[Dr_J]

This is just surreal. I did a routine signal test tonight when I noticed an amazing thing. On my HR20, I get a weak signal on one transponder, and only on one tuner: tuner #1, 101 satellite, transponder 21. On the routine screen, the strength shows up as 0. When I go to the transponder signal meter, tuner #1 registers as 73, and tuner #2 comes in at 92, both steady. It's nice and clear outside. All of the other signals on all of the other transponders from all of the other functioning satellites (except for out-of-area spotbeams) have strengths in the 90's or 100 on both tuners, and both tuners have similar numbers.

On my dual-tuner TiVo, the same transponder shows 89-90 on tuner #1 and 92 on tuner #2. On my D11 standard receiver with one tuner, the strength is 91. So clearly, only the HR20 is affected. 1 TV, 1 Tuner, 1 Transponder.



Two things:

1. If anyone has any insights as to what's going on here, I'd love to hear it.

2. When I record a program, how do I know which tuner is being used?

 

[carl6]

1. No idea. But, do you have any symptoms while watching tv? In other words, is there a real problem that is impacting viewing, or is there a meter indication problem that may not reflect actual signal.

2. You don't.

Carl

 

[Dr_J]

1. No idea. But, do you have any symptoms while watching tv? In other words, is there a real problem that is impacting viewing, or is there a meter indication problem that may not reflect actual signal.

No problems that I've seen. I searched the forums and found a PDF of what channels are on which transponders. The channels that are on that particular transponder I watch only sporadically and some not at all, so I might not have noticed a problem even if there was one.

2. You don't.

Carl

Oh, well...

Thanks for responding! I just find the whole thing totally bizarre.

 

[K4SMX]

I had a similar if somewhat more extreme situation. I had "0's" on two 101 tp's (not spot beams) on one tuner only. No amount of rebooting would cure it, and naturally I had the same issue to which your second question refers.

Until I figured out how to fix it, I had to make sure the good tuner was already set to the channel I wanted to record. Half the time that took doing the CH A > CH B > CH C > CH A trick to swap to the good tuner. If a tuner is already on the channel you want to record, it won't swap tuners. It's very tricky to make sure you're going to record on a specific tuner if you keep using your receiver.

In your case, where you may have marginal signals on one tuner, and you want to make sure you're on the best tuner, you'll need to disconnect an antenna line to see which one you're currently using. I use quick-disconnect F connectors at the BBC's anyhow because of lightning storms, so that's relatively painless.

I fixed the problem after many months by doing a cold reboot, pulling the plug overnight during a Menu Reset. The next morning the two tp's were back at normal strength, and the problem has never returned. Very strange......

 

[Dr_J]

I had a similar if somewhat more extreme situation. I had "0's" on two 101 tp's (not spot beams) on one tuner only. No amount of rebooting would cure it, and naturally I had the same issue to which your second question refers.

Until I figured out how to fix it, I had to make sure the good tuner was already set to the channel I wanted to record. Half the time that took doing the CH A > CH B > CH C > CH A trick to swap to the good tuner. If a tuner is already on the channel you want to record, it won't swap tuners. It's very tricky to make sure you're going to record on a specific tuner if you keep using your receiver.

In your case, where you may have marginal signals on one tuner, and you want to make sure you're on the best tuner, you'll need to disconnect an antenna line to see which one you're currently using. I use quick-disconnect F connectors at the BBC's anyhow because of lightning storms, so that's relatively painless.

I fixed the problem after many months by doing a cold reboot, pulling the plug overnight during a Menu Reset. The next morning the two tp's were back at normal strength, and the problem has never returned. Very strange......

Interesting. Thanks for the insights.