Help! Huge transponder issues HDtivo, many zero signals

[newsposter]

triple lnb dish, powered terk 5x8 switch, HDtivo and T60

1st set of number is HDtivo

2nd set is HDtivo about 15 minutes later

3rd set of numbers is T60 readings between the 2 hdtivo readings

As you can see the sony numbers are perfect except for transponder 10. The HDtivo numbers changed over the course of 15 minutes so i recorded them again. Also there was a point at which Transponder 11 on HDtivo had certain channels working and certain not so not sure what that meant (251 266 282 297 307 504 all were not yes or no at the same time during the initial test). But then all came back on. I'm at a loss here. Getting to the terk is a real pain in the ass as I have to crawl under the house. The disparity between odd /even is something i heard of but then why is trans. 21 a problem? And why would all the sony readings but Trans. 10 be ok? Wife is very upset. I can't get home to run the tests/switch cables etc myself but had her run thru tests over the phone. I just wanna know if this is sign of a dying tuner? And how can something affect only trans. 10 on both units?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
95 89 93 97 94 95 94 92 93 87 0 98 93 96 94 93 91 100 92 95 93 95 95 95 91 96 94 38 95 95 93 95
95 0 93 96 94 0 94 0 94 0 0 97 92 41 93 0 0 100 71 94 0 88 86 51 43 96 78 18 87 80 82 81

95 89 93 97 94 95 94 92 93 0 86 98 93 96 94 93 91 100 92 95 93 95 95 95 91 96 94 38 95 95 93 95
95 0 93 96 94 22 94 0 94 0 93 97 92 0 93 0 0 100 28 94 0 51 62 51 43 96 78 18 87 80 82 59

95 91 94 95 93 93 96 88 93 0 94 93 94 95 94 92 92 100 93 90 91 94 95 93 92 93 96 34 96 96 96 95
96 91 94 95 93 94 96 90 93 40 93 95 94 95 94 92 91 100 93 89 93 92 96 93 93 93 95 34 96 95 95 94


Quick summary of tuner 2 things (if you hate charts):

Xponder 2,6,8,10,16,17,21 are always zero and 14 went from a 41 down to 0 in 15 min.
differences in just 15 min on Hdtivo:
6 went from 0 to 22,
11 came back to full strength (both tuners said 0),
19 went from 71 to 28,
22 went from 88 to 51,
23 went from 86 to 62,
32 went from 81 to 59


note last week I had this problem http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=292884

i just found out also that one channels was coming in the guide with no information available for a period tomorrow but perhaps that's an isolated thing

Question: is the guide data stored in the unit. In other words, if have full data for today and unplug the rg6 (simulating no signal), will the guide data still be there?

also i just found out that 282 APL on HDtivo does not have guide data for tomorrow at 3pm but my sony receiver does show it.

[phox_mulder]

I think mine looked similiar, triple LNB dish, Terk 5x8.

If you're not missing any channels, I don't think I am, not any channels I car about anyway, then I'd say it's normal.

Someone posted a website that had transponder/channel assignments for DirecTv somewhere on here within the last week, might be worth checking into.


phox

[newsposter]

it's not normal. Signals should be 'relatively' equal on all transponders. and yes, I'm missing a lot of channels. Charmed on tnt didn't record the past 2 days except for 1/2 hour and i'm sure there are other programs that were missed. Also the reason for the disparity between the sony and HDtivo is quite the mystery.

also while i've read about either all odds or all evens going bad and it being connections, wouldn't that mean I wouldn't get in ALL odds or evens? See I some even channels with 0 but some are perfect. Plus except for xponder 10, everything is perfect on the sony.

[JimSpence]

What have you done to try to solve the problem? And, partial shorts in connectors can result in what you are seeing. Usually it's all of the even TPs that go missing. But since the different TPs do transmit on separate frequencies, some can be more susceptible to corrosion etc. Try swapping inputs on the problem unit. Move it to the other room as a test. Bypass the multiswitch to see if things change. Try different outputs. But, you really need to check all connections, especially any that may be in a moist environment.

[newsposter]

When i get home i figure I should (the units are stacked thankfully):

1. reboot each unit
2. cable switch T60 to HDtivo to see if problem remains
3. check the outside connectors
4. last resort..crawl under the house and barrel past the multiswitch...which makes diplexing of my OTA a bundle of joy to figure out as to which wire to piggy back it on and I guess I need another diplexor in place of the M/S
4A maybe try the other 4 connections from the M/S (lead to the other side of the room but are unused as of now.)...hey maybe there's a short there sticking out of my floor ....until you said short circuit, it didn't occur to me.

I guess I like to know the future. If doing all that does not correct the problem, I was wondering the next step. I know a friday is a bad day for this to happen. And I watch mostly OTA at night so only my wife not getting charmed 2 days in a row caused us to catch this.

[JimSpence]

I'd bypass the diplexer as well to see if things get better.

[newsposter]

i wish it was a simple as a diplexor..will keep fingers crossed. But sony doesn't have a diplexor yet still can't get xponder 10. That's what bugs me.

I added a 4A

4A maybe try the other 4 connections from the M/S (lead to the other side of the room but are unused as of now.)...hey maybe there's a short there sticking out of my floor ....until you said short circuit, it didn't occur to me.

[JimSpence]

It doesn't have to be a hard short circuit. Corrosion can cause partial shorts.

[newsposter]

Got home and everything works perfectly..arghhhh. I may still check outside and all those connections and silicone them up.

how does guide data get to the tivo? Which transponder? The guide data filled in for the one local that was not all complete so just wondering.

can you guess if this means that the problem is NOT HDtivo? I got my weaknees drive today and really am wanting to install it!

[newsposter]

now this morning (when i'm home), it STILL works perfectly...arrghhh...i hate that you can't fix what ain't broke :)

AND it even rained last night..you'd figure if it's a bad connection the rain would fry it

i'm just gonna upgrade the drive, i really doubt this is a tuner problem (keeping fingers crossed)

[newsposter]

ok i'm cursed and should have done stuff over the weekend but everything was fine (did rain last night but not sure that means anything)

this morning here's what happened:

T60 no directv locals on Sat 1, Sat 2 fine: switching cables switches the problem so it's not the sony; checked transponders and all work fine except xponder 12 on tuner 1, which is zero...tuner 2 is 71 (which is low as I had all 90+ except for spot 28 of course)

HDtivo: directv locals are OK on both tuners; tuner 1 has zero signal on all OTA; tuner 2 has lower OTA readings than normal and 3 of 6 OTA locals wont even come in as they are under 20 reading and the others only read 58,71, and 88; one of the 3 locals always came in at 90+ so for it to be 0-20 now indicates a serious problem; Also everything was fine last night on the OTA locals; xponder 12 (dead on sony tuner 1) is 75/62 strength on the HD tuners, again, lower than normal so there is a problem but i have no clue what

I guess i'll have to barrel past the multiswitch even in the heavy rain tonight (fun crawling in an outside window to get the the crawlspace) and add another diplexor in place of the M/S for my ota. Any other suggestions?

[newsposter]

upon further racking of my brain, I was wondering...I'm not sure what cable comes from the diplexor to the HDtivo...new RG6 is everywhere else....but the 2 outputs of the diplexor may not be RG6...could this be part of the problem? But why would it work for 6 months trouble free if so? I'm buying new RG6 to be safe....but still dont see how this would affect the sony

[A J Ricaud]

It sure sounds like a multiswitch problem or maybe the LNB assembly going bad.

[newsposter]

problem reappears

bought new diplexor for the crawlspace and barreled the connections so i could bypass the M/S...also bought new 3ft wires for the diplexor in back of the tivo and replaced the rg59.

i went to the attic and checked on the leviton amp for OTA and disconnected the 2 wires. they looked new. I did turn on the FM trap and the signal got better.

Checked T60 and Hdtivo. All OTA and satellite were perfect.

2 hours later, decided to check the signals. OTA had no signal on tuner 1 but tuner 2 was ok. I went to live tv, tuned in a few channels manually, then tuner 1 came back.

since OTA is internally split tuner and i can't 'swap cables', does this mean it's that tuner? And is that easily replaceable? :) Diplexor has been mentioned as a problem but would that selectively kill only 1 tuner OTA?

[newsposter]

for over 1 full week i've had the multiswitch bypassed and not had a single problem. Do you think that's objective evidence enough to say it was bad? :)

[A J Ricaud]

for over 1 full week i've had the multiswitch bypassed and not had a single problem. Do you think that's objective evidence enough to say it was bad? :)

Yup.