Searching for Satellite on HD

[willeric31]

I have searched this topic but I think I have a unique or semi-unique problem here that no techs have been able to figure out so far. I have had 6 techs out, another today.

Since I upgraded to HD I have always had intermittent HD, local and the "newer" HD channels. ESPN always works, but I am told it is older so it is more stable and easier to dial in.

I have had the receiver and BBC's replaced last week just as a precautionary measure because I think the tech was clueless. I have had the dish peaked by the tech. I have gone up there and peaked the dish myself to 103 (c) all to the mid 80's and low 90's.

My current symptoms are that the HD's will work after you peak the dish, and shortly after reset, but then they will all drop out, most recently, it seems they are dropping out in the morning, I am in CO, so it is always very cold in the morning.


I peaked it myself yesterday, noticed the tilt was a degree off, adjusted the tilt and azimuth slightly to mid 80's/low90's on 103 (c) and thought I might have had it nailed. Then this morning they are all at zero for 103 (c) on both tuners.

My signals are very extreme in nature. I never get anything below 80 on any satellites. They will always be (especially for 103c) in the mid 80's/low 90's and then bam, they are at zero the next day. It seems like another issue than peak/dish alignment because of the extreme nature of the signal loss.

What are everyone's thoughts? I have posted this in the directv forums also but it does not get a whole lot of useful answers. I would love to have some more info for my tech this afternoon.

Thanks.

 

[ercjncpr]

Have the techs replaced the dish and LNB's?

 

[harshness]

My first reaction would be to look for condensation on the feed horn covers when you're having the problem.

 

[willeric31]

Well, the tech today replaced all the cabling inside and out, along with the LNB. I won't know for a few days whether it fixed it, but my 103 (c) on Transponder 1 comes in at 82 for tuner 1 and 2. I was getting 90's on the old LNB and cabling but it would also cut out unpredictably. I will post back with results.

 

[BryanSat88]

Hopefully the new cables and connections will fix your problem. I have had similar trouble in the past due to bad connections where the connectors were placed on the coax and also where the connectors screw on to the grounding block (they seemed to loosen up on their own). I am not sure if it was due to frost or freeze/thaw cycles in the winters here up North. I have noticed that the multiLNB dish is much more [FONT=&quot]susceptible [/FONT]to frost and snow during the overnight hours (before the sun heats it for a couple hours) than the old single LNB type. I believe this is because the whole dish is tilted creating shadows and dips that promote frost/snow collection. Nothing you can do about the dish style, but re-checking the connections (gently wiggling and then snugging up the connectors again) at the grounding block after a couple days may help.

 

[smyrna]

I had to cut a tree top off because every time the wind blew, even a breeze less that 1 MPH I would lose HD only, SD didnt budge! Cut the tree top no more picture loss. I cut 15' of a skinny Georgia Pine. Should last about 5-10 years.

I also had a faled LNB all in the first 10 days of service! Good thing my LNB died before I "moved"!

Are there any possible obsticales? Could moving the dish or cutting a tree help?

Good luck to you.