No signals on Odd Transponders on 103c

[ChrisK114]

My in-laws just upgraded to the 5lnb dish and can not get a signal on the odd transponders on 103c. Installer tried 3 different HD boxes( 2-HR21, 1H210, 5 different BBC's, 2 different sets of lnb's, and 2 different multiswitches, and still could not get them to come in. They have high 90's signal strengths on all other transponders that they can get. Anyone have any suggestions on what else it could be. Installer gave up and said they were gonna send someone else out but noone has come. thanks.

 

[Rey]

what type of lnb is it?

 

[BEERME]

Do you have a 6x8 or 6X16 multiswitch? If so, do you have odd transponders on the 119?

 

[ChrisK114]

what type of lnb is it?

All I know is it is a 5lnb. Not the new kind.

 

[ChrisK114]

Do you have a 6x8 or 6X16 multiswitch? If so, do you have odd transponders on the 119?

Now that you mention it, it does seem we lost some of the odd transponders on 119 too. It is a 6x8 multiswitch.

 

[Rey]

tune to channels 480-483 and see what message appears in the lower right corner.

 

[iwc5893]

If you lost the odd transponders on the 119 and the 103c, you need to check the cable and connection for the 13vdc/22khz input on the multiswitch. Backtrace that cable all the way to the dish and make sure that it's not damaged, and check the connections on both ends of that cable.

 

[sat.ninja]

If the cables are RG59, replace them. If they,re RG 6, Ohm them out. They should ohm out at 75 ohms. It sounds like a cabling issue. If you don't know how to use a multimeter, just simply "hot drop" the reciever directly to the LNB.

 

[ChrisK114]

If the cables are RG59, replace them. If they,re RG 6, Ohm them out. They should ohm out at 75 ohms. It sounds like a cabling issue. If you don't know how to use a multimeter, just simply "hot drop" the reciever directly to the LNB.

Been there, done that. We have already had two service calls and they are stumped. The only thing I am not sure of is if they replaced the lines from the sat, to the multiswitch. If not, then I think it the 13v line. That is the only thing I am not sure of.

 

[sat.ninja]

Been there, done that. We have already had two service calls and they are stumped. The only thing I am not sure of is if they replaced the lines from the sat, to the multiswitch. If not, then I think it the 13v line. That is the only thing I am not sure of.

I've noticed that everything has been replaced more than once, but the cabling.

 

[iwc5893]

Been there, done that. We have already had two service calls and they are stumped. The only thing I am not sure of is if they replaced the lines from the sat, to the multiswitch. If not, then I think it the 13v line. That is the only thing I am not sure of.

The easiest way to tell is to go to the multiswitch and swap two of the input wires around. If it's the cable, the problem should relocate to the new input line.

 

[ChrisK114]

The easiest way to tell is to go to the multiswitch and swap two of the input wires around. If it's the cable, the problem should relocate to the new input line.

I will try that if we go out there tomorrow. This thing is just weird. I called D* and they have never heard of this problem. Although that is not too much of a surprise.

 

[iwc5893]

I will try that if we go out there tomorrow. This thing is just weird. I called D* and they have never heard of this problem. Although that is not too much of a surprise.

The CSR's have never heard of this problem...techs have.

 

[texasbrit]

The CSR's have never heard of this problem...techs have.

As you said, this should be an easy problem for any good tech to diagnose. Since the 119 odd transponders and the 103 odd transponders come down the same cable from the dish (110 would also, but there are no odd transponders on 110) then losing all the odd transponders on 103/119 means one of two things. Either there is a cable/connector problem on the cable into the 103/110/119 13v connector on the multiswitch, or (and much less likely) there is a problem at the dish. Your recommendation to swap over the two 103/110/119 cables at the dish (if you can identify which cables go to the 103/110/119 multiswitch connectors) is absolutely correct. That will show if the problem is in the cable or the dish.

 

[ChrisK114]

As you said, this should be an easy problem for any good tech to diagnose. Since the 119 odd transponders and the 103 odd transponders come down the same cable from the dish (110 would also, but there are no odd transponders on 110) then losing all the odd transponders on 103/119 means one of two things. Either there is a cable/connector problem on the cable into the 103/110/119 13v connector on the multiswitch, or (and much less likely) there is a problem at the dish. Your recommendation to swap over the two 103/110/119 cables at the dish (if you can identify which cables go to the 103/110/119 multiswitch connectors) is absolutely correct. That will show if the problem is in the cable or the dish.

Well we have had three techs out and none of them have managed to fix it. Guess I will wait on a good one, huh?

 

[Rey]

Well we have had three techs out and none of them have managed to fix it. Guess I will wait on a good one, huh?

you need to email the someone important at D . here: ellen.filipiak@directv.com

your situation is ridiculous! email your problem. give all the details.

 

[ChrisK114]

Well, they had another service call yesterday. Seems that if they bypass the multiswitch, all missing transponders come in. The only problem is they won't have their locals(SD). They left it like that. My question is that since it works if they bypass the multiswitch, wouldn't it stand to reason that the multiswitch is bad and they would need a new one??? Instead of bypassing it and saying it is fixed?? If I am wrong, someone please explain it to me.

 

[texasbrit]

Well, they had another service call yesterday. Seems that if they bypass the multiswitch, all missing transponders come in. The only problem is they won't have their locals(SD). They left it like that. My question is that since it works if they bypass the multiswitch, wouldn't it stand to reason that the multiswitch is bad and they would need a new one??? Instead of bypassing it and saying it is fixed?? If I am wrong, someone please explain it to me.

You are absolutely right, bypassing the multiswitch is just a diagnostic tool. And you already said they replaced the multiswitch more than once.
If there is a problem on the cable as we discussed earlier, then bypassing the multiswitch for just one or two tuners will prove nothing unless by chance they used the cable that was connected to the 103/110/119 connector on the multiswitch, so with four cables and two tuners to connect they had a 50% chance of seeing the fault. Their test does not prove that the multiswitch is faulty, unfortunately. It seems to me that they were just trying anything to see what happened.

What I suggest you do is just reconnect the multiswitch. Now it's possible that reconnecting the cables will seem to solve the problem, if it's a poor connector at the multiswitch end of the cable, but hopefully you will still see some sort of problem. If the cable/connector problem is still there what you should see is that you will lose either all the even-numbered transponders or all the odd-numbered transponders on either 99/101, or 103/110/119. So remembering that even transponders are on an 18v cable, and odd transponders are on a 13v cable, you can identify which of the four cables coming from the dish to the multiswitch shows the fault.
Then we are back to having two possible sources of the problem. You can absolutely pin down which is the problem if you can get to the dish and identify which cable from the dish is the one that shows the fault at the multiswitch end. If you carefully switch that cable with another one, if the problem moves to a different satellite block (from 99/101 to 103/110/119) or to a different set (e.g odds to evens) of transponders on the same satellites, you know for sure it is the cable/connectors. If when you move the "faulty" cable at the dish the problem stays on the same set of transponders (odd or even) on the same satellite you know you have a problem in the LNBs at the dish and will need the LNB set replaced.