Locals keep dropping out

[Machpelah]

Sporadically, all my locals HD/SD drop out and the screen goes gray for 2 seconds up to 5 minutes. When I go to any channel above 200 during this time, most if not all those channels are fine (HD or SD). My HR20 and H20 receivers are experiencing this issue simultaneously. This has been happening for a few months now, but prior to this everything worked great.

It is not rain fade, wind or trees. I suspected the cables between the dish and the receivers, but all attempts to swap or clean cables haven't worked. I suspected a dish alignment problem, but it would affect all the channels not just a select few. When I view the signal strength from the transponders, it goes from the 90's to zero (i.e. the signal is dropping out), but only on the associated transponders. All other transponder signals are in the high 80's and 90's and steady as a rock. Could my dish LNB be rejecting a particular transponder and not others?!

I am at a loss. Any ideas? :(

[Davenlr]

If your locals are on 99s or 103s, its possible its a switching/tone issue. Does your coax lines run directly to the lnb, or go through a multiswitch? What kind of dish and lnb are you using?

Since the SD locals are also dropping, you might try refreshing your account on the Directv website.

[Machpelah]

I have an older 5 LNB dish (3.5 years old). The coax (4) run straight from my dish to my HR20 and H20. I do not have a multi-switch. The dish and reciever are in close proximity of each other, so no long cable runs.

I've seen pixilation and studdering before, but this effect is different. The video feed starts to blur then goes gray. I get the "searching for signal" banner popping up. It stays this way for 2-10 minutes. When the signal does return, it comes back for 2-10 minutes, then it starts all over again. It can go for days/weeks before I see happen again. It is truly a ghost that I have no way of troubleshooting.

How do I refresh my account online? Thanks for your help! :)

[veryoldschool]

I have an older 5 LNB dish (3.5 years old). The coax (4) run straight from my dish to my HR20 and H20. I do not have a multi-switch. The dish and reciever are in close proximity of each other, so no long cable runs.

I've seen pixilation and studdering before, but this effect is different. The video feed starts to blur then goes gray. I get the "searching for signal" banner popping up. It stays this way for 2-10 minutes. When the signal does return, it comes back for 2-10 minutes, then it starts all over again. It can go for days/weeks before I see happen again. It is truly a ghost that I have no way of troubleshooting.

How do I refresh my account online? Thanks for your help! :)
a 3.5 year old 5 LNB dish must be the old sidecar AT9.
Refreshing your service shouldn't have anything to do with "searching for signal" [771].
The AT9 most likely needs to be replaced with the AU9 Slimline.

[BattleZone]

a 3.5 year old 5 LNB dish must be the old sidecar AT9.
Refreshing your service shouldn't have anything to do with "searching for signal" [771].
The AT9 most likely needs to be replaced with the AU9 Slimline.

Agree. The sidecar LNB configuration is not very robust and is well-known for failure. A Slimline will get you an integrated LNB with no exposed cabling, and will be better all around.

[Machpelah]

I was coming to the same conclusion too. Yes, I have the AT9 sidecar with the exposed wiring, etc. :nono:

Now, will DirecTV replace my old dish free of charge :lol: or will I have to beg or get the Service Contract? :nono2:

Also, thanks for the input! It helps me know what to peruse with DirecTv.