Advice Needed Help needed on fault finding and repairs

Diggertrev

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Hi Everyone
My location is Australia
I have just joined and thought with all of the expertise that I am sure is here you may be able to help me out.
About 2 years ago I had a motorized satellite dish installed my wife is Cambodian so I wanted to access as many
free to air stations from there as possible, we had good reception but all of a sudden the channels have dropped out
By googling and such I have come to the conclusion it may be the LNB or maybe its not LOL.
I checked all the connections and checked the LNB for cracks or damage and they look ok.
I have attached a few photos of results and such I have tried blind scans and cannot find any channels the few that
have been picked up are not watchable all.
I have no idea how to locate the satellites wich one for sure or is there more than one how to save positions etc etc etc.
So I think my qualifications are now well known and any advice help, tips and prayers will all be accepted with the greatest
gratitude.
You could say I have a bit to learn.

Cheers Trev
sat4.jpgsat3.jpgsat new.jpgsat 2 new.jpgsat8new.jpgsat7new.jpg
 

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a33

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So you do seem to have reception at 134E, 4020 V 28800?
Or just a signal level (Q=60%), and no image or sound?
(The programms are encrypted on that transponder, lyngsat indicates...)
Do you receive FTA-programms of that satellite, now?

Has there been a storm or something, when the problem started? Or changes, somehow?

Just some questions, to start somewhere....

Greetz,
A33
 

Terryl

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With that big of a dish it could be an alignment problem, as the hardware ages the dish can droop or even twist in the wind, what would be needed would be someone to watch the TV screen and you (or someone) to ever so slightly lift up on the dish an inch or so very slowly.

See what this does for the "Q" signal, if it improves or gets back to a good lock then the dish may need a slight upward adjustment, this adjustment is on the dish mount, if it does nothing then try a small push left or right, (one way at a time) again watching the signal, if it improves then the motor needs a small left or right tweak, this can be done in the receiver setup for the motor, if this does nothing then you may need a pro to help out with this problem.
 

Analoguesat

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Hiya Trev - good to see a member from Australia.

There are 3 areas to look at to begin with.

Cable damage. Check the cable along its length for any damage, (cracking, rodent damage, or mechanical wear that may have allowed water to enter the cable.

lnb failure - partial failure is certainly possible

dish movement - probably the most likely of the 3. A big dish only needs a couple of mm of movement to drastically reduce the downlinked signal collection. Have a good look for any sign of scratches on the poles for radial movement, loosened bolts, distortion of the face, ground movement in extreme cases......
 

Diggertrev

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Hi everyone thanks for all the advice.
I have just ordered a new LNB as my first step of eliminating the problem.
I decided that it's not that expensive and it appears that the failure of this part is
not uncommon so even if not needed a spare will be handy.
Reading all suggestions I did take the cover off and checked the LNB there were a few spider webs and such
so I cleaned them and started checking the coaxial cable back to the decoder.
The coaxial had a joiner not far down the line and I removed what looked like red electrical tape and undone it
no sign of corrosion and looked dry but noticed that he had run the cable inside the gutter so it would have been in the water at times
for sure.
The coax goes down and under the house so have not made it to the other end as yet LOL.
The LNB looked clean and in good order so we will see about it,s condition when the new one arrives.
I was looking on the Lyngsat site and I am confused it looks like the Cambodian channels I am looking for may have been moved to others satellites I am not sure as APSTAR 6 is the right option now or not.
And I don't know how to decipher the LYNGSAT page to know what to input in my set-up to find and try another satellite.
Big learning curve coming up but enjoying the challenge :)
I will keep you all informed of the progress if any.
Should make for some amusing reading if nothing else LOL.
CHEERS TREV
2019-10-09 20_08_24-Window.png
 

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rotated dish..3590 V 19200 is on JCSAT 5s 132E..
 

Channel Hopper

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Some pictures of the installation in closeup would be good for the forum, the polar mount and condition of the panels.
 

danny10

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Edit..3590 V 19200..
 

Diggertrev

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Ok update on the Satellite fun and games LOL.
I received and replaced the LNB nothing, I then looked up Apstar 6c that appears to have free to air Cambodian TV channels
and with my homemade inclinometer and my compass and Satellite phone app tried to align the dish to Apstar 6c.
I don't even know if my dish is capable of picking up that satellite and I still can't get any channels.
So not being one to give up I will continue to follow the coax back to the box and see if I find any breaks or wear but that,s tomorrow I am all
Satellited out for today :)

TREV :)2019-10-14 19_49_13-.png
 

Channel Hopper

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Did you confirm there was voltage present at the LNB of the cable ?
 

Diggertrev

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Hi, channel Hopper how do I do that I have a multimeter but nothing else?
 

Channel Hopper

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Quickest way would be with the tongue (but apparently it's not politically correct), so a multimeter set to 20V DC and the probes across centre and the outer part of the f-plug
 

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Channel Hopper

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APSTAR-6C is based on CASC DFH-4 platform equipped with 45 transponders in C, Ku, and Ka bands, with a designed service life of 15 years.

 

Diggertrev

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So I should be ok with my setup to receive Cambodian channels on Apstar-6c correct?
 

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If your receiver can decode low symbol rate (sub 1500) stuff then all channels should come in on a 2m dish anywhere in Australasia.
 

Diggertrev

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OK so tried putting the multimeter over the coaxial and got 13.21 volts at the joiner and 13.6 volts at the LNB is this ok?sat to.jpg
 

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It is OK..Horizontal polarization must be more than 18V
 

danny10

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try it manually 3919 V 1200..
 
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danny10

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or add TP in blind scan..
 
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