[scrybigtv]

Let me apologize in advance for having to ask, but a search of previous threads didn't give me the answers I need. We've been getting some light rain showers the last few days, and each time we get so much as a sprinkle, my HR21-700 loses the signal on all HD channels. I don't get the "searching for signal" message for an extended period of time, but it usually happens at the most inopportune time. The SD channels have not dropped at all. This has never happened before; I have seldom lost signal even during heavy rainstorms.

I need someone to give me step-by-step instructions on how to correctly check my sigal strength on all Sats. I know this has probably been posted numerous times, but I can't find the right threads. I'll appreciate any help.

 

[Mertzen]

Check signal strengths on 103c and 99c. Those carry HD channels.
If they are lower then mid 80s you need a realigment.

Go into the signal strength menu and give us a full set of numbers.

 

[FHSPSU67]

Please post your 99c (99a for H2XX's) and 103c(103b for H2XX's). You may need to have your dish alignment tweaked.
[edit] Sorry Mertzen, you beat me while I was trying to remember the H2XX versions.

 

[scrybigtv]

Thanks, guys. It will be a couple of hours before I can check my signal strength and post the numbers here. I'm at work now, but I'll run home soon, check the numbers and report back. Is there not two different readings that can be checked in the "signal strength" menu?

 

[FHSPSU67]

Is there not two different readings that can be checked in the "signal strength" menu?

Not sure what you're asking. We're asking for the two "sets" of readings from 99c(a) and 103c(b) from the signal strength page which lists all transponders for each satellite..

 

[K4SMX]

Menu Button > Parental, Fav's & Setup > System Setup > Satellite (& Ant) > View Signal Strength

Then navigate with the remote to the following satellites and fill in your signal strength numbers:

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)/(a))
[New national HD channels]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # # # NA NA

Satellite transponders (14 total at 103º(c)/(b))
[Most national HD channels]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # # # NA NA
17-24 0 NA NA NA NA 0 NA NA

 

[mark40511]

I had DTV installed mid july. It came with three months starz etc...I'm watching STARZ HD Yesterday.....1pm ish....Bright and sunny out.................. video break up.......or pixiliation if you will. I got paranoid so I skimmed through all the channels and it seemed to be the STARZ HD channels. Not the SD or other national HD...About 5 pm it stopped doing it. I kept it on that channel and it just didn't do it at all! Next day...turned it on at 11 am.....bright sunny outside..........same thing.........then during the evening, it stops pixilating. I have 2 HR21's. Its doing it on both. This has been installed less than a month. I dont usually watch STARZ......so this could have been going on from day one. Not sure..................

Here are my signal strengths .........I hope this is right.


sat 101

1-8 ........91 92 88 91 88 95 90 95
9-16........85 92 86 94 89 96 88 96
17-24.......90 70 89 90 91 96 88 95
25-32........89 60 88 51 91 96 87 96


sat 110

1-8 na na na na na na na 82
9-16 na 87 na 88 na na na na
17-24 na na na na na na na na
25-32 na na na na na na na na

sat 119

1-8........ na na na na na na na na
9-16........ na na na na na na na na
17-24........ na na na na na 95 24 89
25-32......... 100 95 98 96 97 96 93 98

sat 99


1-8....... 83 84 83 85 83 84 83 86
9-16 ....85 86 85 88 88 88 na na
17-24.....na na na na na na na na
25-32......na na na na na na na na

sat 103s


1-8....23 81 15 0 15 47 na na
9-16......na na na na na na 25 0
17-24.....0 55 0 0 79 0 41 0
25-32....na na na na na na na na

sat 103C

1-8 ...86 80 85 77 82 79 82 80
9-16 ....82 78 82 80 82 78 na na
17-24.......0 na na na na 0 na na
25-32.......na na na na na na na na

sat99s

1-8 .......93 33 97 0 96 24 na na
9-16......na na na na na na 0 0
17-24......0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25-32.......na na na na na na na na

 

[miltmeyers]

Here is something that happened to me and you might just file it away as something to check with the low signal on 99c or low on 103c. I upgraded last year to the HD DVRs and the slimline dish. Now along came 103c and I had low signal levels and I complained but didn't want to pay the service fee. Now along came 99c and my readings were close to zero and I had lose of signal on 206 209 281 245 259 306 and 552. Okay the tech came out and said that the problem was my receivers and I needed new ones. I kept harping on about how could two receivers go out at the same time so he replaced the multiswitch and now I have 95 on about all the sat and transponders. The tech that had upgraded me in the first place had put in a narrow band switch and now I have a wide band switch and everything is great! So if you have good signals on 101 110 and 119 but not so good on 103c and 99c try checking the multiswitch. Yes I had to pay 19.95 for the service call and 5.99 a month for at least a year but when it doesn't work that is what I was left with.

milt

 

[K4SMX]

I had DTV installed mid july. It came with three months starz etc...I'm watching STARZ HD Yesterday.....1pm ish....Bright and sunny out.................. video break up.......or pixiliation if you will. I got paranoid so I skimmed through all the channels and it seemed to be the STARZ HD channels. Not the SD or other national HD...About 5 pm it stopped doing it. I kept it on that channel and it just didn't do it at all! Next day...turned it on at 11 am.....bright sunny outside..........same thing.........then during the evening, it stops pixilating. I have 2 HR21's. Its doing it on both. This has been installed less than a month. I dont usually watch STARZ......so this could have been going on from day one. Not sure.................

This sounds like you have a temperature-related issue with the LNB on your dish. This problem is not that common, especially on new installations, but it definitely happens, and if you look around, you'll find others have reported temperature-related LNB issues. You are still within your installation warranty period, so you should ask that it be replaced. If I'm not mistaken, there is a special department which deals strictly with installation warranty problems, so try to get transferred to them when you call.

When they come out, you might be able to get them to tweak another 10 points of signal strength on the 99(c) and 103(c) national HD satellites with minor re-alignment, although your current alignment is well above minimums. It could be a tad better, though, and since they'll already be working on your dish anyhow, it's no big deal.

It would be worth a nice tip to have those signals mostly all in the 90's and to have made sure all your dish bolts are locked down tight and your mounting bracket is secure, which are common installation problems. They should also have installed two "monopole" support braces for the mast arm, unless your mounting bracket is lagged into masonry or your dish is mounted on a pole. This is frequently overlooked, but it will insure trouble-free dish alignment in the future.

 

[mark40511]

The Direct Dish is on there good........Here's a pic.... bolted right on the side of the house in studs. Perfectly clear line of sight. I'm trying to get them to install a SWM for me since when they installed they couldn't run the cables. But wouldn't this be happening on more than just the STARZ channels if it were a heat related issue? Not that I'm doubting you. Just curious.

 

[Mertzen]

Besides the issue. When was this installed? Latest NEC revision does not alow meter box clamps anymore for grounding. Also they can never be placed on the front of the meter box. And there's a whole lot of other QC fails there.

 

[mark40511]

Besides the issue. When was this installed? Latest NEC revision does not alow meter box clamps anymore for grounding. Also they can never be placed on the front of the meter box. And there's a whole lot of other QC fails there.

Mid July of this year.

 

[K4SMX]

.....But wouldn't this be happening on more than just the STARZ channels if it were a heat related issue? Not that I'm doubting you. Just curious.

Yeah, you would think so. Here's some things for you to check out:

CH 518 shares D10, tp 10 with CH's 231, 335, & 514
CH 519 shares D10, tp 7 with CH's 215, 269, & 362
CH 520 shares D10, tp 13 with CH's 231, 335, & 514
CH 521 shares D10, tp 6 with CH 612
CH 522 shares D10, tp 5 with CH's 244 & 265

 

[scrybigtv]

Okay, I'm back (original poster). I had to go home yesterday to check my signal strength and was just now able to get back on line with the results.

Anyway, signal strength on the 14 99(c) transponders ranges between 80 and 85. Signal strength on 103(c) ranges between 83 and 88 (16 transponders).

That may or may not be sufficient signal strength, but it's quite a bit lower than the low-to-high 90s that I get on the other sats. And if those 80s are sufficient, why have I been losing signal on HD channels every time we get a few drops of rain (and we're not talking thunderstorms). I did notice another thread where some other posters indicated they are having a similar problem.

What say, guys?

 

[hdtvfan0001]

Okay, I'm back (original poster). I had to go home yesterday to check my signal strength and was just now able to get back on line with the results.

Anyway, signal strength on the 14 99(c) transponders ranges between 80 and 85. Signal strength on 103(c) ranges between 83 and 88 (16 transponders).

That may or may not be sufficient signal strength, but it's quite a bit lower than the low-to-high 90s that I get on the other sats. And if those 80s are sufficient, why have I been losing signal on HD channels every time we get a few drops of rain (and we're not talking thunderstorms). I did notice another thread where some other posters indicated they are having a similar problem.

What say, guys?

Above 80 is considered enough to get you a stable signal....you should be OK.

If the weather affects you that much, you might still need a "tweaking" of your alignment.

 

[scrybigtv]

Above 80 is considered enough to get you a stable signal....you should be OK.

If the weather affects you that much, you might still need a "tweaking" of your alignment.

But that's why I'm concerned, fan. This is something that's just started happening in the last few days. The weather has seldom affected my signal (either HD or SD) until this past week. We got a couple of brief rain showers earlier this week and I lost my HD channels (or at least many of them) both times for a brief period. Got the dreaded "searching for signal" message on HD, while SD channels played on.

 

[K4SMX]

.....We've been getting some light rain showers the last few days, and each time we get so much as a sprinkle, my HR21-700 loses the signal on all HD channels.....

.....signal strength on the 14 99(c) transponders ranges between 80 and 85. Signal strength on 103(c) ranges between 83 and 88 (16 transponders).

That may or may not be sufficient signal strength, but it's quite a bit lower than the low-to-high 90s that I get on the other sats. And if those 80s are sufficient, why have I been losing signal on HD channels every time we get a few drops of rain (and we're not talking thunderstorms).....

You shouldn't be having this problem with those signal levels to the extent you've stated. There's something else going on. The next time you see rain coming, bring up the 103(c) signal strength page under View Signal Strength and select the Signal Meters. Then navigate back from the default 101 to the 103(c) and carefully observe your signal strength on one of the 103(c) tp's as the rain passes through. Be on the lookout for abrupt changes. It should instead move relatively smoothly through lower numbers and then back to normal after the rain storm has passed.

Any intermittent nature of the signals indicates there's a problem other than normal "rain fade." There could be a moisture/connector problem. It's not impossible there's a moisture/LNB problem. Ka signals in the 90's are generally achievable and desirable. However, what you're experiencing is definitely not normal with Ka signals in the 80's.

Spock's Law: Connectors are the most common cause of (satellite TV reception problems.)

(Fill in the blank with whatever electronic equipment is having a problem.)

 

[mark40511]

We had a strong storm move south of here about a week after installation.....I didn't rain here.....I did hear thunder.....I lost HD channels for a brief time....Thanks K4SMX for that info..........I will check it......Funny......Today it didn't happen.....Though it was a bit more cloudy today than the last two days it was happening.

Back when I had Dish Network.......I was ALWAYS getting pixilation on ALL the HD channels..... The best signal they could get from their satellite 129 was in the high 30s to low 40s.... So now that I'm at Direct I'm thinking I've got signal in the 70s 80s and 90s and I'm doing great.......Guess I'm wrong.

 

[scrybigtv]

You shouldn't be having this problem with those signal levels to the extent you've stated. There's something else going on. The next time you see rain coming, bring up the 103(c) signal strength page under View Signal Strength and select the Signal Meters. Then navigate back from the default 101 to the 103(c) and carefully observe your signal strength on one of the 103(c) tp's as the rain passes through. Be on the lookout for abrupt changes. It should instead move relatively smoothly through lower numbers and then back to normal after the rain storm has passed.

Any intermittent nature of the signals indicates there's a problem other than normal "rain fade." There could be a moisture/connector problem. It's not impossible there's a moisture/LNB problem. Ka signals in the 90's are generally achievable and desirable. However, what you're experiencing is definitely not normal with Ka signals in the 80's.

Spock's Law: Connectors are the most common cause of (satellite TV reception problems.)

(Fill in the blank with whatever electronic equipment is having a problem.)

Thanks, K4, I'll take your advice and check out the signals ASAP. In the meantime, yesterday (Sunday) was like no other day I've seen since getting my HR21 about six months ago. Not only did the rain fade occur with hardly more than just a cloudy sky, my receiver started doing some other strange things. It changed channels all by itself a couple of times, and the font in my guide's "information" area changed from its default setting to an Old English style. The receiver was also way slower than usual in responding to commands, sometimes taking as long as 5 seconds to open the guide or change channels. There were other strange things taking place, but I didn't take notes and I can't recall all of them. I will say that everything seemed to be back to normal this morning before I went to work. It was even raining this morning and no sign of rain fade.

I'm thinking that some of these problems I've been experiencing are occurring on many other HR2xs throughout the nation. Some of the other threads I've seen over the past few days have indicated that I'm not the only one having problems.