Do I need new cable?

jennie1979

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
45
My Satellite Setup
Technomate 1500 receiver
My Location
Yorkshire
Hi everyone.

The satellite on our house has been hooked up for a few years, but not used at all. I am trying to use it now - have a new receiver etc..

But I have noticed that people advise sealing where the coax joins the LNB with some special tape. This was never done on ours, and I think that the coax has some water in it. Obviously I don't want to damage the receiver.. so what should I do?

I could buy whole new coax but there must be about 15 metres of it, and it is fixed in some hard to access places, so I only want to do this as a last resort.

Is there anything else that I could do to make it safe? Or is replacement the only real option?

Thank you!!
Jennie.
 

>COR<

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2003
Messages
177
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
71
My Location
Sneek, HOLLAND
Hi,

Difficult to tell without actually beeing able to see the LNBF end of the cable, most of the time i trim an small end from that end and see what the braid and inner conductor look like, if water has ingressed then the cable will be corroded, and must be replaced.

Without trying you won't know, so do try the reciever with the cable and see if you get an signal, there are also watertight F connectors, hopefully these were used when the dish was installed.

The tape is selfamalgamating tape, used here in abundancy as well for satelite as well the hamradio antenna connectors outside.

But since the dish has been up for years, and you don't get an signal it will be best to replace the cable, and check the dish for allignment as well.

Cheers,
Cor
 

frund

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
279
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Age
36
My Satellite Setup
triax 1.1 tm 1500ci+ dm patch. Moteck 2100. Intel 4300 based pc . LG7500. 32&quot; lcd
My Location
Wales. UK.
I use a spot of building silicone [clearseal] it dries like rubber and can be removed.
 

PaulR

Dazed and Confused Admin
Staff member
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Messages
18,023
Reaction score
4,046
Points
113
My Satellite Setup
-----------See sig-----------
My Location
Wirral, NW UK and Vaucluse, France.
frund said:
I use a spot of building silicone [clearseal] it dries like rubber and can be removed.
If you use silicone sealant make sure that it is the type which cures WITHOUT giving off acetic acid (vinegar) fumes. These fumes can cause corrosion inside the LNB and should be avoided at all costs.
 

wod

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2005
Messages
4,213
Reaction score
238
Points
63
My Satellite Setup
1m channel master, jaeger smr1224, Inverto black ultra twin, technomate tm-1500ci, broken receiver vantage x221ci, New additions Skybox F5s and technomate tm-5402 HD arriving soon.
My Location
yorkshire
as you say the dish is a few years old the lnb might need replacing too
 

jennie1979

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
45
My Satellite Setup
Technomate 1500 receiver
My Location
Yorkshire
I have a new LNB so that will be ok..

Is there any chance that I would damage my receiver by trying the coax cable? If not, then I will just try and see if it still works ok....

Also I have a satellite meter, that I attach to my dish when I am trying to align it correctly. But if I use the tape, doesn't that mean that I would have to try and remove it and then re-apply it everytime I want to attach the satellite meter?

Thank you for your replies.
Jennie
 

rolfw

Believe it when I see it Admin.
Staff member
Joined
May 1, 1999
Messages
38,292
Reaction score
1,615
Points
113
My Satellite Setup
Technomate 5402 HD M2 Ci, DM7000s, Transparent 80cm Dish, Moteck SG2100 DiseqC motor, lots of legacy gear. Meters: Satlook Digital NIT, Promax HD Ranger+ spectrum analyser.
My Location
Berkshire
Providing that there is no water running out of the coax, it will do no real harm to connect to it, but may activate the DC short protection in the receiver, I have on one occasion used a battery car tyre inflater to blow through the cable and clear it of a small amount of water, but that was in a case where replacement really was not an option.
 

langtonbrow

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
53
My Satellite Setup
Technomate 1500CI+
85cm motorised dish
Freeview
My Location
Nr Manchester, UK
My signal was low of late, so I went up the ladder tonight (BST is a blessing for this sort of job). Found that my dish had been blown off course and that water had penetrated the lnb - motor cable (not sealed properly). Removing the damp end solved the problem temporarily, but looks like a new run of cable will be required to keep things ship-shape. That's life in the Lancashire climate!
 

Oily

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
508
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Age
55
My Satellite Setup
Satellite=Motorized Triax 88cm&amp;a DM800HD with 500gb hd.Vu+ Duo
My Location
Radcliffe
Aye,the sunshine valley;):-rofl2
 
Top