This was an old post originally, couldn't reply to that, but I thought it was important......
Jayelem and Iceberg,
I need to jump in here and disagree with you "slightly".
There is a definite difference between the "signal level" and the "signal quality" that you read off of your FTA receiver.
Your FTA receiver has two graphical bar graphs which display two different items, one displays signal level and one displays signal quality. They are both important indicators.
The signal level is basically a measure of the RMS current that is carried throughout your cable from the receiver to the LNBF and back. The minimum is just the basic noise floor from the LNBF itself. If you have a good LNBF and just lay it on the shop bench, you should detect some level of signal here. It will be in the red zone, but something should be present and it should not be at zero.
If it is at zero, the LNBF is dead or the receiver parameters are not set up to match the local oscillator of the LNBF.
The signal quality is a measure of the digital signal quality of the received signal from the satellite and reveals how high above the noise floor the transmitted satellite signal is. The higher this bar graph reads, the better or greater the signal from the satellite is over the basic noise floor of the LNBF itself and any additional noise from external terrestrial interference or solar interference sources.
You need to monitor the signal level just as well as the signal quality to ensure that your entire system is properly connected and fully operational.
Therefore, the signal level is not entirely meaningless. It is an important indicator and an important troubleshooting tool.
If the signal level reads very low or is non-existant, you might have too long of a cable run, an open circuit, a defective LNBF or a LNBF parameter set incorrectly, something that doesn't match the LNBF that you are using.
If the signal level reads very low, it might also tell you that your DC voltage at the dish motor or the LNBF may be too low to control either device, so be aware of that as well.
Normally, we ignore the signal level because we don't generally run into a problem with it. However, it is still very critical and therefore you must monitor it. If this shows too low or is at zero, you won't even be able to detect your signal quality.
Jayelem and Iceberg, you are not stating anything wrong, but you are not stating the most accurate overall picture. There is a definite reason for having the signal level meter. Most often we overlook this and just expect it to be something that is taken for granted, but for those who are new to this realm, we should explain a few of these items with more detail. Just so they understand the reasons why. I hope you guys don't mind my constructive critisicm.
AcWxRadar
Don't even pay attention to the signal strength ,it means nothing ... it's all about Quality
as jayelem said dont worry about signal.....quality is all you need to worry about
Jayelem and Iceberg,
I need to jump in here and disagree with you "slightly".
There is a definite difference between the "signal level" and the "signal quality" that you read off of your FTA receiver.
Your FTA receiver has two graphical bar graphs which display two different items, one displays signal level and one displays signal quality. They are both important indicators.
The signal level is basically a measure of the RMS current that is carried throughout your cable from the receiver to the LNBF and back. The minimum is just the basic noise floor from the LNBF itself. If you have a good LNBF and just lay it on the shop bench, you should detect some level of signal here. It will be in the red zone, but something should be present and it should not be at zero.
If it is at zero, the LNBF is dead or the receiver parameters are not set up to match the local oscillator of the LNBF.
The signal quality is a measure of the digital signal quality of the received signal from the satellite and reveals how high above the noise floor the transmitted satellite signal is. The higher this bar graph reads, the better or greater the signal from the satellite is over the basic noise floor of the LNBF itself and any additional noise from external terrestrial interference or solar interference sources.
You need to monitor the signal level just as well as the signal quality to ensure that your entire system is properly connected and fully operational.
Therefore, the signal level is not entirely meaningless. It is an important indicator and an important troubleshooting tool.
If the signal level reads very low or is non-existant, you might have too long of a cable run, an open circuit, a defective LNBF or a LNBF parameter set incorrectly, something that doesn't match the LNBF that you are using.
If the signal level reads very low, it might also tell you that your DC voltage at the dish motor or the LNBF may be too low to control either device, so be aware of that as well.
Normally, we ignore the signal level because we don't generally run into a problem with it. However, it is still very critical and therefore you must monitor it. If this shows too low or is at zero, you won't even be able to detect your signal quality.
Jayelem and Iceberg, you are not stating anything wrong, but you are not stating the most accurate overall picture. There is a definite reason for having the signal level meter. Most often we overlook this and just expect it to be something that is taken for granted, but for those who are new to this realm, we should explain a few of these items with more detail. Just so they understand the reasons why. I hope you guys don't mind my constructive critisicm.
AcWxRadar