that ever since the satellite change at 110 degrees West, we don't get all of the transponders and therefore channels anymore, only some of them.

To bad you don't have room for a second dish. So you would have more channels to choose from.

Sorry I can't be more specific, because I only know about my area near Guadalajara and nothing about reception near D.F.

redevil66

Apr 2, 2011, 8:38 AM

Post #6 of 21 (6374 views)

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Re: [johanson] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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Why don't you try sat 61.5 sat. You will have most of the programming back with smaller antenna.

johanson / Moderator

Apr 2, 2011, 3:33 PM

Post #7 of 21 (6355 views)

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Re: [redevil66] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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I have heard, but can not confirm that many of the HD signals now on 61.5 are being transferred to
DISH Network on Nimiq 5 at 72.7°W , and that they are not viewable in Guadalajara. I don't know about Mexico City.

redevil66

Apr 15, 2011, 6:02 PM

Post #8 of 21 (6110 views)

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Re: [johanson] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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It is true but the good news is that 61.5 have most of the 119 and 110 channels together!

johanson / Moderator

Apr 15, 2011, 7:49 PM

Post #9 of 21 (6099 views)

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Re: [redevil66] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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I just canceled my Dish subscription today and will return the DISH receiver to DISH in two weeks when I return to my US address. I already have and love Shaw Direct, but will pick up a new DirecTV receiver and try that down here (Lake Chapala).

redevil66

Apr 16, 2011, 5:15 AM

Post #10 of 21 (6083 views)

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Re: [johanson] Dish TV -- Mexico City

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Directv is ok but you will need a 2.40 mts antenna, You will lost some of the SD channels but keep all HD channels ok.

RogerMacB

May 23, 2011, 3:43 PM

Post #11 of 21 (5573 views)

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Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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Just checking in here with the next thrilling adventure. I found a 1.8 meter dish going (sort of) cheap. It came with a bunch of LNBs in a box, none of them suitable. (LNBs or LNBFs being the little doo-dads that point at the dish and receive the signal.) I am awaiting delivery of a high-class LNB -- and an Orbital Tracker OTM-500 Tracker Light satellite finder. The Tracker Light is a clone of the First Strike FS-1 meter (or maybe the other way around). The theory is it will be precise and accurate enough to let me get a signal. We'll see if my new toys let me get this thing working at long last.

Roger

redevil66

May 23, 2011, 4:01 PM

Post #12 of 21 (5569 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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1.80 antenna for 119 satellite in Mexico city is not enough.

RogerMacB

May 23, 2011, 4:10 PM

Post #13 of 21 (5566 views)

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Re: [redevil66] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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Umm -- Redevil66, this is the the text of your note in this topic from February 6:

You can get your 612 working as follows:

Sat 61.5 with 1.80 m. antenna
Sat 110 with 1.20 m.antenna
Sat 119 with 1.80 m.antenna
Sat 129 with 1.80 m antenna

You will have almost all HD channels and you'll lost some of the 110.

I am sort of committed at this point (having spent the cash) but has something changed that I need to know about? For what it is worth, what made me hold back was that I hadn't found anyone who had gotten it to work. Then I DID find someone who had gotten DISH 119 with a 1.8 from about five or ten miles away from my location. They also advised that 129 was doable, but the signal came and went, apparently due to a slight burble in the satellite's orbit that only matters here on the ragged edge of the footprint.

I am hoping I can hit at least one of the birds listed above -- and, if need be, my dish is where I can get at it and re-aim it if I just have to see Frankenstein Vs. the Zombies in HD or something.

Roger

redevil66

May 23, 2011, 7:16 PM

Post #14 of 21 (5545 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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Sat 61.5 with 1.20 m. antenna
Sat 110 with 1.20 m.antenna
Sat 119 with 1.80 m.antenna
Sat 129 with 1.80 m antenna This is ok in Guadalajara but not in Mexico City. In Mexico city you will lost almost 70 % of the 109 satellite foot print. Other satellite locations will be the same than Gauadalajara.

RogerMacB

Jun 4, 2011, 4:54 PM

Post #15 of 21 (5365 views)

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Re: [redevil66] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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Now we're getting somewhere.

All hail the Orbital Tracker OTM-500 Tracker Light satellite meter! (It is pretty much identical to the First Strike FS-1 and the Lexium FastAlign 5100) Under whatever name, it worked. I managed to pull in DISH 119 and 129 within a few minutes, once I had worked out my rough compass and elevation bearings. Go to YouTube and search on those meter names for lots of good demo videos.

I should note that there are a bazillion satellite meters out there. They are all over ebay. I was also intrigued by this one: http://www.harmonyfta.com/Satlink-WS-6906-Satellite-Signal-Meter_p_296.html but I know nothing about besides it looks to have a lot of cool features and goes for cheap. Does it work? I don't know. The Tracker Light does. The aiming process is fast enough that I can do the re-aim in about five minutes. Then I have to go tell the Dish box about the satellite change, and it has to think for about 15-20 minutes. It's cheaper than buying another dish.

About 60% of the transponders on 119 are unavailable, but I was getting signal in the 25-40 range on the transponders that did work. Not super-strong, but good enough for a lock. I got substantially lower signal rating on 129, but good enough for a lock -- and good enough to pull in LOTS of HD channels. I'll call that success, and say that yes, you can get DISH TV in Mexico City -- with a 1.8 meter dish & a satellite meter. Get a meter that can ID the satellite and gives a digital reading of the signal and quality readings -- not just a buzzer and a dial.

Roger

johanson / Moderator

Jun 4, 2011, 8:34 PM

Post #16 of 21 (5342 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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Thanks Roger for your input. One thing I noticed along the shores of Lake Chapala was that the signals from 129 degrees West, would fade out at night.

I have given up DISH account and only use Shaw Direct, which gives me my home town stations (Seattle, WA and Vancouver-Victoria, BC)

redevil66

Jun 5, 2011, 5:50 AM

Post #17 of 21 (5325 views)

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Re: [johanson] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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I'm glad you have 119 and 129 working. I don't like the idea of re aim the antenna between sats but it is up to you. I see one problem, you can't have both sats guide at same time so you can't know what happen in some channels that no have HD feed if you are in 129.

It will be better to have both antennas at same time :)

RogerMacB

Jun 5, 2011, 6:14 AM

Post #18 of 21 (5324 views)

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Re: [redevil66] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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Agreed that it would be nicer to have more than one dish -- but it would also be nice to hang on to the wife I have. There's also a question of how much space I have -- and the project went way over budget a ways back. If I spotted a cheap 1.4 meter, I might think about it. But probably all I'll do is think.

Since I have an HD receiver, getting 129 (which is mostly HD) covers most of what I am after. We'll see how it goes. Getting it to work at all is a huge victory.

R.

Mel Berry

Jul 16, 2011, 12:42 PM

Post #19 of 21 (4728 views)

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Re: [RogerMacB] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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One of the honest dealers in DF.... Geremias Salazar (Television via Satelite) satdig@prodigy.net.mx
Mel Berry
Houston Media Systems
5713 Second Street, Katy Texas

713-464-0101 USA
01-800-288-1090 Mexico Toll Free
866.583.9304 USA Toll Free

www.dbstv.com

Rolly

Jul 16, 2011, 1:51 PM

Post #20 of 21 (4715 views)

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Re: [Mel Berry] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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One of the good guys in the satellite TV business = Mel Berry

Rolly Pirate

johanson / Moderator

Jul 16, 2011, 2:59 PM

Post #21 of 21 (4702 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Dish TV -- Mexico City -- The Next Step

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I remember the name, "Mel Berry", from maybe 10 years ago. He was one of the good guys. And I'm sure he still is.