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No signal on 103 on new HR44 only

4K views 36 replies 11 participants last post by  peds48 
#1 ·
Hi, All,

I've been with DirecTV since 2002, and other than the initial install back then, I've always purchased (or now leased) my own equipment and installed it myself. On Friday I activated a new HR44 from Solid Signal and have an issue that's puzzling me and DirecTV. I have a SWM16 that was feeding two HR20-100s. They've worked fine for years for all sats. I installed the HR44 to the second port on the SWM16 as four tuners were already on the first port. The HR44 is not seeing Sat 103 A or B both odd and even. Signal strength is all zeroes on all available transponders. Channels 9508 - 9511 show 771 error as do all channels that use 103. All other sats are seen with strong signals. The HR20s see Sat 103 with strength in the 90s.

I made a new cable from the SWM to the HR44 - no joy. I swapped the connections of the HR44 with one of the HR20s. The HR44 still does not see 103 and the HR20 sees it just fine on the HR44's cable. I did all the normal checks - cables, connections, resets, unplugging the SWM16 and restarting, etc. Called DirecTV and we ran through every diagnostic they could think of and finally said we need to send a tech. I'd rather not have that happen because I'm afraid they may want to swap the receiver and I could end up with a 34 as a replacement.

All other parts of my system work just fine, including the newly-activated WHDVR.

Any ideas on what to try?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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#2 ·
I think you pretty much narrowed it down to the receiver. But I tink SS does not issue replacements, you would have to call DirecTV
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
jimmie57 said:
If it were me and it did not work right out of the box, I would be on the phone to Solid Signal.
They have a Return Policy as is evident with several "Open Box" receivers for sale.
Return Policy here.
http://www.solidsignal.com/p/?p=2555&d=returns-warranties
It's been activated so he has to go through DirecTV. The open box receivers SS sells have not been activated. If you had an equipment replacement ordered through DirecTV it would be an HR44. With a tech coming out all you need to do is demand an HR44. Do not let them replace it with an HR34.

From Solid Signal's return policy:

DIRECTV satellite receivers come with a 90-Day parts and labor manufacturers warranty. Solid Signal will accept inactivated* satellite receivers for up to 30 days from the date of purchase. Customers with receivers that have been activated with DIRECTV must contact the manufacturer for service and repair. This includes DIRECTV high definition DVR receivers. Please check your owners manual for manufacturer contact information.
*Activated satellite receivers have been logged with DIRECTV as a usable device for receiving and watching DIRECTV signal broadcasts.
 
#6 ·
As a last ditch effort before you totally give up on that HR44, you can try to give it a "doubly" hard reset (for want of a better term).

You start out with a standard RBR on the HR44. Then when you see the screen "Hello, your DIRECTV receiver is starting up," immediately pull the power plug on it, then plug back in after a few seconds and let it boot-up normally.

Worth a try before you finally give up on the unit altogether and go the replacement route.
 
#7 ·
As a last ditch effort before you totally give up on that HR44, you can try to give it a "doubly" hard reset (for want of a better term).

You start out with a standard RBR on the HR44. Then when you see the screen "Hello, your DIRECTV receiver is starting up," immediately pull the power plug on it, then plug back in after a few seconds and let it boot-up normally.

Worth a try before you finally give up on the unit altogether and go the replacement route.


Not sure what this would be do besides clearing out the guide data cache. but heck, I have been wrong before!


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#8 ·
peds48 said:
Not sure what this would be do besides clearing out the guide data cache. but heck, I have been wrong before!

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Actually got the procedure from VOS who once suggested it to another poster (can't recall the name at the moment) a few months ago who had a stubborn anomalous condition with a DVR which repeated restarts had no effect. Then as the poster was about to give up and call for an exchange, VOS had him try this "double" hard reset trick as a last resort and "voila," the receiver snapped out of it.

Just thought it be worth a try before returning the HR44.
 
#9 ·
Actually got the procedure from VOS who once suggested it to another poster (can't recall the name at the moment) a few months ago who had a stubborn anomalous condition with a DVR which repeated restarts had no effect. Then as the poster was about to give up and call for an exchange, VOS had him try this "double" hard reset trick as a last resort and "voila," the receiver snapped out of it.

Just thought it be worth a try before returning the HR44.


Sorry, I was not try to "belittle" your suggestion, more like hoping it would work


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#10 ·
Tried the RBR and pulling the plug. No joy. Went through the Satellite setup again. Initial test keeps showing red X in both 103 boxes. Retesting doesn't do any good. Swapped cables with HR20s where it's working well, same result in setup. Running Signal Strength test on the SWM shows all 98-100 except for TP 3 that shows zero. Running the same test on the HR20s shows TP 3 at 98. I don't know what else to try.

Thank you,
Kevin
 
#15 ·
JBv said:
It's been activated so he has to go through DirecTV. The open box receivers SS sells have not been activated. If you had an equipment replacement ordered through DirecTV it would be an HR44. With a tech coming out all you need to do is demand an HR44. Do not let them replace it with an HR34.

From Solid Signal's return policy:
I had a faulty HR34 - when the tech came out he swapped it with a HR44!!! However, the HR44 started having the same issue as well. The issue turned out being a tree that would block the signal spoaradically when it got windy. The issue was finally diagonosed when I got another replacement receiver. When the tech showed up to replace the receiver he did not have any HR44 with him and was going to replace me with a HR34 he said a genie is a genie so I would get the HR34. After arguing with him which got nowhere he replaced the HR44 with HR34 but immediately upon activation the same issue with the picture freezing and pixelizing showed up. He did some more tests and realized it was the tree getting in between the signal. He relocated the dish and I asked him if I can have the HR44 again. He was reluctant at first and was not going to let me have it but he finally agreed. However, he had to call another tech to bring me a new HR44 since he was not able to reactivate the HR44 he had swapped for the HR34 due to the access card.
 
#18 ·
Yeah and then wasted another 44 when he could have just called and had the 44 reactivated and account noted.


if the tech was using RIO, he wont be able to close the work order if that last receiver activated (the replacement) is not active on the account.


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#19 ·
peds48 said:
if the tech was using RIO, he wont be able to close the work order if that last receiver activated (the replacement) is not active on the account.

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RIO looks for closed line items so once that replacement line was closed then yes he could close the job even if the newly activated was deactivated.
 
#20 ·
OK, here's the latest in my saga. Replaced the HR44 with a new HR44. Activated and ran through sat setup, and still have the two red boxes with an X under the 103 column. All the same problems as before. So, it's not the unit.

I've tested it with and without the HR20s hooked up (the HR20s still work pick up 103ca and cb just fine) and swapped all the cables from the working HR20s to the HR44. I removed and attached every cable from the four at the LNB (AU-9) to the four on both sides of the grounding block, and the four at the SWM. All connections were perfectly clean without any signs of corrosion. Both 103ca and cb still show all zeros for signal strength on the HR44 (regardless of which cable is hooked up) and both HR20s show 80s to 90s. I was reading other threads with signal problems and they mentioned a that it may be the LNB. I just ordered a replacement today and should have it Friday.

In the meantime, a number of posts show the PI-29 power inserter should have a 15 ft minimum length cable from the PI to the SWM. Is that correct? I have the PI mounted next to my SWM-16 with only about a 2 ft cable. Should I replace that with a longer cable, and could that be causing the problem? Also, the run from the LNB to the SWM is about 50 ft. Some posts say this should be 40 ft or an amp is needed. Is that true, and could that be the problem? Perhaps the HR44 is more sensitive. If I need an amp, any recommendations?

One last thing, please. What's the difference between the PI-29 and the PI-29z power inserters? Thank you for taking the time to read and to answer.

Kevin
 
#23 ·
Since your at IV screen you had the HR44 activated. In order to get to that it verified the configuration before it gave you the call Directv screen. If the 103 was missing it would have stoped prior to the activation screen. If a tech was there he would have a get waiver prompt. You should have a continue prompt. I would select continue and see if there is any searching for a satellite signal going on.

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#24 ·
It is activated and I am using the HR44. Of course I'm not getting a lot of the HD channels. Whenever I turn to those channels or the 95xx channels to test the 103 signals, I get the 771 searching error. I've run sat setup numerous times, unplugged and let it sit, unplugged the PI on the SWM and restarted, did a Reset Everything, all to no avail.

Any possibility it's the long run from the LNBs to the SWM (about 50') or the short cable from the PI-29 and the SWM (about 2')?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
#25 ·
50 feet isn't much. If the HR20's both work on either SWM 1 or 2 then the HR44 should also.

The only model we have used is the HR44-500. The first lot we got would activate fine but came default with show all channels. Going to a sd local would result in 771. Cheking the signal strengh would show zero's on half the transponders on the 101. The first one almost caused me to run outside and start replacing stuff. I thought about it for a New York Minute and forced a software upgrade. That fixed the issue.

Which model is solid signal shipping?
 
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