No/weak signal on Technomate TD3500

[kundera75]

Hi, I wonder if anybody can help me.
My technomate TD3500 worked fine until a few weeks ago, when the image was pixelated on certain channels.

Now there is a "no/weak signal message" on all channels. The box shows the red light on, but no green light at all. The two co-ordinates (I believe they are called Q and D), one shows 55% and the other one shows 5%. Does this make sense?

Please, if anyone knows what went wrong and what I need to do, I would be grateful. Thanks in advance!

[mdt]

hi m8, well firstly can you borrow another receiver to rule out your stb being faulty? also are you certain that nobody(kids ect)has changed the lnb settings and so on without your knowlage. once you have ruled out your receiver it is either the downlead cable/f-connections, lnb fault or the dish is out of alignment. has there been any very strong winds in your area recently?. its just a case of ruling out each possible cause until you find the problem starting with the receiver. regards mdt

[kundera75]

There is definitely a link between weather and quality of reception, whenever it snowed I could not watch anything, my favourite channel was pixelated and in slow motion. I plugged and unplgged all cables at the back of the TV, receiver and everything that was unpluggable.

It is quite possible that my 2 year old pushed a few buttons, if that's the case, I am in big trouble, because I have no clue how to re-set it.

No, I haven't got access to another box, unfortunately.

It looks to me like the dish is stuck in one position and won't move at all. I am tempted to go up the ladder and force it move. I do not recall any strong winds...

[dick b]

yeah it definitely sounds like a dish problem and may need re-aligning. check out "how to install a motorised dish" in the general sat sticky section.if your dish is not moving it could be anything from dodgy f-plug connections to a faulty motor. also check in the "motorised setting"menu that USALS is switched on.and your lat and long havent been altered.

[kundera75]

Before I sound too much like an idiot, yes, I am a woman, that is why I probably cannot understand most of the stuff you talk about, guys

I went to the Motorised settings as advised, and USALS shows OFF indeed. But it does ot give me the chance to turn it ON! Also, I am not sure what the co-ordinates should say, underneath , must be the 3rd line of the motorised settings, it says STOP!

[dick b]

Before I sound too much like an idiot, yes, I am a woman, that is why I probably cannot understand most of the stuff you talk about, guys

I went to the Motorised settings as advised, and USALS shows OFF indeed. But it does ot give me the chance to turn it ON! Also, I am not sure what the co-ordinates should say, underneath , must be the 3rd line of the motorised settings, it says STOP!

dont worry we all had probs starting out.
before we go any further can you confirm that it is a motorised system.
if so it may be that whoever set your system up did not use usals although its the easiest way to set up a motor.and for usals to work it must be setup that way from the start.if you are on what they call 1.2 your co-ordinates do not need to be entered.
on the 3rd line down in "motorised settings"(diseqc motor) you should be able to change between off/1.2/usals by using the L/R arrow buttons.it should only be off if you do not have a motor.the co-ordinate setting window will only appear if it set to usals on line 3.if you let us know what satellites you are used to getting and the sat you were on when it failed it may help a bit more I"m also sending a quick motorised setup guide that someone may be able to help you with, it may or may not be any use to you.

on re-reading your post to clarify what you should see in the "motorised settings"menu
(1)if no motor top line>satellite name 2nd line>transponder 3rd line>off
(2)if on 1.2 protocol top line>sat 2nd>TP 3rd>1.2 4th>stop 5th>stop(using L/R arrows will move motor east/west)6th>motor control
(3)if on USALS top line>sat 2nd>TP 3rd>usals 4th>stop 5th>motor control 6th>the sat position in degrees 7th> your local co-ordinates(press ok to alter).
BUT I still think its a dish/motor prob.