Huston, We have a problem

[CaptainCretin]

Hi. A couple of points worth considering.
a) Is receiver set up properly ie set to UNIVERSAL LNB?
b) Do you have a faulty patch/software installed? I say this because i remember this type of problem happening on a TM5400 due to faulty patch which was blocking signals from being picked up.
c) Try all 4 LNB connections you may be lucky one may work
d) Has water got into LNB or is there a spiders web inside?. It may sound funny but beleive me this use to be a common problem with old type LNB's.
e) have you tried to shake the LNB to see if anything has broken inside??.

Regards

1/ Yes, I checked this, in fact in the end I tried EVERY LNB setting.
2/ Updated to latest firmware as it was only offering me Sky in the sat options (WTF??); had the same problem before updating.
3/Got a spare Universal LNB from a freesat box arriving soon, so will try that, there is nothing inside the LNB cover, it looks nice and clean (and dry), but it has been up on the wall for about 4-5 years, and unused for the last 2-3 years - could it have been blown by someone cutting the cable when removing the Sky system?? (Cable was cut off flush with the inside wall).
I havent shaken the LNB, but with a brand new spare to borrow, I will try that first.

Will a standard LNB work on an oval Sky dish?? Or will I have to try the Freesat dish as well???

I am hoping it will arrive soon, so I can try it out today while the weather is nice.

[Nutsandbolts]

Hi. As far as i am aware an oval dish will work. Regarding the cable being cut then yes it will not work as no power will be received from receiver. If possible try and connect new long cable from receiver to LNB and see if it works. If it works then you know it was the cable. If not working then try a different LNB.

Regards

[ramjet]

1/ Yes, I checked this, in fact in the end I tried EVERY LNB setting.
2/ Updated to latest firmware as it was only offering me Sky in the sat options (WTF??); had the same problem before updating.
3/Got a spare Universal LNB from a freesat box arriving soon, so will try that, there is nothing inside the LNB cover, it looks nice and clean (and dry), but it has been up on the wall for about 4-5 years, and unused for the last 2-3 years - could it have been blown by someone cutting the cable when removing the Sky system?? (Cable was cut off flush with the inside wall).
I havent shaken the LNB, but with a brand new spare to borrow, I will try that first.

Will a standard LNB work on an oval Sky dish?? Or will I have to try the Freesat dish as well???

I am hoping it will arrive soon, so I can try it out today while the weather is nice.

normally no, unless you have the legacy adapter

most sly lnb,s are bespoke and specifically designed to fit onto the arms of their own dishes, some even have the spigot integral into the holder so come as a single unit

the modern ones are sold with or without the legacy bracket and as such are more universal fitting in their design. so have a more standardised collar at close to 40mm and round in shape with no locking plugs or sockets that allow skew adjustment

so unless the bracket and lnb currently fitted mirror a standard lnb and bracket, you need the full monty to be sure of it fitting, ie:- lnb and bracket

[CaptainCretin]

A Raven made oval dish.
The LNB is held in place with a "U" clamp that fits the shape of the LNB when fitted into the "U" shaped depression in the clip on section at the end of the arm.
The new cable is good, I was worried that there may have been damage done to the LNB if it were shorted out by the old cable being cut while still receiving 18v.

[CaptainCretin]

New LNB, bodged into place - exactly the same. The LNB I borrowed also produced a 20M length of cable, so I will try that JUST in case.

Would a duff tuner in my F3 give these results?? I am running out of ideas.


EDIT New cable, no change, completely stumped. Taking the cable off entirely gives me 30% strength and 10% quality again.

[Nutsandbolts]

Hi. So we have a new LNB and assume its working so we assume that the 20m cable is also working. I am not familiar with F3 receivers but you really need to move the dish left and right and up and down to look for signals. To be honest if you live around London i could have a look for you free of charge. On your receiver do you get any error displays like LNB errors or do you get normal channel numbers display. A duff tuner in any receiver will give problems . Can you not try your receiver at a friends house just to eliminate it.
Regards.

[CaptainCretin]

I have tried moving the dish around in both planes - around the position of the satellite as shown by UKsatellitehelp for EuroSat9 and a couple of others that are in the same part of the sky.
Sadly, I dont have anyone willing to let me plug my box into their system. We are a sad bunch - other than my parents Sky system, no-one I know HAS a sat system.

Dont ask, she wont let me touch it, they might miss some golf!!!

The receiver is not showing any signs of being duff, everything works as it should - except no signals being picked up.

I have very little hair left now

[Nutsandbolts]

Hi. Please dont lose your hair as there are too many bald men around as it is. I am convinced that your problem is not LNB or receiver but your inability fo focus on a satellite. What sat have you tried to find and what channel/frequency you had receiver on.? Also is there a nice sat shop who may check out the receiver for you?
Regards

[CaptainCretin]

I have been looking for 9&13E as they have some Chinese channels for my wife. However, I have found a thread listing dish sizes for various sats, and it says you need 80cm for 9E, so I have ordered a suitable dish and a good quality LNB. The dish is a cheap Satgear, but if it works, I will upgrade to a Alu based dish next time around, perhaps fit a 4degree mono or a motor.

(Anyone know where the degree symbol is hidden on the keyboard??)

As for bald, I am going - helped along by trying "Just for Men" and burning a large swath of it out!!!!!

[CaptainCretin]

New 80cm dish, new Inverto Black Ultra LNB, checked the box is working with someones Sky set-up(picked up over 400 channels), updated it to show the correct European satellites (it was showing Asian and Middle East only).
Carefully lined up on 9 East using a compass well away from the frame and the inclinometer built in to the dish frame (carefully levelled the mount in both planes first), then looked to make sure the trees 5 doors down were not high enough to block the signal path.

NOTHING!!!!!

The only thing I am not 100% sure of is the LNB position and skew, is the skew taken while looking into the dish or away from the dish?? and how important is the focal point, I know the exact correct position will give a better signal, but how far does it drop off if you are 1-2cm off??


Going to try moving the dish slightly left and right, just in case my alignment is out, but how many degrees off do you have to be to get no signal at all??

[ramjet]

a compass points to magnetic north, so will be several degrees out from the south position when pointing at 9e or any other satellite. the satellites all relate to true south taken from the greenwich meridian, so using a compass is a rough indicator only.

there is no skew when pointing true south at your location, so if you were at 4 west there would be no skew when pointing at that satellite position

the lnb is usually about midway on its neck when in its clamp, and if it has a bottom feed that points straight down when at true south

when looking from the front of the dish your lnb needs turning slightly clockwise from the straight down position so the cable feed will be about half past six instead of the 6 o`clock position

you will get no signal when moving more than a few mm away from the actual position, as a few mm on the ground translates to many kilometres when viewed from space

[CaptainCretin]

Thanks ramjet, I am taking my azimuths from somewhere that calculates the magnetic bearing based on your Google Earth location and the satellite you are aiming for. It also shows that I need to skew -8.4 degrees, and gives elevation as 29 degrees, all of which I have followed - however, it seems I skewed the wrong way, so I will fix that before trying to move the dish about.

[CaptainCretin]

Well I havent managed to change the skew as it started persisting it down, however a slight twitch downwards locked on to 9 East and I started to receive channels (90% strength / 75% quality).

I am slightly confused, it keeps showing up Sky channels, then saying there is only 5% snr, despite the fact I am pointing nowhere near 28.8 East!!!
If anything I would have expected to get some channels showing from 10 East.
It is still peeing it down and we are going to visit friends, so I will play with the focal point and skew another day.

Thank you everyone who commented, you kept me going when I was ready to throw it all in a skip!!

[ramjet]

transponders are duplicated on each satellite , and separated by the 3 degrees or more distance between them

so if you were on 9e and selected the sly channels , the transponders would show something being received but no quality as you are on the wrong satellite

same would apply if you pointed a dish at 28e and selected 9e channels

best bet is do not make assumptions, and use unique channels to locate and lock onto each satellite

like say bbc1 or itv2 on 28e

[Nutsandbolts]

Hi Captain. To avoid getting the wrong satellite best thing to do is the following:
a) Put receiver to satellite 9 east and select a FTA channel like ANN etc.
b) Start with dish in middle of mount and move it slowly a bit right and up and down until you get a picture. When you get a picture for ANN or whatever tighten the dish up and check other channels.
c) When 9 east is ok then HOTBIRD is next door a bit to the left.
Hope this makes sense.
Regards.