Dish aiming problem

[george99]

Hi Guys, I just moved to a new house nearby and I installed the dish on my outside wall, and pointed it.
However, the YES network and maybe a few others that I haven't discovered yet are not working. It says "searching for signal" (or something like that).
After several hours, I gave up, and I called a local pro, and he couldn't get it either.

I live in FL, but "moved" to NY, not sure if that has anything to do with it. Same problem with all my receivers. It was working in my old house 1 mile away from my new house just the day before, so I don't think that it is an equipment issue.
I have SWM, not sure if that matters either.

Could it be a deffective LNB or SWM?

Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[Hutch1814]

Hi Guys, I just moved to a new house nearby and I installed the dish on my outside wall, and pointed it.
However, the YES network and maybe a few others that I haven't discovered yet are not working. It says "searching for signal" (or something like that).
After several hours, I gave up, and I called a local pro, and he couldn't get it either.

I live in FL, but "moved" to NY, not sure if that has anything to do with it. Same problem with all my receivers. It was working in my old house 1 mile away from my new house just the day before, so I don't think that it is an equipment issue.
I have SWM, not sure if that matters either.

Could it be a deffective LNB or SWM?

Any ideas are appreciated.

Anything in cable such as a cable splitter or the line coming from the dish good? What's your signal strength?

 

[george99]

No. I actually put the tv and receiver on the grass right next to the dish to test. Cables from lnb to swm are old ones from my old house. Maybe I should change them?

 

[ZandarKoad]

Is that YES network a local station? (Sorry, I know nothing about programming.)

Hutche's signal question is spot on: We need to know what your signal strengths are for 99, 101, and 103. Otherwise, read my signature.

 

[george99]

Do you need to signal strength for each transponder or just for the satellites?

 

[george99]

YES is a NY Rsn

 

[raoul5788]

If you only moved one mile, all of the settings should be the same. I'm thinking the mast isn't plumb and/or the azimuth is off. Did you change the skew or elevation settings? YES is a CONUS channel, so you should get it no matter where you are in the US.

 

[george99]

Ok, here are the signal strengths:

101: all transponders except 4 and 18 are between 95 to 100. 4 & 18 are 0.

103s:
Transponders 1-4 are 0
5-14 show n/a
15 is 63
16-18, 20,22,24 are 0
19, 21, 23 are 80, 89, 72 respectively
25-32 show n/a

103ca:
1-8 show n/a
9-24 all the odd numbers range between 89 and 95. All the evens are 0.
25-32 show n/a

103cb
1-14 all odds are in the low 90s. All evens are 0.
16 and up all show n/a

99c:
1-14 range for mid 70s to mid 80s
15 and up all show n/a

99s:
1-6 all 0
7-14 all N/a
15, 21-24 mid 90s
16-20 n/a
25-32 n/a

I had a professional installer align the dish too and he couldn't get it to work either.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[texasbrit]

OK, you have a regular LNB at the dish and then an SWM8 multiswitch? First problem is with the cable/connectors running from the dish to the SWM8, to the connector on the SWM8 marked "18v 103/110/119". This carries the even transponders from the 103 satellite, and if that cable is faulty you won't see the evens. Probably a loose or corroded connector.
Once you have fixed that problem, you will probably find the 103ca and 103cb signals are OK. That will just leave you with signals on 99c that are too low - they should be in the 90s. A VERY small adjustment in the fine tune controls on the dish will probably solve that one - my guess is that the elevation setting is not quite correct.

 

[raoul5788]

Don't worry about the signals on 99s and 103s, those are spot beams and you aren't supposed to get good signal strength on all of them. The zero reading on the even transponders indicates a bad multiswitch, splitter in line, or bad or loose connection. It could also be a bad lnb. Make sure your connections are tight, and that there isn't any stray shield wire contacting the center wire inside the connectors.

 

[ZandarKoad]

Did that "professional installer" trouble shoot anything else in the system? Seems kinda crappy to leave a system like that.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Don't worry about the signals on 99s and 103s, those are spot beams and you aren't supposed to get good signal strength on all of them. The zero reading on the even transponders indicates a bad multiswitch, splitter in line, or bad or loose connection. It could also be a bad lnb. Make sure your connections are tight, and that there isn't any stray shield wire contacting the center wire inside the connectors.

Chip,

Don't forget my personal fav. He said ..." into my new house...". I smell a twist-on fitting is in some or all the outlets. Checking each outlet for similar skipped transponders.....and shaking all cables / fittings.
Then looking for rodent damage.........new house vacant for any period?

Joe

 

[texasbrit]

See my post. 99% of the time a problem with the even transponders on 103 is caused by a faulty cable/connectors from the dish to the 103/110/119 18v connector on the SWM8. That cable carries the 103 evens. Since the OP does not have a Slimline 5 you can't see the 110/119 satellites - if he did have a Slimline 5 you would see the even transponders were missing on those also.
Although a faulty SWM8 could possibly cause this, it's very unlikely. If the OP swaps the cables connected to the 103/110/119 13v and 103/110/119 18v connectors on the SWM8, he will probably see the problem move from the even transponders to the odd ones, indicating the cable/connector issue.

 

[george99]

Ok, the problem was 1 of the 4 wires that go from the LNB to the SWM8. I just swapped all 4 and the problem seems to be solved.
However, when I run the satellite dish setup, it gives me checks for everything except for 110 Odd. 110 Odd is blank. Also 99 Even shows a red x. The YES network does work now.

Its definitely not my house wiring, because I ran a direct wire from the SWM8 to the receiver only 20 feet away, just for testing. I haven't yet used the house wiring. All wires that I am using now are brand new Quad Shield RG6.

 

[Hutch1814]

Ok, the problem was 1 of the 4 wires that go from the LNB to the SWM8. I just swapped all 4 and the problem seems to be solved.
However, when I run the satellite dish setup, it gives me checks for everything except for 110 Odd. 110 Odd is blank. Also 99 Even shows a red x. The YES network does work now.

Its definitely not my house wiring, because I ran a direct wire from the SWM8 to the receiver only 20 feet away, just for testing. I haven't yet used the house wiring. All wires that I am using now are brand new Quad Shield RG6.

The dish still isn't aligned properly. The red X's mean the signals on satellites are not as good as they can be

 

[texasbrit]

Did you read my post? As I posted, once you solved the missing evens problem, you would still have a signal strength issue on 99. 110 odd is blank because there are no 110 odd transponders. 99 is showing a red x on evens because the signals don't meet DirecTv specs. It's an alignment problem, almost certainly nothing else. You need to fine tune the alignment while watching the 99c signal strength screen. Just a very small adjustment should solve the problem without upsetting the 103 signals. Try elevation first, then azimuth.