2 out of 4 LNBs crapped out, is this usual?

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markchadwick

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Jun 30, 2006
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Hey all, I got into FTA because my mom wanted korean language programming. So I got a receiver and dish from tantv.com (the asia network - channels on AMC4) and set it up on my mom's roof, with the help of iceberg and a few others on this very helpful forum.
Here's my issue. I bought 2 powersat lnbs from tantv and also bought 2 fortec lnbs from sadoun.
My mom's dish originally had a powersat lnb on it but I had to replace it with a fortec lnb this past week because the powersat crapped out: loss of signal quality until it completely crapped out a few weeks ago...
I also installed korean tv at my friend's house last week because his wife wanted the programming. We set it up fine a week ago today with a powersat lnb (same as on my mom's roof) and it worked great initially, had a 70% signal quality on 11860 (anything over a 30 is a clean picture). But a few days later it crapped out, and my friend was on his roof trying to regain the signal but no luck. He told me that when he went up there, nothing seemed loose or out of place, which I was pretty sure of because I made sure to lock everything down pretty snug. Still, he tried pointing the dish again, still can't get a signal quality over 10 percent.
So now I'm thinking: I bought 4 lnbs and two of them have apparently crapped out. Is this normal? Am I not doing something right? Do I need to weatherproof these things with silicone caulk before mounting them? Do I need to buy a quality/more expensive lnb?
Or is it just me? I don't think so, I've installed about 5-6 dishes so far and while not an expert, I think I know how to lock in a signal - for example, when I replaced my mom's lnb this past week, I was up on that roof for the better part of two hours with the old lnb (not fun in 40 degree weather) before I finally gave up and tried the new lnb: bam, in under 5 minutes I got a 60 signal quality on 11860. So I'm thinking it's the lnb and not me, but I figured I'd post my story here and see what more experienced people have to say, if any one else has had a similar experience and/or can tell me what went wrong and what I need to do in the future to avoid such frustrations...
 
Sorry, just called my friend,he got off his roof 10 minutes ago and managed to get his dish repointed, has a 70 signal quality again! So his lnb is fine after all. Strange though that he lost signal there, everything seemed locked down pretty tight according to him. He said though when he changed the azimuth (elevation and skew were fine) he reacquired the signal. How often does that happen: you get a great signal, lock everything down and then lose it a few days later? Oh well, live and learn...
 
Try resetting the master power switch next time the receiver indicates a loss of signal. It may be a receiver issue. Rebooting a receiver often reaquires the signal.

The LNBFs may not be totally failing, but the LO may be off frequency. Try adjusting the LO frequency in the receiver. There was one brand of LNBFs distributed a few years back that would drift 5MHz after a 15minute warm-up. Often this drift would be so much that the Automatic Tuning circuitry in the receiver could not adjust enough and Signal Quality would be lost.
 
It is actually VERY unusual for LNBFs to go bad at all. If this is happening (and has happened more than once), I would suspect something atmospheric in nature may be frying your LNBFs (improper grounding, static discharge, etc.), or maybe, your receiver...
 
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