Can I check signal with DVM?

[tmbald]

Sometime overnight, I lost the signal to my basement Dish receiver. I moved the receiver to my upstairs location to verify the receiver was working - it is.

So, I assume I've got a bad cable or connection somewhere along the 50 foot run into the house and to the TV.

Can I use a DVM to check for a signal voltage from the switchbox? If so, what am I looking for signal strength-wise? Is it a DC volt signal?

I'm not an electronics expert by any sense of the imagination but I know how to use a DVM....

Thanks,

T

 

[twillers]

Why not just switch what cable goes to what receiver at the switch. That way if the same receiver doesn't work, the problem is either the switch or before.

 

[Fredinva]

Yes, with the receiver all hooked up, go out and check for about 18 volts at the lnbf.

or, simply replace your f-connectors(probably the culprit)

fred

 

[SimpleSimon]

A DVM is NOT very useful for troubleshooting loss of signal.

About all it can tell you is if the cable is shorted or open (via the ohms function), and if the receiver is giving 18V to the switch when checking at the switch end. The switch does NOT provide ANY DC voltage on the cable, so you won't see anything by checking the receiver end of the cable.

A DVM is NOT capable of seeing ANY of the command or satellite signal information.

 

[tmbald]

The run of cable I suspect is bad is a 40ft run that goes into the house through a cinderblock wall. While I understand I can check continuity of a cable using the ohms setting on my DVM, I can't do the check due to the length of the cable and the wall it passes through - I would need meter leads almost 20ft long to do this check. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

If I can't use a DVM, would I use a frequency meter instead? What do the Dish techs use when they come out to do a check?

Thanks again for the replies.

T

 

[j5races]

Lets think about this. Why would a wire suddenly go bad in one day. I think the more likely culprit is the switch. Wires dont tend to just fail all of a sudden. I had a similar problem about three months ago where my signal suddenly was lost on all my even transpoders. It was the switch. Did you just get this system installed?
Jon

 

[twillers]

The run of cable I suspect is bad is a 40ft run that goes into the house through a cinderblock wall. While I understand I can check continuity of a cable using the ohms setting on my DVM, I can't do the check due to the length of the cable and the wall it passes through - I would need meter leads almost 20ft long to do this check. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

If I can't use a DVM, would I use a frequency meter instead? What do the Dish techs use when they come out to do a check?

Thanks again for the replies.

T

Connect one end of a jumper to the shield and the other to the center lead of the cable. At the other end, connect one lead of the DVM to the shield and the other to the center lead. Now you can test for continuity in the cable.

 

[SimpleSimon]

What twillers said.

And j5races, YES, a cable CAN go dead in a moment. It's usually water in a connector.

And YES, switches fail.

The troubleshooting steps have already been given - swap boxes, swap ports, check connectors. Until you do that, welll ... would ya just do that already?

 

[tmbald]

Lets think about this. Why would a wire suddenly go bad in one day. I think the more likely culprit is the switch. Wires dont tend to just fail all of a sudden. I had a similar problem about three months ago where my signal suddenly was lost on all my even transpoders. It was the switch. Did you just get this system installed?
Jon

The switch is fine. Because I have two lines running to two seperate receivers connected at the switchbox, I swapped those connections at the switch box and verified the switch box is working fine.

I also disconnected the cable from my working box in my living room, moved it the basement receiver and bypassed the run of cable going through my basement wall that I suspect is bad. Indeed, I received a signal from the switchbox and the receiver began working so I have narrowed down my problem to either the 40ft run of cable or the connector in the wall.



T

 

[Fredinva]

simply replace your f-connectors(probably the culprit)

fred

PUT NEW F-Connectors on,

fred