Signal Issues Help

[Dsslm]

Hi,

Have the Pinwheel HD using 2 satellites (5 birds total) and have been using it for almost 2 years. Recently we have had some strong winds where we started getting "choppy" signal on both dish feeds. I would reboot the internet which seems to have corrected things for a period, then it would start over again. Now we are only getting signal and channels off 1 of the 5 birds. No signal on 110/119/129. I tried disconnecting the diseqc switch and connecting them individually. I could get signal on 119 however, it shows/locks on 118 and on the 110/129 mostly no signal except if I scroll through the tp I find 1 or 2 that have signal but, even those channels don't come in.

The question I have, is this a sign that the dish may have been shifted? or could there be a receiver problem?

Example on the "other 2 birds" we have subbed box as well, and I switched the cable going to the subbed, with the one going to the disqc switch and only 1 of the 2 shows signals..the other doesn't but on the subbed box both birds shows signal..

Is it possible 2 dishes were shifted? Or do you think it could be a receiver issue?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Terryl]

Strong winds....Yes a good possibility that the dish(s) have shifted out of position, if you knew the direction the winds were blowing the try nudging the dish the opposite way.


A trick I use is to notch out a stick and push the dish one way or the other, another possibility is the mount may have worked loose and the dish as drooped down, you can try the stick and push up on the dish to see if the signal gets better.

This is where "Phone a friend" comes in handy.

[Dsslm]

Thanks for the help. I will try and see if I can move it with someone inside watching the signal. I had a feeling when I was seeing 118 locked in instead of 119 that it was a sign it moved.

[riverman]

I think your 8psk module has died. Sounds like you are getting signal on the 20000 frequency (118) but not 21500. If you are pointed at Bev then you likely have a signal on 91W

[Terryl]

Thanks for the help. I will try and see if I can move it with someone inside watching the signal. I had a feeling when I was seeing 118 locked in instead of 119 that it was a sign it moved.118 and 119 are co-located satellites, they are only .2 degrees apart (118.8/119) so if your getting a signal on 118 you should also be getting a signal on 119.

It may be as Riverman said, your 8PSK module has died, and how are you switching between 5 satellites? It could be that your switch has gone funny.

[Dsslm]

Hello,

After testing the signal, I had a feeling it was the receiver, or as riverman indicated the 8psk module died. I did a quick check for a used one and found one locally for $15. hooked it up and the signal is back with signal. as for 5 birds, I am using a sw44 for the 2 north birds, and feed them into my diseqc switch. the other 3 go directly into the other 3 spots on the diseqc switch.

So with the 118/119 it is still showing 118, so am I correct in thinking that I need to adjust that dish slightly to get back to the 119 bird? I don't believe I can get any channels working on 119 since the signal isn't there.

[Terryl]

It might be a setting problem somewhere.

And again the two satellites (118.8 and 119) are well within the receive beamwidth of the LNB, if you have a signal on 118 then you should have signals on 119, are you using the special dual LNB for 118/119, or two separate ones?

[Dsslm]

It locks on 118, whereas before it would lock on 119. The 110/119/129 all run into diseqc 1, 2 & 3. It could be possible that the bar holding the 3 transponders may have shifted slightly during that wind. The dish itself is solid and doesn't show any signs of moving. Tonight I will try to make a small adjustment to the bar and see if it brings it in. I also notice not all the 110/129 tps are coming in with signal..so could this be a sign it is misaligned a bit?

[riverman]

118 uses a special lnb with a frequency of 10750. Is it possible that you are using the regular setting of 11250 for 119 in error, should be 10750 the same as 118 satellite