Unusual problem

[ekilgus]

I discovered the picture on my Joey 2 was pixelating badly so the tech had me do a check switch which seemed to clear the problem up.
However, after the check switch I discovered certain channels (only the ones emanating from 119) when switched to briefly displayed the "complete signal loss" box then showed the channel. However, the channel showed in a kind of letter box format with black bars surrounding the picture. This only happens when switching to a channel that comes from the 119 satellite, switching to any channel from one of the other satellites is fine and the picture fills the screen normally.
The tech had no idea and even had me do a partial restore which was annoying because I had to recreate my custom guide data. Accordingly, he scheduled a tech visit for me. Does anyone have any ideas? Could the MOCA be failing? I have the HWS.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Sounds like one of the cable ends may be bad and letting moisture in.

 

[Bobby]

Yep, if it is satellite specific it will have something to do with wiring or the LNB...

 

[ekilgus]

Sounds like one of the cable ends may be bad and letting moisture in.

Thanks Scott and Bobby, it does seem reasonable except that this problem only began after the tech had me do a check switch, but I suppose it could have been about to happen anyway. My setup is kind of simple, two lines from the dish to a SOLO node with one line out to the Hopper and one out to a Joey. If you and Bobby are correct, the problem must be a failing LNB or the connectivity between the LNB and the SOLO node because this problem exists on both the Hopper and the Joey. Can a SOLO node go bad?
This would make the picture display in the previously describe format? Who would have thought.

 

[HipKat]

The problems with Joeys, 99% of the time, start at the Hopper. Remember, the Joey is just a client - no more than a monitor on a computer in many ways. It's too bad you only have 1 Joey so you can't swap with another and see if the problems persists at that location or follows your Joey to another location. Cabling is most likely the issue. Loose connectors, damaged cable, improperly seated connectors, et al cause ingress which causes signal loss and pixelation. Water infiltration is something else to look for in the cabling and/or solo node. A power surge or near lightning strike can also damage the lnb and the node. Also, just poor signal from a dish that may have moved or settled over time. Your best bet is to get a tech out there to sweep the system and see if he can pinpoint the problem

 

[ekilgus]

The problems with Joeys, 99% of the time, start at the Hopper. Remember, the Joey is just a client - no more than a monitor on a computer in many ways. It's too bad you only have 1 Joey so you can't swap with another and see if the problems persists at that location or follows your Joey to another location. Cabling is most likely the issue. Loose connectors, damaged cable, improperly seated connectors, et al cause ingress which causes signal loss and pixelation. Water infiltration is something else to look for in the cabling and/or solo node. A power surge or near lightning strike can also damage the lnb and the node. Also, just poor signal from a dish that may have moved or settled over time. Your best bet is to get a tech out there to sweep the system and see if he can pinpoint the problem

Actually, I also have a wireless Joey and the problem persists there as well. After thinking about it some more, I think the problem may be with the LNB for the 119 since I can't imagine it being anywhere else because the channels for 110, 129, & 61.5 are fine. The SOLO is not exposed to any weather, the only weather exposure is with the Dish and the LNB's. A system status check shows all satellites are fine and the signal strength around 70, the Dish tech said that was very good.
Anyway, a tech will be here tomorrow.

 

[ekilgus]

One more bit of information. It seems the SD channels from the 119 are fine, only the HD channels are affected in the manner previously described. I hope the tech that's coming tomorrow isn't as confused about all this as I am.

 

[Bobby]

One more bit of information. It seems the SD channels from the 119 are fine, only the HD channels are affected in the manner previously described. I hope the tech that's coming tomorrow isn't as confused about all this as I am.

Just let the tech figure it out. You may be surprised at what the issue is.

 

[charlesrshell]

One more bit of information. It seems the SD channels from the 119 are fine, only the HD channels are affected in the manner previously described. I hope the tech that's coming tomorrow isn't as confused about all this as I am.

Hope you let us know what the fix is.

 

[ekilgus]

Just let the tech figure it out. You may be surprised at what the issue is.

There's more. I just tuned to ESPN for the football game and the picture is just fine. And guess what satellite the signal is coming from. Yep, 119.

 

[ekilgus]

Hope you let us know what the fix is.

All fixed. The tech said it was not satellite specific but frequency specific. Accordingly, he redid all the connections at the dish and replaced LNB's because the originals were old and the dish itself because he said the surface had deteriorated over the years. This resolved the main problem but presented another problem with my locals being absent so he switched me to the eastern arc saying I wouldn't lose any channels that I currently got with the western arc plus the 61.5. So far, he seems correct as I haven't noticed any missing channels, or at least not yet.
I'm kind of unhappy no longer being on the western arc but I don't know why.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I had to switch to eastern arc on my parents account because they were missing their local channels due to a neighbors huge oak tree blocking their view. Re-aimed the dish to eastern arc and they have great signals and no more drop outs on any channels.

 

[ekilgus]

I had to switch to eastern arc on my parents account because they were missing their local channels due to a neighbors huge oak tree blocking their view. Re-aimed the dish to eastern arc and they have great signals and no more drop outs on any channels.

The tech assured me the same thing, better signal and fewer drop outs. I do have one question, which is: Do the techs install the latest LNB's, the ones that work with the H3 and if so, it would seem they're backwards compatible, and would also mean if I wanted to upgrade to the H3 I'm pretty much already set up. How can I identify which LNB the tech installed?

 

[Bobby]

If you don’t have an H3 you have legacy LNBs. The Hybrid LNBs that the H3 uses don’t work with regular Hoppers. Also, when and if you go to an H3 your node will be replaced by a hybrid hub. Another kind of installation can use the legacy LNBs with the use of a 42 switch. The node to hybrid hub would be the same either way.

Edit: I have been alerted that Hybrid LNBs will work with all Hoppers.

 

[bnewt]

When I was switched from western arc to eastern arc to receive my locals, I have experienced more rain fade

 

[littlecloud319]

When I was switched from western arc to eastern arc to receive my locals, I have experienced more rain fade

That seems to be a common thing people notice between the two arcs. I’m sure it can also vary depending on where in the sky the satellite is for your location. I’m sure the lower it is the chances of rain fade increase due to rain/clouds being able to get in line of sight from a further distance. That’s just the logical way. With dish who knows, maybe the eastern arc satellite is older and doesn’t transmit as strong of a signal.

 

[dare2be]

That seems to be a common thing people notice between the two arcs. I’m sure it can also vary depending on where in the sky the satellite is for your location. I’m sure the lower it is the chances of rain fade increase due to rain/clouds being able to get in line of sight from a further distance. That’s just the logical way. With dish who knows, maybe the eastern arc satellite is older and doesn’t transmit as strong of a signal.

Actually, my experience was the opposite. EA gets more rain fade for me, even though the sats are much higher in the sky than the WA sats are. However, another factor may have been I was going from SD only on WA (625) to HD on EA (722).

And EA sats are newer than WA sats.

 

[ekilgus]

If you don’t have an H3 you have legacy LNBs. The Hybrid LNBs that the H3 uses don’t work with regular Hoppers. Also, when and if you go to an H3 your node will be replaced by a hybrid hub. Another kind of installation can use the legacy LNBs with the use of a 42 switch. The node to hybrid hub would be the same either way.

Edit: I have been alerted that Hybrid LNBs will work with all Hoppers.

As per your edit, then the Hybrid LNB's are backwards compatible. The question remains about how to identify these LNB's. I read somewhere that these LNB's may be identified by the Dish logo on it being in red. Is this accurate?

 

[HipKat]

If you don’t have an H3 you have legacy LNBs. The Hybrid LNBs that the H3 uses don’t work with regular Hoppers. Also, when and if you go to an H3 your node will be replaced by a hybrid hub. Another kind of installation can use the legacy LNBs with the use of a 42 switch. The node to hybrid hub would be the same either way.

Edit: I have been alerted that Hybrid LNBs will work with all Hoppers.

Hybrid LNB's work with all the Hoppers, not just the H3. I use Hybrid exclusively on every Hopper install.

You can Identify the Hybrids 2 ways. THe Dish Logo on the Front is just plane red letters that say dish or look at the tag on the LNB and it will say DPH.

AS far as migrating to Eastern Arc, if you live in an are where you get both Eastern and Western Arc with all channels, includiing locals, there's a possibility that Dish is going to force a migration to Eastern in lieu of removing locals from the 129. I've seen it in 3 different markets in Illinois.

I'm on EA and for me, much better performance in rain than when I was on WA. The 129 HD would drop in the lightest rain. On EA, I've not lost signal during moderately heavy rains

 

[navychop]

“... Edit: I have been alerted that Hybrid LNBs will work with all Hoppers....”

But not both HWS and H3 at the same time.