Do LNBs go bad? Can't get vertical.

[smikolaj]

Can the receiver maybe be bad? I have a traxis 3500 with an xtreme II lnb. I get horizontal fine but no vertical. I am going through an sg2100 motor. Can I check the voltages out of the receiver? When I choose vertical for lnb type when I am on a H channel the channel goes away so I am thinking that the receiver is switching voltage up to the lnb. short of swapping out the lnb I am not sure what else to try. I have a winegard dish. I have an old direcpc dish I found for free a while ago, I will see if that lnb will fit my setup.

Can anyone recommend a decent LNB?

Thanks.

 

[Lak7]

Can you rotate the LNB 90degs and see if the Verticals Channels come in?
In the Receiver, you would have to change the polarity of the TP from V to H

 

[Wescopc]

Yes, You can check the voltage H=~18 volts, V=~13 volts. Select a horizontal transponder and read the voltage (easier with a short coax hooked to the receiver) then find a vertical transponder and the voltage should be 5 volts lower.
Bob

 

[Zero]

Can the receiver maybe be bad? I have a traxis 3500 with an xtreme II lnb. I get horizontal fine but no vertical. I am going through an sg2100 motor. Can I check the voltages out of the receiver? When I choose vertical for lnb type when I am on a H channel the channel goes away so I am thinking that the receiver is switching voltage up to the lnb. short of swapping out the lnb I am not sure what else to try. I have a winegard dish. I have an old direcpc dish I found for free a while ago, I will see if that lnb will fit my setup.

Can anyone recommend a decent LNB?

Thanks.

By any chance did you remove and reconnect the cable on the back of the receiver? I did that once and connected to wrong port, loop out instead of LNB In. Had the same problem for a day or two until I corrected the mistake.

 

[Pittsville]

I had that problem once when I had subscription satellite service. Only half of the channels were working and it was related to polarity.

What caused it was a low quality coax cable. This cable had foil only, no braid at all.
I changed the dish to receiver cable and it worked fine after that.

I doubt if that's the problem you have but maybe you could check your coax connections for looseness or moisture in them outside. I think Zero's solution is more likely. I have also connected the dish to the wrong port (more than once).

 

[smikolaj]

Voltages check out from the receiver. I tried the direcpc lnb and no joy. I will order a new lnb and try again.

 

[bloomdog]

Very easy to break an lnbf. Just drop it. Also, electronic connections easy to wear away in weather. I have 4 or 5 extras laying around.

 

[babcea]

Voltages check out from the receiver. I tried the direcpc lnb and no joy. I will order a new lnb and try again.

If you have the money get the invacom quad it is worth the money.

 

[WSInternational]

To make sure your receiver is working OK, use a volt meter and check the voltage coming from the LNB input port of the receiver. When you are on a Horizontal TP, you should be getting about 17-19V of power. Then switch to Vertical and measure it again, you should be getting about 13-15V. You must be getting both. If not, it's a bad receiver. If you are getting voltage on both H and V, then try this:

1. Try to shut off your receiver from the back swith first, disconnect all of your cables then reconnect.

2. Rotate the LNB about 90 degree clockwise or counter-clockwise and that may do the trick. The Xtreme II has a polarity mark on it that is easy to miss. See some pictures here: XtremeII XtremeII to make sure you are setting it up properly. If you are using the motor, then the polarity mark would need to be at 0 degrees on the dish.

Sometimes when an LNB goes bad, one probe may fail. If one of the probes fail, depending on which one, then you will either loose all of your Vertical transponders or Horizontal transponders.

As for a recommendation, you may want to read this: http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-mpeg2-equipment-reviews/116168-techsat-tracker-ii-0-2db-lnb.html