AT-9 replacement LNB

[TMullenJr]

My LNB crapped out, and I was wondering if anybody knew where I could get a replacement. I've checked a few dealers, and they are all telling me that I need to replace the dish with the slimline.

[Radio Enginerd]

My LNB crapped out, and I was wondering if anybody knew where I could get a replacement. I've checked a few dealers, and they are all telling me that I need to replace the dish with the slimline.

That may in fact be true. The biggest flaw with the AT-9 was not the size itself but the fact that the LNB's were not universal. Meaning there are different manufacturers for the LNB's and your AT-9 may have a different set of LNB's then mine.

I get the impression the AT-9 was an interim solution for DTV while they were hammering out the kinks of the AU-9 (slimline).

How long did your AT-9 go before giving up the ghost?

[dconfer]

This just happened to me. D* sent out a teck only had the AT-9 for about 1 month. The teck put up the slimline. Nice part about it was he put it on the same mass that was there. But the rest of it had to be replaced. Not that big of a deal at least for me it wasnt.

[TMullenJr]

I've had it since last summer. I installed it myself. Anytime I try to go through D*, they try to schedule it for about a month away. If it's the same thing again, I'll just order the new dish myself again.

[RobertE]

Who made your AT9? Calamp, WNC or Andrews?

[machavez00]

At least the mast is universal

[TomF]

Have you called DirecTV and told them that your LNB is bad?

I have the AT9 dish and I lost the channels in the HD package, 70-79. My own diagnosis indicated that it was a bad LNB. I called DirecTV and they sent out a tech from Ironwood who agreed with my diagnosis. He said that they didn't have replacement LNBs for the AT9 and that I needed a whole new dish, but he didn't have one on his truck. He told me that if the problem kept occurring, to call Ironwood and ask for a new dish, as he had documented the problem.

The next day, another tech shows up with a replacement LNB, but it's for the new dish, not the AT9 and wouldn't work. This tech told me that the problem is usually the two black wires from the outboard LNBs not getting a good connection to the main LNBs. He put a wire-tie on the two black wires which he said would put pressure on the connection. I was skeptical, but it worked and I haven't had a problem since. The original tech called about 10 minutes after the second tech left and said that he had a new dish for me. When he found out that the problem had been fixed, he said that he couldn't install the new dish. Supposedly all of this is in my record and if I get a bad connection again, the dish will be replaced.

Here's the "fix":
http://www.fota.net/at9/at9.jpg

[cawgijoe]

Interesting! So the wires were coming loose. I have had no problems with my AT-9 since December 2005.......when it's a nice day out I may have to hit the roof and check it out......

[litzdog911]

Your best bet is to check with local DirecTV installers. There are three different types of AT9 LNBs depending upon the dish manufacturer, so you'll need to know your specific type. All in all, it's probably easier and maybe cheaper to replace the whole dish.

[TMullenJr]

Who made your AT9? Calamp, WNC or Andrews?

WNC.

[bobnielsen]

WNC uses SMB press-on connectors and I think that Andrew and Calamp use F connectors for the interconnecting leads. SMB is probably better electrically, but not mechanically. I briefly lost all signals from 110 and 119 a few months ago during and after a heavy storm, but it has worked fine since then (WNC dish).