Error code some channels on DISH

[david_jr]

For the last several days I noticed I couldn't get any of the ESPNs, A&E and superstations. I get an error code saying the satellite signal has been lost. This happens with both of my 510 DVRs (software P368) on the same channels, all 119 locations. I just spent 40 minutes on the phone with a DISH tech who had me reset the receiver and do a check switch. She also had me go to different 119 channels and some work while some get the error message. She had me try some 121 channels and they all worked fine. She finally gave up and said I need a service tech because it is happening on both of my receivers. This will cost $49. Anyone ever hear of this problem? Thanks

[jarvantgroup]

For the last several days I noticed I couldn't get any of the ESPNs, A&E and superstations. I get an error code saying the satellite signal has been lost. This happens with both of my 510 DVRs (software P368) on the same channels, all 119 locations. I just spent 40 minutes on the phone with a DISH tech who had me reset the receiver and do a check switch. She also had me go to different 119 channels and some work while some get the error message. She had me try some 121 channels and they all worked fine. She finally gave up and said I need a service tech because it is happening on both of my receivers. This will cost $49. Anyone ever hear of this problem? Thanks

Since the problem is happening on both your receivers, the problem is originating from your LNB or your switch. Usually it is the LNB that 'goes bad' and stops passing some or all transponders to your rcvrs. Sometimes the switch goes bad but not as often as the LNB's. Pay the $49 and have the tech troubleshoot and/or replace the defective equipment. :icon_cool

[James Long]

One thing to try before you call in a repairman is to unplug ALL of your receivers and any standalone power supply for that switch. Let it go cold and reset itself. Then plug everything back in. Switches can get confused.

If this doesn't help I agree with jarvant and the csr ... get professional help!

[dartonviper]

what kind of signal levels do you have?
Menu
#6 system setup
#1 installation
#1 point dish
check transponder 11 on both 119 and 110 and post back
it almost sounds like your dish needs peaked out
good luck

[geoffinak]

what kind of signal levels do you have?
Menu
#6 system setup
#1 installation
#1 point dish
check transponder 11 on both 119 and 110 and post back
it almost sounds like your dish needs peaked out
good luck

I have been having the same problems on 119 as they guy above. I have a 501 DVR that they sent me as a replacement for free and even though the same checks were good they sent the new 501, seemed like a HD problem to me, especially with the rewind problems and the green screen everything checks good 110 on Transponder 11 is 91
119 on Transponder 11 is 102 Switch all checks out as does everything else.
I have a twin DP LNB and switched sides of the switch just to see if it would work. No different. DP Twin 2 is 119 Even,Odd 110 Even Odd

I can wait for the channel to come in and sometimes after about minute to 2 hours it may, it may not. I called Dish and was talking to a girl, sounded new as she was getting instructions and she ran me through the paces 6 11 paces, the hard restart the soft. The card.

I have the americas everything except BASEBALL and seems to be the 140s, 120s and the lower 300s well heck a lot and usually the one I want to watch. Does NOT seem to run long stretches like 300, 302 303 305 very random

She said well we will have to send a repair guy out there and since I have dish insurance plan or whatever, I will only have to pay $29.00 to come out instead of the usual $99.00 I said gee, everything checks out, well he will come out and check the tightness of the wire connections. I said I can do that. I just checked them and they are fine, were singing like a bird.

I then mentioned that I was having trouble with live TV and some recordings where I would rewind and get a green screen. She said that this was a software problem on those 501s machines., I said mine has been rock steady and this is a new machine. I said any idea when they may clear it up CLICK end of call

I wrote a letter to CSR online, said they said call was dropped. sorry, that no problem was in the software of the 501. If you need any help call us. Now this was not very good and frankly I think Dish CSR have gone way down hill. I have had them for 6 years in Ak and a rental for about 8, the last 3 in my name .

So any ideas. If the LNB is bad would I not get a good signal hit. It's never low.

Just out of curiosity anyone one now the angle of the slope of the signal, for every foot from the LNB the signal goes up I believe it's 7 feet. There is a pine tree but the signal is far to the right of it, and it's 50 feet away from the dish which is on top of my house and too far to the right and the tree is just about roof height so no way 50 feet away would 2 feet of of Pine tree interfere with a signal. that is almost 40 degrees to the right.

In Alaska, I have a whole forest that is about 100 feet high and I am 50 feet away on top of a roof a 12 foot roof with the poles in the ground and it's about 7 foot above the roof and I have zero problems. I would imagine in S.D 92064 that the slope angle would be even more. In Alaska I am low to the horizon... again there it's a 7 foot rise for every foot from the LNB.

Now these techs... I had one good guy, but lost his name in East San Diego county, He fixed me up after the renters, ripped my dish off the roof, messing up the fascia, cutting the line to the LNB inside the tight u space and the kids used the LNB for a Garage Hockey Puck. Then they took "theirs" leaving me with just a dish. Wanna be a landlord.;)

Ok I am up for ideas. Minimal cost, do it my self. If possible.
Thanks'
Geoffrey

[huskerpat]

I am having a similar issue with some of the HD channels. If I wait a while, they will come back, but it seems to be somewhat sporadic and is not always the same channels. the locals do the same thing. This is on my 622. the 311 in the bedroom is not having the signal issues.

[dartonviper]

Hey Geoffrey, I have actually had a couple of service calls that sound alot like your issues. When I got to the job it was missing 119 Transponder 2. Do a checkswitch and it shows everything was good. I ended up replacing all the cable run. no change, Put 3 different lnbs on it, no change. new receiver, no change, NEW DISH, it worked. The dish had no vizual flaws.
The other sevice call, same sat, same transponder just transponder 2, this one was a bad lnb.
and I have had other service calls that had a bad fitting, braid wrapped around the stinger that caused goofy results.

[dartonviper]

I am having a similar issue with some of the HD channels. If I wait a while, they will come back, but it seems to be somewhat sporadic and is not always the same channels. the locals do the same thing. This is on my 622. the 311 in the bedroom is not having the signal issues.

Like the Rush channel. 129 transponder 6 is very low here in MN
I've had to repeak several retailer installs on the dish 1000.

The 119 and 110 comes in good but the don't peak on the 129 and it causes signal loss.

[huskerpat]

Like the Rush channel. 129 transponder 6 is very low here in MN
I've had to repeak several retailer installs on the dish 1000.

The 119 and 110 comes in good but the don't peak on the 129 and it causes signal loss.
that sounds exactly like my problem. I'm a little surprised that I'd have trouble since I'm just about exactly in the middle of the country. It's always on 129. How does one repeak?

[boba]

Instead of $49 service call sign up for DHPP and pay $29.99 then cancel when your problem is corrected it should save you $10-15.

[dartonviper]

that sounds exactly like my problem. I'm a little surprised that I'd have trouble since I'm just about exactly in the middle of the country. It's always on 129. How does one repeak?

Well the easy way since it's already on the right sats.
Get a second person to help you. 2 phones or 2 way radios and a 7/16 wrench
go to the point dish screen and put it on 129 transponder 30 works
Now the person at the dish (DON'T LOOSEN ANYTHING YET)
Do the touch test. this don't take much pressure
stand behind the dish and flex it a little to the west and see if your signal is better or worst then go to the east. and up and down. After you determin which way you need to move it loosen the bolts a little and adjust. (REMEMBER IT WON'T BE MUCH OF A MOVEMENT SO BE CAREFUL)
After you tighten it back up do the touch test again.
Good Luck

[huskerpat]

Instead of $49 service call sign up for DHPP and pay $29.99 then cancel when your problem is corrected it should save you $10-15.

I signed up for 18 months, so don't I have DHPP already?

[dartonviper]

I signed up for 18 months, so don't I have DHPP already?

Yes you do.

[david_jr]

Thanks for all the replies. I will check the signal strength tonight at home and post back.

[david_jr]

110 transponder 11, signal strength 91
119 transponder 11, signal strength 114

Update: all my channels are now on so I canceled my service appointment. My wife said they called today to make sure there would be someone home tomorrow.

Also, if this is an LNB problem, I have an identical Superdish & triple LNB sitting in my basement collecting dust for about three years now that a friend gave me. Could I just switch the LNB out if the problem occurs again or is there more to it?

[dartonviper]

110 transponder 11, signal strength 91
119 transponder 11, signal strength 114

Update: all my channels are now on so I canceled my service appointment. My wife said they called today to make sure there would be someone home tomorrow.

Also, if this is an LNB problem, I have an identical Superdish & triple LNB sitting in my basement collecting dust for about three years now that a friend gave me. Could I just switch the LNB out if the problem occurs again or is there more to it?

Well, I'd say that your signals are screaming pretty good. Next time it happens see if it is always the same transponder that is giving you problems. It's highly possible that is just the lnb.

[david_jr]

I did notice it was a few different transponders, but I don't remember which ones. I will pay closer attention if this happens again. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[david_jr]

It did it again for two days and now it is working again. Same channels as before. This during perfectly sunny weather with almost no wind. I did notice it was different transponders, but didn't have time to check which ones. This is frustrating.

[jtthirty]

Yeah, I've had the same frustrating error code that has plagued me through the weekend. During the weekend it was intermittant. I couldn't get a certain channels on my 211 receiver, but could on my 311. Then, the channel would pop in next time I tried it. Then, I couldn't get anything on either receiver from the 110/119 Sats. Then, the next day, it was only the 119 Sats. This morning, all the channels were working on the 211, but nothing from 119 on the 311. During the weekend, I thought that it was maybe due to tree leave growth, but the subsequent, intermittent scenario illustrates that I was wise not to climb 20' into my trees and begin trimming. I haven't called Dish, yet. I decided to check the forums and see if others are experiencing the weirdness and it looks like it is happening in places other than my house--if randomly.

[huskerpat]

My dish was off 2 degrees. the guy who came back to look at my install said I was getting good signal, but it didn't fix until he re-aimed it.

[isuzudave]

I had the same problem today. On my 501 receiver I could not get any of the ESPNs. I got an error message about acquiring satellite 119 transponder 4. It worked fine on both my 622 receivers. I did a check switch, reboot, sys info, and everything checked out fine. I called Dish and scheduled a service call for tomorrow. I came back a few hours later and everything was back to normal. I cancelled the service call. I don't know what the problem was, but it fixed itself for now.

[david_jr]

I had the same problem today. On my 501 receiver I could not get any of the ESPNs. I got an error message about acquiring satellite 119 transponder 4. It worked fine on both my 622 receivers. I did a check switch, reboot, sys info, and everything checked out fine. I called Dish and scheduled a service call for tomorrow. I came back a few hours later and everything was back to normal. I cancelled the service call. I don't know what the problem was, but it fixed itself for now.


What you describe seems to be exactly what I'm experiencing. I also got 119 transponder 4 on the Espn channel. The problem is it is so intermittent. It has only happened a couple of times. both times it lasted a couple days. Both times it was nice weather with little to no wind. I get very high signal strength and it is frustrating. I am hesitant to order a service call, which might lead to a lot of expense with no solution. I appreciate the continued replies and hope someone out there might have a solution for us.

[studleylee]

(using P368) I have same problem with a 510. My signals are good and locked but 119 transp 6 and others give me the " satellite signal has been lost" error. It happens mostly in the morning at sunrise and the evening but goes away later in the evening and night. I've replaced the switch, then the cabling.

If I bring another receiver and swap it, the problem goes away. But,to muddy things: I had another receiver doing similar outages in another room. That one acted better after the switch replacement. All that's left is to replace is the LNB or the 510 that's still acting up. All receivers show the same signal strenths between 89 and 120 and locked ok. Any ideas?

[skyviewmark1]

I haven't seen anyone yet mention that since you have a superdish, that that may be the problem.. We have had nothing but trouble with Superdishes.. They overheat and burn out the LNB's.. 50% failure rate. They quit working in the heat of the day and return working when it cools off.. If you want to verify that this is the problem, when your channels go out, go outside and hit the LNB's on your dish with a garden hose and cool it down.. If your channels come back then you know where your problem is.. This is called high tech troubleshooting..

[studleylee]

That's funny! I'll try it. I have the regular dish, but I live in Phoenix AZ, sunniest place in the country. I think you are dead-on: I ordered a new LNB. In the yahoo forums I read that this is a common problem with 50x's. Using a 311 was fine on the same line.
I'll let you know if the water works !
-Lee



I haven't seen anyone yet mention that since you have a superdish, that that may be the problem.. We have had nothing but trouble with Superdishes.. They overheat and burn out the LNB's.. 50% failure rate. They quit working in the heat of the day and return working when it cools off.. If you want to verify that this is the problem, when your channels go out, go outside and hit the LNB's on your dish with a garden hose and cool it down.. If your channels come back then you know where your problem is.. This is called high tech troubleshooting..

[david_jr]

I will try the water trick tomorrow. Just an hour ago I found the problem on the following channels: Ch 110, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 112, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 131, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 140, Sat 119, Trans 4;Ch 142, Sat 119, Trans 4; Ch 143, Sat 119, Trans 4; Ch 144, Sat 119, Trans 4; Ch 145, Sat 119, Trans 18; Ch 148, Sat 119, Trans 4; Ch 160, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 173, Sat 119, Trans 4; Ch 174, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 205, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 214, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 215, Sat 119, Trans 6; Ch 239, Sat 119, Trans 18. My kids report the outage since they got home from school at 2:30.

I just tried back a few minutes ago and the # 6 transponder channels seem to be working now, but not the #4 or 18. If it is the heat, why only 119 and why only these transponders?

[skyviewmark1]

Some LNB's work better than others.. Sounds like your 119 LNB is the one that is failing.. On a Superdish around here, the heat can kill one or two or all three LNB's but usually it hits just one first. And you notice one LNB being out.. I no longer repair superdishes.. I tell a customer that I can replace it with another kind of dish, but no repair.. It will just quit again.. Or they can call Dish and get them to fix it.. And then they can be mad at Dish when it quits again...

[david_jr]

I checked it at 6 AM this morning, about 52 degrees outside and the channels were still out. I have a spare triple LNB that I will try to swap out this weekend if I can find the time.

Mark,thanks for the input. BTW, what dish can replace a Superdish? I have to hit 3 sats to get my locals. I also have a Dish 500 antenna collecting dust in my basement also.

[david_jr]

There have been no outages for the last five days even though the days have been very warm. I have not had a chance to climb up on the roof to switch out the LNB. I was afraid I would have no ESPN2 for the Mets San Fran game last night. What a game!! Would have been a crime to miss it. Still puzzled.