Faulty LNB?

[knute]

This is regarding an in motion dome on my RV. I use a R15 DVR unit. When everything starts up, it wont lock in. All the connections are tight and the dome motor is pointing to the South and searching for the bird, but wont lock on. How do I test the coax to see if the DRV is sending out the proper voltage? If it is sending out the proper voltage, would replacing the LNB be the first order of business?

Thanks
Bill

 

[damaged]

A voltmeter is one way, and, I think you can use the channels 490-494 to test for the presence of voltages (these are for the triple lnb dish, the round dish will only use 490, and 491).

490 = 101 odd 13v
491 = 101 even 18v

492 = 119 odd 13v
493 = 119 even 18v

494 = 110 even 18v

 

[VIPERS-PIT]

Yes the above is correct. check those channels to find out if it is a LNB. then check even AND odd transponders on each sat you pick up to be sure. And replace the LNB that is dead. I just did this to my AT-9 % LNB unit this morning.

 

[knute]

It is a single LNB dome that toggles between the 101 and the 119 to get my locals. It is not picking up any signal at all.

So I should check channels 490-493 and that will tell me what the reciever is putting out? But does that ensure that the LNB is seeing these voltages as if I had a bad coax? Can I check the voltages directly at the terminal end of each coax? I have 2 coax running from the dome to the receiver.

thanks
Bill

 

[damaged]

It is a single LNB dome that toggles between the 101 and the 119 to get my locals. It is not picking up any signal at all.

So I should check channels 490-493 and that will tell me what the reciever is putting out? But does that ensure that the LNB is seeing these voltages as if I had a bad coax? Can I check the voltages directly at the terminal end of each coax? I have 2 coax running from the dome to the receiver.

thanks
Bill

The channels will tell you that, and if the LNB is good or not, now, if the coax is causing it, it may be hard to tell, it would be best to just try a another good coax to test it.

Yes you can do it directly, if you see any voltages different than listed in the list in my last post, it's bad.

 

[knute]

When I select those channels, it says "No information available" and where the channel display is, it just changes to 0-0 in the upper left corner in the banner. Does this mean the DVR is bad?

 

[knute]

What would happen if I reset the receiver? Is this something I should try?

 

[JamesJ]

arent you suppose to wait till the Unit on your RV goes into standby before you do check switch, if you dont it wont install the right switch, make sure you follow the installation instructions to a T. My dad has dish network and just got a gps RV Satellite system, and we didnt wait till it went in standby (6 minutes I think) and had some of the same problems

 

[damaged]

It could be that or the LNB (my guess), or a bad coax run (water/corrosion in the connectors, in/at the grounding block (if any), or even a bad/corroded multiswitch (if any, bypass it and see if that corrects the problem), also, if you can get another activated D* receiver to test it on your setup, do so, if it works, you would eliminate the receiver as the culprit, and/or if you know someone with a D* dish and setup, bring your DVR to their home, and try it there, if it works, you've eliminated that as a culprit as well, otherwise, we are left with the LNB or the coax (if coax try a fresh, if temporary, short coax to bypass the real coax run).

Edit: Saw your other post, Go ahead and reset it, who knows, it can't hurt.

 

[damaged]

arent you suppose to wait till the Unit on your RV goes into standby before you do check switch, if you dont it wont install the right switch, make sure you follow the installation instructions to a T. My dad has dish network and just got a gps RV Satellite system, and we didnt wait till it went in standby (6 minutes I think) and had some of the same problems

This is about DirecTV not Dish network.

 

[JamesJ]

This is about DirecTV not Dish network.

gotcha, but my post was about waiting till the Unit went into standby, the RV units are the same for both directv and dish network, I understand this is the directv forum, just giving him a pointer that we went through, as both sat companies will work the same way. thanks! :

 

[knute]

Mine is Directv, but the dome and the receiver are only about a month old. I use cable at home, so the only receiver and dish I own are on the RV. Whats up with the channels 490-493? Why when I change to those channel, it doesnt give me any voltage information? Is that not a feature of the R15 unit?

I let everything sit for about 30 minutes and tried again but nothing.

If I unhook the coax from the LNB on the dome, what should the voltage diff be between the outer shielding and the core?

What does the reset button accomplish?

I have used it a few times in the month since everything was installed and it worked perfectly, it started to download satellite info after about 30 seconds.

Thanks
Bill

 

[knute]

Update...

Did some more diagnostics on my 3500T in motion dome. Took off the lid and, while the receiver was on, I unhooked each coax and tested the voltage between the outer shield and the central core. Each measured around 13.5 volts.

To me, this tells me the LNB is bad. Is this correct? How could it go bad after just a month or so? Is there any way to test these?

I will call Winegard tommorrow, but wondered if there was anyone here who knew something about this.

Thanks
Bill

 

[damaged]

How could it go bad so fast? Well one possibility is if at anytime you were messing with the coax connections (before you realized it was malfunctioning), if _any_ STB was plugged into the power (merely shutting it off is NOT the same, it must be unplugged), there is the possibility of shorting out the LNB(s), if say you accidently touched a metal case with the coax while (re)moving it, it would have a chance to damage the components, in fact, the official manual states to always unplug all receivers from the power outlet on a setup before disconnecting/connection.

 

[knute]

How could it go bad so fast? Well one possibility is if at anytime you were messing with the coax connections (before you realized it was malfunctioning), if _any_ STB was plugged into the power (merely shutting it off is NOT the same, it must be unplugged), there is the possibility of shorting out the LNB(s), if say you accidently touched a metal case with the coax while (re)moving it, it would have a chance to damage the components, in fact, the official manual states to always unplug all receivers from the power outlet on a setup before disconnecting/connection.

But nothing has been touched since it was installed. It worked perfectly, even tracked the bird going down the road at 70, then all of a sudden, nothing. Thats the part I dont understand.

Is there any was to test the LNB to see if it is indeed faulty?

 

[damaged]

I have told you already, in post #2 of this thread, tune in channels 490-494 (actually in your case, you only want to look at 490-493, since 494 is for the 110, which you don't use), now, if it reads the correct voltage (refer to post #2 for a list of proper voltages) in the banner that should appear in the lower right corner (it will say something like (for channel 490): "Test 1 SAT A (101) Odd Txp 13V"), it means the LNB is fine, if instead, it says something like, "Searching for signal on: Satellite In 1", then the LNB is bad (after eliminating the coax, multiswitch (if any), and STB as the culprit of course).

As for how it/why it/what happened, it is very hard to tell, I am not a D* tech, and I have never had any direct experience with the type of RV dish you have, it could be anything, from water intrusion causing a short, to vibrations causing the coax to stretch or break, or rub against a sharp metal edge, I just can't say.

 

[knute]

Channels 490-493 give no banner, just says channel not available, and no additional information.

I took it for a drive tonight to get some gas (ouch!!!) and while sitting at the pump, I decided to turn it on (I have no line of sight in my driveway) and it starts getting full signal on tuner 1 and 2, on both 101 and the 119. Tracked the sat all the way back home until I lost line of sight.

Go figure...

 

[damaged]

Channels 490-493 give no banner, just says channel not available, and no additional information.

I took it for a drive tonight to get some gas (ouch!!!) and while sitting at the pump, I decided to turn it on (I have no line of sight in my driveway) and it starts getting full signal on tuner 1 and 2, on both 101 and the 119. Tracked the sat all the way back home until I lost line of sight.

Go figure...

Sounds like some problem with the coax or connectors and/or any barrel connections, it could be vibrations may have caused the problem to crop up, I would check the connectors and coax, look in the coax at the center conductors, make sure it is long enough, check to make sure connectors (especially if they use crimp connectors (yuk) or snap-n-seals (easy to muck up these) for play, they should have no play when moderatly twisted with finger and thumb (just behind the part of the connector that you screw or behind the threads), if they show play, you may not be getting a proper connection, or worse, they are exposed to elements, and may allow water intrusion (then when some vibration happened, the moisture got displaced and you got your signal back (a wild guess).


EDIT: Unless you mean that it was a total LOS issue, then...heh, glad you got it worked out.