New SWM SL3 LNB appears to be DOA

[jerryed10]

I am upgrading my RV TVs to HD to match what I have currently in my house. I purchased a new slimline dish, SL3 LNB (single output), power input and splitter to mount on a tripod. I even purchased a used Birdog signal meter to make sure it will be easy to setup. I traveled with a HughesNet dish fulltime for five years, so I am no stranger to dish alignment.

After a lot of testing, it looks like my new SL3 LNB is not working. I removed the SL3 LNB from the house dish and installed on my tripod setup and found 101 SWM almost immediately. This confirmed that the meter was working fine and that I was pointed in the right direction. However, with the new SL3 LNB on the tripod setup, I get nothing; no signal on the meter at all.

My question: does the electronics in the LNB need to be programed or activated before it will receive a signal from the satellite? Can anyone suggest anything else I can do to get this LNB working?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jerry

 

[texasbrit]

How are you powering the LNB when you are using the meter? I suspect you are not. You need a two-way SWM splitter, with the power inserter connected to the power-passing port and the birddog connected to the non-power passing port.

 

[Hutch1814]

How are you powering the LNB when you are using the meter? I suspect you are not. You need a two-way SWM splitter, with the power inserter connected to the power-passing port and the birddog connected to the non-power passing port.

I was thinking the exact same thing when I seen birdog and SWM in the same sentence.

 

[jerryed10]

Yep, got it all connected exactly as you guys described. It worked with the LNB off of the house but nothing with the other LNB. I know the SL3 SWM LNB has a lot of electronics in it so that it can run several receivers off of a single wire. (each receiver is assigned a different frequency range by the LNB) If you do not have a receiver hooked up (as per instructions) how does the electronics in the LNB switch to the right polarity, transponder, satellite, etc? Is the Birdog acting like a receiver in this case?

I think the LNB is DOA.

Appreciate any help.

Jerry

 

[dishcomm]

looks like you went through the proper trouble shoots. IMO the LNB is kaput.
Hopefully you can exchange it for another through the retailer from whence it came.

 

[raoul5788]

jerry, did you try the suspect lnb in your home setup? That would confirm if it's good or not.

 

[Hutch1814]

Yep, got it all connected exactly as you guys described. It worked with the LNB off of the house but nothing with the other LNB. I know the SL3 SWM LNB has a lot of electronics in it so that it can run several receivers off of a single wire. (each receiver is assigned a different frequency range by the LNB) If you do not have a receiver hooked up (as per instructions) how does the electronics in the LNB switch to the right polarity, transponder, satellite, etc? Is the Birdog acting like a receiver in this case?

I think the LNB is DOA.

Appreciate any help.

Jerry

The LNBs doesn't give certain frequencies to receivers. It assigns SWM channels to the receivers. As for the meter, it'll read a SL3 just fine. It will NOT read a SWM LNBs unless its the newest birdog available. It'll work with a SWM splitter and a power inserter hooked up (birdog can't power the voltage needed on a SWM LNB) it will read SWM if its powered. I'd try using either a different meter or peaking the dish in with the SL3 then swap it with the SWM LNB and hook up the power inserter and plug in the receiver.

 

[ZandarKoad]

jerry, did you try the suspect lnb in your home setup? That would confirm if it's good or not.

This. Do try to install the "bad" LNB into the dish (which is already peaked in) at your home. Do not repeak that dish, by the way. If the "bad" LNB works, then you know it's a peaking problem and not a hardware problem.