Advice Needed Help with satellite signal driving me mad!

[Roxie]

Hi all, I have a motorised 1 m dish with dark motor. Open box s9. Well signal keeps dropping, if I replug at the dish it works for a very short time then drops. I replaced the cable, I replaced the lnb. It keeps doing it even if it's plugged direct into lnb (so seems a signal problem).
What could it be? I am running out of ideas, could it need realigning? I haven't replaced f plugs yet, could it be those?
At the motor there is no lights but if I unplug and replug then it works. Please help....

 

[Mickha]

Have you checked your receiver?
If it happens when it gets warm, and you've already changed the LNB, why not check the receiver on a friends, family members, sky dish.

 

[Analoguesat]

If its not the dish the lnb or the cable then its a receiver fault.

 

[Roxie]

Hi guys thanks for both replies. I plugged in a different receiver. Still no luck... The dish does not seem damaged, so I'm just wondering what else could it be.....

 

[Lazarus]

You say you haven't checked the F Plugs? Well, the quality of the connections seems to be all that's left to eliminate.

First thing to do is check for tightness. If nipping them a little more secure doesn't work, then you might need to re-terminate each connection until you find a dodgy one.

That said, and upon reading your first Post once more, I'm not sure this is the issue as you say you've replaced the cable, so must have fitted the F Plugs anew.

Did you replace all the cable ie the cable between Receiver and Motor and the shorter one from the motor to the LNB?

And when you say the signal drops, do you mean the picture goes or just that the signal strength/quality readings drop but the picture remains?

Also, does the effect apply consistently across all Satellites, or is it confined to certain frequencies, just one polarity etc.?

 

[Roxie]

Grazie, well I also redid the ends and replaced the cable but still used the same f plugs.

The signal completely goes and so do the lights on the satellite. I replaced cable to house and from motor to lnb. When I plugged in directly as well the signal still goes from 80% to 10%

 

[Lazarus]

Grazie, well I also redid the ends and replaced the cable but still used the same f plugs. Do you think it could be the f plugs?

I suspect you replied before I finished editing my Post!

Can you consider the other points I made, please?

F plugs themselves are simple, stable components - the only way they could be considered "faulty" is if they aren't fitted properly.

 

[Roxie]

Thanks again Tivu' but as I said I redid the ends so many times. Signal totally drops so you think one of the f plugs hasn't been fitted properly?

 

[Lazarus]

As per previous Post, what is the effect of the drop in the reading:

Picture goes?

Picture stays?

Same on all Satellites?

Independent of Frequency, polarity etc?


As for the F Plugs and the cable termination, there are different sizes of F plug and different diameters of cable. But you'd probably notice any mismatch whilst fitting them as either the cable outer sheath would clearly be smaller than the F plug internal diameter or the F plug would be mighty difficult to screw on.

 

[Roxie]

Signal and picture they both go, it doesn't matter whether is hotbird/Astra/euro bird. Today I put the dish on 0 and picked up Thor, then when I tried to go to hotbird the dish didn't move and signal plus picture completely.

I don't have any obstructions.

 

[Analoguesat]

Sounds like a power supply issue in the receiver to me, although its not impossible that theres some weird local interference

 

[Lazarus]

Sounds like a power supply issue in the receiver to me, although its not impossible that theres some weird local interference

I'd agree, especially as the Rx is an Openbox, as my Skybox (same, same) also struggles sometimes to shift the motor - but for the fact that Roxie said she'd plugged in a different Receiver and got the same result.

Of course, it could have been another Openbox!

 

[Roxie]

Hi guys well guessed it is the same (s10). I do have a different box, I will try later this week and let you know if you guessed right.

 

[Terryl]

OK, if you have replaced ALL the coax, tried a second receiver, bypassed the motor and swapped out the LNB, the the only thing it could be is something inline with the coax.

Do you have a ground block? or lighting gas discharge device? and did you reuse it?

And how are you bringing the coax inside the house, through an existing wall jack? or existing pre-installed house coax?

Was there a section of coax that you could not replace? As this sounds like a short somewhere in the system, disconnect all coax connections and use an ohm meter, see if you get anything below 1000 ohms, (it should read as high as 1 to 10 meg ohms with everything disconnected) if you get anything below that you may have a resistive short in the coax somewhere.

 

[Roxie]

OK, if you have replaced ALL the coax, tried a second receiver, bypassed the motor and swapped out the LNB, the the only thing it could be is something inline with the coax.

Do you have a ground block? or lighting gas discharge device? and did you reuse it?

And how are you bringing the coax inside the house, through an existing wall jack? or existing pre-installed house coax?

Was there a section of coax that you could not replace? As this sounds like a short somewhere in the system, disconnect all coax connections and use an ohm meter, see if you get anything below 1000 ohms, (it should read as high as 1 to 10 meg ohms with everything disconnected) if you get anything below that you may have a resistive short in the coax somewhere.

Thanks to everyone, all your input is appreciated. I tried a third receiver (echo star) it got hotbird, but after a minute dropped out! I have replaced all coax, and then passed through the wall gap I have. Coax brand new I don't have any lighting gas or ground block.....

 

[Terryl]

Ehhh... You must have a short or staple/nail in the system somewhere, you could even have a shard of coax shielding wire stuck up inside the connector of the LNB or switch if you use one.

Also look at the outdoor connections, look for any sign of rust.

And you did say you don't have a ground block in the system, this could be a problem, the system may need a ground, I put them right before where the coax enters the wall, then drive a ground rod right there. (or run it to a metal cold water pipe)

The funny part is that it does it on a new LNB, new coax, and with other receivers, works for a bit then quits, if the dish has been tweaked, and all other things have been tried then you have gremlins in the system.

 

[Terryl]

You don't have a WIFI router sitting next to the receiver do you?

Or a neighbors WIFI inline with your satellite dish and close by it?