Newbie Here Freesat signal loss

G

Grumpy old

New Member
My Satellite Setup
Sky dish with mk4 lnb attached to LG smart TV with built in freesat
My Location
Whitley Bay area
Hi All,

I've recently started having problems with Freesat. I have an old sky dish, although it's in decent condition. The lnb is about 2 years old as the previous occupant had sky Q, so I had it swapped for a sky mk4 lnb. All internal connections are sound up to my LG smart TV, with built in freesat. Reception is fine for about 5 mins, although sometimes shorter and then signal strength starts to drop off before I lose signal strength and quality altogether. I've tried a factory reset on the TV, no change.

Can anyone advise, please.
 
I suspect the LNB is the problem, though I wouldn't rule out the television.

The LNB converts the Ku signal (10700MHz to 12750MHz) from the satellite to a lower frequency (950MHz - 2150MHz) before it is sent down the cable to the receiver. What determines how much the frequency is lowered by is the local oscillator. For example:

10700MHz from the satellite - 9750MHz local oscillator = 950MHz sent down the cable.

If the local oscillator drifts or becomes unstable the signal sent down the cable will be a different frequency than the receiver is expecting, resulting in no signal. As your signal loss is gradual it may be that the local oscillator is drifting as it warms up.
 
ozumo said:
I suspect the LNB is the problem, though I wouldn't rule out the television.

The LNB converts the Ku signal (10700MHz to 12750MHz) from the satellite to a lower frequency (950MHz - 2150MHz) before it is sent down the cable to the receiver. What determines how much the frequency is lowered by is the local oscillator. For example:

10700MHz from the satellite - 9750MHz local oscillator = 950MHz sent down the cable.

If the local oscillator drifts or becomes unstable the signal sent down the cable will be a different frequency than the receiver is expecting, resulting in no signal. As your signal loss is gradual it may be that the local oscillator is drifting as it warms up.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, I'll try changing the lnb, as they're fairly cheap.
 
You can check the ozumo-LNB hypothesis by entering two different LOFs in your receiver, instead of the normal 9750 and 10600.

For that, find the menu with "LNB type", where it says 9750 and 10600, or "universal", and set it to (manual) 9746 and 10596, and try if reception is better now.
If not, try the settings 9754 and 10604.

I did have an LNB, for which I changed the LOF settings every spring and autumn.

Greetz,
A33
 
Grumpy old said:
Thanks for that, I'll try changing the lnb, as they're fairly cheap.
Click to expand...
Most likely you'll need a Mk4 Sky Quad LNB, though a photo of the dish & LNB will help confirm this.
 
Yes that's a Mk4 Sky Quad LNB.
 
You could try connecting the cables to the two other F-connectors on the LNB case and see if that "helps" because those are for the two unused LNBs in the case - somehow I don't think it will as they might well have also degraded, but it's worth a try.
 
jeallen01 said:
You could try connecting the cables to the two other F-connectors on the LNB case and see if that "helps" because those are for the two unused LNBs in the case - somehow I don't think it will as they might well have also degraded, but it's worth a try.
Click to expand...
It's definitely worth a punt, if it works, great, if not, that's life. Thanks for that
 
Grumpy old said:
View attachment 139015
Click to expand...
For a two year old dish that is a lot of rot under the feed arm.

I suppose you have checked the feed cap for cracks in the white plastic.

Another issue since you live on the coast is corrosion between outer cable and F plug, or inside the centre pin part. I find the compression types are worse than screw/crimp for this.
 
Channel Hopper said:
For a two year old dish that is a lot of rot under the feed arm.

I suppose you have checked the feed cap for cracks in the white plastic.

Another issue since you live on the coast is corrosion between outer cable and F plug, or inside the centre pin part. I find the compression types are worse than screw/crimp for this.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how old the dish is, the lnb is 2 years old. I'll check everything is sound when I swap the connections over.
 
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