[clueless]

I've been having problems with 99c channels (i.e. ESPN and the national DNS stations in the 390s) the past week or so. Every night between somewhere 7:30pm and 9:00pm I start getting massive pixelation, the picture finally seems to freeze. If I change to another 99c channel I have a blank screen. Signal levels for 99c are usually 90+ however when the problem is occurring they are zero. Channels on other transponders are fine (including 103c). It has been happening every night. I watched the Giants game and the Bengals/Cowboys game yesterday and had no issues. Then during 60 minutes... pixelation, frozen picture, and zero signal strength.. I have changed my series recording schedules back to the 80's but I'm sure DirecTV isn't going to keep them up forever.

Since fall is here in WV the temperature is starting to fall after the sun goes down. Has anyone ever known a LNB or builtin multi-switch to be temperature sensitive?? If not any other ideas?

The setup is HR20-700, slimline with straight coax runs to the HR20 (no external multiswitch). No trees, etc in the way.

 

[Grentz]

Could be a failing LNB, they sometimes do very weird things on their way out.

 

[David MacLeod]

be aware of condensation/frost too. I went from 60-65 daytime with showers to 31 last night and had some issues due to this.around 5am.
it does not happen often, 2-3 times a year in fall, but if accessible breathing on it fixes it for me. sun will fix it in a hurry too if you need to wait.

 

[KCCardsfan]

YES! The changing temperatures can affect your LNB. Exactly 1 year ago I started having the exact same trouble, as the evening cooled off all of my new MPEG4 HD channels would disappear, all other channels were good. Because the new channels had just launched and that part of the LNB hadn't used before DirecTv replaced my AT9 with a Slimline @ no charge, no trouble since.

 

[Dan B]

We had this problem a few years back. The installer did not use compression connectors outside & moisture got in & rusted the multiswitch.

 

[TigersFanJJ]

There are several things that can cause your problem from bad lnb/multiswitch, moisture, bad/improperly installed connectors, etc. Temp changes can definitely cause problems sometimes.

 

[cnmurray8]

I have been having this problem for a few months and it has been very difficult to find out what is wrong. It works 95% of the time but I have seemed to narrow it down to the morning before the sun rises and sometimes in the evening around the time the sun goes down. It will last for about 30 minutes or so and then everything goes back to normal. Signal levels when this is happening drop from normal levels to 0's than back to normal than zero within very short period of time. 1 or 4 transponders at a time then all of them and then 1 or so for about a minute or so at a time. This only happens on the 99C only -The 99S, 103S, 103C, 101, 119 and 110 are all fine and do not expierence any issues. Also I have determined that it happens on turner 1 and 2 and on both of my HD boxes.

I have 2 HR21-200's and 1 D10-100. Slimline setup with a SWM 8. All solid copper cables with digicon quad shield connectors with the green. Last night I was able to connect one cable right from the dish to the 1 Tv and it sill happend. I am thinking this appears to be the LNB? Does anyone else think this maybe the problem or anything else? I was thinking of picking up the new slimline 3LNB from Solid Signal as I see they now carry it for $39 and my locals come from 101 so I don't need 119.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

The equipment is all tested in various ranges of temps, and commonplace temps should have no effect. Extreme cold or hot have not yet been reported to be an issue either, however, it depends on the definition of "extreme".

If the LNB is in the 0 to 100 degrees (F) range, it is commonly not an issue.

Multiswitches are about the same, however, heat above that level may cause irratic behavior.

 

[davring]

I have encountered two temperature sensitive LNB's, they were replaced and all has been well. They can be tricky to diagnose.

 

[cnmurray8]

That makes complete sense but this has been a total puzzle. It has only been an issue with 99C and I am having a real hard time figuring out what it might be. I have seen a few other people post with similiar issues but they don't seem to ever get a complete conclusion on what was the cause.

 

[davring]

That makes complete sense but this has been a total puzzle. It has only been an issue with 99C and I am having a real hard time figuring out what it might be. I have seen a few other people post with similiar issues but they don't seem to ever get a complete conclusion on what was the cause.

The last failed LNB affected only my HD locals, nothing else. They can create all kinds of flaky situations.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

The last failed LNB affected only my HD locals, nothing else. They can create all kinds of flaky situations.

When it comes to the LNB's....weather, dish pointing accuracy, tertiary obstacles in the view range, as well as temp all have the potential to have an impact...so they are indeed temperamental to some degree.

That said...I've had a 5 LNB SideCar model now installed for the past 4 years in the same place with virtually no issues on all sats whatsoever. I don't even get much affect from weather (except severe lightening storms in the immediate area).

 

[cnmurray8]

The last failed LNB affected only my HD locals, nothing else. They can create all kinds of flaky situations.

Thank you- that does make sense this has been a very strange issue. The only problem at all has been the 99C. The numbers vary from being in the low 80's most of the day to being in the mid 90's all of a sudden to then being zero around sunrise and sunset. I think I will try and swap the LNB with one of the new ones and see how it works. All of the other satellites are in the low 90's on 103C to 95 to 100 on the other 3. Alignment does not seem to be an issue.

 

[David MacLeod]

The equipment is all tested in various ranges of temps, and commonplace temps should have no effect. Extreme cold or hot have not yet been reported to be an issue either, however, it depends on the definition of "extreme".

If the LNB is in the 0 to 100 degrees (F) range, it is commonly not an issue.

Multiswitches are about the same, however, heat above that level may cause irratic behavior.

lol, 0 is considered a good day in January-February here...
mine worked at -45 F (mean, not windchill) last winter.
that day sucked.....

 

[vev46]

I've had temperature related HD dropouts ever since I installed my 5LNB SlimLine. As long as it stays above ~~28 F, no problem. I finally checked all the signal levels on all active xponders, on all satellites, during good and bad HD's, and I found that the most striking differences occur almost exclusively on some even-numbered xponders on sat's 110,119,103(a), & 103(b). In the 2 instances where differences occur in odd-numbered xponders, the "good" signal levels are so low, that they are most likely not viable signals anyway. Based on this, I believe that the multi-switch is the culprit, but I believe that it's integrated with the LNB assembly, and is not individually replaceable. I would appreciate any comments on this diagnosis.

 

[rudeney]

This sounds like you have water in the outside connections that causes problems when it freezes. I'd start looking there before replacing the LNB. Unscrew all the coax connectors and make sure they are dry (actually, they shoudl be well-coated with dielectric grease).

 

[BlueGuy]

I'm in the same boat as all of you. I have had this issue you guys describe as well. It certainly is a winter issue. I've had it with 103C and my 99S locals. 6 weeks ago I had a tech out. He repointed the dish and changed the multiswitch. At that point, he said if it continued it was the LNB. I have a new tech coming Saturday.....suppose to bring LNB's

The one thing I wonder about the first guy is if he checked all the connections outside. He claimed he did when i asked but, he sure wasn't out there very long....could all connections be checked in 5ish minutes?