Scratching my head on this one!!!

[robq391]

Not sure what is causing this problem, so I am hoping for some insight.

My setup consists of s SWM8 cascaded off a WB68. The WB68 also has 3 D11's of of it. The SWM8 has a HR20/PI off SWM1, HR22 off SWM2 & R15 off 2 legacy ports.

Problem is every so often I get 771 on the 2 HR's on HD channels only.

This is a sporadic problem & weather is not the issue. Yesterday it happend & I went right to signal strength & had 60's & 70's on 103c (all others had great #'s) & right before my eyes, transponders started dropping to 0 one by one. Then after a minute or so they all picked back up & ranged from upper 80's to mid 90's. This is on both tuners BTW & only on the 103.

Currently as we speak, 103c is 88-96 & the wind is blowing 35mph unlike calm winds yesterday.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob

[dettxw]

Cascaded? That doesn't sound good.
I think that you can split the feeds from the dish to both the SWM & WB68, but not feed the SWM from the WB68.
Maybe you should draw us a picture so we can see exactly what you've got there.

[LameLefty]

Cascading off a WB68 is not recommended, though since the SWM is powered it's not quite as bad as it could be.

You might try disconnecting the WB68 and running the HR's off the SWM by themselves for a day or two and see if your 771 errors go away. If so, you should consider running things in parallel (that's what I do).

[carl6]

I've got an SWM8 and a WB68 in parallel and they have worked fine for quite a while now. Four wide band high frequency dual port power passing splitters will do the job for you.

[texasbrit]

Cascading an SWM8 off a WB68 should be fine, because the SWM8 is as you say a powered multiswitch. It should not behave any differently from just having a WB68, so if the cable runs from the WB68 are too long you could get 771s whether you are using an SWM8 or not. But as the other posters said, running the WB68 and the SWM8 in parallel is a better solution since the power from the SWM8 does not have to passthru the WB68 to get to the dish.

[dave29]

i would disconnect the wb68 and see how the swm behaves as stated earlier. i would move them in parrallel though. i have 2 swm8's and 2 wb68's all ran in parrallel

[robq391]

I had no problems for the first couple of months with the cascaded setup.

I've tried running the SWM8 by itself, running the HR's and the WB68 running the HR22 (only one coax feed to where the HR20 is) but the problem on the 103 rears its ugly head either way.

All coax is QSCC RG6. ~125'-150' from dish to switches & ~75'-100' from switches to IRD's. When things are running fine, all conus signals are mid 80's to 100 on all sats.

Could this be a software or lnb problem?

[RobertE]

I had no problems for the first couple of months with the cascaded setup.

I've tried running the SWM8 by itself, running the HR's and the WB68 running the HR22 (only one coax feed to where the HR20 is) but the problem on the 103 rears its ugly head either way.

All coax is QSCC RG6. ~125'-150' from dish to switches & ~75'-100' from switches to IRD's. When things are running fine, all conus signals are mid 80's to 100 on all sats.

Could this be a software or lnb problem?

My money is on the cable length. At worst you longest run is 250 feet or so. Thats 100 over what is recommended.

If you got a volt meter, you could test how much juice is making it to the LNB. Should be 19-17 and 14-12. Outside of those ranges, you could be asking for all sorts of weirdness.

[robq391]

Didn't think this was the problem since everything was fine for 2+ yrs w/ just WB68 & 2+ mths after adding SWM8.

I checked anyway & volt meter ranges from 12.5 - 12.98 & 17.23 -18.03.

[RobertE]

Didn't think this was the problem since everything was fine for 2+ yrs w/ just WB68 & 2+ mths after adding SWM8.

I checked anyway & volt meter ranges from 12.5 - 12.98 & 17.23 -18.03.

Those look pretty good considering the distance.

[50+]

I have set up a SWM8 cascaded off a WB68 for my daughter it has worked flawlessly for over six months. Have you tried rebooting the whole system maybe the SWM just needs a power down to clear an issue just a thought. In another thread the OP says he is going to make a resolution to remember to reboot his system before thinking the worst.

[robq391]

Thanks 50+ for jarring my memory. I keep forgetting to do a complete system reboot after a power failure. Had a power failure about a month or so ago. Haven't had this issue a lot because I haven't had the SWM that long. I really need to get a ups for my 2 HRs & SWM PI. I only had to do this reboot once before after a SW update. Kinda a pain in the rear having to unplug SWM PI & 6 IRDs & then reboot each one, one by one.

Don't know if this is the fix or not but will after a few days. Keeping fingers crossed!!! If this doesn't do it, I think I will probably replace my lnb.

Thanks again & Merry Christmas,

Rob

[50+]

Hope this does the trick.
Merry Christmas to all.

[robq391]

Complete reboot done Christmas Day and (knock on wood) so far, problem has not returned.

Thanks again 50+. I feel kind of stupid for not remembering that. Won't happen again I can promise that!!!

Happy New Year to all

[robq391]

Guess I spoke too soon. Problem has returned. Numerous complete system reboots does not fix for long.

When channels start to get the 771 msg, I can go to satellite signal & watch the 103c go from all 0's to 60's & 70's, sometimes back to 0's again, then back to 80's & 90's.

Doesn't matter what the weather is. can be raining or clear, windy or calm, 30's or 60's.

I'm guessing a new lnb maybe in the plan. Does the SL5 lnb work with an AT9 dish?

[1948GG]

Guess I spoke too soon. Problem has returned. Numerous complete system reboots does not fix for long.

Was this with what setup? Straight from the dish to the SWM or still through the WB68?

Irrespective of folks getting the WB68 to work (either as a plain multiswitch, or feeding other 'downstream' equipment like the SWM or another WB68), but myself and all the folks I consult to got RID of the WB68's a LONG time ago. Simply too many problems that 'come and go', and simply the cost of ONE truck roll trying to figure the problem out would PAY for a WB616 (powered version).

Since you have a few 'legacy' (non SWM capable) sets, what you should be doing is dish to WB616, then from there to the SWM.

Again, sure, there's a ton of folks here that will swear that the WB68 works 'fine by them'. It's a crapshoot. Long (or semi-long) cable runs, from the dish to the WB, or from the WB to the receivers, different quality (even the best) causes all kinds of potential problems.

Since 2005 to now, I think the most recent count of customers we've 'swapped out' their WB68's with the WB616 is around 200+. Virtually every one was given up on by the local HSP (Ironwood) as 'not figured out; live with it or toss DirecTV'.

Single unit cost is around $120 vrs. the (free?) $60 WB68. I buy them in bulk for a lot less, but believe me, it'll be the best money you spent since getting the SWM!

[rudeney]

Before doing anything else, I'd check the bolts on the dish. 103 is the most sensitive to alignment issues. Maybe a light breeze (or other environmental factor) is moving the dish a bit and causing this. If that's not it, then my guess is it's a bad LNB. And no, the SL5 LNB won't work with the AT9. You'll either need a new sidecar LNB assembly or a new Slimline dish and LNB.

[David MacLeod]

I'd spend 12 $ or so on 4 splitters before buying a lnb and try parallel as others have stated above.

[robq391]

Before doing anything else, I'd check the bolts on the dish. 103 is the most sensitive to alignment issues. Maybe a light breeze (or other environmental factor) is moving the dish a bit and causing this. If that's not it, then my guess is it's a bad LNB. And no, the SL5 LNB won't work with the AT9. You'll either need a new sidecar LNB assembly or a new Slimline dish and LNB.

It's currently gusting over 25mph & 103c is in the 80s & 90s. Yesterday, less than 5mph & signals all over the place. Overcast both days. Heavier rain today. I think we can rule out envoironmental factors.

Any idea off the top of your head where I can still p/u a sidecar lnb. Rather not have to put up a whole new dish.

[SUNSHINE]

RE tune the dish to get signal levels up

[rudeney]

Any idea off the top of your head where I can still p/u a sidecar lnb. Rather not have to put up a whole new dish.

They don't make them anymore so you won't find them at the usual placed like Weaknees and SolidSignal. You might find one on eBay or Craigslist, but it will most certainly be used so that could be a crap shoot. You might be stuck with putting up a new dish, or, just call D* and pay them ~$50 for a service call. If they do determine that it's the LNB, they'll handle the swap. The tech might still have an AT9 LNB on the truck for just this sort of situation, otherwise, he'd probably swap you to a Slimline.

[SDizzle]

I have had a SWM8 and WB68 cascaded for months with no issues except at the very beginning, when a power cycle and moving 1 HR21 to another location was the solution. However, my runs are fairly short, from switch to dish and switch to receivers, my switches are on the 2nd story in a Q panel which is almost dead center on the 2nd story.

[robq391]

I think I've traced the problem down to software issues. Problem few & far between after update before last...0x02ca. Problem seems to be non existant after last update...0x02d7.

Thanks for all the insight.