Problem with channel change

[sparks]

Fortec CM90 fixed position- Invacom QPH-031 lnbf -S-SM21H 22 KHZ Switch - Mercury II - Signal Booster - 4 X 1 switch with three dishes total. I bought this equipment less then one year ago. Everything is properly grounded.

I have a fixed dish pointing at 129, 123 and 101. When I change channels that would switch to a different satellite. My Mercury II will normally have a very long delay before it will lock on to the signal of the satellite that I just selected. Most of the time it will not switch to the new satellite until I start a power scan and then cancel the scan.

I have replaced and tried 3 different 4X1 switches of two different brands without any help to this problem. This Mercury II shows that it has the current version 1.53 firmware. No modifications have been made to the box or its software, I am not a hacker. No settings have been put into any of the satellites listed in the Mercury II other than the three that I have selected. So I would think that it is not looking for a satellite that I am not aiming a dish at. If I connect to only two of the three satellite dishes then I do not have this problem.

Any information and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[rdehaven]

I frequently have to do the exact same thing to 'encourage' my Mercury II to move my dish. So it sounds like we're both seeing the same type of issue.

 

[brentb636]

I think that I would start by checking every connector on the RG6 cable, and replace any that might be even slightly suspect. Then I'd take out the signal booster, and see if there was any switching improvement. I'm not a fan of signal boosters/inline amps , though I know they have their uses. I inherently distrust having any more connection points than are absolutely necessary , just another place for something to go wrong.

 

[rv1pop]

Glorystar had a post about finding the center LO frequency of the LNB. I followed the reset proceedure, which corrected my problem on one receiver. MY LO was off by 10 or more. If someone knows how to do the search ..... thye may find it, or Brian may chime back in.

 

[sparks]

The problem has existed since day one with all connectors and RG6 being new. The problem existed with a TV and the Mercury II at the dish. The dish was connected to the LNBF and a signal meter only during setup.

I also have a motor that came with the equipment. It was so undependable and it was so much trouble to get it to work that I decided to set up two other dishes since I only wanted three satellites any way. The motor problem was obviously the Mercury II.

I experienced this problem before I even got the box into the house with everything hooked up.

I noticed that the signal amp increases the signal by about 10% and the signal quality by about 3 %. The signal with the amp in place is the same at the dish as it is almost 100 feet away in the house. I am talking numbers with a clear sky and not even close to a tree or building on the South side.

I have always felt that the Ivacom LNB's are a little erratic. They are what was sent from Sadoun with this original kit. I understood that I am suppose to be able to also get a FTA off of one of the echostars at 129 since the dish is already pointed that way. It will not find the one FTA PBS station that is listed as being there. I do not really care if I get that station other than I care that I should get that station.

What is the recommed best Linear LNBF for KU band FTA.

 

[Mr Tony]

I understood that I am suppose to be able to also get a FTA off of one of the echostars at 129 since the dish is already pointed that way. It will not find the one FTA PBS station that is listed as being there. .

that PBS has been scrambled for a while now

 

[Wescopc]

I just changed my satellite farm after a couple of years. I had trouble with my Fortec Lifetime Ultra working the various switches after the changes were made. Replaced the ground block and the connectors to it, fixed my problems. There had been no problem prior to touching the system.

It seems that the connections are very critical for the switches to "hear" their control tones.
Bob