Newbie here. Problem with HD Channels Error 771

jmill911 · Aug 19, 2012

Hello all,

I am new to this site. I thought I would give this a try before I got someone from DTV to come out and charge me 50 bucks for what might be an easy fix. So here it goes:

I have had the same receiver for years. This one:

It recently stopped working completely, it was really old. Anyway, I contacted them and they sent me a new receiver, which arrived in a couple of days, this one:

I hooked everything up exactly as it was with the old one. The DTV guy came and professionally installed the dish on the roof and ran all the correct cables. All I did was swap out receivers. This is how it is all hooked up:

(HDMI, Sat and Power)

The old receiver also was hooked up to one of these, which the new one is also:

Okay, now everything is hooked up correctly, so I called them an reactivated the new receiver and access card. The preview channel popped up fine. Then I flip through channels and only the non hd channels come in:

The HD Channels give me this error:

I have reset and redone everything numerous times, I even had the them reauthorize a couple times and still nothing. Same error message. I am getting frustrated. I have called and they were little to no help, telling me just to "Reset the receiver" which I explained to them I had done numerous times.

I am no satellite expert by any means, but I figured this info might also be useful for my problem. This is the Signal Strength test I ran:

This is the Satellite model which was professionally installed on the roof and has not moved or anything which is why I don't understand why the SD Channels are coming in fine and not the HD.

I apologize for the long post but I wanted to have everything covered so anyone could help with my problem. If anyone has any suggestions or can help out, it would be greatly appreciated guys. Thanks.

Also: it tells me not to install B Band Coverters at the bottom with the little Yellow triangle when I began to think that might be the problem.

Again, thanks for your time if anyone read this long post.

raoul5788 · Aug 19, 2012

to Satelliteguys!

First off, I have never seen such a complete post for a newcomer! Way to go!

You have an alignment issue. Check the dish to be sure the mount is tight and the dish is firmly connected to the mast.
If there are no issues there, then you need to adjust it. While someone is watching the signal strength screen, push gently on the back of the dish on all four "corners" and see what happens to the numbers. Allow a few seconds for any changes to occur. That should tell you which direction the dish needs to move. There are small knobs on the mount that will move the dish in small increments. Try adjusting the dish and see what happens. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

jmill911 · Aug 19, 2012

Thank you for the quick reply! I will try that as soon as I can. It is raining here now (that is not the problem though because it was sunny and clear when the problem started). I will post back if that is what the problem is. I guess it could have moved but I haven't even touched it since the guy came and installed it. Thanks again.

Also, since I have never realigned a dish. What screen do I need it on before I start fooling with it? The Signal strength screen? What is the proper readings I should be getting? Thanks for any help on that. Going to attempt it when the weather gets better.

Edit: Also, this was the screen for the setup. I know it should not have that many Red X's for sure.

Hutch1814 · Aug 19, 2012

You shouldn't have ANY red X's. As for the post, way to go! Very helpful indeed! You need to just go to the satellite strength and just keep it on the 101. This is the satellite you'll need for pointing the dish. Once you get that satellite in you'll need to tighten the dish back down and then start the dithering process. It's very hard to explain but check out some YouTube videos and that should help out a lot!

Welcome to the site and of you need me to pull up some videos I can. I'm sure somebody else can chime in on how to dither it if you'd like to wait to see if somebody can explain

jmill911 · Aug 19, 2012

Thank you so much for the input guys, very helpful. I am going to attempt to realign the dish asap (weather permitting recently). I hope this solves it. Like I said, DTV was little to no help and just kept telling me to "reset my receiver" even when I explained in detail like I did here. I just didn't want to waste 50 bucks having them send a guy out to simply realign it if I can do it myself. I will return to the thread and share my results. If anyone has any other suggestions or advice, please feel free to share it here with me. I didn't know you should have NO red X's at all. Well, hopefully this is going to work. Keep it on channel 101 while it does the strength test?

Hutch1814 · Aug 19, 2012

Keep it on satellite 101. You'll see it in the signal strength menu (it's actually the first one to show)

jmill911 · Aug 19, 2012

Satellite 101 as in channel 101 on the guide? Sorry for the noob question, just want make sure everything is set up correctly before I get up on the roof and start adjusting it. Do I run the signal test, or keep it on 101? Thanks again for the help guys.

raoul5788 · Aug 19, 2012

Go to menu, settings, sat & antenna, view signal strength. Check the numbers for 101. It's the same one in your 7th picture. Then check the other satellites, but don't worry about 99s or 103s.

jmill911 · Aug 19, 2012

Okay, I understand. What type of numbers am I hoping to see when I adjust it? I will look up some guides etc. on proper satellite alignment. Thanks again for everything guys.

raoul5788 · Aug 19, 2012

For 101 you should get almost all mid to high 90s and a few 100s. For the 99c and 103ca/cb sats, similar but maybe a little lower.

texasbrit · Aug 19, 2012

When did DirecTv do this installation? There is a 90 day warranty on installation, so it would not cost you anything.
Yes, this is an alignment issue. If it is still under warranty, call DirecTV and get them to do this properly.

jmill911 · Aug 19, 2012

texasbrit said:
When did DirecTv do this installation? There is a 90 day warranty on installation, so it would not cost you anything.
Yes, this is an alignment issue. If it is still under warranty, call DirecTV and get them to do this properly.

Unfortunately it is no longer covered under warranty. The installation was done over a year ago. I just swapped out broken receivers and FED EX brought the new receiver and I installed it. Thanks again for all the help guys. Hope the alignment solves my problem.

jmill911 · Sep 2, 2012

Hello all. I am sorry I have not gotten back sooner. There was a hurricane/tropical storm in my area here in louisiana. I finally got up on the roof and adjusted properly. The HD Channels all come in fine now. So thanks to all that helped and replied with suggestions. I am still getting a slight problem. When I would originally do the Dish Setup, I would get pretty much all RED X's on the one test screen. Even though all the channels are currently working fine, I still get 2 red X's across the chart. Is this something I should be concerned with. I seem to have realigned everything properly unless I am missing something. Here is a shot:

Like I said, other than those 2 X's everything is working fine. ALL HD channels are now coming in just fine with no skipping or errors.

Thanks again to everyone that helped so far. I really appreciate it.

Hutch1814 · Sep 2, 2012

jmill911 said:
Hello all. I am sorry I have not gotten back sooner. There was a hurricane/tropical storm in my area here in louisiana. I finally got up on the roof and adjusted properly. The HD Channels all come in fine now. So thanks to all that helped and replied with suggestions. I am still getting a slight problem. When I would originally do the Dish Setup, I would get pretty much all RED X's on the one test screen. Even though all the channels are currently working fine, I still get 2 red X's across the chart. Is this something I should be concerned with. I seem to have realigned everything properly unless I am missing something. Here is a shot:

<img src="http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=80652"/>

Like I said, other than those 2 X's everything is working fine. ALL HD channels are now coming in just fine with no skipping or errors.

Thanks again to everyone that helped so far. I really appreciate it.

These mean you still have a dish slightly off. They're good enough to receive programming buy could be better. You'll notice rain fade much quicker than you should.

raoul5788 · Sep 2, 2012

You may find a couple of the transponders are in the mid 80s or so. That's enough to give the error message, but not enough to affect reception in good conditions. Like Hutch said, you may lose signal quicker in the rain. Can you post your signal strengths for all of the satellites? You might be able to dither the dish and get those numbers higher.

jmill911 · Sep 2, 2012

Is this the screen of signal strengths you wanted me to post?

raoul5788 · Sep 2, 2012

Good start, but can you post 99c, 103ca, and 103cb?

jmill911 · Sep 2, 2012

I sure can, if you tell me what options to go to do so. I have run the initial setup a few times but I didn't see specifically what screen to bring up that option.

raoul5788 · Sep 2, 2012

It's the same way you got to the 101 screen. Check the right side of the screen and you will see the + sign highlighted. Hit enter and it will move to the 110, then 119, etc. Keep going and you will get to the screens I mentioned.

jmill911 · Sep 2, 2012

Ok, thanks again for all your help. I will get a pic up for you as soon as I can.

Newbie here. Problem with HD Channels Error 771

Member

Studebaker driver

Member

SatelliteGuys Pro

Member

SatelliteGuys Pro

Member

Studebaker driver

Member

Studebaker driver

SatelliteGuys Pro

Member

Member

SatelliteGuys Pro

Studebaker driver

Member

Studebaker driver

Member

Studebaker driver

Member

Similar threads

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Share this page