Satellite Reception

Terry,
Yes, did that, all is tidy and clean, I even dusted it too !

Seems I found the problem, wasps !!!
Seen entering and leaving the LNB
Sorted them out and all channels back

You can put a bit of clingfilm over the hole - should keep them out, otherwise will be in and out if nearby, then will nest, then the LNB will need to be pulled apart and cleaned.

Never put a pen or something hard up the feedhorn to LNB (as small pins inside, which if bent will destroy the LNB) - if needing to dig anything out, using something soft, something like a straw or a little can of compressed air they use to clean computer keyboards.

Paul
www.televisiontechnology.eu

I used insect spray and WD 40 and it works a dream now

Paul the TV Tech May be able to confirm or deny this.
I’m sure I read that we, here in south-Spain, are at, or very near the outer fringe of the Sky satellite broadcast area, and its that, when coupled with and local poor weather, that causes much of our reception problems ?

AMK wrote:Paul the TV Tech May be able to confirm or deny this.
I’m sure I read that we, here in south-Spain, are at, or very near the outer fringe of the Sky satellite broadcast area, and its that, when coupled with and local poor weather, that causes much of our reception problems ?

That is true - we are on fringe reception - the UK satellites, are pointing at the UK! We are fortunate enough to receive the satellite 'overspill' in this part of Spain - with a larger (than the UK) - average sized dish.


Reception issue factors.

1. Size/quality of dish - minimum offset 1.35/1.4 most use these, which is about as small as you can go locally. But there are dishes of varying qualities, some pull a little higher signal than others.

2. LNB - Again varying qualities - always use the highest spec LNB you can. LNB's can also break down - usual shelf life 5-7 years, but like anything can develop issues sooner. Sometimes a port can break down on an LNB - so if 2 ports, 1 may perform better than another.

3. Dodgy old cable. The outer plastic on the cable breaks down over a period of time - UV, rain etc - water can get in micro fissures, weaken signal. So cable run length and cable quality can also knock signal.

4. Dish tuning - as mentioned 'we are on the edge of reception' - the issue with fringe reception is not all frequencies are equal, this is where issues can be - people start seeing channel loss, Sky News ok, but Channel 4 not - then indicates dish/system needs a once over or tune - Sky news - on a high vertical frequency (which we pick up easily) - but low horizontal channels - for example 4 (or was last time I checked), is weaker - as is ITV HD. So if you find a cluster of channels missing, probably an overall signal issue.

5. Weather - of course heavy rainfall / gotta fria - will knock out any external antennas temporarily, satellite, terrestrial or small dish internet - anything. Light rain refracts signal a but, so won't help, but should be ok usually - again if dish plays up when you have light rain, then the signal is too weak and needs looking at it. High winds also....

6. Time of day / year. Signal drops off a small % late evening - again most should not see or realise this, if you do, then indicates signal is lower than it should be on the system. Summer LNB's do not perform as well, as the winter.

For those with 1.4 dishes - or the oval(offset type) the LNB & feedhorn are combined in a plastic case. On larger dishes 1.45 or 1.8/1.9 which are perfectly round - these are prime focus models and use an LNB attached to the external aluminium feedhorn - as one poster here mentioned they found wasps in it - in the summer or if dish near foliage, if you suddenly get signal loss, weather good etc - it may be insects flying in and out. I would not have recommended using WD40 with the little nozzle to shoot them out (as they did) as may get a little gunk in the LNB and affect signal - i'd use a straw or something soft, compressed air the best - then as they did insect spray AROUND (not in) the LNB - also can put cling film over the hole, which will stop repeated nesting (if you find that's the case) - and only affects the signal very marginally.


Paul
www.televisiontechnology.eu
www.facebook.com/televisiontechnology

Paul, we used WD 40 but not with the nozzle, insect spray and now clingfilm and all is working well
When the plague has died away I’ll probably replace the LNB and all still works fine
We’ve a wide dish, about 1.5m and an LG tv with built in receiver so ,ore than happy now