My satellite tv is out :(

[sachmo71]

Last night my wife and I watched a DVD. After it ended, I noticed that while Tivo was recording a show, there was a message on the screen saying Unable to Find Satellite 2 In. The other tuner was working fine. I checked the settings on the box, and the signal strength was 96% for sat 1, 0% for sat 2.

This morning, I had no signal on either satellite. 0% on both. I checked the connections to the box, and made sure the satellite connections were ok.

My wife called DirectTV support, and they said that either the satellite was out of alignment or it was "unplugged". I decided to go ahead and get an installer to come out for $70. All of the connections looked ok, and I figured that if the dish was out of alignment, both tuners would have stopped working at the same time. Is this a valid theory?

Also, does anyone know of anything else I can check on my own?

[rkmsuf]

Perhaps the alignment of uranus is interfering with the signal.


I got nothin.

[Samdari]

Last night my wife and I watched a DVD. After it ended, I noticed that while Tivo was recording a show, there was a message on the screen saying Unable to Find Satellite 2 In. The other tuner was working fine. I checked the settings on the box, and the signal strength was 96% for sat 1, 0% for sat 2.

This morning, I had no signal on either satellite. 0% on both. I checked the connections to the box, and made sure the satellite connections were ok.

My wife called DirectTV support, and they said that either the satellite was out of alignment or it was "unplugged". I decided to go ahead and get an installer to come out for $70. All of the connections looked ok, and I figured that if the dish was out of alignment, both tuners would have stopped working at the same time. Is this a valid theory?

Also, does anyone know of anything else I can check on my own?

The installer did not check the alignment?

It is definitely possible for the dish to be aligned so as to pick up one satellite but not the others.

[sachmo71]

The installer did not check the alignment?

It is definitely possible for the dish to be aligned so as to pick up one satellite but not the others.


No, the alignment hasn't ever been a problem. The installer isn't coming out until tomorrow. I was hoping to see if there was something I could try in the meantime, maybe save myself $70.

So it's possible for the alignment to be such that one of the receivers in the same dish to get reception but not the other?

[Samdari]

So it's possible for the alignment to be such that one of the receivers in the same dish to get reception but not the other?

Yes. The installer dude should be able to fix it.

You could do it yourself, but he'll have a meter, whereas you have to trial-and-error reposition it, checking the signal strength on the reciever, which is a major PITA. You either have to run back and forth between the dish and the tv, or have a relay person (generally an annoyed wife) yell to you out some window what the signal strength is showing.

[FBPro]

Had this happen one time and it turned out that the wind had blown my dish over.

[jbmagic]

Check the connection on the dish itself.

[sachmo71]

Check the connection on the dish itself.


Well, I can see where the wires go into the tube(?), but is there a way to get in the tube to look?

And the dish hasn't been blown over; I did check that. :)

[saldana]

Well, I can see where the wires go into the tube(?), but is there a way to get in the tube to look?

And the dish hasn't been blown over; I did check that. :)

you would have to take the LNB off..thats where the cables connect to the dish, and make sure they are on tightly.

[Samdari]

Well, I can see where the wires go into the tube(?), but is there a way to get in the tube to look?

And the dish hasn't been blown over; I did check that. :)

At the end of the tube, there is a pice that holds the actual recievers. That should unscrew from the tube. Unscrew, pull it off and there you should see the wires attached to the LNB.

It is far more likely (IMO) that the dish was blown slightly out of alignment than a wire was disconnected, but that is a possibility.

[DanGarion]

Had this happened and you have Time Warner Cable they'd come out for free and fix it with a service call... :D

[CraigSca]

Yeah, but it would have taken them two days to show up and once they did, they'd just fall asleep on your couch.

[rkmsuf]

Well, I can see where the wires go into the tube(?), but is there a way to get in the tube to look?

And the dish hasn't been blown over; I did check that. :)

It's all tubes nowdays.

[Critch]

If it happened with Comcast they'd arrange a time then not turn up, then do the same again, then tell you they were short staffed and wouldn't be able to come out for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks later deny they'd ever heard from you and call you a liar, then they'd claim it had been fixed and close all the logs despite no change, then they leave your cable not working for 3 months while trying to carry on charging you for it until you eventually give in and cancel.

That's what they did for me anyway.

[sachmo71]

At the end of the tube, there is a pice that holds the actual recievers. That should unscrew from the tube. Unscrew, pull it off and there you should see the wires attached to the LNB.

It is far more likely (IMO) that the dish was blown slightly out of alignment than a wire was disconnected, but that is a possibility.


I'll give that a shot tonight. thanks for everyone's help! (even those recommending I go back to cable!)

[Butter]

It's all tubes nowdays.

I bet someone tried to e-mail him the internet.

[terpkristin]

If it happened with Comcast they'd arrange a time then not turn up, then do the same again, then tell you they were short staffed and wouldn't be able to come out for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks later deny they'd ever heard from you and call you a liar, then they'd claim it had been fixed and close all the logs despite no change, then they leave your cable not working for 3 months while trying to carry on charging you for it until you eventually give in and cancel.

That's what they did for me anyway.

Of course, if it were Comcast you wouldn't have this particular problem.
DirecTV/Satellite TV is a disaster because of how easy it is to upset the signal. With all the rain I've had in my area lately, we keep losing signal which sucks because there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I'd GLADLY go back to regular cable if I could, but that isn't an option where I live. My complex has some agreement going on that Adelphia/Comcast can't come in. It's a real pisser.

I know I should be more supportive of satellite tv considering that it's actually what some of the satellites I'm working on support, but it really sucks IMO (but the satellites are cool).

/tk

[TroyF]

I had the same thing happen to my Direct TV Tivo. . . it turned out it wasn't the sattelite connection, thhe TIVO box had went bad and the it wasn't getting any data from the cables.

[Samdari]

Of course, if it were Comcast you wouldn't have this particular problem.
DirecTV/Satellite TV is a disaster because of how easy it is to upset the signal. With all the rain I've had in my area lately, we keep losing signal which sucks because there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I'd GLADLY go back to regular cable if I could, but that isn't an option where I live. My complex has some agreement going on that Adelphia/Comcast can't come in. It's a real pisser.

I know I should be more supportive of satellite tv considering that it's actually what some of the satellites I'm working on support, but it really sucks IMO (but the satellites are cool).

/tk

I have had DirecTV for almost 10 years now. I have come to hate them, but constant loss of signal is not one of the reasons. Ignoring the past week, I lost signal on average 3 or 4 nights a year during that span, about how often my cable had been out the years before that.

The last 10 days, it has been a disaster.

[TroyF]

Of course, if it were Comcast you wouldn't have this particular problem.
DirecTV/Satellite TV is a disaster because of how easy it is to upset the signal. With all the rain I've had in my area lately, we keep losing signal which sucks because there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I'd GLADLY go back to regular cable if I could, but that isn't an option where I live. My complex has some agreement going on that Adelphia/Comcast can't come in. It's a real pisser.

I know I should be more supportive of satellite tv considering that it's actually what some of the satellites I'm working on support, but it really sucks IMO (but the satellites are cool).

/tk


I wish this were true for me. I switched to Comcast a month or so ago, knowing DTV wouldn't get reception where my new place is.

As of now, three HD DVR boxes have broke. I've had to call the cable company three other times because specific channels were coming in horribly (and was told it was a bandwidth issue they were fixing). Overall, my return to cable has been a complete and total disaster and it's caused me to try and find a way a sattelite will work. (maybe a long pole. . . I dunno)

In the 8 years I had sattelite, I had one box go bad (the one in the above post) and lost the signal due to rain or snow three times. If I can find a reasonable way to get back to a dish, I will.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Did you try powering the receiver(s) down and going through the whole "check switch" routine? I've got Dish instead of Direct so the terminology might be different but I had something very similar to this just last week.

One receiver (mine) indicated it was only picking up signal from one satellite instead of two, all the others in the house were operating normally. I powered down the receiver to reset it, went through the check switch routine and voila ... everything back to normal.

[sachmo71]

Did you try powering the receiver(s) down and going through the whole "check switch" routine? I've got Dish instead of Direct so the terminology might be different but I had something very similar to this just last week.

One receiver (mine) indicated it was only picking up signal from one satellite instead of two, all the others in the house were operating normally. I powered down the receiver to reset it, went through the check switch routine and voila ... everything back to normal.


surprisingly enough, I haven't done that yet. I'm going to try that first. Thanks, jon.

[saldana]

I have had DirecTV for almost 10 years now. I have come to hate them, but constant loss of signal is not one of the reasons. Ignoring the past week, I lost signal on average 3 or 4 nights a year during that span, about how often my cable had been out the years before that.

The last 10 days, it has been a disaster.

what he said

[sachmo71]

Resetting did not help. I checked the transponder, and I could hear the tone, which leads me to believe that the satellite itself may be in good shape. I hope.

Anxiously awaiting tomorrow.

[Mac Howard]

On a related subject - have any of you guys had hard disk troubles with your tivos/pdrs etc?

[saldana]

On a related subject - have any of you guys had hard disk troubles with your tivos/pdrs etc?
yeah, i had my actual DVR with Tivo fail, but since i pay for the DirecTV service thingy on my bill they sent me a replacement for free, which was one of their own new DirecTV DVR's, which lasted 2 weeks before it died, and was again replaced by them...that one is still running strong 7 months later....although the whole exchange thing was kind of annoying, i originally sent in a 40hr unit, and got back an 80hr unit.

[Critch]

I appear to have lost all signal from Satellite B. I'd been getting pretty poor signal from it, averaging about 30%, but it's dropped to 0% over night. Doesn't really matter to me, Satellite B is a host of foreign language channels I didnt have access to anyway, only affect is Fox Sports en Espanol has gone.

Was there anything on the news about a Satellite falling out of the sky last night? :)

[Glengoyne]

Had this happen, and it turned out to be my receiver. They shipped me a new one, and the problem was solved.

Also I've had really almost no trouble with my Direct TV setup in the eight years I've had it. Early on there was some support problems, but for the last few years, I can call and almost immediately get my problem/request addressed and resolved in short order.

[sachmo71]

The only trouble i've had, besides this issue, were times when the sat would go out in bad weather. and every so often the Tivo will freeze, but I'm much happier with dish. Digital cable seems like such a waste now, for the price.


EDIT: They called at 9:45 saying they were ahead of schedule and could come by then. I was at work, and now i have to wait until "3, 4, or 5."

Who runs ahead of schedule these days? :D

[PraetorianX]

Of course, if it were Comcast you wouldn't have this particular problem.
DirecTV/Satellite TV is a disaster because of how easy it is to upset the signal. With all the rain I've had in my area lately, we keep losing signal which sucks because there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I'd GLADLY go back to regular cable if I could, but that isn't an option where I live. My complex has some agreement going on that Adelphia/Comcast can't come in. It's a real pisser.

I know I should be more supportive of satellite tv considering that it's actually what some of the satellites I'm working on support, but it really sucks IMO (but the satellites are cool).

/tk

Oddly, in the...about 7 years now that I've had DirectTV I've only had it screw up do to storming a couple times a year, probably about the same or less than when I had cable. The advantage is that DirectTV comes back on quickly as soon as whatever was causing it dies down. Cable I have to wait untill the cable company can be bothered to come all the way out here.

[terpkristin]

Oddly, in the...about 7 years now that I've had DirectTV I've only had it screw up do to storming a couple times a year, probably about the same or less than when I had cable. The advantage is that DirectTV comes back on quickly as soon as whatever was causing it dies down. Cable I have to wait untill the cable company can be bothered to come all the way out here.

Wow, my experience has been the exact opposite.
With the rain and snow we got this season, I've lost my signal at least 20 days and it's not come back up quickly in the least (usually it's out for the remainder of the day). I've had DTV for about 10 months now.

I had cable for about 6 years, and have only lost it once, and that was when stupid Verizon was digging in the area and messed up the lines.

I never (knock on wood) had a DVR unit die on me.

As I said, I should be more supportive of DTV because some of the satellites I'm working on actually support them, but seriously, I think satellite TV is CRAP. Unfortunately, I like everything else about where I live so I really can't justify moving just so I can get back with land-based cable...

/tk

[Samdari]

Wow, my experience has been the exact opposite.
With the rain and snow we got this season, I've lost my signal at least 20 days and it's not come back up quickly in the least (usually it's out for the remainder of the day). I've had DTV for about 10 months now.

I had cable for about 6 years, and have only lost it once, and that was when stupid Verizon was digging in the area and messed up the lines.

I never (knock on wood) had a DVR unit die on me.

As I said, I should be more supportive of DTV because some of the satellites I'm working on actually support them, but seriously, I think satellite TV is CRAP. Unfortunately, I like everything else about where I live so I really can't justify moving just so I can get back with land-based cable...

/tk

If you think cable is better than satellite tv, you just don't understand the limitations of cable.

[terpkristin]

If you think cable is better than satellite tv, you just don't understand the limitations of cable.
Or perhaps you don't understand the limitations of satellite [enter name of media here] (which I'm going to hazard a guess that I understand those limitations better than most anybody on this board).

I said that I think cable is better that satellite based on my experiences, which have been infinitely better with cable than satellite.

[took out snide comment]

/tk

[st.cronin]

Is there anywhere in the country where cable is less reliable than satellite? All I have right now is satellite, and, at a rough guess, I've had some sort of outage one out of every 4 days. And the weather here is pretty much perfect.

[sachmo71]

It was the LNB AND a relay. He wasn't sure which, so he replaced both.
And now...my cascade of channels is back. Lord, how I missed it!

[Eaglesfan27]

As far as outages, I've had quite a few already with DirecTV in rain storms, but it usually comes back within 5-10 minutes. Overall, I've been very happy with my service, although one of my DVR boxes was a dud. The replacement has worked very well.