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[wvman]

I have a 9 foot C-Band dish I've been using for months. On 4/1/23, we had a wind storm that blew it off track. It is one of 8 dishes I have in use. There aren't all that many channels on the satellite it was aimed at, so I took my time realigning it. The other day, I decided to take the time and ran into something odd.

Using an Amiko Mini, I set up the equipment in my van in order to have everything there. I hooked my meter to the feed line going to the cabinet containing an 8 way switch. I had signal on every satellite across the arc. When I hooked a receiver to the feed line, did a scan, nothing. No signal, no video or audio. So I decided to break out the spectrum analyzer.

After hooking it up, it showed I was on Galaxy 13. I hooked up the receiver, let it search the channels, nothing. It never found a single transponder. No radio, FTA or encrypted channels. After double checking my scan settings, I scanned it again. Nothing. So I went to the shop, pulled out another receiver. Same results. I moved the dish to another satellite, went through the same steps and the spectrum analyzer showed it was on SES 1.

Hooked up 3 different receivers, nothing. Scan results..Zilch. I even manually enter the transponder information, nothing. I've installed hundreds of dishes and never ran into anything like this. I'm leaning toward a bad LNBF. Maybe Titanium could shed a little light on this one.

 

[primestar31]

I hooked my meter to the feed line going to the cabinet containing an 8 way switch. I had signal on every satellite across the arc. When I hooked a receiver to the feed line, did a scan, nothing. No signal, no video or audio.

You hooked these receivers to the EXACT same coax that was working with your meter a few seconds before? Unscrew from meter, screw onto back of receiver? Does this coax go to the 8-way switch output? What happens if you try a coax on the input side of the switch, going directly to the wind-spun dish?

Maybe the coax is flaky, and just moving it crimped or did something to a connector. Have you tried putting your meter right back on it, to see if THAT still works as previously?

 

[wvman]

You hooked these receivers to the EXACT same coax that was working with your meter a few seconds before? Unscrew from meter, screw onto back of receiver? Does this coax go to the 8-way switch output? What happens if you try a coax on the input side of the switch, going directly to the wind-spun dish?

Maybe the coax is flaky, and just moving it crimped or did something to a connector. Have you tried putting your meter right back on it, to see if THAT still works as previously?

I disconnected the coax from the switch and hooked it to the meter and the spectrum analyzer. I did replace the snap & seal connectors on both ends. I also did an impedance test on the coax, everything normal.

The coax test fine. The coax did go to an 8 way diseqc switch. Usually when a dish blows off track, it's just a matter of rotating the dish back to locate the channels. I always mark the mount and the pole with a center punch.

It's the same coax that was working before, but I may change it anyway. When I hook it back to the switch, it still does not pop back on like it should when I hit the satellite.

I have a five foot commercial Ku Band Dish right beside it and it's receiving SES3 Ku just fine. This dish was originally aligned to the C-Band side of the same satellite.

The seven other dishes are working as usual, but around 2:30 in the afternoon, MeTV and a few other channels on SES1 start having the signal drop in and out for a few minutes. I've seen MeTV drop from 95/85 to 80/30 for a second or two and back to 95/85.

The only 5G is in town 11 miles away, and there are at least 5 mountains between it and us. We are in a valley with mountains on all 4 sides. I'm not certain what's happening with this, but it's a head scratcher.

 

[wvman]

Well, I am officially stumped. Earlier in this thread, I explained my situation. Here's an update.

103W has become a real pain in the, well you know what I mean.

First the wind turned the dish. No big deal, right. Not quite.

Took the meter and the van to the dish site. Tweaked the dish, checked the tracking and got the polarity within two points of perfect.

Hooked up a receiver and TV, did a scan, Nothing. NO signal, NO channels. Pulled out a new receiver, set it up, did a scan, nothing. NO signal, NO channels.

Replaced the cable, Nothing. Hooked up my Channel Master tuning meter with an internal power supply, hooked a cable from the Loop Out to the receiver. Found channels.

Removed the line from the meter, hooked it to the receiver. Nothing. I figured, OK, Low Power to the LNBF. Got a new power supply. Channels tuned right in. No problem.

Here's where the head scratching comes in. I ran a new run of RG6 Quad Shield from the LNBF to my breakout panel in the back of the house.

Hooked the new cable to the 8 way switch on port 3, where it was before. Went inside, checked the switch settings and ran a Blind Scan.....Zilch.

Ran a standard scan....Zilch. Deleted the satellite from the list. Started over, nothing. No signal, no channels. I checked the voltage coming out of the switch, everything fine.

I must admit, I am up a tree on this one. I never ran into anything like this. The other 7 satellites are working just fine. Oh, I've had 2 other LNBF's on this dish as well. All Titanium's. Any suggestions?

 

[FTA4PA]

Well, I am officially stumped. Earlier in this thread, I explained my situation. Here's an update.

103W has become a real pain in the, well you know what I mean.

First the wind turned the dish. No big deal, right. Not quite.

Took the meter and the van to the dish site. Tweaked the dish, checked the tracking and got the polarity within two points of perfect.

Hooked up a receiver and TV, did a scan, Nothing. NO signal, NO channels. Pulled out a new receiver, set it up, did a scan, nothing. NO signal, NO channels.

Replaced the cable, Nothing. Hooked up my Channel Master tuning meter with an internal power supply, hooked a cable from the Loop Out to the receiver. Found channels.

Removed the line from the meter, hooked it to the receiver. Nothing. I figured, OK, Low Power to the LNBF. Got a new power supply. Channels tuned right in. No problem.

Here's where the head scratching comes in. I ran a new run of RG6 Quad Shield from the LNBF to my breakout panel in the back of the house.

Hooked the new cable to the 8 way switch on port 3, where it was before. Went inside, checked the switch settings and ran a Blind Scan.....Zilch.

Ran a standard scan....Zilch. Deleted the satellite from the list. Started over, nothing. No signal, no channels. I checked the voltage coming out of the switch, everything fine.

I must admit, I am up a tree on this one. I never ran into anything like this. The other 7 satellites are working just fine. Oh, I've had 2 other LNBF's on this dish as well. All Titanium's. Any suggestions?

Maybe bad port 3 on your 8 way switch?

 

[wvman]

Maybe bad port 3 on your 8 way switch?

Thought of that too. I switched this dish from port 3 to port 5, switched the dish on port 5 to port 3. The dish that was on port 5 works perfectly on port 3, but still nothing on the dish that was on port 3 when hooked to port 5.

My wife wanted TV in the dining room, so I ran the cable from this dish into the dining room, no switch in the line. After 5 different receivers, I finally stumbled onto one that would tune the channels on 103W.

It's hooked up and working like it should in the dining room. At this point, I have no idea what's causing this.

 

[FTA4PA]

Thought of that too. I switched this dish from port 3 to port 5, switched the dish on port 5 to port 3. The dish that was on port 5 works perfectly on port 3, but still nothing on the dish that was on port 3 when hooked to port 5.

My wife wanted TV in the dining room, so I ran the cable from this dish into the dining room, no switch in the line. After 5 different receivers, I finally stumbled onto one that would tune the channels on 103W.

It's hooked up and working like it should in the dining room. At this point, I have no idea what's causing this.

Well, that was my best guess. Hope you get it figured out. If you do be sure to post back what the issue was. Good luck!

 

[a33]

Have you checked for drifted/instable LOF of the LNB?
That is, did you check at slightly different LOF; or do a blind scan?

Greetz,
A33

 

[wvman]

Well, that was my best guess. Hope you get it figured out. If you do be sure to post back what the issue was. Good luck!

I really appreciate the effort. I've installed a lot of dishes in my day and never seen anything like this. I'm just glad it was mine and not a customer's. I'll post a solution if and when I find one. Thanks

 

[wvman]

Have you checked for drifted/instable LOF of the LNB?
That is, did you check at slightly different LOF; or do a blind scan?

Greetz,
A33

I did and everything was within range. I've had two different LNBF's on it and located another last evening I may try if the rain let's up today.

It's weird it took so many receivers to finally get a picture and signal. When I first started realigning the dish, the meter kept pegging out and had to turn the gain back.

Hooked up a receiver and did a scan and found no channels. The receiver that's working now in the dining room has a 95/85 signal level on every channel.

I'm going to install a secondary ground at this dish to see what happens. Every dish in my setup is bonded to the electrical system at the house except this one.

I guess it could be a stray voltage messing with it. The electric out here is horrible. You can drive for miles and the ground wire between the utility poles are gone or dead ended.

I've raised hell, but First Energy doesn't care. Worst power company I've ever been on. I have back-ups and voltage conditioners on everything.

I'll post what I find, if I find it. Cheerz Partner.

 

[armadillo_115]

Other than the lnb failing.... verify the dish hasn't developed play from wind damage. Something could be shifting around enough to lose track.
It seems so random

 

[wvman]

Other than the lnb failing.... verify the dish hasn't developed play from wind damage. Something could be shifting around enough to lose track.
It seems so random

I still haven't figured out what the problem is, but it's been raining for 3 days and cold. Saw some snow flurries when I went to town today.

The stupid thing has been working in the other room hooked straight to the receiver, no switch in the line.

I had 4 receivers hooked to this same line and none of them would scan in a single channel. The one that's working is an old receiver and for some odd reason, it was the only one to locate any channels.

I strung the dish and it was perfect. It's on track, the polarity is perfect and everything is tight and no play in the motor arm.

The LNBF that's working right now is the second one I've had on there, and there was no problem with the other one.

When the weather breaks, I'll get back on it and see what the devil's going on. Too cold and rainy out right now.

 

[Captain Midnight]

Tried a new switch?

 

[wvman]

Tried a new switch?

Not yet, but I thought of that. When I was realigning this dish, there was no switch involved. The cable went straight from the LNBF to the meter, and then later to the receiver to scan in the channels.

When hooked to the meter, the showed all kinds of signal, but then nothing would scan in on any receiver I tried. I finally ran onto an old receiver that did scan in channels, but when I later hooked the cable to the switch, the receiver in the house would not find any channels.

Here's something else screwy. My old Channel Master meter has a loop through so you can hook the meter inline with the receiver. When the LNBF is powered by the meter, the receiver scans in channels as long at the meter is powering the LNBF.

It led me to believe it was a power supply problem. I opened a new receiver and used the new power supply. It didn't make a difference.

OK, back to the switch. I had this dish setup on port 3, so I switched from port 3 to 5, and the dish hooked on port 5 worked on port 3, but this dish still didn't work on port 5.

I'm going to try a new switch anyway, but given the results of this test, I really don't think it's a switch problem. It's been raining, so I haven't messed with it for 3 days. Thanks

 

[a33]

Question, to check:
When you disconnect and/or connect an antenna cable, do you have your receiver(s) completely without power?

Greetz,
A33

 

[wvman]

Question, to check:
When you disconnect and/or connect an antenna cable, do you have your receiver(s) completely without power?

Greetz,
A33

 

[wvman]

I never connect or disconnect anything without powering them down first. Even the HDMI cable.

I also checked output voltage from the receiver to the LNBF. Everything normal there and from the wall wart supplying power to the receiver.

I have a 30 amp, filtered and regulated power supply for my HAM radio. I may hook the receiver to it and see what happens.

I wish I had a power inserter that switches off a 22khz tone. I could add a DC block at the receiver and let it power the LNBF using a 22khz tone to switch the polarity.

Then I could set the diseqc 1.1 setting in the receiver and turn on the 22khz tone to see if that would cure the problem, but I don't have one, so trying that is out.

I'm down to wondering if it could be a ground problem. This dish is on a pole that's concreted 4 feet in the ground, on a hump that dries out very quickly after a rain.

I can't imagine it being a problem since the RG6 grounds the LNBF to the switch. Even if the it was isolated from the dish, it still should have a ground through the coax.

This is one for the record books for me. I can't wait to find out what I've overlooked that caused this crazy problem.

 

[primestar31]

I'm down to wondering if it could be a ground problem. This dish is on a pole that's concreted 4 feet in the ground, on a hump that dries out very quickly after a rain.

Throw a couple pails of water on it, and test out that theory...

 

[armadillo_115]

Head scratcher for sure.

 

[a33]

I ran a new run of RG6 Quad Shield from the LNBF

All high quality copper? Or just CCS (copper cladded steel)?
I've had a motor setup on CCS, with the motor not functioning properly. It was OK with one receiver, but not OK with another...
The CCS cable was the cause....

When a cable advertises with quad shield, that is often to hide the fact that it is a non pure Cu cable, which would be a far more important spec to advertise with, IMHO.
Maybe the cause could be your cable(s)?

(Just trying to understand your problem......)

Greetz,
A33

Edited: typo's corrected.