Losing local channels first half of the day

[vev46]

I finally jumped to DISH after 20 yrs with DTV. After a few weeks, my locals would not show - I would get the Complete Loss Of Signal message - until later in the day, say, around 4-5 PM. ALL my other channels were OK. Tech came over, put the Dish Buddy on the cable, said everything looks OK. He thinks it's a bad receiver, (Hopper with Sling, only one TV), said I'd have to call DISH, and then they would authorize a replacement receiver. I think that the dish aiming needs to be tweaked, but he did not even mention doing that. I ran Menu/Settings/Diagnostics/Dish and noted the signal strengths during the loss of my locals for Sat 61.5 (17 active transponders) & Sat 72 (32 active transponders) .

Sat 61.5 (Transponder/Signal Level): 1/47 2/52 3/53 4/54 5/46 6/46 7/43 8/37 9/46 10/56 11/46 12/46 13/43 14/50 15/44 16/29 17/50 Spotbeam25/8.

Sat 72 (Transponder/Signal Level):1/48 2/52 3/44 4/45 5/50 6/53 7/45 8/47 9/50 10/50 11/42 12/46/ 13/48 14/50 15/42 16/44 17/48 18/48 19/43 20/41 21/46 22/51 23/40 24/41 25/47 26/50 27/40 28/44 29/45 30/49 31/40 32/45.

Later in the day when my locals came back, I again noted the signal readings: Sat 61.5 readings were all within +/-2 of my original "no locals" readings, except the "Spotbeam25 transponder would not show at all (??), and I could not get transponder 3 to show any reading. Sat 72 readings were all higher by 1-2, except for five being the same, one higher by 4, and one higher by 3.

When I had DTV, my normal signal levels, which I recall were given in %, were mostly above 85%, with most in the 90's. Are these signal levels I see on DISH typical or acceptable? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[dennispap]

Others can jump in but I think those levels are low. I think your dish needs re aiming.

 

[ChadT41]

Those levels looked alright. 50’s and mid 40’s is fine. 35 and greater is a strong viewing picture. Higher the points, the more resistant to rain fade.

I am guessing you need a new LNB, however. I don’t think it is the receiver. Are you in a state with an extreme heat in the day time(for instance, I am in AZ)

 

[DJ Lon]

...I am guessing you need a new LNB, however. I don’t think it is the receiver. Are you in a state with an extreme heat in the day time(for instance, I am in AZ)

I agree and am in AZ, too. When I previously had Dish (a Dish 500 no less ) I had the same thing happening. My locals would fade out promptly around 10 AM and come back around dinner time (6 PM). Sure enough it was the LNB because a tech replaced it and I never had a problem after that.

 

[ChadT41]

I will say the old Duo nodes do the same thing, and are more likely to do that, but in your description, you shouldn’t have a Duo node. Just a solo. So LNB is/was best guess.

 

[vev46]

Update: I took my receiver to my neighbor's house, also a DISH customer. My locals came in perfectly! I ran Menu/Settings/Diagnostics/Dish and copied all the readings. SAT 61.5 sig levels showed about the same, but on average, SAT 72 was 10 pts higher. My DISH installer's tech came, verified the problem. Found that one of the ports on the installed external switch at the dish looked corroded/discolored. Tried another switch, still no locals. Eliminated all the cabling & ground blocks by connecting receiver directly to the dish, but problem continued. He then re-aimed the dish (elevation) which increased the SAT 72 levels by ~~10. This did not help. I was then advised to call DISH to complain, and they would OK a replacement receiver. Called DISH tech support, they went through their troubleshooting protocol, and re-authorized the receiver. This brought back some of my local channels for a while, but I it didn't last. My uploaded pic shows that the signal loss is on SAT 61.5/Transponder 25, which is designated a "Spotbeam", and shows either NO sig level or very infrequently goes to 10 for a very short time early in the day. At some point later in the day, the signal becomes constant and stays OK until sometime after bedtime, which is usually 12:00 - 2:00AM. Since I'm set up for locals not normally given in my ZIP code, I wonder if the 90 miles I am from these locals' ZIP is causing the low sig level, (Spotbeam?) which for some reason improves later in the day. I may tweak the dish azimuth in that direction to see if the sig level improves.

 

[pattykay]

View attachment 134105 Update: I took my receiver to my neighbor's house, also a DISH customer. My locals came in perfectly! I ran Menu/Settings/Diagnostics/Dish and copied all the readings. SAT 61.5 sig levels showed about the same, but on average, SAT 72 was 10 pts higher. My DISH installer's tech came, verified the problem. Found that one of the ports on the installed external switch at the dish looked corroded/discolored. Tried another switch, still no locals. Eliminated all the cabling & ground blocks by connecting receiver directly to the dish, but problem continued. He then re-aimed the dish (elevation) which increased the SAT 72 levels by ~~10. This did not help. I was then advised to call DISH to complain, and they would OK a replacement receiver. Called DISH tech support, they went through their troubleshooting protocol, and re-authorized the receiver. This brought back some of my local channels for a while, but I it didn't last. My uploaded pic shows that the signal loss is on SAT 61.5/Transponder 25, which is designated a "Spotbeam", and shows either NO sig level or very infrequently goes to 10 for a very short time early in the day. At some point later in the day, the signal becomes constant and stays OK until sometime after bedtime, which is usually 12:00 - 2:00AM. Since I'm set up for locals not normally given in my ZIP code, I wonder if the 90 miles I am from these locals' ZIP is causing the low sig level, (Spotbeam?) which for some reason improves later in the day. I may tweak the dish azimuth in that direction to see if the sig level improves.

You hit the nail on the head. That was my first thought when I read the first post, since I have experienced the same thing with "moved" locals from Toledo or Detroit. I am too close to the edge of the spotbeam to get a reliable signal. I almost replied to this thread at that point, to mention this. However, since you had not mentioned "moving" to get different locals, I was not sure if that was the problem in your particular case.

 

[JSheridan]

View attachment 134105 Update: I took my receiver to my neighbor's house, also a DISH customer. My locals came in perfectly! I ran Menu/Settings/Diagnostics/Dish and copied all the readings. SAT 61.5 sig levels showed about the same, but on average, SAT 72 was 10 pts higher. My DISH installer's tech came, verified the problem. Found that one of the ports on the installed external switch at the dish looked corroded/discolored. Tried another switch, still no locals. Eliminated all the cabling & ground blocks by connecting receiver directly to the dish, but problem continued. He then re-aimed the dish (elevation) which increased the SAT 72 levels by ~~10. This did not help. I was then advised to call DISH to complain, and they would OK a replacement receiver. Called DISH tech support, they went through their troubleshooting protocol, and re-authorized the receiver. This brought back some of my local channels for a while, but I it didn't last. My uploaded pic shows that the signal loss is on SAT 61.5/Transponder 25, which is designated a "Spotbeam", and shows either NO sig level or very infrequently goes to 10 for a very short time early in the day. At some point later in the day, the signal becomes constant and stays OK until sometime after bedtime, which is usually 12:00 - 2:00AM. Since I'm set up for locals not normally given in my ZIP code, I wonder if the 90 miles I am from these locals' ZIP is causing the low sig level, (Spotbeam?) which for some reason improves later in the day. I may tweak the dish azimuth in that direction to see if the sig level improves.

Did they try a new LNB? If they did and you still have the problem with a new LNB, node, cabling and receiver then it's time to have Dish give you the locals that you are intended to have in your area.

 

[vev46]

crodrules: Thanks; I would agree with you, but that doesn't explain how I was able to get the "out-of-my ZIP" locals perfectly when I took my receiver to my neighbor's and connected it to his DISH antenna. I'm about to tweak my antenna azimuth, and I'll post the results.

 

[Tony S]

vev46: It is hard to tell from your posts if Dish has replaced your LNB. The fact that your receiver worked at your friend's house would support the theory of a bad LNB being the culprit. If you haven't replaced your LNB yet, that should be something that the Dish tech should try (before replacing your receiver).

 

[ChadT41]

If the tech didn’t replace it, shame on him. That should have been his first approach. HipKat , what is SOP there.

 

[dvrexpander]

As a tech - LNB is bad.. easy to test with a meter to check DB's

 

[JSheridan]

If the tech didn’t replace it, shame on him. That should have been his first approach. HipKat , what is SOP there.

If the dish is peaked and all the other channels are playing fine our SOP would be to have the account changed to include the locals that are assigned to the physical DMA where the receiver is located and that the customer should actually have.

 

[vev46]

Update #2: Tweaking the dish AZ & EL did not help, & I found that it's very sensitive to AZ changes - it picks up different sats. Apparently, the spot coverage, at least with my setup, is too weak since I'm trying to get locals not standard for my ZIP. Wish there was a way to increase the gain of the DISH antenna, googled for a larger reflector one, but didn't find anything. Still at a loss to explain why it worked with neighbor's antenna.

 

[vev46]

Guess I'll have to buy NFL Sunday Ticket to see my Ravens

 

[JSheridan]

Update #2: Tweaking the dish AZ & EL did not help, & I found that it's very sensitive to AZ changes - it picks up different sats. Apparently, the spot coverage, at least with my setup, is too weak since I'm trying to get locals not standard for my ZIP. Wish there was a way to increase the gain of the DISH antenna, googled for a larger reflector one, but didn't find anything. Still at a loss to explain why it worked with neighbor's antenna.

Different dishes and LNB's even of the same model receive transponders at different levels. Probably you're in a very marginal place for that particular spot beam and your neighbor's dish/LNB is getting a slightly better signal.

 

[JSheridan]

Guess I'll have to buy NFL Sunday Ticket to see my Ravens

You'll need DirecTV for that.

 

[pattykay]

Guess I'll have to buy NFL Sunday Ticket to see my Ravens

I hate to help a Ravens fan (I am a Browns fan, but I will readily admit that the Browns suck.) but I hate Directv even more, so I may be able to help you stay with Dish, assuming you are "moved" to get Baltimore locals, and you are in West Virginia, which is what your Location says. The spotbeam for the standard-def Baltimore locals on the 110 satellite looks like it covers almost the entire state of West Virginia with a strong signal. (I am judging by "The List" on this site, which is outdated, so those locals could have been moved to a different spotbeam since the last time it was updated.) So, adding a dish pointed at 110, or switching to the full Western Arc, might be worth a try. Granted, the locals would only be standard-def, but that is better than not getting them at all.

 

[HipKat]

If the tech didn’t replace it, shame on him. That should have been his first approach. HipKat , what is SOP there.

Make Dish send another tech to replace the LNB and have the CSR note that the customer used a neighbor to test the LNBF just to make sure

 

[HipKat]

Update #2: Tweaking the dish AZ & EL did not help, & I found that it's very sensitive to AZ changes - it picks up different sats. Apparently, the spot coverage, at least with my setup, is too weak since I'm trying to get locals not standard for my ZIP. Wish there was a way to increase the gain of the DISH antenna, googled for a larger reflector one, but didn't find anything. Still at a loss to explain why it worked with neighbor's antenna.

Reading your posts, it looks like you're doing everything possible to not acknowledge it's a bad lnbf and yeah, pointing a dish is very precise. If you've been moving it around, then now you really DO need a tech back out there