Only seeing even tp with 2.03 software

[JohnHarvey]

I'm a new customer and the installation is not yet complete because the 522 does not see the odd tp on 105. Unfortunately, my locals (NW Ark) are on tp 23. I'm a newbie and the tech who is doing the install is baffled. Not the best formula for success.

The installation tech swapped every component of the installation: 522, switch, dish, cables, ground. When he checked the signal by connecting a 311, he got good reception i.e. even and odd tps for 110, 119 and 105!

DISH gave the tech some suggestions: e.g. "resetting the matrix" by running a check switch with 105 disconnected at port 2 of the switch (DP34) and then rerunning the check switch with port 2 reconnected. He was given conflicting direction about whether the first check switch should be done with the dish set to 500 or super. He tried it both ways.

Any suggestions?

John

 

[ShadowEKU]

sounds like a bad LNBf to me but he switched it out...im positive this would have bene said on here before if the 522 was doing this widespread.... quite interesting... i wonder if the voltage on the line isnt making it from the 522...

 

[JohnHarvey]

One of the thoughts was that the 120 vac line might be supplying poor power. I tested it under a 15-16 amp load (my wife's hair dryer) and the it dropped less than 5% from 119-120 to around 115-116. DISH said that the last satellite to get power is 105. Do they mean from the 522 to the switch? He had 105 in port 2. Does this make any difference?

 

[SimpleSimon]

AH - do NOT put 105 on input port #2 !!!
Port 1 = 119, port 2 = 110, port 3 = 105.

Don't know if that'll fix anything, but there's been problems otherwise.

 

[rolandv]

Why even get involved and stress yourself out? Just let the guy do his job. In the end, it'll get done, and your blood pressure will stay low.

 

[JohnHarvey]

Still perplexed

AH - do NOT put 105 on input port #2 !!!
Port 1 = 119, port 2 = 110, port 3 = 105.

Don't know if that'll fix anything, but there's been problems otherwise.

When the tech came back at 9:30 on Friday night, we tried the port configuration you suggested. We could only see the even tps on 105 even after resetting the matrix.

He then replaced the 522 with a 510. This seemed to eliminate the reception problem although we did not have a dual tuner we wanted. So when the tech left our home after midnight we had local channels. Saturday morning we were back to no local channels. When we contacted the tech, he suggested that I run a check switch and sure enough no even tps on 105. He said that he had no idea what to do but that he would get back in touch with us after talking to four techs in the area who he hoped would have some suggestions.

Saturday evening we were able to receive local channels again. And again this morning. The phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" comes to mind but I don't have my 522. Since the symptom seems to be intermittant with the 510, does that suggest a defective LNBf? That would mean that we had two because he swapped them during the initial install on Wednesday.

Still a frustrated newbie with intermittant local channels and without my dual DVR, John

 

[JohnHarvey]

Why even get involved and stress yourself out? Just let the guy do his job. In the end, it'll get done, and your blood pressure will stay low.

As you can see from my response to SimpleSimon I lost my dual DVR still have intermittant local reception.

Even though your thoughts were supposed to reassure me, I have been asked to settle for a 510 instead of the dual 522.

The job won't be done until I have reliable local reception on a dual DVR.

Helpful people on this forum have made suggestions which I have passed on to the tech. Am I asking too much?

 

[SimpleSimon]

No you're NOT asking too much!

At this point, having swapped all the hardware, and getting differing failures (sometimes losing even, sometimes odd), it's time to replace cables.

It's easy enough to just replace the LNBF to switch piece, but the other one might be better done using a fresh line just thrown through a window or whatever. maybe just replacing the connectors is worth a shot.

How long are the cable runs?

 

[JohnHarvey]

First of all thanks for sticking with me through this very perplexing situation.

Currently, we have a 510 installed which receives local channels half of the time. Every day since last Friday evening, we have observed the following pattern: 1. good local reception from mid afternoon until late evening; 2. no odd tps when we try to view morning local programming; 3. back to good local reception some time in the afternoon. This pattern has been observed on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

At this point, having swapped all the hardware, and getting differing failures (sometimes losing even, sometimes odd), it's time to replace cables.

Just to clarify, 1. we either have no tps, even only or both never odd tps only, 2. the tech replaced everything last Wednesday including rerunning all of the new cabling. (Question: Is there some way to disconnect and test the cables? When my wife installed a Cat 5 network in her classroom, she terminated and tested her cables before connecting them into the network.)

It's easy enough to just replace the LNBF to switch piece, but the other one might be better done using a fresh line just thrown through a window or whatever. maybe just replacing the connectors is worth a shot.

The tech replaced the LNBf this morning. No change, yet. He plans to bring a 301 out to see whether this makes any difference.

How long are the cable runs?

The cable runs are as follows: dish to switch is about 20-30 feet, switch to receiver is about 70-80 feet or about 90-110 feet total.

FYI: There are no trees, hills or other obstructions.

Does DISH have any escalation procedure that will cause a persistent problem to get progressively higher levels of attention? The tech has contacted advanced tech support several times and seems to be starting over again and again.

The tech appears to be working diligently between other installations to solve this problem. His stated goal, and mine, is to resolve the problem and reinstall the 522.

Thanks again for your input,

John

 

[JohnHarvey]

PS Re: cable runs. One of the first things the tech tried was to relocate the switch closer to the dish. Originally, he had located it closer to the receiver and he moved it closer to the dish.

John

 

[SimpleSimon]

Well, an email to ceo@dishnetwork.com would be an escalatioon step - but it seems like your installer is doing everything he can. I seriously doubt that a 301 is going to make any difference at all.

This is a very strange problem, that's for sure. Swapping out all the hardware should mean that the problem would at least change. So, I'm starting to think that there's some kind of terrestrial interference going on. What might be around? Military installations? Weather radar domes? Anything?

There were some reports of strange problems with either 105 or 121 in one specific local area at multiple sites, but I don't remember ever seeing a resolution.

 

[MrJingles]

Transponder 7 on 121/105 is still crap. Here's what I would do. Disconnect the ground (green wire). Your house may have a grounding problem, and you're feeding the dish your electrical backfeed.

More than likely, the dish is out of tune -- transponder 7 can be a PITA at times. As far as I know, Dish knows about it and is working on it.

What city/state do you live in?

 

[JohnHarvey]

The installer is coming out today to tune the dish, again. He says that there is a new mfr for some of the dish components. He mentioned the skew bracket and skew plate.

My location is Lincoln, AR about 15 miles southwest of Fayetteville. Local programming is on 105 tp 23. The installer uses 105 tp 10 for rough tuning the dish because the signal is much stronger.

Thanks for your input, John

 

[SimpleSimon]

IIRC, there's a thread somewhere that talked about E* moving tp7 channels to tp10 because of some problem. Don't know for sure.