How to check if you have the right connection

[lukie1]

Ok, this is a totally noob question but I have a bunch of rf cables coming into the house through the wall, one from sat company, the other from a cable company and the other from the two dishes I used years ago. Its been years since I used any of them so I'm not sure that I'm actually plugging in the right one to the receiver. Is there a way to determine that I've hooked up the correct cable. When I connect any of them, I'm getting a searching signal message . Also, I'm getting a black and white picture on all the menus. Any idea why? Any help would be great. Thanks!

[StanW]

Simplest way would be to disconnect the cables from all your appliences , short the cable that is coming to the receiver (at the receiver end) than measure the resistance at the other end with an ohm meter .

[Shark1959]

Is there a dish on the roof still and is it properly aimed?

I would just connect a cable a see if you get a "S" reading this indicates the strength of the signal between the dish and the receiver.

You should get a picture of the Menu from your Viewsat whether there's a connection to the cable or not.

P.S. Make sure the power is always turned off when connecting and disconnecting the cable to the LNB's, as you can put an end to their life if connecting the cable while powered up.

Cheers :)

Shark1959

[StanW]

.... and what switch settings, if any , would he use ? ;)

[Shark1959]

Get creative I guess :)

[lukie1]

Unfortunately, I'm not getting the signal reading, regardless of the cable that I use. When I go into the installation menu, I only get the "Q" reading jumping up and down but the "S" reading remains flat. Do I need to do a blind scan first to get the "S" reading or should it show up before any scan?


The two dishes are still on the roof and they haven't been used in about 2.5 years. I'm not sure if they're aimed properly, but they were working all those years and haven't been touched since.

[jvvh5897]

Odds are that the dishes are still aimed correctly if you don't live in an area that gets winds above 60 MPH or so.

Your S reading would go higher if connected to a satellite LNB of any type, that you don't get a higher reading suggests to me that none of the cables go to dishes on roof or you are not powering them with the box. That you are getting a BW picture suggests your box settings are really off--the only BW signal that I can think of is while on a PAL setting rather than NTSC. So I'm guessing that you haven't read the manual and haven't learned to setup the box.

[Shark1959]

Unfortunately, I'm not getting the signal reading, regardless of the cable that I use. When I go into the installation menu, I only get the "Q" reading jumping up and down but the "S" reading remains flat. Do I need to do a blind scan first to get the "S" reading or should it show up before any scan?


The two dishes are still on the roof and they haven't been used in about 2.5 years. I'm not sure if they're aimed properly, but they were working all those years and haven't been touched since.

Hello:

Sorry for the delay in responding but, I had a fire at the building I look after yesterday.

I would try the settings that I show in the attached picture as a start, it doesn't matter which DN sat you pick, your dish can be pointed at the ground to get Signal, Quality is a different story. As long as the dish is pointed to one of those satellites, you should get a quality reading as well.

Again make sure when swapping cable that the power is OFF , or you could risk damaging the LNB's on the dish

No scanning is required to get a Signal reading.

Cheers :)

Shark1959