0% on 99 (c) on HDDVR/Other HD is OK

2169 Views 36 Replies 11 Participants Last post by K4SMX, Aug 12, 2008

cariera

Discussion Starter · Aug 3, 2008

Looking for any help. Problem on HR20-700. Here is the situation:

Last night, no 206, 209, etc (new mpeg 4, 99c channels). Signal strength on 99c @ 0 on both tuners. Reset through menus - channels returned.

Today, no 206, 209, etc again. Signal strength on 99c @ 0 on both tuners.Reset through menus, rbr and by unplugging - no joy.

H20-600 in another room is getting 206, 209, etc. Signal strength is fair (70s) but not great.

All lines to the room are accessible in a central panel where they are barrel-connected to the drops from the correct Zinwell multiswitch. Swap the connections between the H20 and one input of the HR20. No change, H20 gets the channels, HR20 does not. Repeat with the other HR20 input, again no luck.

Swapped the BBC on the H20 to the HR20. Once again the H20 gets the channels, HR20 does not. So obviously the BBCs are good.

Restored the original setup and still no new mpeg4 channels from the 99c on the HDDVR.

I have not yet tried to swapped the multiswitch as it is in my attic and it is f&^%#& hot right now. I didn't think that would be the culprit as I had switched the lines coming from the multiswitch w/o any luck.

Any ideas??

1 - 20 of 37 Posts

NR4P

· #2 · Aug 4, 2008

99C strength should be better than in the 70's. The H20 getting strength in the 70's and HR20 getting nothing may mean that there's significant drop on the HR20 lines.

Before going into the attic, I'd try swapping the receivers.
I know you will only have one line to the HR20 where the H20 was, put at least you can see sig strength on Tuner 1 (or Tuner 2 individually) and rule out HR20 as a problem.

Also, barrel connectors are officially not to be used by Directv. If original installer did that, that's a no-no. I know they work most of the time but every now and then they will cause headaches.

K4SMX

· #3 · Aug 4, 2008

cariera said:
Looking for any help. Problem on HR20-700. Here is the situation:

Last night, no 206, 209, etc (new mpeg 4, 99c channels). Signal strength on 99c @ 0 on both tuners. Reset through menus - channels returned.

Today, no 206, 209, etc again. Signal strength on 99c @ 0 on both tuners.Reset through menus, rbr and by unplugging - no joy.....

This is rather strange behavior, and based upon the rest of your troubleshooting, does not appear to be installation-related, although you could use a dish re-alignment.

Just curious, how long did you unplug the power? Recommend an overnight with no AC.

nik1108

· #4 · Aug 6, 2008

I have the following DirecTV HD Boxes. HR20-100, HR21-700, and a H21

I found the exact same issue you describe with my setup. The HR21 and the H21 work flawlessly with 80-90 signal strength on 99c. The HR20 reads 0s all the time. I even went as far as swapping the HR20 to the other boxes locations same 0s on 99c. I brought the HR21 and the H21 to the location of the HR20 and perfect 80-90 again on 99c. Baffled as I was I tried swapping to unused and used outputs on the Zinwell switch in my media cabinet in the garage to no avail. DirecTV even sent me a Refurb HR20-700 which has the exact issue my HR20-100 is having on 99c. Of course all the 103c and old MPEG 2 channels work great on boxes.

All I can figure is there is something with my dish/switch or a buggy software/hardware setup in the HR20 series. I am going to give DirecTV a call in the morning to have a tech come out and check it out for himself because I am at a loss of what to do.

One last thing. If I leave the HR20 set to one of the new MPEG 4 channels on 99c eventually I will get the channel to show up and the 771 SFS message will go away. I switch away and back and the wait begins again for the channel to decide if it wants to show.

See less See more

nik1108

· #5 · Aug 6, 2008

After a call this morning to yet another DTV agent I spent 35 minutes repeating everything I did last week to get the replacement box. Now added pain my HR21 is having issues with just that satellite on 99c. The lady said she cannot schedule a tech without a case manager reviewing my account because I have called in too many times with the same issue. I am not sure why I need to have a case manager when obviously there is a Dish or Switch issue that needs addressed. So now I wait another 24 hours for a callback from a "case manager" as I like many have a job and must work. *sigh*

K4SMX

· #6 · Aug 7, 2008

What kind of dishes do you guys have, an AT-9 ("sidecar") or an AU9-S (Slimline)?

nik1108

· #7 · Aug 7, 2008

K4SMX said:
What kind of dishes do you guys have, an AT-9 ("sidecar") or an AU9-S (Slimline)?

I have the Slimline 5 that has the side car I believe.

K4SMX

· #8 · Aug 7, 2008

2

nik1108 said:
I have the Slimline 5 that has the side car I believe.

If your dish is more rectangular than oval with a separately-mounted, interconnected set of LNB's for the 110/119 satellites, i.e., an AT-9, please see this post. You can read the whole thread here.

AT9 is the sidecar:

AU9 is the Slimline:

See less See more

nik1108

· #9 · Aug 7, 2008

Sorry I was wrong mine is a slimline AU9

cptpez

· #10 · Aug 7, 2008

Ok - so i am not crazy.

I am having the same problem.

I have 2 HD receivers - 1 DVR; 1 non-dvr.

The non-dvr is getting all the recently changed HD channels (the mpeg2 to mpeg4 conversions) fine.

The DVR is not - I get 771 searching on the recently changed channels - but if i leave it on that station it will come in after a few minutes (only to revert to 771 if I change channels and change back).

I called directv and the tech didnt know anything about the recent 99(c) changes - he gave me a line of complete crap. I shceduled a tech call for this weekend.

I too have the slimline dish.

Anyone know the fix?

See less See more

nik1108

· #11 · Aug 7, 2008

Another day and no call from a so called Case Manager. I called in and went as far as a supervisor who stated they cannot send a technician until the case manager reviews it and talks to me. 5+ years with DirecTV and paying every month for the insurance coverage and they cannot even send me a tech or grace me with this supposed call that is going on 2 days late. Anyone have any ideas or help?

NR4P

· #12 · Aug 7, 2008

cptpez said:
The non-dvr is getting all the recently changed HD channels (the mpeg2 to mpeg4 conversions) fine.

The DVR is not - I get 771 searching on the recently changed channels - but if i leave it on that station it will come in after a few minutes (only to revert to 771 if I change channels and change back).

Anyone know the fix?

I don't know of any magic bullets but what I do know is that the 99C (not the 99S) Sat should give readings of 80 or higher. Generally most folks are in the 90's. So anything in the low 70's is marginal.

That means heavy cloud cover, heavy rain, snow, etc will cause problems. So one minute you have enough signal, the next not enough hence a 771 that comes and goes.

If you get an installer to come out, insist on better signals. It may take some "green" since Directv allows 70 as a minimum.

That's the first step. Verified dish alignment.

Now if you have on receiver with high signals, and another with zero, then we know it's probably not the dish.

nik1108

· #13 · Aug 7, 2008

NR4P said:
I don't know of any magic bullets but what I do know is that the 99C (not the 99S) Sat should give readings of 80 or higher. Generally most folks are in the 90's. So anything in the low 70's is marginal.

That means heavy cloud cover, heavy rain, snow, etc will cause problems. So one minute you have enough signal, the next not enough hence a 771 that comes and goes.

If you get an installer to come out, insist on better signals. It may take some "green" since Directv allows 70 as a minimum.

That's the first step. Verified dish alignment.

Now if you have on receiver with high signals, and another with zero, then we know it's probably not the dish.

Except in the case that has been stated all boxes but one have 80+ on the signals and the HR20 in my case gets flat 0s and so did the replacement, but when I move a working HR21 that gets the great signal from another room it continues to get great signal where the HR20 cannot. Frustrating along with DTV beating around the bush trying to avoid sending a tech to check the dish and switch.

nik1108

· #14 · Aug 8, 2008

So I decided why not grab two of the four leads from my dish that go into my Zinwell and bypass the Zinwell and female couplar them on the lines the HR20 is on and wouldnt ya know 99c all signals 80-90s not a single issue. So would this be a problem with my Zinwell or the DIsh at this point?

kymikes

· #15 · Aug 8, 2008

nik1108 said:
So I decided why not grab two of the four leads from my dish that go into my Zinwell and bypass the Zinwell and female couplar them on the lines the HR20 is on and wouldnt ya know 99c all signals 80-90s not a single issue. So would this be a problem with my Zinwell or the DIsh at this point?

If you take the Zinwell out of the signal path and the problem goes away, it sure sounds like the Zinwell to me. I don't know why it would only be the new MPEG4 channels that would "act up" but replacing one item at a time sure sounds like a valid debug method. Good luck.

cptpez

· #16 · Aug 8, 2008

The tech is due out tomorrow morning. I have 3 tv's on directv - one regular tivo unit, one HR20 and one non-dvr HD unit (H20 i believe). I have a total of 6 lines (2 to each location - 1 at the H20 is unused)

I think I will suggest that he take two lines from the dish and take them directly to the HD-DVR without going through the multiswitch

Will he still be able to take the remaining lines and have them come out as 4 lines to the other two tv's using the multiswitch?

putty469

· #17 · Aug 8, 2008

I just replaced a WB68 multiswitch and it solved the issue of zeroes on 103(c) and 103(s) on all H* receivers and DVR's. While the 103's were out, they lit up 99(c) channels and those worked fine (signals in the mid-80's). I was really confused, but replacing the WB68 got everything back to normal.

nik1108

· #18 · Aug 8, 2008

Yeh it seems the switchover to the new sat is showing signs of some bad switches... I am still waiting for the case manager to call me back so I can get a tech out. I have talked to numerous supervisors and the retention group and no one can touch my account for a dispatch because a case manager has it. Unfortunately when they called my wife wasn't inside the house and missed the call and they never left a voicemail or anything. Great customer service there I have to say. Going on 4 days of waiting for this phone tag to stop.

K4SMX

· #19 · Aug 8, 2008

cptpez said:
The tech is due out tomorrow morning. I have 3 tv's on directv - one regular tivo unit, one HR20 and one non-dvr HD unit (H20 i believe). I have a total of 6 lines (2 to each location - 1 at the H20 is unused)

I think I will suggest that he take two lines from the dish and take them directly to the HD-DVR without going through the multiswitch

Will he still be able to take the remaining lines and have them come out as 4 lines to the other two tv's using the multiswitch?

No, you can't do that on a permanent basis, just temporarily to test the multi-switch. All four dish lines must go directly to the multi-switch for normal operation of all receivers. Apparently, there are a lot of bad WB68's showing up. I believe the self-powered Zinwell WB616 model to be more reliable, but you'll have to pay for it yourself.

nik1108

· #20 · Aug 8, 2008

I checked out the model number on my Zinwell as I got it installed back when I got locals and Mpeg2 HD. I have a Zinwell SAM-6802 DIRECTV Approved 6x8 Flexport Multiswitch and not the WB68. Could this be my overall issue or is this like a WB68 with the flexport for the 72.5 locals

Oh and another day passes and not a call from the Case Manager.

1 - 20 of 37 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.