[SteveHas]

Well we made it through Hanna last night here in the Boston area fine.
No heavy ran here, no real heavey winds either, (at least south west of Boston).
This morning I watched the Belgian Grand Prix with delite while I recorded a movie for the kids on the other tuner.
All was happy here on this beautiful September Sunday.
At about 1 AM I set two of my HR20's to record the Bills game in HD and set out to the stores at 1 PM.
When I came home, tuner one on ALL FOUR of my DVRS was out and nothing recorded!
I turned everything off, and disconnected my non-powered multiswitch, then waited 20 minutes and plugged it all in again.
Then I reset all 4 DVRS, I even unplugged them for 20 minutes and then reset them again still nothing works!
There were no storms today, no wind, no electrical problems, ant all and I missed the first game of the season!
I called D* and the snotty CSR was useless except for setting a service appt.
Signal strength meters show every other transponder at normal full strength on tuner 1.

What could have happened?

 

[Supervolcano]

Sounds like one of the cables going from the dish to the multiswitch got cut, or it's connector got lose, or it's connector got water in it, or maybe even the copper core inside the cable disintegrated at the end.

Walk/inspect the entire length of the cables from the multiswitch to the dish looking for cuts in them (furry animals love to eat coax cable, believe it or not).

Unscrew every cable connector, make sure there's copper sticking out far enough, and then screw them back on tight.

 

[SteveHas]

Sounds like one of the cables going from the dish to the multiswitch got cut, or it's connector got lose, or it's connector got water in it, or maybe even the copper core inside the cable disintegrated at the end.

Walk/inspect the entire length of the cables from the multiswitch to the dish looking for cuts in them (furry animals love to eat coax cable, believe it or not).

Unscrew every cable connector, make sure there's copper sticking out far enough, and then screw them back on tight.

Thanks Supervalcano Not a bad idea

makes the most sense
although from about 10 feet away all looks good

 

[SteveHas]

all cables are ok

any new ideas out there?

 

[gulfwarvet]

all cables are ok

any new ideas out there?

is this the same for all signals on both tuners or just on tuner 1?

oh, besides checking the coax like SV suggested check the ground coming off the dish and grounding block.

 

[Supervolcano]

You checked each and every connector from dish back to the multiswitch?

Tune to 480, 481, 482, 483, 490, 491, 492, 493, & 494.
Which ones are NOT working?

 

[say-what]

I called D* and the snotty CSR was useless except for setting a service appt.

I really don't know what you expected the CSR to do besides running you through all the troubleshooting you already did - afterall, the CSR can't do a physical inspection of your setup. A service call is probably the best option - could be the lnb was damaged or the multiswitch is going bad.

 

[SteveHas]

I really don't know what you expected the CSR to do besides running you through all the troubleshooting you already did - afterall, the CSR can't do a physical inspection of your setup. A service call is probably the best option - could be the lnb was damaged or the multiswitch is going bad.

I expect CSRs to be polite, and not rude
I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation

 

[SteveHas]

is this the same for all signals on both tuners or just on tuner 1?

oh, besides checking the coax like SV suggested check the ground coming off the dish and grounding block.

both tuners
and I will check the gound line tonite
it is firmly on the multi-switch

 

[SteveHas]

You checked each and every connector from dish back to the multiswitch?

Tune to 480, 481, 482, 483, 490, 491, 492, 493, & 494.
Which ones are NOT working?

Yes

483 doesn't work ("searching for satellite")

491 doesn't work ("searching for satellite")

all of the other test channels work

thanks for the help folks
I do appreciate it!

 

[DrZ]

What's the next step is you get 'searching for satellite' on those channels?

 

[SteveHas]

What's the next step is you get 'searching for satellite' on those channels?

Yup

 

[Supervolcano]

Something is wrong with satellite 101's 18v lead.
This lead should be marked on the multiswitch.

It's either the cable going to that lead on the multiswitch, or the multiswitch itself, or the LNB on the dish.

If you want to test if it's the multiswitch, completely disconnect the multiswitch from the dish.

Then connect one receiver to one of the leads from the dish directly.
Check the satellite 101 18v test on channel 491.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is THE MULTISWITCH.

If all 4 of those cables fail, it's THE LNB ON THE DISH.

Follow me?

 

[SteveHas]

Something is wrong with satellite 101's 18v lead.
This lead should be marked on the multiswitch.

It's either the cable going to that lead on the multiswitch, or the multiswitch itself, or the LNB on the dish.

If you want to test if it's the multiswitch, completely disconnect the multiswitch from the dish.

Then connect one receiver to one of the leads from the dish directly.
Check the satellite 101 18v test on channel 491.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is THE MULTISWITCH.

If all 4 of those cables fail, it's THE LNB ON THE DISH.

Follow me?

gotcha SV I will try that tonite, in fact I have ne of my DVRS right next to my multi switch!
Thanks for all of your help!

 

[SteveHas]

Something is wrong with satellite 101's 18v lead.
This lead should be marked on the multiswitch.

It's either the cable going to that lead on the multiswitch, or the multiswitch itself, or the LNB on the dish.

If you want to test if it's the multiswitch, completely disconnect the multiswitch from the dish.

Then connect one receiver to one of the leads from the dish directly.
Check the satellite 101 18v test on channel 491.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is another cable or the multiswitch.

Then move that receiver to the next cable from the dish.
If it fails, problem is that cable or the lnb.
If it doesn't fail, problem is THE MULTISWITCH.

If all 4 of those cables fail, it's THE LNB ON THE DISH.

Follow me?

I tried something a little different so tell me if I'm wrong (I may be).
I installed the leads from the dish direct to both inputs on one of my DVRs, and all channels came in fine.
So does this mean the multiswitch is fried?
and if so what would make this happen?

 

[Supervolcano]

I tried something a little different so tell me if I'm wrong (I may be).
I installed the leads from the dish direct to both inputs on one of my DVRs, and all channels came in fine.
So does this mean the multiswitch is fried?
and if so what would make this happen?

If you hooked up 2 lines, and just checked that channel, you only checked ONE of the cables since the dvr was only using 1 of it's 2 tuners to tune to it.

All you did was prove it's not the LNB so far.

If you want to use 2 cables at a time, use the Signal Strength screen in the menu instead of channel 491, but make sure you check BOTH TUNERS on that screen by pressing the + sign where it says "tuner". And while your at it, check all the other satellites too for both tuners (except 99s and 103s).

After that, of course, check the other 2 cables using the same method.

If all 4 cables pass the test, put the multiswitch back into action and see if it again causes failure. If so, it's the multiswitch.

What would make a multiswitch break?
Same thing that makes a toaster break.
It had a bad day and decided to die.

 

[SteveHas]

If you hooked up 2 lines, and just checked that channel, you only checked ONE of the cables since the dvr was only using 1 of it's 2 tuners to tune to it.

All you did was prove it's not the LNB so far.

If you want to use 2 cables at a time, use the Signal Strength screen in the menu instead of channel 491, but make sure you check BOTH TUNERS on that screen by pressing the + sign where it says "tuner". And while your at it, check all the other satellites too for both tuners (except 99s and 103s).

After that, of course, check the other 2 cables using the same method.

If all 4 cables pass the test, put the multiswitch back into action and see if it again causes failure. If so, it's the multiswitch.

What would make a multiswitch break?
Same thing that makes a toaster break.
It had a bad day and decided to die.

thanks again SV will do

whats strange is if it is the multiswitch, in the 10-11 years I have had D* this will be my fourth switch
does that sound excessive?

 

[Supervolcano]

whats strange is if it is the multiswitch, in the 10-11 years I have had D* this will be my fourth switch.
Does that sound excessive?

It happens.
Hardware ain't made like it used to be.
Things nowadays are built to last a few years instead of a few decades.

Is all the cable running from dish to multiswitch RG6, or is there maybe some RG59 involved?

If there's RG59 going to the dish, then whoever installed the slimline dish didn't do the job properly, because it's well advertised that the new dish needs RG6.

Some people CAN get away with some shorter runs of RG59, but ONLY AFTER the multiswitch.

 

[SteveHas]

It happens.
Hardware ain't made like it used to be.
Things nowadays are built to last a few years instead of a few decades.

Is all the cable running from dish to multiswitch RG6, or is there maybe some RG59 involved?

If there's RG59 going to the dish, then whoever installed the slimline dish didn't do the job properly, because it's well advertised that the new dish needs RG6.

Some people CAN get away with some shorter runs of RG59, but ONLY AFTER the multiswitch.

thanks again
I will check all out tonite after work

 

[SteveHas]

If you hooked up 2 lines, and just checked that channel, you only checked ONE of the cables since the dvr was only using 1 of it's 2 tuners to tune to it.

All you did was prove it's not the LNB so far.

If you want to use 2 cables at a time, use the Signal Strength screen in the menu instead of channel 491, but make sure you check BOTH TUNERS on that screen by pressing the + sign where it says "tuner". And while your at it, check all the other satellites too for both tuners (except 99s and 103s).

After that, of course, check the other 2 cables using the same method.

If all 4 cables pass the test, put the multiswitch back into action and see if it again causes failure. If so, it's the multiswitch.

What would make a multiswitch break?
Same thing that makes a toaster break.
It had a bad day and decided to die.

uh, SV I understand but...
I only have two cables going into my switch, what are the other two you mention above?

:scratch: