"new to me" DSR920 troubleshooting

[jaray]

I picked up a used DSR 920 locally. Looks to be in mint condition and was very well taken care of. It was last subbed in 2006 and has been sitting powered off since then. The owner assumes it still works.
On site, I moved the dish with it. and UID was good but no signal anywhere. We figured the dish was just out of alignment as it had been sitting since 2006 not used. So I bring it home, connect it to my dish which is confirmed pointed at 99W looking for that analog Shepard's channel to test and nothing. I see a fairly constant 62-64% signal at options 6,7,7,8,1 (manual tune screen that shows signal)
But, if I drive the dish away from 99W, the signal really doesn't drop any almost as if its not really signal I'm seeing. I've confirmed settings to be proper as far as I can tell working with someone else who knows the 4DTV receivers well. I've switched it to c-band LNBF (which is what I use) and we just can't get signal anywhere. The odd color flicker on the TV every now and then and seems to periodically shut off the video signal to the TV when tuned to a black channel. As long as I sit on an options screen etc, the video signal stays on.

Any ideas how to troubleshoot this one any further? I was really looking forward to getting this rig up and running and am now afraid that maybe the receiver is bad. The seller wouldn't have had a clue either as he took good care of it but simply quit using it some time ago and decided to move to cable.

 

[oldsatdude]

You may want to try disconnecting the coax from the LNB on the back of the receiver. You should see the signal drop to 10 with no LNB connected. Good way to check is to set up a small TV with your receiver by your dish and put a good coax just on the LNB and receiver. See if you have the same results as inside the home. It is possible that the tuner in the receiver was damaged and that is why the guy went to cable. Don't give up, just think things thru. Also, Shepard's Channel is active. Check the installation setting options 6-4 -2 and be sure you have the correct LNB type and check the polarization. May be on the wrong polarity.

 

[jaray]

oldsatdude, thanks for the response. i've since found out that the VC2 board battery exploded and leaked battery acid onto some other components. I am currently in the process of getting a dead 920 on my hands for parts. I have an electronics guy just waiting for me to supply parts so he can heat up his soldering iron. I sure hope this works....

 

[oldsatdude]

OK, good luck!