Poor hd reception

[garyg007]

I have an HR21; the dish is one with 5 lnb's (I think is is the slimline).
When the directv service was installed, the installer used the existing coax; Standard signal reception is fine; however most of the time on most hidef stations, the picture is very poor (significantly pixelated)
I have had service out to re-point the dish. This did no good.

There are two coax lines from the dish to a switch that provides service to the hr21 and to two D12-300's

Is there an amplifier or pre-amp that can be installed on the dish side of the switch to provide a stronger signal to my HR21?


Any information appreciated

Gary

 

[Jimbo]

I have an HR21; the dish is one with 5 lnb's (I think is is the slimline).
When the directv service was installed, the installer used the existing coax; Standard signal reception is fine; however most of the time on most hidef stations, the picture is very poor (significantly pixelated)
I have had service out to re-point the dish. This did no good.

There are two coax lines from the dish to a switch that provides service to the hr21 and to two D12-300's

Is there an amplifier or pre-amp that can be installed on the dish side of the switch to provide a stronger signal to my HR21?


Any information appreciated

Gary

WELCOME to the site !!!

How long is the feed from the dish to the rec. ?
What is your Signal Strengths ?
Is this happening on ALL HD channels or just one or two, if only a few, which ones ?

Jimbo

 

[Zynergi]

Question of concern here is based off this...

There are two coax lines from the dish to a switch that provides service to the hr21 and to two D12-300's

Looks like someone hooked up a 3x4 to a KaKu system. Else he has a SWM and they just ran dual cable. If its a SWM system then disregard.

The other concern is his comment

however most of the time on most hidef stations, the picture is very poor (significantly pixelated)

Now how do you define the pixelization.. is it big boxes or just poor quality like not as sharp?

What does Channels 480 an 481 return.. also what do 99 and 103 return on the ones that only show the 1st 9 transponders? Also are you able to give the model number of the device that the 2 lines go into?

 

[garyg007]

How long is the feed from the dish to the rec. ?

Feed line is about 60 feet,

What is your Signal Strengths ?

Don't know --- dont know which sat's and which transponders on those sat's

Is this happening on ALL HD channels or just one or two

All local stations, most of the time;
Other stations, much of the time -- some more than others
Gary

 

[garyg007]

Hello Zynergi:
The system was installed by a tech dispatched by directv and driving a directv truck. - So I gotta believe that the install was proper. The switch is because there are two D12-300 stb's in addition the the HR21.

The only fault I know of with the initial instal of the system, is that the coax that was already in place, was used rather than running new rg-6; and that was probably my fault..

Now how do you define the pixelization.. is it big boxes

Yes

Looks like someone hooked up a 3x4 to a KaKu system. Else he has a SWM and they just ran dual cable

I have no idea what this is.

What does Channels 480 an 481 return

480: Correct HD Dish setup B-Band Odd(13v).....481: Correct HD Dish setup B-Band Even(18v)

also what do 99 and 103 return on the ones that only show the 1st 9 transponders?

I'm not sure what you are asking for. Is it signal strengths on satalites 99 and 103? For satellite 99 I see 99 displayed twice - 99(s) and 99(c); same for 103. 99(s) shows the first 6; and 99(c) shows the first 14.
Signal strengths on 99(c) are all above 90.
99(s) 1-6: ---> 0 0 0 0 0 52 and 15-24 ---> 19,0,98,95,0,0,93.86.0,0
103(s) 1-6:---> 34,94,0,0,42,96 and 15-24 ---> 55,0,0,66,0,0,56,0,0,55
103(c) 1-14 ---> These change significantly over short periods of time. For instance transponder 2 shows 69 and the a min. later will show 95


Gary

 

[mental1]

If both lines coming in from the dish are plugged into the multi switch, its probably a 3x4, which is a no-no for HD signals. THIS is a 3x4, THIS is a 6x8 and is ok for HD. If you have a 6x8, both 13v and both 18v inputs MUST have a line in from the dish!

You say two lines, are they two single lines, one dual line or two dual lines? If you have only two singe lines or one dual line, regardless of the switch, your system wasn't properly installed. Also, never ever assume for one minute that just because the guy showing up is in a "big DirecTV van" he knows what he's doing. Most of the HSP Techs (not all, calm down guys ) dont know what they are doing. The turn over rate for employees in a HSP is just as bad as any other business. There are a few guys in every HSP that have been doing it for years, and a ton of guys that have been there only a few months. So never assume he knows what hes doing. Anyway, if you only have 3 receivers in your home, 1 HD-DVR and 2 D12's, there shouldn't even be a switch there to begin with. The LNB has a 4way built in. So unless it's a SWM system, there is no need for a multi switch of any kind.

edit: If you do have a 6x8 and want to eliminate that as the cause of the problem, go to the Home Depot (or something like it) and get 4 barrel connectors and screw them into the lines instead of the switch.

 

[garyg007]

Thank you mental1;

I just took another look at the installation; The last tech that came out last Monday, made some significant changes in the wiring at the dish (I was not home; my son was here with him). It now looks like what you describe . There are two dual lines running from the dish to a bracket with 4 barrel connectors. There are four lines from the barrel connectors to the receivers.
Having said that, now how about a preamp (or amp) for the lines running to the hr21?

 

[raoul5788]

It sounds like the original cable is RG59. That would account for the pixelation on the hd channels. If so, it should be replaced with RG6.

 

[garyg007]

Thanks, for the reply, Chip; Replacing the cable is not an option.
I'm not up to tearing up the woodwork and paneling necessary to get a new line in.

A few of the HD channels are watchable; That leads me to believe that the problem is signal strength. The question is whether the signal strength problems are a function of the way the dish is aimed, or the older coax (or both)

That said, is there a pre-amp or amp that can be put in the line from the dish (or barrel connectors) to the HD set top box?

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks, for the reply, Chip; Replacing the cable is not an option.
I'm not up to tearing up the woodwork and paneling necessary to get a new line in.

A few of the HD channels are watchable; That leads me to believe that the problem is signal strength. The question is whether the signal strength problems are a function of the way the dish is aimed, or the older coax (or both)

That said, is there a pre-amp or amp that can be put in the line from the dish (or barrel connectors) to the HD set top box?

Being only 60 ft from your dish to rec. you should not need an amp.
Normally the RG59 cable will work fine .... you should use RG-6 whenever possible, but the 59 will still work, I do not think it is a rg-59 issue.
Your signal strength looks pretty good.
Did he put new connectors on your coax ... ?
How is the TV being connected to the rec.?
Is this the same as before ?

 

[harshness]

Having said that, now how about a preamp (or amp) for the lines running to the hr21?

No.

No amps.

No pre-amps.

No DAs.

What I would suggest is testing a couple of lengths of new RG6 cable from the barrel connectors directly to the HR21. Go across the floor or through windows if you have to.

The part that spooks me about this situation is that even if the cable is sub-par, the signal shouldn't be coming and going.

 

[Jimbo]

No.

No amps.

No pre-amps.

No DAs.

What I would suggest is testing a couple of lengths of new RG6 cable from the barrel connectors directly to the HR21. Go across the floor or through windows if you have to.

The part that spooks me about this situation is that even if the cable is sub-par, the signal shouldn't be coming and going.

This is why I was wondering about a connector.

 

[mental1]

It could also be a bad LNB. Easiest thing to do is call DirecTV and tell them you are having issues with the HD equipment that was just installed. They will send a Tech out to get it fixed for you.

 

[Jimbo]

It could also be a bad LNB. Easiest thing to do is call DirecTV and tell them you are having issues with the HD equipment that was just installed. They will send a Tech out to get it fixed for you.

:up

I was going to mention an LNB, but didn't think an LNB would affect only one type of signal, SD vs HD, you would expect it to be messing up on more channels as well, then again, he could have caught it at the beginning of going bad.

Jimbo

 

[garyg007]

Thankyou all for the info and suggestions.
@Jimbo
I'll take a look at the connectors later today to see if they were replaced.

----
Any way to tell which satellite and transponders The Hi Def signals of the local stations are on (ie channels 3, 5, 8 in the cleveland ohio
service area). I'd like to check the signal strength on those transponders at the hr21's 2 tuners -- (one of the 2 coaxes is quite a bit older) .

Gary

 

[Zynergi]

Where is the dish installed? can you move the mast at all? the sats your concerned about are 103c and 99c you mentioned that the number goes from say 65 then up to 90's and there is only 60' of cable, then replacing it if a temp jumper doesnt work shouldnt be an issue.

Call D* have the tech replace the LNB and inspect the dish for damage. Also have him check the impedence on the lines.

Are you able to swap out the HR21 to a D12 and see if the problem persists on that TV also what are the full signal strengths?

101
110
119
103c
99c

 

[garyg007]

@Jimbo

Did he put new connectors on your coax ... ?

Does not look like it.

How is the TV being connected to the rec.?

By one of those special Hi-def cables

@Zynergi
I had some issues with the HR21, so was using one of the D12's in its place for about a week and a half. The tech couldn't find anything wrong with the hr21 when re-attached it.

--------------------------------

I appreciate the time you all have taken to try and assist me;
I will replace some of the connectors, and check hd reception on local channels and keep a log of results -- time of day, sky conditions etc ---. It seems like I am seeing different things at different times.


Gary
(K8MGL)

 

[don24mac]

I had a very similar problem. On my system that includes a H21 HD receiver and an older SD receiver, I had a problem where some of the transponder readings were low (especially odd transponder readings) with other readings in the hign 90s.

On the SD receiver all readings were in the high 90s and the picture was perfect. On the HD receiver, I would get pixilation on many HD stations--some becoming unwatchable.

I called a service rep out and it was the LNB. He replaced it and everything is fine now. Apparently there is an issue with the Wingard LNBs where some of them seem to have an incompatibility with the B Band converter. There's a problem with some of the polarities of the signal whether it's odd or even with HD. No issue with SD, though.

I suggest calling DirecTV and have them fix the just installed service. I bet they replace the LNB once they've checked it out.

 

[garyg007]

FWIW:
Satellite 103(c) Signal strengths at 4:00 PM EDT
1-8 96,95,94,88,95,93,90,88
9-14 93,92,88,90,94,92

Satellite 103(c) Signal strengths at 11:00 PM EDT
1-8 73,73,70,67,71,70,67,66
9-14 71,69,67,67,70,70

 

[garyg007]

Temperature issue with an LNB

One more question and I'll let you all alone.

On the day I checked signal strengths mid afternoon and again late at night, It was a warn sunny day (mid 60's), (the antenna takes direct sunlight in the afternoon). Late evening the temp had dropped into the low 40's high 30's.

The signal strength at night was at least 20 points lower than it was during the day.

Late evening last night was a quit warm for this time of year - near about 60 degrees -- and signal strength was good - so was hi-def reception.

Is this difference in signal strength with temperature common? or is it a symptom of an LNB going bad?

I have snapshots of the signal strength display from the setup; is that going to be enough to convince Directv that there really is a problem?


Gary