Outside Air Temp and an LNBF?

[Lone Gunman]

Been watching a feed on 103w tonight that started out with 58% Q. Yeah that's a little low but it was locking fine. Over the past few hours it worked OK up until about 30 minutes ago when it started fading in and out and now it's to a point where it's not doing much of anything? I just went and checked and now it's got 56% Q and I can't watch it. Hard to believe that just 2% would make THAT much difference?? So is there a chance that the outside air temperature could have an effect on that LNBF causing it to loose that signal? It's about 15* cooler here now than it was when I first started watching it.

 

[gabshere]

it is possible for temps to mess with lnb's & lnbf's usually it a sign of it going bad. usually its the other way around they work better cold than hot. also you could check maybe some condensation inside the lnb/lnbf .

 

[SatelliteAV]

LNBFs become more efficient in lower temperatures. It is doubtful that the loss of the channel has anything to do with the LNBF electronics exposure to lower ambient temperature.

If it was a case of a DRO LNBF LO frequency drift, the Signal Quality would not just decrease. The receiver's AFC would continue locking until the LO drifted beyond the range and drop to no quality.

More likely related to atmospheric or mechanical uplink/downlink factors.

 

[rv1pop]

From my experience in Perry GA, I will guess that it could be condensation inside the lnbf... Saying Could Be. The rather high humidity and then dropping that much temp caused condensation even inside the MH. Signal went out on sat (off for over 3 days) and cell phone. Daughter said this happens there a lot and told me what to do.

I took about a pound of white rice and heated it in the microwave for a few minutes Took it out of the micro. and put the opened cell phone into the bowl of rice for about an hour and it started working again. So, I reheated the rice, DRY, NOT COOKED again and then put the LNBF into it and left it overnight. When I hooked it up the next day, I had signal -- 2 years ago -- still have signal today AND the cell phone is still working. But, now I am not in GA! As someone else likes to say, "Your mileage will vary!"

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Been watching a feed on 103w tonight that started out with 58% Q. Yeah that's a little low but it was locking fine. Over the past few hours it worked OK up until about 30 minutes ago when it started fading in and out and now it's to a point where it's not doing much of anything? I just went and checked and now it's got 56% Q and I can't watch it. Hard to believe that just 2% would make THAT much difference?? So is there a chance that the outside air temperature could have an effect on that LNBF causing it to loose that signal? It's about 15* cooler here now than it was when I first started watching it.

Yes, temperature can affect an LNB or LNBF. It can also cause enough imperfections in the dish surface to cause a problem. I had a lot of trouble picking up the NETV DCII feeds a few years ago when the outside temperature dropped below 20 degrees. It turned out that something happened to the dish, not the LNB. But, I went the cheap route and replaced the LNB and then the Corotor - but it didn't fix the problem. But, I didn't replace the dish until after it was pounded by hail a couple of years later. After the dish was replaced I had no more problems with picking up NETV until the dish got hammered by hail again. Of course, NETV has left satellite distribution now - the bums.

 

[Cham]

Another thing to consider though is more weather related. If there is that severe of a drop in temperature a cold front has gone through creating a lot of turbulence, cloud, and precipitation that in certain combinations could easily cause issues even on C-band. Maybe after the system passes though signals will return...

Might be some space-weather issues as well, think there is a solar flare forecast to hit over the next 24 hours..

 

[johann12]

Moister inside the LNBF could affect the performance.
You have to remember, that the LNBF stays warm while power is applied.
Connectors that have corrosion or oxidation on them are affected more in humid cold weather.