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Cause of low signals/rain fade
I had a new install (hooray) two weeks ago. Had hours and hours of outage and 771 errors on all HD channels except for the HD locals last week (which were fine), twice, during rain, on both of my HD receivers (one H23 and the other the HR22 HD-DVR), but all was fine on our SD box. Am trying to track down the issue(s) to get less rain fade. All works fine in clear skies, in general.
This is a new SWMLine install. The SWMLine 3 LNB AU-9 dish is 40 ft from a 2-way splitter; one line runs 10 ft from there into the house, into the Power injector, and then 2 ft to the SD receiver. That cable is all new (both to the dish and from the splitter to the receiver), as installed by DTV.
The remaining cable from the splitter runs 80 ft to a second 2-way splitter, and one run from that splitter is then 10 ft inside the house to the H23, whereas the other run is about 60 ft from the splitter, around the house and in to the HR22. These cable runs were not replaced by the installer, but the existing (CATV) RG6 (copper-coated steel core) cable was used and just connected up to the (new) splitters and receivers.
The signal strengths are as follows:
The HR22 sees sat 101 and reports signals on all transponders in the mid/high 90's. It also sees sat 99(c), 14 transponders, all in the mid/low 70's. It also sees sat 103(c), 14 transponders, in the high 70's and a few low 80's. And reports the SWM as high 90's.
The H23 sees sat 101 and reports all mid/high 90's. It sees sat 99(a) and reports 14 transponders in the mid/low 70's. It also reports seeing 6 transponders on sat 103(a) (transponders 16 and 18-21 in the high 90's. And it sees sat 103(b), showing 14 tranponders in the high 70's/low 80's.
The SD receiver sees only sat. 101, all transponders in the high 90's.
For info, I moved the H23 receiver into the location where the SD receiver is. I unplugged the SD receiver, plugged in the H23, and re-tested the signals in that new location. They were essentially the same as in the other location, seeing the same transponders and the same sats at basically the same signal strengths.
So I am trying to track down the cause of the low signals.
Perhaps the dish needs peaking. But it seems strange that the HR23 reports mid/high 90's on the transponders on 103(a) that it sees, yet high 70's/low 80's on 103(b) (I thought dishes couldn't distinguish between those two sats since they are so close in the sky).
And why are the different receivers reporting seeing different satellites, with the HR22 seeing 103(c) while the H23 sees only 103(a) and 103(b)?
Finally, what are these signal strengths actually reporting: the signals at the LNB or the ones at the receiver? If the latter, it seems strange that they would be the same for the H23 when connected over a new, short Cu-core RG6 cable run through only one 2-way splitter, as opposed to through 2 2-way splitters (3.5 dB attenuation each) and 80 ft of Cu-skin, steel core RG6.
So there would seem to be three options/causes: a) peak the disk onto 99/103; b) get them to come back and replace the long cable run with new Cu-core RG6, c) get an in-line amp after the first splitter to help with the loss in the long cable run. If the disk needs peaking, I don't understand why it shows high 90's on 103(a) (but low 80's/high 70's on 103(b)). If the long run is the issue, I don't understand what is being reported on the signal strength numbers, since I got the same values when the receiver was at the end of the long run and through the second splitter as I did when it was connected only on the short run, through only the first 2-way splitter, and through all new Cu-core cable.
Help?
This is a new SWMLine install. The SWMLine 3 LNB AU-9 dish is 40 ft from a 2-way splitter; one line runs 10 ft from there into the house, into the Power injector, and then 2 ft to the SD receiver. That cable is all new (both to the dish and from the splitter to the receiver), as installed by DTV.
The remaining cable from the splitter runs 80 ft to a second 2-way splitter, and one run from that splitter is then 10 ft inside the house to the H23, whereas the other run is about 60 ft from the splitter, around the house and in to the HR22. These cable runs were not replaced by the installer, but the existing (CATV) RG6 (copper-coated steel core) cable was used and just connected up to the (new) splitters and receivers.
The signal strengths are as follows:
The HR22 sees sat 101 and reports signals on all transponders in the mid/high 90's. It also sees sat 99(c), 14 transponders, all in the mid/low 70's. It also sees sat 103(c), 14 transponders, in the high 70's and a few low 80's. And reports the SWM as high 90's.
The H23 sees sat 101 and reports all mid/high 90's. It sees sat 99(a) and reports 14 transponders in the mid/low 70's. It also reports seeing 6 transponders on sat 103(a) (transponders 16 and 18-21 in the high 90's. And it sees sat 103(b), showing 14 tranponders in the high 70's/low 80's.
The SD receiver sees only sat. 101, all transponders in the high 90's.
For info, I moved the H23 receiver into the location where the SD receiver is. I unplugged the SD receiver, plugged in the H23, and re-tested the signals in that new location. They were essentially the same as in the other location, seeing the same transponders and the same sats at basically the same signal strengths.
So I am trying to track down the cause of the low signals.
Perhaps the dish needs peaking. But it seems strange that the HR23 reports mid/high 90's on the transponders on 103(a) that it sees, yet high 70's/low 80's on 103(b) (I thought dishes couldn't distinguish between those two sats since they are so close in the sky).
And why are the different receivers reporting seeing different satellites, with the HR22 seeing 103(c) while the H23 sees only 103(a) and 103(b)?
Finally, what are these signal strengths actually reporting: the signals at the LNB or the ones at the receiver? If the latter, it seems strange that they would be the same for the H23 when connected over a new, short Cu-core RG6 cable run through only one 2-way splitter, as opposed to through 2 2-way splitters (3.5 dB attenuation each) and 80 ft of Cu-skin, steel core RG6.
So there would seem to be three options/causes: a) peak the disk onto 99/103; b) get them to come back and replace the long cable run with new Cu-core RG6, c) get an in-line amp after the first splitter to help with the loss in the long cable run. If the disk needs peaking, I don't understand why it shows high 90's on 103(a) (but low 80's/high 70's on 103(b)). If the long run is the issue, I don't understand what is being reported on the signal strength numbers, since I got the same values when the receiver was at the end of the long run and through the second splitter as I did when it was connected only on the short run, through only the first 2-way splitter, and through all new Cu-core cable.
Help?
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