No Signal Issue

[JFOK]

Hi All,

Thought I'd confer with the experts here, on this issue I'm having.
Last week we had a nor'easter tear through New England. Cape Cod experienced winds gusting 60 MPH +
for several hours and heavy rain. The next day I tried my dish and found I had no signals. It was working fine before all this. I'm getting power to the LNB as the signal level is showing 45% and with the dish parked on Anik FI, I'm getting occasional flashes of 10% for signal quality.
Thinking I just had to swing the dish back into place, I checked my true south marks on the pole. Surprisingly it hadn't moved. I tried other satellites using the dish mover, but nothing.
Then I figured that maybe the LNB was affected somehow. I took off the feedhorn cover, the LNB was as a dry as a bone, all connections dry and tight. My last thought was maybe the actuator arm slipped on the clamp...nope all well there too.
So I'm out of ideas and thoughts, anyone have an idea what this problem might be ??
I hope my trusty microHD isn't giving up.
Thanks in advance.

John

 

[Shicks4]

I had something similar happen when i first put my bud in. There was a bushing on the bottom bolt that the dish moved on that was ovaled out pretty good. I found something very similar in size and replaced it. havent had an issue since. But I think its not quite the right size because the dish feels like it moves around more then it should. I still get most everything on the arc with the exception of a few ku signals. Ill be swapping this dish out in a month or so for a 10' that is in better shape.

 

[JFOK]

Shicks4,

Thanks for your response.
All my dish moving apparatus is new so I don't believe that would be an issue. I'm wondering if maybe my dish elevation might have been changed a bit in the wind....highly unlikely, but can't think of many more solutions. I even checked the dish pole to make sure it hadn't shifted in the wind...it hadn't.

John

 

[MN_Vikings]

Do you have a spare receiver or LNB you can swap out to test with? If you had Winds gusting 60 MPH + the dish might be out of alignment.

 

[JFOK]

MN_Vikings,

I'm wondering if alignment could be an issue.
My dish elevation and declination were tightened down pretty well, however that maybe the next thing I check, just to rule it out altogether.
I'm thinking if the receiver is still sending power to the LNB, which it is, it may not be the problem.
Thanks for the suggestion.

John

 

[Shicks4]

wouldnt hurt to throw a level on the pole either just to be sure.

EDIT: just saw you checked the pole so never mind

 

[. Raine]

Hi, John

Might be that your dish mover lost count and is off. Try moving the dish to a sat and once it's there, move 10 -20 clicks east or west with the dish movers remote while you watch your signal/quality meter on your receiver.

My V box does this once in a great while and it seems like its always 10 or so clicks off west when it does it.

Andy

 

[JFOK]

Hi Andy,

Hope all is well.
Your suggestion was the first thing I tried...no luck.
I just came in after spending a half hour outside in 32 degree temps.
I re-checked the elevation and declination all were good.
I wonder if the LNBF or the receiver are having issues ??
I'm out of ideas.

John

 

[armadillo_115]

Along with what's already been posted: If the coax was loose anywhere, it's possible wind whip damaged the coax. I've had the center wire snap in RG8-U mil-spec coax before...while it still looked fine from the outside. (That stuff is about .5" in diameter) It should be even easier for RG6 to snap. That becomes more likely the older the cable gets...and the colder the cable is.

 

[Ali Erfani]

If you're LNB, receiver & cables are ok. It's probably you're reflector is warped.

 

[harshness]

My dish elevation and declination were tightened down pretty well, however that maybe the next thing I check, just to rule it out altogether.

How did that turn out? I was going to suggest elevation. If the signal goes in and out from 45% as you sweep, this seems like a likely candidate.

 

[JFOK]

Hi armadillo 115,

My coax was tightly fastened in place eliminating any wind whipping issues.
I do appreciate your input however.
Thanks,

John

 

[JFOK]

Hi Ali,

The dish was slightly warped last year, but I brought it back to near perfect dimensions.
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

John

 

[JFOK]

Hi harshness,

I checked both elevation and declination and they were as they are supposed to be.
Thanks for your reply.

John

 

[. Raine]

All's good here, John. We only got about five inches of snow and then it turned to rain, so the storm wasn't that bad here.

Could there maybe be ice inside the throat of the LNBF? It would be a real long shot but here it was real windy during the storm and I had to clear ice off a few of my LNBFs during the storm. Or maybe there was a bee's nest in there from last summer and the high winds caused it to fall into a position to block signal.

Did your power go out during the storm? Maybe check and make sure the setting for LNB power isn't off? Although, if it was that, I think you wouldn't have the 45% signal reading.

Andy

 

[JFOK]

Andy,

We got about 4 inches before it turned to rain which washed away most of the snow.
The wind was the bigger story here
I just checked the throat of the LNBF while putting the feedhorn cover back on...no ice.
I'm really baffled, it was working great before the storm...now nothing.
I checked every possible reason I can think of.
Well anyway have a great weekend, if you can think of any other possible reasons for my dilemma give me a shout.

John