Any suggestions??

easily confused

easily confused

Legit Super Moderator
Guys, about a week ago I lost all satellite strength on my dish using a GSKY V7. Up too that point it had been working flawlessly. Zero strength so I swapped out the LNB for another one I have and still no strength. I then swapped out the recover for my X2 and still no change. I then tried both LNB's on my Optibox Anaconda and still nothing so I installed a new R6 cable from the LNB directly to the receiver and still nothing on all three receivers. Any suggestions?
 
Well a sudden drop in the "S" from the LNB would point out to a bad LNB, but you tried 2 others with the same effect, so what else was inline when you hooked directly to the LNB with the new coax?

Was there a ground block? or nothing?

And your talking about the "S" reading and not the "Q" reading right?

If it's the "Q" then the dish may have been knocked out of alignment somehow.
 
Yes it's the "S" signal. Nothing between the LNB and the receiver. The night before I noticed this we had some pretty strong T-storms and wind but the dish has not moved. I have marks on the dish and pole that I can look at to see is anything has moved.
 
Run a short cable that is known to be good, and preferably 1 meter or less between the receiver and a lnb. Do you have S signal when doing this?
 
No "S" signal means several things could have gone wrong.

1. Bad LNB.....But you tested this with several others....Do you know for a fact that the others are good??
2. Bad connection, did you look at the connectors? Are there any short jumpers down the dish to any switch? There could be a bad one shorting out the whole thing.
3. Bad coax to the house, but you tested this with a second run of coax, are there any ground blocks at the entrance to the house? Or did you go directly to the receiver with the test coax?

I wold re-test with a known good or fresh out of the box LNB and a known good run of coax right from the test LNB directly to the back of a known good reciver, do not hook anything else to the LNB but the known good coax, by passing all switches, ground blocks and anything else that may have been attached to the old system..

You said there was a lightning storm before this happened....Did you notice any lightning strikes near by?
 
I guess I'll have to get a fresh LNB. The coax cable I'm using was brand new out of the box Saturday. All connections seem to be nice and clean and tight. Going to try to find a very short coax cable and try EB's suggestion and see if I get any S signal. Thanks guys.
 
With stb turned on use multi-meter check voltage at disconnected coax lnb end. If no 13/18 voltage it is open or shorted cable or connector or stb has fault if voltage ok lnb may be problem. Do same at connector on back of stb. May help locate fault. I have had brand new coax with short due to poor manufacture shield touch center conductor at cable end.
 
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So far, no luck but haven't had any spare time to put in. Found "part-time work" that seems to occupying a lot of time. May have some time this weekend but, then again, I've got firewood to cut and split for winter.
 
Well, I've made some progress, I think. Disconnected to HDMI cable from my V7 and connected to receiver to the tv using a three wire rca composite cable. Now have 60% signal strength. Tried different HDMI cables that are working fine and no luck so I'm assuming that somehow the HDMI port on my V7 is FUBAR. Anyone know if the composite cables will work from the LNB to the receiver because I'm still getting 0 Q signal. Thanks
 
Just tried connecting the X2 and have flashing 78% S signal but not lock with a new cable so Im suspecting a combination of my LNB and the HDMI port on the V7. Anyone see anything else?
 
HDMI is for audio and video only. It should not have anything to do with the S or Q! signal, unless there has been some kind of Exotic electrical failure.

Use a short cable that you know is good.
Use a lnb that you know is good.
Connect these two parts to a receiver and see if the S signal returns.
 
I'm suspecting electrical because this all started after a severe T-storm where the storm sat directly overhead for almost an hour with the thunder hitting at the same time as the lightening. Can't get any S signal whatsoever from the LNB that had been on the dish at the time of the storm. The intermittent signal is coming from another LNB
 
I have had lnbs die in electrical storms. But the other lnb you are using to test with may also be bad. It would be best to find a third lnb to test with that you know is good, and proven to be good.
 
If you had a sever electrical storm in the area it could be an EMP burst that wiped out the system, the only fix for this is all new stuff, (except for the dish) a new out of the box LNB and FTA receiver along with new coax and any type of switch that was attached wold be needed.

See lightning does not have to directly hit the equipment, if large enough a close by hit can wipe out most sensitive electronics with a large magnetic pulse,(EMP) it has also been shown that a lightning hit in certain areas can cause secondary sparks off other metal ground objects in the area of the main hit, these secondary's can be several feet to several hundred yards from the main hit, also a hit on the AC electrical service in the area can travel for miles.

Also a system that was only grounded with a standard ground block is not totally protected from lightning, a gas discharge device should also be used in areas prone to lightning, this device will protect the center conductor and help keep the lightning from getting inside the building, I also use a UPS system on the AC power to the inside equipment as a standard cheap surge protector may not stand up to a big pulse from lightning.
 
I have had problems with the signal and voltage output on my X2 so I would hesitate to diagnose anything with that receiver. Just so it doesn't possibly throw you for a loop. The way I would check voltage would probably be with an analog signal meter inline and possibly move the dish around to make sure you are hitting the arc.

Also try a different outlet and or ac adapter if you are using the same one. Maybe not enough voltage is getting to the receivers. The outlet may still provide voltage but not enough. It wouldn't hurt to check it with a volt meter.
 
Well, a million thanks to my good bud, Costa who supplied me with a new LNB. Installed and I'm back in business. Can't play HD because it appears that there may have been a bit of damage to the box but at least we've got the dish back working. HDMI port seems fried and even with an RCA to HDMI connector, HD doesn't want to play. Thanks for the input, guys, and thanks for the LNB Costa.
 
Glad you got service again EC. As Terryl mentioned earlier, if you can, invest in a UPS or multiples with good ratings and reviews for your electrical and electronics. Tripplite makes a good fairly inexpensive UPS. Apc likewise, but doesn't last as long unless you buy their commercial units.

The first things that will die are the batteries which usually cost about $20 each depending on the unit. You won't be sorry buying one or two, especially if you live in a boomer prone area like I do.
 
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