Lost channels after snow.

[vurbano]

OK we had ice and snow 2 days ago and of course I lost all channels. AS of this morning there is no snow on the dish and skies are clear. I have lost all of 99c and I have lost all even transponders of 103c, I get the odd channels but signal only in the 20's. Its still only 19 degrees outside so maybe some ice on or in the LNB 's?? Reverting back to national release on the HR21-100 as a test. This weekend it should be 66 degrees and I guess I will know if the LNB's are damaged. Argh. How cheap is this stuff? It was only an inch of sleet and a couple inches of snow for Pete's sake.

 

[mlb]

I have had no issues here, and we have had extended days with temperatures under 10, many nights below 0 (one night -15), and plenty of ice and snow.

 

[ChrisK114]

I heard there have been issues with the SWM dishes in cold weather. Don't know if that is what you have.

 

[thetech2009]

OK we had ice and snow 2 days ago and of course I lost all channels. AS of this morning there is no snow on the dish and skies are clear. I have lost all of 99c and I have lost all even transponders of 103c, I get the odd channels but signal only in the 20's. Its still only 19 degrees outside so maybe some ice on or in the LNB 's?? Reverting back to national release on the HR21-100 as a test. This weekend it should be 66 degrees and I guess I will know if the LNB's are damaged. Argh. How cheap is this stuff? It was only an inch of sleet and a couple inches of snow for Pete's sake.

the weight of the ice may have moved your dish a bit

 

[vurbano]

I heard there have been issues with the SWM dishes in cold weather. Don't know if that is what you have.

nope

 

[vurbano]

the weight of the ice may have moved your dish a bit

Then D* needs a better dish design. I called them when temperatures rise and the ice is gone they will fix it for free.

 

[thetech2009]

Then D* needs a better dish design. I called them when temperatures rise and the ice is gone they will fix it for free.

knowing techs like i do and doing as many service calls as i do it was probably tech fault. like not make all the nuts and bolts tight

 

[teknophyle]

knowing techs like i do and doing as many service calls as i do it was probably tech fault. like not make all the nuts and bolts tight

Re-boot your receivers and see what happens

 

[jcinci]

Be careful with a system reboot. I try that when I lost several stations from an ice storm in late January. When I rebooted, the system couldn't access the guide data from the satellite, so I couldn't even view the SD channels that I could view before the reboot. I had to wait until the next day when the sun came out and warmed up the dish although I found that only about an hour of sun on a cold day is needed (even with temps in the teens.)

 

[MightyMikeNice]

Most likely you have a problem with the installation,odds increase especially if you have alot of outside coaxial cable exposed.The dish may have moved in all the weather.Rock it back and forth "gently"and see if it's sturdy.Also,poorly crimped f connectors get water in them and this causes malfunction,especially when the weather is wet and with extreme temperatures affecting the coaxial insulation.

 

[Vinny*]

No problem here in Chesterfield Virginia. We had 10 inches of snow and 40 mile an hour winds. Did not lose anything at anytime during the storm.

 

[AIM08]

Lost signals due to snow

Funny, I have the exact same problem here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We had 3 feet of new snow in the last 24 hours and the entire dish looked like a wheel barrel the snow and ice was so thick.

The dish heater did it's job and melted off all the snow from the dish but the feed arm and the LNB's still had snow and Ice on them. When the sun finally came out today and the remaining snow and ice fell off the LNB's, I had lost the signals from the 99 and 103 transponders. The 101 signals are in the 30's and the 110 and 119 transponders are working normally. I suspect water in the LNB's may be the issue?
All the transponders on the 5 LNB's before the snow storm where in the 85-98 signal range. We too will have sunshine this weekend and we will see if we re-aquire the missing transponders.

HR21-100, HR22-200
5LNB Slimline dish

 

[AIM08]

Siganls Returned

Funny, I have the exact same problem here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We had 3 feet of new snow in the last 24 hours and the entire dish looked like a wheel barrel the snow and ice was so thick.

The dish heater did it's job and melted off all the snow from the dish but the feed arm and the LNB's still had snow and Ice on them. When the sun finally came out today and the remaining snow and ice fell off the LNB's, I had lost the signals from the 99 and 103 transponders. The 101 signals are in the 30's and the 110 and 119 transponders are working normally. I suspect water in the LNB's may be the issue?
All the transponders on the 5 LNB's before the snow storm where in the 85-98 signal range. We too will have sunshine this weekend and we will see if we re-aquire the missing transponders.

HR21-100, HR22-200
5LNB Slimline dish

Saturday March 7, 2009
With the sun shinning again, I'm happy to report all transponder signals returned after the water in the LNB's dried out! Everything is back to normal. Come spring it will be time to seal the LNB's with RTV to prevent that from happening again.

 

[thetech2009]

this may sound a little weird ...but it works, spray cooking spay on your dish, especially when you know snow or rain is comeing... this also helps with water sheeting

 

[vurbano]

knowing techs like i do and doing as many service calls as i do it was probably tech fault. like not make all the nuts and bolts tight

I have had the 5lnb dish since day one.

I have had it installed.

I have had a senior tech service call to tweak it.

I have had it reinstalled due to a roof replacement by a trainee with a supervisor standing over him.

And now this.

The senior tech just left after installing new LNB head and a second support leg, tightening loose stuff that was never tightened and getting the level correct..

Yes thats right.

EVERYONE else NEVER installed the second support leg. Now it has 3 support points

ABSOLUTE morons!!!!!!!! If D* can't employ competent techs than they need to stop charging for service calls.

Needless to say this single competent tech left with a 20 dollar tip

Inbetween it all there was this bit of nosense when my 2nd HD DVR and multiswitch was installed last year :http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-technical-discussions/143003-amusing-d-upgrade.html

Just where does D* get their installers from?

 

[vurbano]

this may sound a little weird ...but it works, spray cooking spay on your dish, especially when you know snow or rain is comeing... this also helps with water sheeting

Yes I normally due that, PAM before the storm. But not on the LNB's.

 

[Ronnie-]

I have had the 5lnb dish since day one.

I have had it installed.

I have had a senior tech service call to tweak it.

I have had it reinstalled due to a roof replacement by a trainee with a supervisor standing over him.

And now this.

The senior tech just left after installing new LNB head and a second support leg, tightening loose stuff that was never tightened and getting the level correct..

Yes thats right.

EVERYONE else NEVER installed the second support leg. Now it has 3 support points

ABSOLUTE morons!!!!!!!! If D* can't employ competent techs than they need to stop charging for service calls.

Needless to say this single competent tech left with a 20 dollar tip

Inbetween it all there was this bit of nosense when my 2nd HD DVR and multiswitch was installed last year :http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-technical-discussions/143003-amusing-d-upgrade.html

Just where does D* get their installers from?

I agree, that level of service is unacceptable. Glad you got it fixed, but from what you posted here, it should never have been an issue.

 

[Van]

Just where does D* get their installers from?

craigslist for the most part

 

[yourbeliefs]

The most common trend I've seen is when Installer A comes out and sets up my system, then Installer B comes in at a later date to either fix or upgrade something, and it takes them a while because Installer A did something wrong. I've had D* installed in 2 separate locations and the first place it wasn't mounted properly (which may have explained why it went out whenever the weather got bad) and the second time it wasn't grounded properly (which may have led to all my receivers kicking the bucket.) I wish I always got Installer B the first time!