[RVD26]

I have been having this same problem since I moved last month into my new apartment and it is driving me crazy
Some of the issues are discussed here
Basically, I am not getting a 110 signal because of the location of my apartment building
I am running into a problem where the TV in my bedroom (which is connected to a H21 receiver) often does not get any guide data.
I also run into a problem where I am not able to tune into ANY channels
I can see the DirecTV interface/menu on the screen, but when I try to change channels it just says "Channel not available" at the top of the screen (where the channel info should be) and shows "0-0" (where the channel number should be)
This problem is fixed with a reset (pressing the red button), but I've been having to do this every single day and it's getting annoying
I called DirecTV and they could not figure out what was wrong, so they sent me a new receiver (my current H21 which replaced an H20) to see if that would fix it
It obviously has not fixed the problem

So can anyone tell me what the heck is going on here?
I've had the same problem on two different receivers now
My other receiver, HR21, works just fine and has no problems whatsoever

 

[DSSJunkie]

It sounds like you are not getting signal from the 119 satellite. this is where the recivers get guide data from as well as the 101. If you leave the reciver tuned to a SD channel over night this should resolve the guide info not being avaliable. It is just a work around not a solution!

 

[RVD26]

It sounds like you are not getting signal from the 119 satellite. this is where the recivers get guide data from as well as the 101. If you leave the reciver tuned to a SD channel over night this should resolve the guide info not being avaliable. It is just a work around not a solution!

I think I am getting 119
It's 110 I'm not getting
I'll check it again when I get home
So just leave the receiver on overnight and that's it?
I'll give it a try tonight and see if it fixes things

Also, why would one receiver be fine and have no problems (my HR21) and the other one (H20 and now H21) have these issues?

 

[DSSJunkie]

yeah from what i understand guide data is carried on 101 and 119. the 5 LNB is designed to look for guide data on the 119. so if you loose signal on the 119 the reciver dosn't know to look at the 101 to retrive data. if you leave it tuned to an SD channel over night it forces the reciver to get the guide data from the 101. Remember this is all just something to try! I don't know why one reciver would be getting data while the other isn't! it could be something different an i could be way off!!

 

[texasbrit]

yeah from what i understand guide data is carried on 101 and 119. the 5 LNB is designed to look for guide data on the 119. so if you loose signal on the 119 the reciver dosn't know to look at the 101 to retrive data. if you leave it tuned to an SD channel over night it forces the reciver to get the guide data from the 101. Remember this is all just something to try! I don't know why one reciver would be getting data while the other isn't! it could be something different an i could be way off!!

As you say the guide comes from 101 and 119. If you are tuned to a 99/101 transponder it comes from 101, if you are tuned to a 103/110/119 transponder it comes from 119. So if you leave a receiver tuned to a 103 channel (most of the HD channels) for too long and you don't have good 119 signals you will eventually lose the guide. And you will get the 0-0 problem on the receiver.

The solution as you say is to tune the receiver to a 101 transponder regularly. The easiest way of doing this for a receiver is to set up an autotune to a 101 channel (say BBC America) at (say) 3am every day. That solves the problem. For a DVR it's more complicated. The guide gets processed by tuner 1 so you need to set up simultaneous manual recordings at (say) 3am for two 101 channels at the same time, to make sure that tuner 1 is on a 101 channel. Then of course you have to delete the short recordings.

 

[DSSJunkie]

Thanks for the help in explaining Tex!! :lol: I knew that it was something like that!!

 

[BattleZone]

And a solution to this problem would be to purchase a Slimline-3 LNB, which doesn't have LNBs for 110 or 119 and has a special switch configuration designed to pull guide data off of 101 always.

 

[RVD26]

As you say the guide comes from 101 and 119. If you are tuned to a 99/101 transponder it comes from 101, if you are tuned to a 103/110/119 transponder it comes from 119. So if you leave a receiver tuned to a 103 channel (most of the HD channels) for too long and you don't have good 119 signals you will eventually lose the guide. And you will get the 0-0 problem on the receiver.

The solution as you say is to tune the receiver to a 101 transponder regularly. The easiest way of doing this for a receiver is to set up an autotune to a 101 channel (say BBC America) at (say) 3am every day. That solves the problem. For a DVR it's more complicated. The guide gets processed by tuner 1 so you need to set up simultaneous manual recordings at (say) 3am for two 101 channels at the same time, to make sure that tuner 1 is on a 101 channel. Then of course you have to delete the short recordings.

Thanks!
I pretty much only watch HD channels, so that sure explains a lot
I left the receiver on last night tuned to a 101 channel (VH1 Classic)
I didn't have time to check it this morning
I'll see if I still have problems later on today
For the autotune, does the receiver actually need to be on or can I turn it off?

And a solution to this problem would be to purchase a Slimline-3 LNB, which doesn't have LNBs for 110 or 119 and has a special switch configuration designed to pull guide data off of 101 always.

That would be nice if I could get my hands on one
But from what I've read, they are not readily available yet

 

[BattleZone]

http://cgi.ebay.com/DirecTV-Slimline-3-LNB-99-101-103-Ka-Ku-HDTV-Mpeg4-SL3P_W0QQitemZ290262209773QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item290262209773&_trkparms=72%3A1207%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[RVD26]

http://cgi.ebay.com/DirecTV-Slimline-3-LNB-99-101-103-Ka-Ku-HDTV-Mpeg4-SL3P_W0QQitemZ290262209773QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item290262209773&_trkparms=72%3A1207%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Thanks for the link
Now is this thing easy to install?

 

[texasbrit]

Thanks!
I pretty much only watch HD channels, so that sure explains a lot
I left the receiver on last night tuned to a 101 channel (VH1 Classic)
I didn't have time to check it this morning
I'll see if I still have problems later on today
For the autotune, does the receiver actually need to be on or can I turn it off?

That would be nice if I could get my hands on one
But from what I've read, they are not readily available yet

As long as the receiver has power it will autotune.

The Slimline 3 LNB just replaces the one in the Slimline 5 (the AU9). If you have the older 5-lnb dish (the AT9) it won't fit.

If you are careful you can often replace the AU9 LNB without screwing up the signals. But you might have to do a "fine tune" on the 99a/103b satellite signals (99c and 103c for the DVR). It;'s not very difficult - if you do replace the LNB post back and we can give you some advice on this.

 

[BattleZone]

Thanks for the link
Now is this thing easy to install?

Two screws/nuts hold the old LNB pack in place. Remove them, slide the old LNB out of the arm and unscrew the 4 coax cables and move them to the new LNB. Slide the new LNB into the socket and replace the screws. Provided you have reasonable access to the LNB, it's a 2 minute job.

It is possible that your signal levels may change slightly, and a tiny bit of fine-tuning might be required to peak them out again, but any change should be very minor.

 

[RVD26]

Two screws/nuts hold the old LNB pack in place. Remove them, slide the old LNB out of the arm and unscrew the 4 coax cables and move them to the new LNB. Slide the new LNB into the socket and replace the screws. Provided you have reasonable access to the LNB, it's a 2 minute job.

It is possible that your signal levels may change slightly, and a tiny bit of fine-tuning might be required to peak them out again, but any change should be very minor.

OK, I went ahead and bought the 3LNB
I have not installed it yet though
It seems easy enough
Do I have to change any of the settings in the menu?
Do I still have it set up as a 5LNB in the menu?

 

[BattleZone]

You'll want to change the config to Slimline 3LNB.

 

[RVD26]

You'll want to change the config to Slimline 3LNB.

Should this be done before or after the install?

 

[BattleZone]

After.