Technical Requirements

FamilyNet has a limited engineering staff, so we ask that you please exhaust all of the troubleshooting procedures before contacting us.

Initial Set Up

Signal Troubleshooting


Initial Set-up

Where to find us

FamilyNet is available on Galaxy 23 (formerly known as Intelsat Americas 13) (121° W) C-band Transponder 20 (OlympuSAT Pod II); Vertical polarization.

OlympuSAT Pod II (Faith & Families Package) Cband
Satellite Galaxy 23 (121° West)
Transponder 20
Virtual Channel Table (VCT) 740
Virtual Channel 206
Symbol Rate (if needed)* 29270
FEC (if needed)* 3/4 Combined
Receiver Any current DigiCipher-II compatible receiver (such asMotorola DSR-4402X, DSR-4410, DSR-4500X, DSR-4520X, or DSR-4400MD with part numbers ending in -002 only). Anyone buying a used receiver should see the "Used Equipment Alert" below.
* If using the DSR-4402X then you will not need the symbol rate and FEC

Tuning Assistance

As of the writing of these guidelines, there is a clear NTSC signal for Jewelry Television on channel 21 (horizontal) of Galaxy 23. Viewing this signal on an analog C-band receiver is often the easiest way to acquire the satellite and peak your dish. Our signal is vertical polarization, so you will have to rotate the pole (either physically or electronically) to view Jewelry Television, and rotate it back 90° after peaking on this signal. If there is no longer a clear signal on the satellite, you will need to use a spectrum analyzer (or hire someone who has one) to acquire and peak on our signal.

As you are tuning across the arc, you may find these signal listings for North American satellites useful in helping you determine which satellite you are looking at.

NOTE: DSR-4500X and DSR-4520 receivers are very picky in how they are set up. All settings must be done correctly and in the correct order. View printable instructions.

Equipment Recommendations

Satellite Dish - FamilyNet strongly recommends using a 3.7-meter (12-foot) or larger dish that has a certified 2° or smaller beamwidth. When using smaller dishes, we have noticed unintended reception of adjacent-satellite signals that can cause interference and loss of the FamilyNet signal. The satellites in geostationary orbit are spaced 2° apart. Dishes smaller than 3.7 meters cannot be economically manufactured with a 2° beamwidth. If you attempt to use a smaller dish, you can expect signal loss problems.

Receiver - A current Motorola DigiCipher-II compatible receiver is required. If you plan to use a DSR-4402X then the receiver must have firmware version 15A, or newer. The industry does change and individual affiliates may have different requirements (desired video output, interface with local cable headends, future needs, availability of service, warrantee with buying a used model, etc.). Therefore, please research and consider your needs when determining the best receiver type for your channel.

Motorola does not sell equipment directly to end-users, so please contact a distributor. If you have trouble locating a distributor in your area, we have located the following national distributors*:

Used Equipment Alert: Some used receivers on the market were originally purchased in bulk by NBC, ESPN and others, and are keyed to the original network. That being the case, they will not work with any other network signal. If you consider buying a used receiver, ask about stickers identifying the unit as belonging to or purchased on behalf of NBC, ESPN, or any other network. Buy only from a reputable used cable TV equipment vendor. They are aware of the network key restrictions and will not sell a unit without informing the customer about it. There are several out there, but we understand that some have had positive experiences with*:

* Note that this information is included as a service to FamilyNet affiliates. While we believe these companies to be generally fair and honest in their dealings, FamilyNet does not endorse any of these organizations, nor can we accept any responsibility for any transactions resulting from including their names here.

If you have trouble installing your receiver, the Motorola tech support number is (888) 944-HELP (select the Broadcaster/Content Provider option from the menu).

Other - In addition to the dish and receiver, you will also need a digital-ready C-band LNB (California Amplifier 140105-1 or equivalent). The feed assembly on your dish MUST have a polarization adjustment that rotates freely (ADL model LPF200 or equivalent). Digital C-band satellite transmissions are known to be susceptible to out-of-band interference caused by aviation radar systems. If your dish is located near an airport or military installation, you will also need a bandpass filter (DAWNco 7892MFC or equivalent) to eliminate this problem.

Authorization

The C-band digital receiver must be authorized before it will receive the FamilyNet signal. For access authorization, please fax the following information to FamilyNet at (770) 936-2755:

  1. Physical address of receiver (IRD).
  2. Technical contact name.
  3. Technical contact phone number.
  4. Name of station.
  5. The Unit Address (UA) of the receiver. The UA is on a sticker on the back of the receiver and on the side of the box. Note that the UA is not the same as the Serial Number.

Authorization is usually completed within 24 hours of receiving this information. (Please note that when purchasing a receiver, you can request the UA number from the vendor at the time you place the order. You can then request authorization from FamilyNet, and in most cases the unit will be authorized by the time it arrives.) Emergency authorization of a replacement unit for current affiliates can generally be done within an hour by calling (770) 225-0894.

Receiver Setup

Connect the input cable to Port 0 of the receiver.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Operators Manual that came with your receiver. (The following procedure is for setting up the DSR-4400 series receivers. The menu structure may differ with other models, but the basic settings are the same) We suggest you write in the following numbers next to the appropriate menu in your manual so you will be able to quickly access the information if you need to reset the unit.

  1. In the Installation > Manual Tune menu, set the Xpndr (Transponder) to 20.
  2. In the Channel Selection > CH_Select menu, set:
    1. VCT (Virtual Channel Table) to 00740.
    2. Chnl (Channel) to 0206.

When the receiver is authorized, you should have the FamilyNet signal.

Attention: DSR-4410 owners: We have had several affiliates call in with problems on these units. In all but one case the problem was LNB power. The unit factory default setting is OFF. Go into the Installation -> Core -> LNB Power and turn it ON.

Status Monitoring

We recommend leaving the Status Display menu up when not using the other menus. The Status1 menu on the DSR-4402X will display Network as "OceanTX20" and give you a Quality reading on a scale of 0-100. Most areas of the country should be able to achieve a quality of 70 or higher. The receiver should maintain signal lock as long as the quality stays above 50 (and often maintains a signal down to the mid-30s).

Insertion Tones

FamilyNet broadcasts stereo audio on the primary audio pair. Our signal also includes a secondary audio pair that contains mono audio on the right channel and DTMF commercial insertion tones on the left. The receiver is factory preset for the primary audio pair. If you need insertion tones, here is the procedure for setting up the DSR-4400 series receivers. (Affiliates using other models will have to check the documentation that came with the receiver to set the Left Audio to Spanish and the Right Audio to French).

  1. In the Installation > Audio (or Audio1) menu, change "AudioMix" to "Dual Mono".
  2. In the Channel Selection > Lang (Language) menu, change "Dspl" (Display) to "Avail".
  3. Change "Left" to "spa00".
  4. Confirm that the selection under "Right" reads "fre00".

You are now set up for Insertion Tones on the left channel and Mono Audio on the right channel. There is a 1 kHz lineup tone on the tone channel to allow you to set level. This tone is interrupted when tones are sent.

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Signal Troubleshooting

Momentary network outages due to causes that are beyond our control happen on occasion. You can contact FamilyNet TOC at (678) 421-6604 to determine whether we are currently having network-wide problems. If FamilyNet is not having problems, but you still cannot see our signal, the following troubleshooting procedures will help you solve most problems.

On the front of the receiver, to the right of the display window, are three lights that will help determine where your problem lies. When everything is working properly, the DigiCipher (or Signal) and Authorize lights will both be lit.

DigiCipher or Signal light

If you do not have a Signallight, your receiver is not seeing the digital data stream from FamilyNet. There are several possible causes for this (in order of decreasing probability):

  1. Your dish is not properly pointed at the satellite.Verify that your dish is properly aimed and peaked, including azimuth, elevation, and polarization settings. It is not uncommon for dishes to move slightly after strong storms pass through. Other things, such as being bumped by vehicles or people climbing on the dish, can also cause it to move enough to affect signal reception. (If you have an analog receiver available, look for Jewelry Television on transponder 21 H and verify that the signal strength is maximized.)
  2. The receiver does not have the proper settings programmed in. Verify that the Transponder, VCT, and Channel settings are programmed correctly.
  3. Verify that the LNB is working by connecting a spectrum analyzer or an analog C-band receiver (with LNB power) to it.
  4. Check for receiver failure by connecting a known good analog C-band receiver.
  5. You should also check the physical connections at the dish and receiver. We have heard stories of wasp and bird nests in feed assemblies and squirrels chewing through cables as causes of signal loss.
  6. Digital C-band satellite transmissions are known to be susceptible to out-of-band interference caused by aviation radar systems. If your dish is located near an airport or military installation, we strongly recommend installing a bandpass filter to eliminate this problem.

Authorize light

Authorization information is transmitted as a part of the DigiCipher digital signal. If you do not have a DigiCipher/Signal light, the Authorize light will never be lit. If you do have a DigiCipher light but the Authorize light is not on, first try changing the channel, and if that does not work, reset the IRD. If these do not correct the problem, contact FamilyNet to get your unit reauthorized.

Authorization is specific to the hardware, so if you have to replace your receiver for any reason, you will need to contact FamilyNet to get the new unit authorized. If you have time, anemail (dianne.davis@familynet.com) is preferred. (Please note that when getting a backup or replacement unit, you can request the UA number from the vendor at the time you place the order. You can then request authorization from FamilyNet, and in most cases the unit will be authorized by the time it arrives.) However, if you are off the air and need an emergency reauthorization, call us at the numbers listed under Technical Support.

Channel Change

If you have verified that your dish is correctly pointed at Galaxy 23, and you have a DigiCipher/Signal light, but no signal out of the receiver, changing the channel may fix the problem. Some DSR-4400 series receivers have a known issue that sometimes prevents them from tuning the correct channel. The conditions that cause this problem are not known, but the solution is simple: In the Channel Selection > CH_Select menu, change the channel number to 201 for Pod II (or 101 for Pod I); be sure to confirm the change. Then change it back to channel 206 (or 103). If this does not correct the problem, use the following procedure to reset the IRD.

IRD Reset

If you have a DigiCipher/Signal light and have tried changing the channel, but still do not have a signal out of the receiver, resetting the unit to its factory defaults will frequently correct the problem.

(The following applies to the DSR-4400 series receivers. Affiliates using other models should check the documentation that came with the receiver for the factory reset procedure.) Unplug the receiver for at least 10 seconds, then plug it back in. Go to the Installation > IRD (Integrated Receiver/Decoder) menu. Change the Reset value to Yes, and confirm the selection. You will have to go back and reset the Transponder, VCT, and Channel settings. If you are using commercial insertion tones, you will also need to set up the audio again for Insertion Tones.

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