Just lost all vertical transponders - is that possible?

[Sumner]

I'm new to this so it might be a daft question but, after having a few problems with 'no signal' on some channels, I carried out a factory reset on my Fortec Passion + and then rescanned Astra 2D on 28.2

I got most of the channels back but every single one is 'Horizontal' and none of the 'Vertical' ones are there.

Does this sound like a problem with the receiver, the LNB or the operator?

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

 

[Robbo]

It could be either the LNB or the receiver.

About 12V or so gives vertical and about 17V gives Horizontal.

Easiest and cheapest thing to do first, is to replace the LNB.

 

[Sumner]

Thanks Robbo (although I'm not sure I understand what 12V and 17V actually means)

Does the LNB have to be rotated in any special way (mine seems to be rotated about 30 degrees off level - i.e. the cable goes into the LNB at a 30 degree angle)

I used to get the 'Vertical' channels before so I don't think it's related but thought it was worth asking.

Thanks for any advice...

 

[Robbo]

Yes, if it was working before and not now, it is unlikely to be the Skew.

The skew for 28.2E is approx 13 degrees by the way. (_www.dishpointer.com)

The 12V and 17V are the two voltages supplied to the LNB, it gets altered to switch between the two polarities. If it is stuck on the higher voltage, the LNB won't do vertical polarisation. But is most likely that the LNB is faulty, and easy to check, by replacement.

 

[Sumner]

Thanks Robbo - I'll try the replacement and see how that goes.

Thanks again for the quick and clear advice!

 

[Sumner]

Just replaced the LNB today and made sure the skew is correct etc.

However, I still cannot get any signal at all on the vertical channels but get a strong signal on the horizontal channels.

I also factory rebooted the Passion + and reloaded the latest loader version (1.5) and also tried all copies of the firmware updates.

I'm really stuck with this now - any ideas would be gratefully received...

 

[Mickha]

If you can borrow another receiver, even a sky box, you can hook it up to your set up and confirm where the problem lies, or try your receiver on somebody elses set up.

 

[Robbo]

Well, it does point to a receiver problem then.

 

[Sumner]

That would be pretty dissapointing on a 4 month old £150 receiver !!

One last clutch at the straw - could this be a cable issue? I sometimes lost channels in heavy rain and they came back after the rain had gone - I assumed it was atmospheric but could it be water ingress in the cable ?

 

[Robbo]

Another very cheap and easy thing to try, isn't it.

You could get a short length already made up, take the receiver outside and try it.

Not quite sure how water in the cable would allow the higher voltage to work but not the lower one though.

After that though as Mickha says, you are really left with receiver substitution.

 

[Sumner]

This just gets stranger - I've now put back the old LNB and on the antenna setup screen I can see a 68% signal with 57% quality on the vertical channel but still get no picture. Guess this is just a faulty receiver!

 

[rolfw]

Is the LNB a Fortecstar model as well?

 

[Sumner]

Yes, I bought the receiver, dish and lnb as a bundle, all Fortec Star. (It's a single, universal lnb)

The new one I bought to try another lnb is a Nikkai A04FT Universal Twin LNB

 

[Sumner]

Ok - I give in with this!!!

I've replaced the LNB, I've replaced the cabling and today I've replaced the receiver! Still no Astra 2D reception.
I've even repositioned the dish to see if I can get Eurobird 9 which I can (and I get the vertical channels so it's not the LNB or the receiver anyway)

When I position the dish for Astra 2D, I sometimes get a strong signal with good quality and still no channels show up!!

I've also played with the LNB skew until my arms fell off - no joy!

I give up - can anyone recommend a company or person in the Maidenhead area that would be able to get this set up correctly (obviously I'd expect to pay)

 

[rolfw]

Send me a PM, you are at the edge of my area for small jobs, but I can probably help, will only be available until Wednesday though, as I'm off to France on Thursday.

 

[BombedOne]

Hehehe, absolutely same I had several days ago with my Comag SL65/2CI... Lost ALL V's, and next morning got "no signal" at all. After checking, found that DISEQC was dead (naturally, smoke and fumes from it), a lot of LNBs also dead, and receiver is outputting stright 22V at LNB IN...

On the attached picture, you can see in red circles, what equipmend died due to this fault...

 

[Sumner]

Send me a PM, you are at the edge of my area for small jobs, but I can probably help, will only be available until Wednesday though, as I'm off to France on Thursday.

What a difference an expert makes !

Rolf - many thanks for sorting this out - not only did you fix the problem, I also have loads more channels and better quality than when I first installed it. You certainly know your stuff!

Many many thanks!

 

[bwavin]

hello sumner, any chance i telling us what he did? i would be interested as I have a similar problem... Barry

 

[Sumner]

Hi bwavin, basically it was the line of sight to the satellite and some foliage in next doors garden. When it was dry, the signal strength was adequate but when it rained, the extra water on the foliage blocked the signal.
Also, Rolf had all the right equipment to make sure we got the best possible signal quality so it went from about 60% to near 90%.
Hope that helps.

 

[bwavin]

ok thanks, the line of sight of mine seems OK but am getting a guy to check it out for me. I have eliminated the receiver as being at fault, he will check the LNB and cabling. Oddly enough tho after I called him I haven't had much problem, it seems intermittent.