Is my LNB going bad? Blind Scan problems...

[pspitael]

Hello -

Trying to revive a motorized system that I haven't used in a while, I have a new receiver hooked up to my motorized 30" dish... I think I successfully found my true south satellite at 93W (in Minneapolis, MN), but it took two full blind scans to finally find Azteca... Even at that, it is coming in at a frequency of 12046 V - with good signal (92%) and quality (80%)

I next tried a blind scan at 101W. 17 Transponders were found, but the receiver claimed it detected NO FTA channels on any of those. I tried to manually add 12120 V 30000 (where my trusty BVN should be) - but that frequency came up blank. I then did ANOTHER blind scan on 101W - 10 more transponders found, and this time BVN came in at 12163 V 30000!!

So... it is taking several blind scans to find anything, and the frequencies my dish is reporting are off from the LyngSat frequencies. What gives??

Thanks.

- Pieter

 

[stanleyjohn]

What receiver you using? Some receivers have blindscan issues

 

[pspitael]

Traxis DBS6000HD

 

[cyberham]

Sounds like the local oscillator setting in your receiver is not correct? Unless the actual local oscillator in the LNB is off frequency. Are you configuring the LO setting in your receiver for 10750 kHz? This might explain poor blind scan results with a strong receive signal.

 

[Mr Tony]

And I know Azteca can be a bugger to pick up on some blind scans (I'm in Minneapolis too so thats our True South satellite)

 

[stanleyjohn]

If you can get a hold of another receiver I would try that first to see if its the receiver or lnb

 

[pspitael]

I have the LO frequency set at 10750 in the receiver...

Seems like every new satellite I go to, I have issues finding published FTA feeds at the correct frequency? Tried 125W last night (granted, that's pretty far west) to try and get the HD PBS feeds - the only thing it found with blind scans is the Montana PBS feeds (with decent signal but very poor quality (15%)). It never did find the HD PBS feeds.

I did have an OpenBox X5 for a little while, and I seemed to get that going on 93W and 101W - but I don't recall the frequencies it was reporting, and it had a bunch of internet 'features' that I didn't care for. I never tried it at 125W.

 

[waylew]

Get one of these,problem solved.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SL1PLL-LNBF...ellite_LNB_Downconverters&hash=item27cefb5c4f

 

[waylew]

Also check this out.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/308856-do-LNBs-age

 

[cyberham]

I figured you had the receiver set correctly. If set wrong, your frequencies would have been farther off. Time to swap out the receiver temporarily just to see if results change? This is when one of those old receivers that are almost free can be useful. Or, have you a spare LNB to pop in to compare results?

Montana PBS is DVB-S2 signal. Once you lock that, you can have a very low signal quality and still receive a visibly perfect picture. For DVB signals, you need a higher signal quality to receive them well. My PBS DVB-S2 from 87W on a bad day can be bouncing down to 0% briefly and still be received well.

 

[pspitael]

Thanks for the responses all.

I don't have a spare LNB or receiver laying around But the LNB I have is probably not too fancy and 5+ years old... it might be worth the $15 or so expense to upgrade it. The receiver is brand-new and SEEMS to be behaving OK?

Saw one vote for the SL1PLL - any other suggestions? Does it gain me anything to go for a universal LNB?

 

[pwrsurge]

I have the LO frequency set at 10750 in the receiver...

I assume you have a standard Ku-band LNBF with an L.O. frequency of 10750 right? If so, then it's time to replace it.

 

[cyberham]

Saw one vote for the SL1PLL - any other suggestions? Does it gain me anything to go for a universal LNB?

Vote for SL1PLL. Don't bother with a universal LNB. Almost every receiveable signal in the U.S. and Canada is in the band covered by a standard LNB like the SL1PLL.

 

[pspitael]

Correct. Standard Ku band LNBF @ 10750. Looking for suggestions on what my next one will be

 

[FaT Air]

SL1PLL, It's the 'go to' ku lnbf. PLL so drift is 'a thing of the past' And you can't beat the support.
Universal LNBF. Nothing to gain on CONUS satellites [there's nothing there below 11700] Atlantic satellites, different story.

 

[northgeorgia]

With the universal LNB, you can get RASD TV (and some occasional feeds mostly out of Bolivia) on 45W, and TBN Enlace (and other very occasional stations ITC) on 50W. Probably a few other rare feeds on the Atlantic sats, but I never got anything else. I don't remember getting any feeds on that band on 30W, and from your location, I'm thinking that would be the most eastern sat you could possibly get. So in my opinion, go with the standard lnbf -- from reviews I've seen, the SL1PLL seems not to drift like my universal does

 

[pspitael]

SL1PLL ordered... snow should melt by the weekend for me to climb on the roof and give it a shot...

 

[pspitael]

Got the SL1PLL installed today. Seems to work fine - skewed it by a few degrees to maximize my true south signal. Still takes 2 blind scans to find some channels though. And I still am not getting the HD PBS stations on 125W. I get the Montana PBS, but neither of the HD ones?

The frequencies the LNB is reporting are spot on though - not off like my old LNB. Other than that, signal quality level is no better than before. I'm having some trouble 'tweaking' satellite positions with DisEqc 1.2 - I'll start another thread.

 

[turbosat]

If your dish is motorized and aimed fairly close, you shouldn't have to skew the lnbf, set it at zero on your true south bird-the one closest to your site longitude. From there the motor's movement of the dish will skew the lnbf correctly. (except for 103KU, it has always been offset due to the satellite being 'skewed' in space).