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View Full Version : DSTV "Searching for Signal at ---MHz" Puzzle



KobusL
09-01-2006, 10:47 AM
Hi, I have a “single view” DSD720i DSTV decoder and a single LNB. My reception was fine until about the beginning of December 2005. Since then I get a “Searching for Signal at ---MHz” error on some of the channels and only during the day. In the evenings my reception is still fine.

As you probably know, the DSTV channels can be divided into two reception blocks (one vertically polarized and one horizontally polarized, I think) and if you have a dual view decoder with a single LNB, you can only watch two channels from the same block at the same time. The channels that I usually watch (Mnet, Movie channels, Sport channels, Prime, Kyknet, etc.) are all in the same (vertically polarized) block and this is the block that I do not have any reception on during the day time.

My signal strength and signal quality for all channels were all at about 80%. Now, during the day from about 9:00 till about 16:00, the signal quality on the vertically polarized block drops to about 10% and I am not able to watch any of these channels. The signal strength and quality for the horizontally polarized block however stays at about 80% and those channels I can watch during this period. Then at about 16:00 in the afternoon the signal quality of both blocks is up at about 80% again and all channels can be watched again until the next day.

Has anybody experienced or heard of a similar problem and do you know what I can do to fix this? I have phoned Multichoice and they say that there is nothing wrong with the signal. There is also no problem with the decoder. I have tested it, a friend’s decoder, that is working fine at his home, is giving exactly the same problem at my house connected to my dish.

Thanks.
Kobus.

Gambit
09-01-2006, 11:25 AM
I would guess that either your lnb is screwd or your dish alignment has gone out. I think the dish alignment is probably to blame (maybe shifted from heavy winds) The weird time related outage might be caused by the dish heating up with the sun on it or something like that causing the dish mis-alignment to shift even more with the dish expansion.

RichardP
09-01-2006, 12:06 PM
I would agree with Gambit...... check Dish alignment. does the "Searching for signal' happen in Rain/windy conditions... or Randomly ? .. if Random - LNB, if in windy/rainy - check LNB connections and dish alignment

stoke
09-01-2006, 12:11 PM
There is a storm where the signal is being transmitted to the sattelite, or there is a storm between the sattelite and you.
or
Somebody stole your dish/LMB
or
There's a pidgeion sitting on the LMB.
or
The LMB is broken.
or
Somebody tripped over the cable and loosened the connector on on end so that it does not make proper contact.
or
AND THIS IS YOUR PROBLEM - I HAD THIS ONE - The sun's reflection on the dish is causing enough interference for the LNB to not work properly ... try putting a sheet over the dish to see if it's the sun causing the problem. The problem will sort itself out mid FEB when the sun moves ... SERIAAS.

KobusL
13-01-2006, 03:02 PM
Hi.

Just to give you some feedback. I got an Installer to come and have a look and the problem was the LNB. He replaced the LNB and everything seems to be fine now.

He charged me R499 for a new single Elsat LNB!! Is that right, should it be that expensive? Plus the R250 for the labour it was R749 in total. Very expensive, I think.

thisgeek
13-01-2006, 06:21 PM
Ouch. I once had a hole in my LNB - not sure what caused it... probably a hail stone or something. Anyway, eventually signal just died completely. Had some bunch come out and replace it, and a new one cost me R250, not including the R100 installation fee.

You should've shopped around - I did, and some people wanted to charge R400+ just for the freaking LNB.