satellite TV died in the storm.. help please...

Hi Guys,

Ok, so I have this satellite TV set up to Astra (I think). I haven't touched anything it worked fine until about 10pm last night and then it died. Since then I get no signal.

I am completely useless with this thing and the one person who knows a) the set up and b) how to fix it is gone... So, at the risk of getting a whole bunch of google it or mick take responses, I ask you guys kindly to help me. This may require you asking me more questions and explaining wtf I'm looking at or looking for. Should this result in some poor soul coming round and actually having to fix it for me I will of course buy them a beer and a pizza.

Ta

Is the sky box working Lynn? Does it switch on, can you switch channels (despite no signal) etc etc?

water in the cabling or LNB seems to be the likely cause given that wind should not play a part in this issue...?

It turns on but says "failed to tune" and erm.. I've got a dreambox thingy...

Most likely water in that case... no wind. So what do I do? Do I have to replace the LNB or will it dry or do I have to take it apart to dry?

My younger brother used to be a prodigious dribbler (not in the basketball way) and we regularly had to put our t.v controls (and once my calculator) into the hot-press to dry them out after he had had a bit of a chew on them.

Try that? If you have a hot-press.

C

p.s: I am also horrendous at technical things, I went to the school of turn it on, then off again till it works. If this doesn't work, pull out all cables without turning it off (at risk of electrocution) then plug them all back in again. When it comes to my laptop, to fix it, I usually unplug it and take out the battery. People despair of me, really.

Disclaimer: I'm not familiar with water in an LNB.

1. Don't adjust or move the dish at all

2. If the LNB doesn't dry itself remove it, check the contact(s), dry them carefully, see if there is water under the cover. Then personally I'd just leave it indoors to dry out.

Do any of your neighbours have a receiver tuned to Astra2 you could switch with yours to eliminate that as the cause?

No Hot press I'm afraid...

Ok this may seem dumb but can I sit there without taking the thing apart with a hair dryer? Would that work?

Ok So, I took that LNB thingy apart and saw that the inside of it (I assume the important part) has been sealed with an extra dose of hot glue. I now vaguely recall Mark doing this a while back due to a similar problem... So can we say that water in the LNB is not the problem?

If you want to dry something out then do it slowly overnight (hot water cupboard, or in an oven for a few hours at 40 degrees)

Make sure the unit has air vent holes for the moisture to escape

If it is fully sealed then it needs to be dismantled to dry it, otherwise the moisture cannot get out...

Is it a single output LNB?

Eitherway (unlesss it's a Quattro) could least it with a new LNB I have at home. Could bring this into Zurich tomorrow.

Edit: I assume you have tried unplugging the power (from the wall socket is safest for the PSU) and leaving for 10 minutes then plug in again?

Funnily enough I have the same problem after that thunderstorm.

Signal test shows (sky box) top signal is zero (and no lock), bottom signal is fine.

I assume this is one of the cables from the satellite to my sky box causing the problem, just popping off to get a new one.

If water gets into the cable, it can cause problems (normally corrosion over a long period but if enough water it could cause a short). That's why I apply silicon grease, then seal with self amalgamating tape.

Whats a single output LNB? I've tried most things now and it still doesn't work... so I guess I'll try and leave it to dry now that its not raining..

this is a bi**h - the problem is that there's no way of knowing whether the LNB is fried, the cables are wet, the decoder got fried due to some power surge during the thunder-storm or whether the antenna was slightly moved by wind or something hitting it during the storm.

Do you have a neighbor that also has a sat system running? I'd first hook up your receiver to someone else's system so you can be sure it's not the box.

I find it rather unlikely that the cable went from 100% to 0% during a thunderstorm, even if some water had gotten into it. Then I'd buy a sat-finder, like this one: http://www.satonline.ch/shop/detail_...igergeraet.php

Hook it up between the receiver and antenna and check if you get a signal when you slightly bend the antenna (without loosening the screws/nuts so that it doesn't get misaligned) in other directions.

peter

One that has only one outlet (e.g. to which only one satellite receiver can be connected). There are LNBs that work with several different receivers.

peter

Lynn, you have a quad LNB, there are 4 connectors at the back of the LNB. I think you only have one cable connected to it though (one cable running from the dish, under the door and into the receiver).

Does that mean you can plug the cable into any of the 4 connectors on the LNB and it will work?

Yes. You can also run more than one cable. The more connected, the stronger the signal. You can also run different cables to different receivers.

The unused connectors should be sealed, as should the connected cable (as has been previously mentioned).

This is probably going to sound dumb, but I had exactly the same problem last night so I turned the box off at the wall, left it for a bit (a bit being about 5 minutes), then turned it back on. It had a bit of a think then scanned for channels and everything was back to normal.

I would assume you've already done this, but if not it would be worth a go before doing anything more laborious.

???

Never heard anyone running more than one cable to a single tuner. To do this you'd have to makeup a 'special' cable.

If the LNB is faulty then changing this over (with a working one) would be a 'quick' test. I also have a meter to check the alignment.

Of course if your neighbour has a system and is willing to let you try your recevier on it then that's another solution.

Actually if you are desparate call me (see PM) I might be able to hold of an LNB this afternoon for you to test from a friend.