Dan C
Honorary Master
Not sure had mine replaced recently. ( I had the very same problem as you ) . The landlord paid so I can't say how much exactly, but it sounds about right. BTW even now in heavy rain my DSTV is rock solid.
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DSTV loses pic in the rain?
- Thread starter dunkyd
- Start date
Not sure had mine replaced recently. ( I had the very same problem as you ) . The landlord paid so I can't say how much exactly, but it sounds about right. BTW even now in heavy rain my DSTV is rock solid.
dunkyd
Executive Member
Thanks Dan
Geoff.D
Honorary Master
Before I respond, I want to establish if you are really interested in what the problems are and what you need to do. I can provide you with all the reasons signal loss during heavy rains happens and even what your 1131 decoder is likely to do when you experience a genuine "rain fade".
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dunkyd
Executive Member
Spit it out or swallow it in. The only games of interest here start on channel 201 upwards.
Thx.
BouncyNinja
Executive Member
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Get a 90cm dish, and get it aligned by a Dstv accredited installer, I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I have he a signal loss since having it done correctly
AstroTurf
Lucky Shot
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I got Ovhd in January but my dish has not been used in around 6 years.
Bought a satellite finder from HD cabling as well as a bit of cable and 2 connectors for about R220 and an lnb from a Muslim guys shop in the neighbourhood for R80.
It took me all of 20 minutes to climb up there, tape the perished cabling and replace the lnb then "find" the satellite again.
Bonus is I now have a satellite finder and it cost me less than the installer would have charged.
I have 100% signal all the time. Using top TV satellite.
Bought a satellite finder from HD cabling as well as a bit of cable and 2 connectors for about R220 and an lnb from a Muslim guys shop in the neighbourhood for R80.
It took me all of 20 minutes to climb up there, tape the perished cabling and replace the lnb then "find" the satellite again.
Bonus is I now have a satellite finder and it cost me less than the installer would have charged.
I have 100% signal all the time. Using top TV satellite.
Dan C
Honorary Master
Does it take a while to restore after the rain has stopped ? This was my case, the LNB was cracked (guess from years in the sun). Eventually the signal never restored and I got it replaced.
dunkyd
Executive Member
As mentioned earlier, the strange thing is that the pic comes back 15 minutes after I lose it and rescan EVER THOUGH IT'S STILL RAINING?
Let's see what happens. Getting it replaced Saturday. Will report back to possibly help others........
Let's see what happens. Getting it replaced Saturday. Will report back to possibly help others........
This is what I have been told. Standard dish size is part of the problem.
I dare you to tell him that! :twisted:
Geoff.D
Honorary Master
Hi all, as soon as it begins to rain reasonably hard my pic becomes squiggly and soon freezes.
Fifteen minutes later , after switching off at the wall for 5 minutes, it searches and soon restarts. Tricky thing is that it stays on even though the rain is still belting down?
I had a techie here last week and he replaced cracked and vrot cable. Sadly last night it misbehaved the same way again as soon as the rain came. He did say I have a hole in my LNB which he covered with tape.Said I need a new one at ± R400 plus labour.
Recap. Rain/lose pic/restart/ plays fine despite rain???
Any ideas ?
ps. the cable joins behind my TV were done by me......oops. Surely the rain can't affect those ?
I'm using Aerial & Satellite in Noordheuwel. Seem clued up. Francois did the new cable.
There is a difference between water ingress into "vrot cables", UV damaged LNBs and a rain fade.
In your case, the problem is water ingress into the electronics inside the LNB and signal loss due to water in the cable. Both these need to be fixed.
A 1131 does not require more than a simple Universal Single LNB. They are cheap, BUT if you ever want to upgrade to a PVR type decoder or an Explora, you will have to replace the single LNB with another one.
A decoder goes through a setup cycle every time it is restarted/rebooted. This calibration phase establishes a working signal level with a signal fade margin or range. Provided the signal stays within the upper and lower limit, the decoder will not lose "lock". So what happens is you lose signal when it starts raining, not because of a rain fade but because the heat inside the LNB draws in water, increasing the signal loss, which then results in the signal level dropping below the lower limit and the decoder loses "lock" and you get no picture. Rebooting the decoder causes the decoder to go though the recalibration process and signal is established at a new nominal working point. Hence why it works even though it keeps raining.
This is NOT what happens when the rain gets heavy enough to cause a rain fade when the water in the atmosphere is high enough to cause signal loss from the satellite.
In the last few days we have had heavy rains not really sufficient to cause a rain fade so very few of us lost signal as a result of a rain fade.
But it does happen. The only way to reduce the effect of a rain fade is to install a larger diameter antenna thus increasing the gain of the antenna. When DSTV started on the original PAS 4 satellite, we all had to install 1.2m diameter antennas. Then DSTV cut over on to PAS 7/10 (now IS 7/10), and the industry in SA started installing those little toy 60 cm antennas, even though MC always advised a minimum diameter of 90 cm.
Now with the advent of HDTV, it is ESSENTIAL to adhere to the recommended >80cm antenna diameter to ensure high enough signal levels able to cope with the higher SNR required for error free reception of a DVB-S2 signal. (DSTV has I think moved ALL its HD channels over to DVB-S2 by now).
The other bad issue about the smaller antenna is that installers became blasé about how well they installed them, hardly ever ensuring optimal pointing of the antenna, and very few bothered too much about setting the skew angle on the LNBs properly. Now all this was okay in good weather, but as soon as it starts raining, or even heavy cloud cover exists between the antenna and the satellite, signals loss occurs and you get comments like made regarding DSTV being nothing more than a rain detector. A small antenna WILL lose signal sooner than a larger one because the gain is lower, AND because unless the installer takes the trouble to point it properly, the antenna will lose signal sooner than it should.
Another very important factor that comes into play is that DSTV was in the main only using one polarisation for all its channels. Now they use both VERtical and HORizontal polarisations on the SAME frequencies, making absolutely essential that the skew angle adjustment is correct.
So unless you are prepared to DIY, get the installer in to replace the LNB for you (it is definitely a source of trouble), and at the same time consider replacing the antenna with a larger >80 cm antenna , or repoint the existing antenna, and ensure the skew angle adjustment is correct.
What LNB?
Well IF your 1131 packs up, you will have to replace the decoder with at least a 4136 single view HD decoder, which works best with a larger antenna. Unfortunately, virtually ALL the decoders after the 1110 series of decoders DO NOT have the dynamic range that the older decoders had, so they require higher signal levels to work. The HD decoder also is a DVB-S2 decoder, which only works properly if the SNR is better, hence the higher gain and more accurate adjustment of the skew angle.
The minimum then is a Universal Single LNB.
IF you upgrade to an Explora, the requirement is for a Smart LNB (SLNB).
A Dual LNB can be used IF you can get a suitable Explora switch, which MC no longer supplies, athough Space TV has a "generic" version available that will work. The problem with this solution is when the new satellite goes into operation in early 2017, all those with dual LNBs will have to change to either a Quad LNB or a Quattro LNB or a SLNB anyway.
So you are at a cross road. You can replace the existing LNB with an el cheapo, have the 1131 pack up ( it is no longer supported by MC), and be forced to again replace the LNB, and in any case early in 2017 you will have to do something more anyway.
Not quite correct but accurate enough. The larger antenna has a higher gain and better protection against interference, thus able to improve performance in bad weather conditions.
What you did not get is water collection on the front face of the LNB, which meant no signal loss as a result. If you want to prove what the effect of water is on an LNB's ability to receive a signal, saturate a cloth and throw it over a LNB in good weather and see what happens to signal reception.
The above solution does nothing for you when a genuine rain fade occurs. The other "benefit" is the plastic provides for some added UV protection to the LNB.
Yes, if the uplink station in Randburg is affected by a heavy rains storm, all of us in the country lose signal and some channels. What you also need to remember that a heavy rain storm in London in the UK and in Spain WILL cause loss of channels directly uplinked from those two points. Not all DSTV channels are uplinked from Randburg.
Absolutely correct! And this is exactly what happens with the smaller 60 cm diameter antennas if the installer did not point the antenna properly. It works until the first sign of cloud or rain and gone is the signal.
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Geoff.D
Honorary Master
Yes the long term solution is an SLNB (at the moment anyway). Unfortunately, MC has made 2 such claims in two years, first recommending a Quad or Quattro LNB with an Explora switch, then dumping the Explora switch idea and replacing it with a SLNB.
Who knows what they will come up with before the launch of the new satellite in early 2017.
A side twist. IF you install a SLNB, you have to use the one of the universal legacy ports for a single view decoder (all the older ones, and the new HD single view decoder), because none of the decoders are able to provide sufficient power to use the unicable ports, EXCEPT an Explora. The SLNB unicable circuitry sucks more than 300 mA! Much more than what the single view decoders are able to provide.
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Geoff.D
Honorary Master
The TOPTV satellite is much better located for signal reception over SA, with a much improved look angle above the horizon. Hence less affected by rain fades and other atmospheric effects.
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Geoff.D
Honorary Master
Yes the accredited installers have found out that if they do not do the job properly they will get blacklisted. BUT, on the other hand they are by no means the only installers that know how to do the job properly. Even a dedicated DIY'r with a simple satfinder can get the same results.
Geoff.D
Honorary Master
If that is your impression then all it means is that your antenna was badly installed and is probably a toy 60 cm antenna.
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genetic
Honorary Master
Every television satellite service anywhere in the world is affected by weather.
It's the nature of the technology - not the service provider.
dunkyd
Executive Member
WOW !
Thanks very much.
Hope I get to understand all this by tomorrow?
We are on a great special package so no need for any fancy decoders.
Even have a cd player and tape player wired into my system that works perfectly.
Perhaps I should start tours for pocket money?
TV museum, R10.00 pay at the door.
Thanks very much.
Hope I get to understand all this by tomorrow?
We are on a great special package so no need for any fancy decoders.
Even have a cd player and tape player wired into my system that works perfectly.
Perhaps I should start tours for pocket money?
TV museum, R10.00 pay at the door.
Geoff.D
Honorary Master
WOW !
Thanks very much.
Hope I get to understand all this by tomorrow?
We are on a great special package so no need for any fancy decoders.
Even have a cd player and tape player wired into my system that works perfectly.
Perhaps I should start tours for pocket money?
TV museum, R10.00 pay at the door.
Enjoy your combination while it lasts.
The piracy, DRM, and copy protection brigade are making it increasingly difficult to effectively make use of DVRs and VHS tape machines connected to the decoders!
Did anyone else read this in the Liam Neeson "Taken" voice.
"I don't know who you are. ... But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you."
And then comes back with"
Well, the rest of the post would just make a damn fine Sticky. Kudos.