Reception Problems

catthepatch

catthepatch

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Been losing a lot of channels the last little while, satellites too. Been changing receivers, sweeping the sky back and forth without any luck. So, today I went outside and was going to change the feed coax with the spare in the pipe. To my surprise, the feed coax was lose at the LNB connector. I tightened the coax, problem solved. This issue may have been caused by the major wind storms here last month. Have to stay on top of minor issues that can cause major disruptions in service.

Happy Testing!!!
 
Oh well, time for a new LNB. Problem still exists. Just noticed that my receiver is backaswards concerning polarity. I think I will have to turn my LNB 90º to solve this. Dark out now so this is a project for tomorrow.

Happy Testing!!!
 
If the connector at the LNB was loose you could have some corrosion problems or water in the coax, if the coax has a copper plated steel center conductor it could have rusted, this could cause all sorts of problems, check the end for rust, if it got up inside the LNB's connector it may be too late.

I use a dab of dielectric grease on all outside connections, if you go looking for some be sure to get the stuff made for coax connections as some of the stuff has silicone in it, this will cause the insulation in the coax to disintegrate over time and your back to a big mess.

Ham radio or two way radio sites may have the good stuff.
 
Everything looks good at the moment. Twisted the LNBF 90º clockwise and now the polarity readings are correct. Will have to fine tune the FD when the wind dies down but, another day for that. Re-scanning channels now as the change in polarity doesn't jive with what's in the stb. The F connector still looks pretty good but, will change it out if and when I have anymore issues.

Happy Testing!!!
 
This morning I changed the feed coax with the spare coax in the pipe. Guess the 30+ year-old ribbon cable has seen better days. Reception is spot on, channels change faster and both H & V come in w/o issues.

Happy Testing!!!
 
The old S9 is not dead like I thought, still life in the stb. Since the coax change I gave the old box another try and seems to work okay. After looking closely at the inards, the thermistor looks alright one of the power supply caps seems to have belched a little crap on the board yet all is working. May have to dig up another power supply in the future but, I think I have a few of them kicking around.

Happy Testing!!!
 
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