Searching for satellite after working before

[lekes]

Hi Guys,
I will likely not have all the info I need but will try my best. The guys at hunting camp think I'm the satellite guru because I have a cheap meter and know how to set a dish using it. We set up one guy a while back and he was getting programming just fine using a box from home like we all do. Recently he has no signal...771...looking for satellite. Using the meter, we are pointed at the optimal point azimuth and elevation....slight move any direction and signal on meter drops off. On the TV setup screen, transponders all show 0 except transponder 12 shows 23 and transponder 20 shows 33. I don't understand how it was working fine at one time and now it is not. I though maybe tree leaves...we've had a lot of rain and tree are growing. I cut a few branches and thought I would see SOME improvement but the was none. Maybe I need to cut more? Might it be the LNB? I don't know model # but it is a dual LNB (1 LNB, 2 connections). They called customer service thinking it might be the box but the lady told them no...box was fine (Not sure how they can tell....no phone service in the area....it's a hunting camp with camper trailers!)
Any ideas, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'll be going back to camp this weekend (Labor Day weekend) and hope to be able to do something for these guys....football season is near!
Thanks you in advance for any advice.
Leon

 

[Joe Diamond]

Hi Guys,
I will likely not have all the info I need but will try my best. The guys at hunting camp think I'm the satellite guru because I have a cheap meter and know how to set a dish using it. We set up one guy a while back and he was getting programming just fine using a box from home like we all do. Recently he has no signal...771...looking for satellite. Using the meter, we are pointed at the optimal point azimuth and elevation....slight move any direction and signal on meter drops off. On the TV setup screen, transponders all show 0 except transponder 12 shows 23 and transponder 20 shows 33. I don't understand how it was working fine at one time and now it is not. I though maybe tree leaves...we've had a lot of rain and tree are growing. I cut a few branches and thought I would see SOME improvement but the was none. Maybe I need to cut more? Might it be the LNB? I don't know model # but it is a dual LNB (1 LNB, 2 connections). They called customer service thinking it might be the box but the lady told them no...box was fine (Not sure how they can tell....no phone service in the area....it's a hunting camp with camper trailers!)
Any ideas, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'll be going back to camp this weekend (Labor Day weekend) and hope to be able to do something for these guys....football season is near!
Thanks you in advance for any advice.
Leon

The next step = (1) Turn the unit on and lightly shake any cable. You are looking for a failed fitting connection. The pic could suddenly appear just from shaking the cable....then fix the fitting. (2) Next...try installing another box that you know works....if it works on the rig you are looking at you know it is a receiver problem........if it doesn't it is a fitting, cable, (look for dings in the cable) component OR the dish has moved and needs repeaking.(3) turn on the signal meter as examine the readings.............all 0s.........look at the dish & mast for movement esp a loose bolt that has allowed the el to shift. The dish could have spun in the wind, check az. IF every other transponder is 0 the problem is probably the LNB. Try repointing on ch 100.

Since you mentioned trees...re examine the opening in the trees....the limbs do move as the leaves get bigger etc.....IF you get signal and pic of any transponder your LOS is probably blocked or the dish has shifted. Examine the mast for still being plumb.In a hunting camp you can clear limbs with a shotgun....12ga BB is my fav! the signal is not arriving from the direction the arm is pointing but rather from an angle of around 30 degrees between the top of the dish and the LNB....check Line of Sight (LOS) even though it worked earlier.

Report how it goes...take a spare box with you this weekend,

Joe

 

[jdspencer]

FYI, TPs 12 and 20 are spot beams on 101, so those could be higher.
I'd suspect the LNB.

 

[Joe Diamond]

FYI, TPs 12 and 20 are spot beams on 101, so those could be higher.
I'd suspect the LNB.

JD,
Good one! Back in the day there was nothing in the tech instructions about the way the transponders were tasked. There were a few 0s and a few 100s that seemed to move around...never any explanation. And never and mention of spot beams. I asked one time and got a very superior sounding..."need to know basis!". Well if not me with the tools in hand....who?

Looks like a cooked LNB here......unless some leaves have grown into the LOS.
IF it is a round dish..............either one of the lines will run one receiver. Could be one bad pole on the LNB....running to a multiswitch?.....both lines running to a recorder? Test each line independently into the single receiver (IRD). Might be one bad pole on the LNB.......with luck.

Joe

 

[harshness]

We probably shouldn't ignore the possibility that the dish is pointing at the wrong satellite or is aiming to high or low. Getting remnants of signals is usually a sign of the elevation being off if the el-cheapo meter shows the dish has otherwise been peaked.

 

[lekes]

Thanks for the advice guys. I took a box that I know was working (from my camper trailer) and installed it in place of his and there was still nothing....all the transponders read zero. I trimmed more branches from a tree close to the LOS thinking there might be SOME improvement but nothing. Next step would be to cut the tree down....that's frown upon by the owners. It doesn't seem to be the cable but I can test that by bypassing his cable altogether and using one I know is good and go though his window with it to check that out. Next, I will try another LNB.
Thanks again. I'll let you know...

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the advice guys. I took a box that I know was working (from my camper trailer) and installed it in place of his and there was still nothing....all the transponders read zero. I trimmed more branches from a tree close to the LOS thinking there might be SOME improvement but nothing. Next step would be to cut the tree down....that's frown upon by the owners. It doesn't seem to be the cable but I can test that by bypassing his cable altogether and using one I know is good and go though his window with it to check that out. Next, I will try another LNB.
Thanks again. I'll let you know...

Keep pluggin, you'll find it ... the bold is a good idea !

 

[Joe Diamond]

Yup,
That cable jumper is the first and almost only procedure for cable dawgs. The problem can only be the faucet or the pipe that brings it.

Joe