[mythtvnz] Broken DVB-S setup

[Nick & Ann Read]

> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 21:10:32 +1200
> From: Nick&  Ann Read<nick.read at engineer.com>
> Subject: Re: [mythtvnz] Broken DVB-S setup
> To: mythtvnz at lists.linuxnut.co.nz
> Message-ID:<4DD23B88.90207 at engineer.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> On 8/05/2011 11:00 p.m., Noel&  Diane<noel at igrin.co.nz>  wrote:
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Sun, 08 May 2011 10:55:03 +1200
>> From: Noel&   Diane<noel at igrin.co.nz>
>> Subject: Re: [mythtvnz] Broken DVB-S setup
>> To: MythTV in NZ<mythtvnz at lists.linuxnut.co.nz>
>> Message-ID:<1304808903.4711.21.camel at U4-office>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Start at the dish&   follow the signal path!
>> Verify your dish/LNB are good, and if so then proceed to investigate
>> your card.
>> Either use a known-good freeview box to see if you get a signal or If
>> you cant do that (or if the box fails to acquire a signal) then;
>> First, use a "cheapie" satellite squealer ($15 off TM) on your coax, set
>> it to just start to make a noise then move your hand in front of the LNB
>> - if there is not a LARGE increase in noise (reflected of your hand)
>> from the squealer, then your LNB is kaput.
>> Second, Deflect the rim of the dish by 5mm or so (a gentle push with a
>> fingertip) and you should note a  drop of signal on the meter.  do this
>> for left/right and up/down deflections.  (your LNB coax exit point
>> should be roughly at the 8-O'clock position when viewed from the front
>> of the dish) This step will prove if your dish is correctly aligned.
>> I would expect a relatively greater signal from Freeview transponder
>> compared to the SBS transponder.
>> Thirdly, if the dish proves OK, use a command-line dvbtune -like command
>> (sorry not too sure on the syntax off the top of my head) to verify the
>> card responds correctly.
>>
>> Good luck!!
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nick&   Ann Read<nick.read at engineer.com>
>> Reply-to: MythTV in NZ<mythtvnz at lists.linuxnut.co.nz>
>> To: mythtvnz at lists.linuxnut.co.nz
>> Subject: Re: [mythtvnz] Broken DVB-S setup
>> Date: Thu, 05 May 2011 23:26:46 +1200
>>
>>
>> OK did some more testing. If I 'Watch TV' on the Satellite input, if
>> shows 71% signal strength with SBS (Vertical?) and 53% with Freeview
>> channels (Horizontal I think). But S/N of 4.5 dB in all cases. BE was
>> originally zero, but after playing with LNB settings to try and wake
>> something up, I am now getting BE of 3k-40k reported (after restoring
>> the LNB settings). If I remove the cable from the LNB to the DVB card,
>> signal strength drops to 0% but S/N stays at 4.4dB.
>>
>> So, anyone want to guess if its the card or the LNB that's broken? I'm
>> tempted to get a new DVB-S2 card cause that's easiest, but its $100 that
>> I don't want to spend if the problem is the LNB...
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> On 5/05/2011 8:40 p.m., Nick&   Ann Read wrote:
>>> Should have mentioned that the DVB-S card is a SkyStar 2.6D from memory.
>>>
>>> On 5/05/2011 8:38 p.m., Nick&   Ann Read wrote:
>>>> Hi all
>>>>
>>>> We had a power cut yesterday afternoon, and since then the DVB-S card
>>>> on my mythtv setup has not successfully recorded anything. Only found
>>>> out this morning when my son sat down to watch the Man U vs Schalke
>>>> match on SBS1.
>>>>
>>>> As far as I can tell there are no software issues. There is nothing
>>>> in the logs, and the system all behaves normally, apart from not
>>>> getting a lock on any satellite channels and not being able to scan
>>>> transports for channels. My old PVR-350 is still working away. So I'm
>>>> guessing a hardware problem.
>>>>
>>>> I don't have any other satellite cards(boxes) or LNB/dishes easily
>>>> available, and I'm guessing its one of those two at fault? So, my
>>>> question is, what is the easiest way to troubleshoot with a
>>>> multimeter and a screwdriver? :-)
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>> Nick
>>>>
> Thanks Noel. Got hold of a satellite signal tester and proved to my
> satisfaction that the LNB was OK. So ordered a Technotrend S-1401
> (thanks Hads) which was a drop-in replacement for my Technisat SkyStar
> 2.6D and everything is now A-OK. All sorted in plenty of time to catch
> the UEFA Champions League Final (hopefully restored my son's faith in
> Dad after missing the Man U Semi!).
OK back to square one (kind of). The (new) DVB-S card is still working 
for Freeview NZ channels (H-pol) but is no longer tuning to SBS 1 or 2 
(V-pol). I have checked with my satellite tester and the card is 
switching between 13/18V as expected. I would suspect it is now the LNB 
if it was not for the fact that when I go into MythTV-setup, I can scan 
the SBS transponder for channels as expected, which must mean it is 
successfully tuning that transponder (V-pol), no? Switching 
off/rebooting/disconnecting cables has not helped. Only other info I can 
add is that when it tries to tune to SBS under 'Watch TV' it reports the 
lock status as (LBs) instead of (LBS) as normal. The only thing I can 
think to try is a new LNB, but I can't explain why I can tune to scan 
for channels but not to watch channels....