| Hey-Jude |
Does anyone out there have a good understanding of the transponder signal strength readings you get from your DirecTV receiver? We've been intermittently losing channels (like all our locals, TNT, TBS and others. When this happens and I do the system(cable) diagnostic test, every even #'d transponder shows up zero. Meanwhile the odds are just fine in the mid 80s - 90s.
I did call DirecTV technical support and didn't get much but "try resetting your receiver" and "check for any cable damage".
Anyways, this morning everything was fine again and had good readings on most all of the transponders.
Just wondering if someone has any explanation for this. Seems like if there was damaged cable it would just stay bad and not come and go.
Thanks! |
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| DocWalk20 |
Try reviewing some of these threads. I just found this site recently myself. Seems to have more of a Dish Network lean overall, but plenty of DirecTV discussion as well. Hopefully you kind find some info.
http://www.dbstalk.com/search.php?searchid=254856 |
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| RonH |
| Same happened to us once ... can't remember if it was odd that was out or even ... anyway ... the problem ended up being a corroded/dirty connection at the dish. Removed all the cables, cleaned the connections and reinstalled, and the problem was gone. If that doesn't work, it could be a bad LNB in the dish. |
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| one4gatr |
quote:
Originally posted by RonH
Same happened to us once ... can't remember if it was odd that was out or even ... anyway ... the problem ended up being a corroded/dirty connection at the dish. Removed all the cables, cleaned the connections and reinstalled, and the problem was gone. If that doesn't work, it could be a bad LNB in the dish.
Good assessment... Could be that or perhaps you are losing one whole satellite when this happens. Directv uses 3 satellites if I remember correctly. 110, 119, & ???. You need to first determine which satellite is dropping out. Next time it happens write down the channels that you lost also if you have multiple receivers check to see that the problem is the same on all tv's. You should be able to identify which satellite you are losing. Then do as RonH suggests and additionally check the other connections as well (inside & outside if there are any others).
It could be a bad LNB too. Another problem you could have is the dish is now improperly aligned. This happened to me and I would lose channels consistently at certain times of the day. In fact it would often only affect 1 of my 3 receivers. I would recommend you have someone come out and put a meter on the dish and check the alignment.
Good Luck. |
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| Hey-Jude |
Thanks for the replies! After some more surfing I found a site that details the problem.
http://www.satellitetech.com/techhelp.html
The satellite receiver sends out a DC voltage over the coaxial cable to the LNB at the dish to power the LNB circuitry and to switch between left and right hand circular transponder polarization. The polarity switching is accomplished by changing the DC voltage between 13 and 18 volts. If this voltage signal does not get to the LNB reliably, it will show up as a loss of signal on the odd or even transponders. DBS satellites generally are Ku band, with 32 transponders alternating between left and right hand circular polarization. Each transponder can have several TV channels or a mix of TV, music, or data channels.
Kind of interesting. Bottomline, I still need to get up on the roof I guess and check all the connections and cables.
Thanks again all ! |
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