Searching for Signal 771 every mid-afternoon

Question

For the past few months certain HD channels drop out (Searching for signal 771) for an hour to an hour and a half during midday. A technician has come out to replace the multi-switch, cables checked, connections checked, BBC's checked and it still happens. When it first started it only affected one of our four HD receivers, a HR-22-100 HD DVR in our sunroom. Just two weeks ago we had to replace the HD receiver in the kitchen due to a faulty card reader. The new receiver in the kitchen is a H21-200 and for the first time ever, that receiver lost 99c HD channels at the same time as the receiver in the sunroom.

Funny thing is we have two other HD receivers, one a DVR the other just a receiver and neither of them are ever affected by the outage and show 99c readings similar to the second sample below.

Is this a sun angle related issue? If so, why affect two receivers and not all of them? Why was the receiver in the kitchen never affected but since replacing the receiver now it is?

Between 1315 and 1530 daily for the last few months (midday)

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) [or 99º(a)]
[National HD channels]
1-8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9-16 0 0 0 0 0 0 NA NA

Between 1530 and 1315 daily (overnight)

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) [or 99º(a)]
[National HD channels]
1-8 89 92 90 89 91 89 89 0
9-16 90 89 92 86 95 91 NA NA

litzdog911 · Answer

If it's only happening on a some of your Receivers/DVRs and not all of the, then it almost must be a problem with the multiswitch, or perhaps the dish LNB (but that should affect all of your equipment). Looks like they've replaced just about everything but the dish LNB.

Next time you observe the problem, try swapping a "good" and "bad" Receiver. Does the problem follow the Receiver or stay in its room?

agc409 · Answer

litzdog: the multiswitch was replaced about a month before we replaced the HD receiver in the kitchen. The kitchen never had the afternoon outage problem until we replaced the receiver in the kitchen a week or so ago because of a faulty card reader. Now the kitchen loses 99c coincidental to the sunroom receiver which has had this problem for a few months now. it only lasts an hour and a half or so, but always in the middle of the afternoon. that's why I'm wondering if it's a sun angle thing. But then if it is, why aren't the other two HD receivers affected? This has me very perplexed.

battradio · Answer

Quote: Originally Posted by agc409

litzdog: the multiswitch was replaced about a month before we replaced the HD receiver in the kitchen. The kitchen never had the afternoon outage problem until we replaced the receiver in the kitchen a week or so ago because of a faulty card reader. Now the kitchen loses 99c coincidental to the sunroom receiver which has had this problem for a few months now. it only lasts an hour and a half or so, but always in the middle of the afternoon. that's why I'm wondering if it's a sun angle thing. But then if it is, why aren't the other two HD receivers affected? This has me very perplexed.

By any chance when you have the prolem is the sun shinning drirectly on the reciver and maybe over heating it , sense it it in the sun room ?

litzdog911 · Answer

Try swapping Receivers as I suggested the next time you observe the problem.

agc409 · Answer

I have swapped receivers with one that works during the outage and it receives the signal. Reconnect the original receiver and no signal again.Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryFrom:DIRECTV Technical Help Forums

litzdog911 · Answer

And does that 'bad' Receiver work properly in the 'good' Receiver's room during the outage?

agc409 · Answer

Yes but the bad receiver also works when connected to the good recever cable. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryFrom:DIRECTV Technical Help Forums

litzdog911 · Answer

Interesting.  If the 'bad' Receiver works in the 'good' Receiver's room, and the 'good' Receiver works fine in the 'bad' Receiver's room, then maybe you should just swap them permanently.

agc409 · Answer

One is a dvr thoughSent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryFrom:DIRECTV Technical Help Forums

litzdog911 · Answer

I thought you have two HD Receivers and two HD DVRs?

agc409 · Answer

I know, sorry, it's confusing. Here is the breakdown:

Sunroom: HD-DVR

Kitchen: HD receiver

Living room: HD-DVR

Spare bedroom: HD receiver

The HD-DVR in the sunroom originally was the only receiver to suffer the daily outage which occurs usually between 1:00 to 3:00 every afternoon for the past few months. All other receivers listed above never experienced the outage. Before I called Direct TV about the issue in the sunroom, I reset the box several times, of course, checked all connections, changed out the BBC, and swapped the kitchen HD receiver with the HD-DVR in the sunroom. With the boxes swapped, the HD-DVR worked in the kitchen and the (kitchen) HD receiver worked in the sunroom. When I swapped them back, the HD-DVR in the sunroom did not work again but the kitchen receiver continued to work (note: when I say work I just mean whether it received the 99c channels).

Called Direct TV and they sent out a technician. He changed out the multi-switch but did nothing else from what I can tell. My wife was here, I was at work, and the outage was not occurring when the technician was here.

Very next day the outage occurred again in the sunroom (HD-DVR) but not in any other room. I decided to live with it for a while because I could not figure it out. Then, two weeks ago the card reader in the kitchen HD receiver went bad. Direct TV sent us a new HD receiver which I installed and activated. Yesterday (10/15) the sunroom receiver lost signal to 99c satellite, checked the receiver in the kitchen and it was suffering the same outage (never experienced it in the kitchen before installing the new receiver). Outage yesterday occurred between about 1:15 and 3:20 pm. When the sunroom receiver began to receive 99c channels the kitchen receiver did as well.

Today, both the kitchen and sunroom receivers showed the Searching for Satellite 771 message from 12:00 to 2:20 pm. Which wasn't good because couldn't get NFL Sunday Ticket in HD in the kitchen or sunroom during the HD channel outage. Both are back up now.

agc409 · Answer

One detail I could add. If the sunroom HD-DVR or kitchen HD receiver are on one of the 99c channels when the outage begins, it will continue to receive that channel until the channel is changed. Once the channel is changed, if I try to go back to a 99c channel the Searching for Satellite 771 message appears until they come back on later.

litzdog911 · Answer

I'm stumped.

What happens if you swap the coax cables at the multiswitch OUTPUT? Does the problem move to different Receivers/DVRs?
Do any of the cables/connections leading to those rooms share anything in common? Exterior couplers? Ground block?
You might try temporarily running a long coax cable from the multiswitch output to the sunroom to totally bypass the existing cable.

agc409 · Answer

litzdog911,

I have a single line running from the multiswitch to the sunroom - that has been since installation. I have not switched cables at the multiswitch, I may have to try that since I just experienced an hour an a half outage in the sunroom again today. This time it was from 1700-1830 CST. Only affects my HD channels to it has to be a sun position to satellite alignment issue. Can't think of anything else since it's been 8 months since and the sun is starting to move back toward the equator. (well the sun isn't moving but it's position over the horizon is).

I can't find any post on the web similar to this one so it's very confusing.

peds48 · Answer

it cannot be a Sun related problem. the only time the Sun affects your DirecTV service is when it gets directly behind the satellites. this only happens twice a year. this may affect your service but it only last a few minutes.

http://www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/sunoutagecalc.htm

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