All channels except StarzHD 261 and 262
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Update on my missing Starz
I called Voom the other night, and they had me run through various tests -- I rebooted the box a couple of times, they took the box off the account and then put it back on, etc. Nothing helped, so they scheduled me for a service call on Sat. Apr. 24.
The problem is, in the meantime, the missing channels have come back again! The two times I have lost these channels have been when we had rainy weather -- not a downpour, just a light rain. They have come back when things dried out a bit.
I could ask the technician to replace the diplexer, or get rid of it completely by running a second cable (although that would be a little difficult in my setup -- the cable enters the house through an awkward place, and they would have to run the second cable in through a different wall).
Is there some sort of meter or other device they can use to test whether the diplexer or cable is at fault, other than just seeing whether the picture on the tv looks ok? I'm afraid that the picture looks ok now, and will look ok at the time of the service visit, but that the problem will come back the next time it rains.
Thanks for the advice.Gr8Reb8 said:Mike,
In your case, since you loose all the channels on the alternate polarity, the culprits are IMO (and in order of what I think is likely);
1. Faulty Diplexor (perhaps installed incorrectly, perhaps replaced)
2. Faulty cable (perhaps a short)
3. Faulty LNB (LNB is same as DirecTv uses for SAT A and SAT B, yes the most common LNB)
4. Faulty STB (hmmmm)
5. Dish not peaked correctly
The STB uses two different voltages to make the LNB select the correct polarity. My guess is that for some reason, the LNB is not getting the correct voltage for those specific channels. That is why I always recommend removing the diplexor as a FIRST test.
Since they installed it on the roof (got to get the dish and antenna close) I would call Voom immediately. Why pay for a service that is frustrating instead of enjoyable.
I called Voom the other night, and they had me run through various tests -- I rebooted the box a couple of times, they took the box off the account and then put it back on, etc. Nothing helped, so they scheduled me for a service call on Sat. Apr. 24.
The problem is, in the meantime, the missing channels have come back again! The two times I have lost these channels have been when we had rainy weather -- not a downpour, just a light rain. They have come back when things dried out a bit.
I could ask the technician to replace the diplexer, or get rid of it completely by running a second cable (although that would be a little difficult in my setup -- the cable enters the house through an awkward place, and they would have to run the second cable in through a different wall).
Is there some sort of meter or other device they can use to test whether the diplexer or cable is at fault, other than just seeing whether the picture on the tv looks ok? I'm afraid that the picture looks ok now, and will look ok at the time of the service visit, but that the problem will come back the next time it rains.
mike528 said:
Mike,
it looks like the
1. Faulty Diplexor (perhaps installed incorrectly, perhaps replaced)
3. Faulty LNB (LNB is same as DirecTv uses for SAT A and SAT B, yes the most common LNB)
or any intermediate device between VOOM stb and Dish is causing these. I will suggest you to eliminate the diplexor and have them check the LNB. Just to eliminated those possibilities.
mike528 said:
Mike,
Here is an excerpt from a good description of this problem (you can find the actual link in one of my posts in this tread). This is directly related to D* but is equally valid to V*:
"As you change channels on the satellite receiver, this polarity switching is accomplished automatically, and the viewer normally does not know or care which polarity a particular channel is on. There is no regular pattern as to which channels are on which transponders, and a problem with the polarity switching may appear as a random loss of channels. Go to the signal strength menu and change transponder numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). If the even transponders all have a good signal strength and the odd transponders all are zero (or the other way around), there is a problem with polarity switching. A small difference is signal strength between transponders is normal, but they should all be in the 80’s or 90’s.
A polarity switching problem may be caused by a malfunction in the receiver or LNB (or multi-switch), or it may be caused by a bad connection in the cable between the receiver and the LNB. The cable must have a firm continuous connection on both the center wire and the shield to work properly.
There are several ways to track down a polarity switching problem. One is to switch components (receivers, cables, LNB's), if you have more than one, to isolate which component has the problem. If you can get to the dish location easily and have a small TV set, you can set everything (receiver and TV set) up right there using a short piece of cable between the LNB and receiver. This should tell you if the cable is the problem.
If you have a volt meter, you can test the system as follows: Remove the LNB input cable from the back of the receiver. Connect a short cable to the receiver and measure the voltage between the center wire and the outside of the connector. This should read either 13 or 18 volts DC. Change channels on the receiver until the voltage changes from one voltage to the other. This may take quite a few channel changes. You can also go into the signal strength menu and change transponders directly. Even transponders should be one voltage and odd transponders the other. Connect the LNB cable to the receiver again and try measuring the voltage at the other end of the cable (at the dish). If you find that the cable is the problem, it may only be in one of the connectors and not in the cable itself. Make sure the center wire is clean and not shorted to the connector, and that the connector is making good contact with the shield."
Hope this helps.
Andrzej
channel 261 strz comes in as bravo
I have 2 Voom boxes and one if fine the other has a slight problem. Channel 261 is starz but comes in as Bravo on one box and channel 261 asks that i upgrade. The first box is ok 261 and 262 is starz. Any fixes other than reboot, unplug etc.
I have 2 Voom boxes and one if fine the other has a slight problem. Channel 261 is starz but comes in as Bravo on one box and channel 261 asks that i upgrade. The first box is ok 261 and 262 is starz. Any fixes other than reboot, unplug etc.
cyclebob said:
cyclebob
welcome. you are suffering from what people here have categorized as a diplexer problem. Read the following thread and you will see that you are not alone in this.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=10172
I will merge your thread with that one.
Still no Starz, and no ESPN-HD either
It took a couple of weeks to get a saturday appointment, but Voom got an installer out this morning to look at my problem -- unreliable reception on StarzHD 261 and 262 (as well as 204, 206, 226, and 229). And as of yesterday, when ESPN was added, reception on ESPNHD 301 has had what looked like the same problem (but since its only been about a day, its hard to say for sure). Sometimes Starz has come in fine. The problem has been at its worst when it has rained, but sometimes I get breakups and complete loss of reception in clear weather also. Fortunately, the problem was present this morning when the installer was here.
The installer seemed pretty knowledgeable compared to the guys who installed it originally. He had actually done a few Voom installs and seemed familiar with their system. He changed the LNB on the dish, and changed both diplexors (the one outside on the roof and the one inside the house). No improvement. Then he swapped out the settop box. Still no luck. The whole time he was on and off the phone with Voom reps trying to figure out what was going on. They ultimately concluded that it was a problem on Voom's end, not a hardware problem on my end. (He did not have authorization to run separate wires for the OTA antenna and the dish to take the diplexor out of the equation completely.) So he closed out the ticket and left me with the new equipment, but with the problem still unresolved.
After he left, someone from Installs Inc. called to say that Voom was aware of the problem with 204, 206, 226, 229, 261, and 262, and also now with 301. They are working on it. They said that it was not a hardware problem on my end. They said someone from Voom would contact me with an update.
So now I have a new box, but with the old software. Voom is supposed to rehit it, so I hope I get the program guide and the new software downloaded soon. I am still missing the channels mentioned above, but everything else seems to be ok (except the box is very slow, with the old software).
There is enough to watch on other channels to keep me busy, so I'm going to continue to be patient and wait a bit longer for Voom to sort this out. The installer said that he had not seen my particular problem before, although he had seen a lot of problems with Voom's OTA reception, mainly because people signed up without fully realizing that locals would be coming via an antenna and that signal strength might not be great in their area. But he also said that Voom was new, and DirecTV had had a lot of problems when they first started up, so being patient made sense.
Thanks to all who responded to my posts on this thread with suggestions. I'll post an update when something changes.
It took a couple of weeks to get a saturday appointment, but Voom got an installer out this morning to look at my problem -- unreliable reception on StarzHD 261 and 262 (as well as 204, 206, 226, and 229). And as of yesterday, when ESPN was added, reception on ESPNHD 301 has had what looked like the same problem (but since its only been about a day, its hard to say for sure). Sometimes Starz has come in fine. The problem has been at its worst when it has rained, but sometimes I get breakups and complete loss of reception in clear weather also. Fortunately, the problem was present this morning when the installer was here.
The installer seemed pretty knowledgeable compared to the guys who installed it originally. He had actually done a few Voom installs and seemed familiar with their system. He changed the LNB on the dish, and changed both diplexors (the one outside on the roof and the one inside the house). No improvement. Then he swapped out the settop box. Still no luck. The whole time he was on and off the phone with Voom reps trying to figure out what was going on. They ultimately concluded that it was a problem on Voom's end, not a hardware problem on my end. (He did not have authorization to run separate wires for the OTA antenna and the dish to take the diplexor out of the equation completely.) So he closed out the ticket and left me with the new equipment, but with the problem still unresolved.
After he left, someone from Installs Inc. called to say that Voom was aware of the problem with 204, 206, 226, 229, 261, and 262, and also now with 301. They are working on it. They said that it was not a hardware problem on my end. They said someone from Voom would contact me with an update.
So now I have a new box, but with the old software. Voom is supposed to rehit it, so I hope I get the program guide and the new software downloaded soon. I am still missing the channels mentioned above, but everything else seems to be ok (except the box is very slow, with the old software).
There is enough to watch on other channels to keep me busy, so I'm going to continue to be patient and wait a bit longer for Voom to sort this out. The installer said that he had not seen my particular problem before, although he had seen a lot of problems with Voom's OTA reception, mainly because people signed up without fully realizing that locals would be coming via an antenna and that signal strength might not be great in their area. But he also said that Voom was new, and DirecTV had had a lot of problems when they first started up, so being patient made sense.
Thanks to all who responded to my posts on this thread with suggestions. I'll post an update when something changes.
If it is a problem on Voom's end why it only happens with a few people and not the entire population of VOOMERs. I don't have the diplexor and never seen the same problem. I will put the diplexor as a big suspect in this big mess. If I were you, I would not wait for them and run a separate line as a test. Put the line through the window and get the diplexor out of the equation. If the problem persists, it will not be the diplexor but if it is gone, well you know...
I had exactly the same problem and Voom told me it is on their end and that they are working on it. I doubt it, it sounds like their standard answer. My problem was solved when I changed the LNB and re-peaked the antenna. Unfortunately, I did both simultaneously so I cannot tell for sure what was the culprit. Mike, what is your signal quality on these channels? Mine was substantially lower than the signal on other channels (say 64 versus 75 on other channels). Occasionally, when those 6 channels were working the signal was better, say 72. Clearly, the signal was not strong enough. Now, those 6 channels are always fine and the signal quality is the same, ±1, across all channels.
Sunday update
The new box the installer brought out yesterday received the April 2 software updated, version 5.68, last night (the box came with v. 5.08 on it, which was stable but very slow).
The complete list of missing channels is:
204, 206, 226, 229, 261, 262, 301, 305
The first six were known problems reported here by others. The other two of course are brand new, 301 (ESPNHD) and 305 (ESPNN), and I have not seen anyone else report a problem on those. Perhaps they are on the other polarity as well?
I just measured one missing channel, 261, with a quality of 58, strength 51
In contrast, a working channel, 123, had quality of 75, strength 49.
Skies are heavily overcast with off and on rain. Normally I got significantly stronger signal quality on the working channels (in the 80s). I have always noticed that the signal on the missing channels is lower.
I think we have ruled out the LNB as a source of the problem because the installer replaced that yesterday, and it made no difference. I'm not sure whether the installer tried repeaking the dish when he was up on the roof yesterday. But I can't do that myself, nor can I try Sean's suggestion of temporarily running a separate line out the window as a test, because my dish is the roof of my two-story house, and I don't have a ladder long enough to let me get up there.
I'm going to call Voom or email Installs, Inc., or both, and see if I can find out anything more. I too am skeptical about the "we are working on it" explanation, because if it really were a problem on their end everyone would be having the problem. One solution that occurs to me though is, why doesn't Voom put all the channels on the polarity that seems to work for everyone? Why have 6 or 8 channels on the opposite polarity, which causes problems for some of us? If it is a question of space on various transponders, maybe they could move things around so that the ones on the problematic polarity are SD channels, particularly the ones that not many of us watch (like the SD versions of the HD movie channels). I would like to have StarzHD and ESPNHD-- if the problem were only with the other channels, frankly I probably wouldn't even notice. Moving the channels around might not be a permanent solution, but it would keep people happier while they get to the bottom of the problem.
The new box the installer brought out yesterday received the April 2 software updated, version 5.68, last night (the box came with v. 5.08 on it, which was stable but very slow).
The complete list of missing channels is:
204, 206, 226, 229, 261, 262, 301, 305
The first six were known problems reported here by others. The other two of course are brand new, 301 (ESPNHD) and 305 (ESPNN), and I have not seen anyone else report a problem on those. Perhaps they are on the other polarity as well?
andrzej said:
I just measured one missing channel, 261, with a quality of 58, strength 51
In contrast, a working channel, 123, had quality of 75, strength 49.
Skies are heavily overcast with off and on rain. Normally I got significantly stronger signal quality on the working channels (in the 80s). I have always noticed that the signal on the missing channels is lower.
I think we have ruled out the LNB as a source of the problem because the installer replaced that yesterday, and it made no difference. I'm not sure whether the installer tried repeaking the dish when he was up on the roof yesterday. But I can't do that myself, nor can I try Sean's suggestion of temporarily running a separate line out the window as a test, because my dish is the roof of my two-story house, and I don't have a ladder long enough to let me get up there.
I'm going to call Voom or email Installs, Inc., or both, and see if I can find out anything more. I too am skeptical about the "we are working on it" explanation, because if it really were a problem on their end everyone would be having the problem. One solution that occurs to me though is, why doesn't Voom put all the channels on the polarity that seems to work for everyone? Why have 6 or 8 channels on the opposite polarity, which causes problems for some of us? If it is a question of space on various transponders, maybe they could move things around so that the ones on the problematic polarity are SD channels, particularly the ones that not many of us watch (like the SD versions of the HD movie channels). I would like to have StarzHD and ESPNHD-- if the problem were only with the other channels, frankly I probably wouldn't even notice. Moving the channels around might not be a permanent solution, but it would keep people happier while they get to the bottom of the problem.
Ok, with the new software, in clear weather, with a 18" dish, you should be getting a signal quality of at least 90. It should be around 95. Have the installer NOT use his "sat-finder tone thingy" and use the signal meter from the Voom receiver to re-peak the dish. When installers attempt to peak the dish, they tend to peak it to Dish network at 61.5W.mike528 said:
If you have access, for testing purposes, you can also remove the diplexor from both the dish location and the inside location. This will let you test a direct connection to the LNB (no other device on the cable between STB and LNB).
it is the diplexers. I have been using my own with no problems. A friend reported the same problem so i unpacked the stealth package to test the channel master diplexers. Those expensive pieces of crap are just that... CRAP. both of them screw up stars. go to radio shack. I use 4 tiny little terk diplexers that came with an old terk antenna i threw away! they work great!andrzej said:Can you help?
I have the VaVaVoom package, and I receive all channels except 261 and 262 which are StarzHD channels. I tried resets, I called Voom 3 times and still no signal on these two channels. On all other channels my signal is in the 50-60 range and all my locals are fine.
Any suggestions what to do?
Andrzej
Sean please post this seperately it is the honest truth. Was home today and had some spare time. It will save numerous service calls!
Jim i unpacked my channel master diplexers, they both are screwed. go by radio shack after work.jimmykce1 said:
Maybe not in your case. But it is common. And i can recreate the exact same thing with both of the channel master diplexers supplied. the channels turn into bravohd and espn i think.andrzej said:
I contacted Joe Harkins of Installs, Inc. at the email address posted in this forum, and he got back to me very quickly (he seems like a really nice guy, very diligent and conscientious). They are sending someone out in a few days to run a second coax, so that I will not be using the diplexer at all. They will also to repoint the dish.
Will let you know what happens.
Will let you know what happens.
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