HR10-250 will not find satellites properly

[leeclarke]

I just got an HR10-250. When the Directtv setup gets to the screen "Confirming Satellite Setup" most of the time it says Sats 119 and 110 are "not detected." 101 is always "ok." ONE time, all were "ok." At other times, "left side not detected" or "right side not detected" will appear for 119 or 110; I see no pattern there. For each satellite the strength is strong (80s to 90s) on all transponders except 1 (28 on 101). When 119 and 110 are not detected, the message says it found no multi-switch; at other times it is found properly. All of this worked fine with my Philips DSR7000 sd unit.

Bizarrely, at one point I actually got the OTA channels (in the 70s), although I do not have an OTA antenna.

Thanks for any help, Lee

 

[bonscott87]

Sounds like a bad multiswitch.

As for OTA channels, they are not in the 70s. 70s are national HD channels, 80s are New York and LA "locals" for distant network people.
OTA channels will appear in your guide on the actual channel numbers (3, 5, 8, etc), assuming you have an antenna.

 

[leeclarke]

TFT, and sorry about the OTA error. The multi is a "Perfect Vision SAM3402"; it's 3x4. One of the inputs says 18v and the other says 13v. Is there reason to think the switch would go bad between tivo units? Mere coincidence, or is HD more demanding of satellites 110 and 119?

 

[leeclarke]

I just looked at the Multiswitch. It has 2 leads coming from the roof, and from there 2 lines each go to, respectively, an older SD and the new HD unit. On BOTH of those neither 119 nor 110 register. A third line comes from the roof and then connects to a regular cable input (coax from the cable company; I don't know the proper moniker for it) for the upstairs tv (just a regular receiver) which correctly registers all 3 satellites. There is also a ground from that 3rd wire. Can anyone figure out this mess? Sheesh.

 

[tds4182]

I just looked at the Multiswitch. It has 2 leads coming from the roof, and from there 2 lines each go to, respectively, an older SD and the new HD unit. On BOTH of those neither 119 nor 110 register. A third line comes from the roof and then connects to a regular cable input (coax from the cable company; I don't know the proper moniker for it) for the upstairs tv (just a regular receiver) which correctly registers all 3 satellites. There is also a ground from that 3rd wire. Can anyone figure out this mess? Sheesh.

Two possible thoughts about your problem:

1. Is your dish a 3 LNB oval with a built in multi-switch or is it one of the older round dishes?

2. Is it possible that the two incoming leads from the dish are both either 19V or 13V. If that's the case, you won't be able to see the 119 and 110 birds because of that.

Hope this helps--Good luck!

 

[leeclarke]

It is oval, with 3 LNBs. I used to be able to see all 3 birds, and still can on one of the tvs. This does indeed help, tho I'm still stumped!

 

[iwc5893]

It sounds like it may be a bad MS in the LNB, or a short in the cabling going to those two TV's.

The easy way to check for a short is to take a multi-meter, set it to a resistance check, and check the resistance between the outside of the connector and the inner copper core. The resistance between these two should be open.

Also, check your cabling. If it is RG-59 going to the HD unit, you may have these problems as well.

 

[bonscott87]

TFT, and sorry about the OTA error. The multi is a "Perfect Vision SAM3402"; it's 3x4. One of the inputs says 18v and the other says 13v. Is there reason to think the switch would go bad between tivo units? Mere coincidence, or is HD more demanding of satellites 110 and 119?

You can't use that kind of switch with the 3 LNB dish. It's why you can't see the other sats.

You need a 4x8 *cascadable* switch. All 4 cables from the dish go into the switch and then you have up to 8 outputs available to go to your various receivers.

Eventually you'll be needing to upgrade the dish to the 5 LNB version and with that you need the Zinwell 6x8 switch for that so you might as well get that now.

And DirecTV will upgrade you to the 5 LNB *and* the new switch for free if you get an MPEG4 receiver. You can get the H20 for free (assuming you don't want the HR20 DVR yet) and that would also allow you to access all the new HD coming soon that will be MPEG4 only that your HR10 won't be able to access.

 

[leeclarke]

Ok, you cats are da bomb! As it was, I spent way too many hours on this. But I never would have been able to diagnose the problem without this forum. So thanks. Here's what happened: When the original installer did his bit, he ran only 3 leads from my oval, 3 lnb dish; as noted, there should have been four. One of those leads he hooked into the old cable system--the coax that lead to a receiver (but no dvr); two other leads sent to my Directivo. About 2 years ago I had another Direct-tivo installed, and that guy installed the multi-switch, noted above as inadequate. I never discovered the problem because it worked fine without HD. Had I known that there should have been 4 leads from the roof, or a better MS, I could have had the problem corrected sooner, and not spent yours or my time on this. But I never had any reason to know. Obviously, the system's inadequacies became more than apparent when I added an HD-DVR (the hr10-250), because I need those other satellites to get the full range of service. Thanks to you, I was able to describe the problem with precision to Directtv this afternoon, after which the chap at tech support said, "they should have done that right the first time, and the second." In 2 days' time they'll send someone out to run the correct number of leads, and install a good MS, and, because I asked for "some consideration," take $5 off my bill every month for the next 6 months. Thanks again. Cheers, LC