[pilotpierce]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for any responses to my questions.

I have a problem in that my HD locals keep dropping out occasionally. All other channels will be absolutley fine, it just seems that these ones will get a 771 message on them on occasion. It is really a very intermittent problem in that one minute they are working just fine, and then it starts to pixelate, the 771 message will appear, and finally it will get so bad, it will just show no picture with the message on the screen. There are certainly no line of sight issues and the dish (slimline) is connected directly to a HR21 and an H20. This problem also occurs on both receivers so I don't think it's a receiver issue. In addition there is no multiswitch or anything in between the two receivers and the dish. Signal readings are typically in the mid 90's for the 101, and low 80's for the 99 and 103. So my questions are:

Is this an aiming issue? Do I need to try and peak out the signals?

Which sat do HD locals come from? I'm in the Salt Lake City DMA if that matters.

and, Is it possible that I have a bad LNB? Would this be causing it to drop out like it does, or would it just quit entirely if the LNB was bad? And if it is bad, does anyone know where I can buy one? I am really not a fan of the techs in this area and would rather just deal with it myself.

Any other suggestions or comments are more than welcome, and again thanks for the help.

 

[litzdog911]

Please post back with your signal readings for each satellite's transponders (and both tuners if applicable). You'll find these readings under "Menu" -> "Setup" -> "System Setup" -> Satellite -> "View Signal Strength".

Fill in your readings for each satellite and tuner using these examples. A properly aligned dish will show 80-90s on most of the relevant transponders (although some will be low or zero):

Satellite transponders (32 total at 101º)
[Most of your standard definition channels are beamed from 101ºW]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # # # # #
17-24 # # # # # # # #
25-32 # # # # # # # #

Satellite transponders (3 total at 110º)
[Several HD channels are beamed from 110ºW]
1-8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA #
9-16 NA # NA # NA NA NA NA

Satellite transponders (11 total at 119º)
[A few HD channels, local SD channels, and Spanish package]
17-24 NA NA NA NA NA # # #
25-32 # # # # # # # #

Satellite transponders (6 total at 99º(s)) [or 99º(b)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 # # # # # # NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA # #
17-24 # # # # # # # #
[Note: these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) [or 99º(a)]
[New national HD channels]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # NA NA NA NA
[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) [or 103º(a)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 # # # # # # NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA # #
17-24 # # # # # # # #
[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(c)) [or 103º(b)]
[Most national HD channels]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # # # NA NA
17-24 # NA NA NA NA # NA NA

 

[pilotpierce]

Thanks for your quick response. Here is the requested info.

Satellite transponders (32 total at 101º)
[Most of your standard definition channels are beamed from 101ºW]
1-8 95 94 90 0 92 98 89 97
9-16 91 95 91 0 93 98 89 99
17-24 90 0 92 0 93 99 91 98
25-32 91 100 90 0 94 98 90 99

Satellite transponders (3 total at 110º)
[Several HD channels are beamed from 110ºW]
1-8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 92
9-16 NA 89 NA 92 NA NA NA NA

Satellite transponders (11 total at 119º)
[A few HD channels, local SD channels, and Spanish package]
17-24 NA NA NA NA NA 82 0 83
25-32 0 87 93 86 0 87 0 88

Satellite transponders (6 total at 99º(s)) [or 99º(b)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 37 0 0 0 30 0 NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 0
17-24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
[Note: these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) [or 99º(a)]
[New national HD channels]
1-8 76 71 75 66 75 71 75 65
9-16 79 72 77 65 82 73 NA NA
[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) [or 103º(a)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 0 0 0 0 0 0 NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 0
17-24 6 0 0 80 96 0 0 0
[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(c)) [or 103º(b)]
[Most national HD channels]
1-8 83 76 82 74 80 73 74 71
9-16 80 72 79 68 82 72 NA NA
17-24 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

 

[BattleZone]

Your signal levels on both 99 and 103 are far too low; they should average in the high 80s to low 90s (except for the 0s on the (a)'s, which are spotbeams not aimed at your area). You need your dish re-aimed.

 

[pilotpierce]

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Do you think that is the reason that my locals are dropping out intermittently though? I mean I'm watching football in HD on our local CBS here and it looks perfect now, but I guarantee sometime later in the evening or tomorrow it will drop out again for about thirty minutes to an hour with just a 771 on the screen. Thanks again.

 

[davring]

Looking at your signal strengths I would guess your locals are from 103s, which looks too good to be giving you drop outs. 99c/103c both need to be higher, as suggested. I doubt your locals are from 99s, they are spots for other areas. If it is just your locals it is a remote possibility of a weak or intermittent LNB. You do need an alignment to raise 99c/103c but I doubt D* will do it as they do meet their minimum, which I have read as 70 to be acceptable.

 

[mcrutland]

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Do you think that is the reason that my locals are dropping out intermittently though? I mean I'm watching football in HD on our local CBS here and it looks perfect now, but I guarantee sometime later in the evening or tomorrow it will drop out again for about thirty minutes to an hour with just a 771 on the screen. Thanks again.

Same thing happened to me. Could get locals at night and part of the day, but not all day. Dish realignment fixed the problem.

 

[2dogz]

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Do you think that is the reason that my locals are dropping out intermittently though? I mean I'm watching football in HD on our local CBS here and it looks perfect now, but I guarantee sometime later in the evening or tomorrow it will drop out again for about thirty minutes to an hour with just a 771 on the screen. Thanks again.

Could be something loose with the dish or dish mount causing signal variation that depends on which way the wind blows.

 

[martzta]

Since D11 came online I get very short dropouts every 5-10 minutes or so. Seems to be only the local HD channels but may be others. My SD DVR doesn't have this issue. All of my signal strengths are 80's to 90's except spots as follows: (Wash DC area)

Satellite transponders (6 total at 99º(s)) [or 99º(b)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 74 63 79 86 0 43 NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA 99 0
17-24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 95

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) [or 103º(a)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 0 0 0 0 0 0 NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA 86 95
17-24 0 24 94 96 34 0 84 95

Seems to me the signals are fine. Should I be calling about BBC's or the HR21-700 or is this just a local issue. I don't have the protection plan. Thanks...

 

[pilotpierce]

Thanks everybody, I'll try the realignment and see if that works. If it is determined to be an intermittent or weak LNB, does anyone know where I can buy one? Thanks again.

 

[davring]

The one I had fail was replaced by D*, but I believe I was within the 90 day installation warranty. You could check a price at Solid Signal, on line.

 

[pilotpierce]

The one I had fail was replaced by D*, but I believe I was within the 90 day installation warranty. You could check a price at Solid Signal, on line.

Thanks! I'll try that if I need to. I just did a realignment and managed to get those lower ones up by about 10 percent, so we'll see how that goes. Again, thanks for all the input everyone.

 

[ABQNM]

You may also want to try to move the mast around and see if it moves by hand. If the dish is not lagged into a joist or stud, the temperature variations throughout the day could cause the dish to move slightly as the wood expands and contracts and with the already low signals it could be enough to lose HD completely. Also if it is not in a stud, the wind could do it too.