Is SC messing with aim or signal levels?

[rossb]

All:

Don't know if it's coincidence...

...but since SC has started shuffling SD channels, I've noticed a slight drop in SD signal strengths off of F1.

Obvious checks of cabling, LNBFs, and bits in between (including LNBF swap outs), dish aim check, etc. still show a drop of .5 to 1 dB at this point.

My final step will be to crawl through a junction box to check brand new grounding blocks... which likely won't reveal any issues... as well as check for corrosion.

Weather isn't a factor at this point - have perfectly clear skies in between us and the bird...

Would SC be doing some signal strength shuffling to free up power as well as the obvious bandwidth requirements for the new HD additions (seeing as any satellite has a fixed maximum overall output)?

...or perhaps this is a sign of my 530's early demise?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Jumbo Dumbo]

Telesat (owner of Anik satellites) has not changed anything. Are you seeing the decrease on 1 satellite or both?

 

[rossb]

Hmm... asking question cured problem?

Thanks for the response...

Woke up this morning to see levels back up again after being down for a few days (Issue was only on F1).

So I still don't know what the heck happened... (Twilight Zone theme playing in background...)

Will continue to monitor occasionally, and hopefully this can be put down to Mysteries Of The Unexplained...

Regards...

 

[rossb]

OK, I may have spoken too soon...

We're in an area where the signal level for F1 is lower than optimum, but with a big (8') dish, signal has been fairly consistent. And I was able to carefully set up the dish aim AND the LNBF throat in/out adjustment [and skew] so that the consistency extends across the transponders, with a variation of +/- .5 dB - i.e. avoided peaking signal too much.

So here's the odd part - again, with no obvious weather factors, plus clear skies (backed up by low/no water vapour in atmosphere according to NOAA), signal levels have tanked - across the board.

Three different makes of LNBF's, careful cable checks with a high-end VOM (and with four cables going to dish, low odds of any issues), bypass of Eagle Aspen 4x8, dish aim check, you name it... no obvious cause found.

So a question directed to Mike Kohl and/or the SC customer who sometimes visits Jamaica: Is this an indication of wobble in F1's aim (i.e. would that person be seeing results similar to us) or am I seeing something going bad with our receiver?

We have a local option of going to Dish but that is definitely a 2nd choice for us...

 

[bluereef]

Both sat's go in and out of the center of the box in orbit. Your signal strengths will vary when they wobble around in space. They are not in the center of the box 100 % of the time where you will have a strong signal but stay there for about and hour and them your signal will go down slowly. Take one channel and if you can watch it over a 24 hour period. My example that I will use is channel 299. When the sat is out of the box I have a strength of 72. When its in the center of the box the strength is 86. This is the best way to check it out. Try this site Center of Box Information | Telesat.com and use the chart to chart your strength. Its also good to peak your dish when its in the center of the box and also check your strengths when its way out and see what your level is. If its strength is stronger when its out of the box, you need to re peak your dish. I hope this answers your questions or maybe its an off topic.

PS: Time converter The World Clock – Time Zone Converter

 

[rossb]

Thanks so much, BlueReef!!!

When I read your reply, BlueReef, it helped bring together some concepts that I had, but had not yet organized in my head... great explanation!

I'll be checking out that site, for sure... and trying your idea of continuous viewing and tracking signal strength - with my luck, I've peaked the dish with the birds off centre!

However, I think my possible aim issues might also be complicated by actual electronics problems with the DVR-530 - I just came back from a short business trip to find that my time-shift recordings had APPARENTLY been done.

Problem is: playback yields a black screen without sound - even on known good recordings that I had protected for later viewing.

Before I call SC, has anyone heard of this particular issue?

Return/exchange of the unit is possible, but a bit of a pain, so I'd like to see if a fix is possible...

I know how to get into the hidden menus, so I guess a full reset is possible, but I cringe at losing recordings (which is what I assume would happen).

Or, is the unit terminal?

Thanks for any/all help... :up