Panasonic TU-HDS20 missing 2 transponders

[brucehvn]

I just got a Panasonic TU-HDS20 HDTV recever so that I can receive HDTV broadcasts on DTV. I noticed that I cannot get Showtime HD or the channel 90 test. After a couple days of tracking down possibilities I found that the Panny receiver is showing zero signal strength on SAT C transponder 12 and SAT B transponder 26. I have two other RCA receivers in the house (non-hdtv) and if I hook either of those receivers up to the same cable as the Panny, I get a 95% or better signal strength on both the above mentioned transponders. On all the receivers, the signal strength is between 85% and 100% for all the other transponders (except spots, of course)

Does anyone have a clue what might be causing this. Could there be some defect in the receiver that is causing it to only be missing two transponders? I'm baffled.

I have a WNC AU-2 phase III dish, by the way.

Thanks,
Bruce

[AntAltMike]

When you use the non-hdtv receiver to test the signal strength of transponder 12 on Sat C and transponder 26 on Sat B, are you certain that those non-hdtv receivers are set up in multisat mode, such that they are measuring the strength on Sat B and C, and not the transponder strength of 12 and 26 on Sat A? Will the older receiver display barker/promo channels 90 and 400?

[brucehvn]

Yes, I'm sure. The RCA receivers are set to the oval dish and in the signal strength meters, they have two choices. The first one is the 101 degree satellite and the second choice is the 119/110 satellite. In the second choice, any transponders you choose that are not a part of those two satellites, it displays "inactive transponder". The only ones it shows as active are 8,10,12,22-32 just as it should be.

As an added test, yesterday I took the Panasonic receiver out to the garage where my video distribution system is and hooked it directly to the feeds from the dish. I tried two different feeds out of the four with the same results. The signal strength doesn't waver at all, it is just dead zero on those transponders mentioned above.

The RCA receivers do display channel 90. The Panasonic receiver just shows "searching for satellite". I didn't try 400.

Bruce

[AntAltMike]

It seems like the Panasonic receiver is not sending out the 22Kz tone signal. Can you get it exchanged? Or can first confirm that by connecting it to an 18" dish pointed at 110 or 119?

[brucehvn]

Unfortunately, I don't have another dish to try out. Would the failure to send out the 22Khz tone cause only certain transponders not to come in?

Bruce

[AntAltMike]

It would cause the Sat B and Sat C transponders to not to be received, and it would cause Sat A signals to be present when the receiver was looking for Sat B and Sat C signals.

Some receiver signal strength meters will show a zero if the signal is from the wrong satellite, but some others will show an accurate signal strength but indicate "wrong satellite". I don't pay enough attention to that to be able to say whether all DirecTV's are one way and all DISH networ receivers are another way, or if it varies from model to model within a DBS system.

For what it's worth, channel 12 and 26 are spot beams on 101 that may not be targeting your area, so if your 22Kz tone is not working, but if your receiver is capably of measuring and displaying signal strength of signals from a wrong satellite, then your meter would show no 26 on B, and no transponder 12 on C.

You might also buy a high frequency splitter that passes DC on one leg for less than ten dollars (I pay under $3) and have an RCA connected to the power pass leg tune to channel 90 and have the Panasonic tune to 90 at the same time. Ditto for channel 400. Your RCA would be furnishing the 22Kz tone, and the LNB switch would then definitely be sourcing the correct signals for tuning transponder 90. I predict that your Panasonic would stop saying "searching for signal" whenever it and the RCA were tuned to the same sat B or sat C channel.

When you set the RCA's to signal test on Sat A, are 12 and 26 weak? That would indicate that they are someone else's spot beams, and they are what your Panasonic is measuring when it is failing to call Sat B/C.

[AntAltMike]

THIS MAP (http://wvjw.info/dbs-beam/dtv4s.gif) shows that your region only receives strong spot beam transmissions on transponders 18 and 28, so 4, 12, 20 and 26 will be weak or non-existent, but when your receiver signal meter is adapted to Sat B/C, yet your LNB is still sending out the Sat A signals, you don't notice that 4 and 20 are missing because they have been excluded from the sat B/C transponder list.

[brucehvn]

Thanks for the info. I may try your suggestion of the splitter. If I can't find one that passes only one leg of DC, then I have a DC block I could use to block the power to the Panasonic receiver.

As far as the transponders on sat A, you are correct that I get little or no signal on 4, 12, 20, and 26. 4 = 18%, 12 = 0%, 20 = 0%, 26 = 0%. I recognized that those were spot beams that I shouldn't be getting, so I didn't include those in my initial post.

The seller has agreed to replace the unit should I determine that it actually is the receiver that is defective. I'm pretty much to that point now.

Thanks for all the help,
Bruce