Setting up problem

YouWantWhat

Hi All

I've recently purchased a Fortec Star DSS, to get free to air stations. I've set it all up, however when I plug the satellite cable into the back of the box, the tv screen goes blank and every five seconds or so the Fortec welcome screen flashes up for a split second, and this keeps on repeating itself. When I unplug the cable, the menu screen comes up again. I've been onto the supplier and they have tested the box and it works ok and they have replaced the LNB for me. Does anyone know whats going on? Thanks

Dulchie

Possible short in cable/connections. Consider trying another length of cable, even out of the window as a test.
Otherwise tech_support@fortecstar.com giving as much as possible detail, model number, symptoms etc.

YouWantWhat

Dulchie wrote: »

Possible short in cable/connections. Consider trying another length of cable, even out of the window as a test.
Otherwise tech_support@fortecstar.com giving as much as possible detail, model number, symptoms etc.

Thanks for the quick reply Dulchie, I went and checked everything bit by bit and found a short in one of the connector plugs. It was an old connector plug I had where you can screw tighen the centre part of the ariel cable, only problem was when you put on the outer casing it was touching the screw head, causing a short.

I'm now getting the menu up with the dish plugged in. Problems still not solved though, I cannot receive a signal. I've set the dish up at the angles stated on the website, and I've even borrowed one of those tuning bleepers things, and all I get is a continuous hum and no improvement in signal strength, no matter how much I move the dish.

Merry Christmas

Dulchie

The following link could be helpful http://www.dishpointer.com/
Is there a dish nearby to give you a reference ?
Not only the direction but also the skew and elevation are critical.
If you have no luck they you might try your receiver on a friends dish/lnb setup.

cnocbui

It can be very, very difficult to point a dish at a satellite without the aid of a sat finder signal strength meter. I have done it, but it took a while.

Lidl sell sat gear a few times a year and when they do they usually have a sat finder for about €9. Worth every penny as high winds can knock a dish out of alignment requiring a tune-up. Usually about once every two years for me.

YouWantWhat

Thanks for the advice. I have borrowed a sat finder, but all I get out of it is a continuous hum. I've spent about 20 minutes at the dish before giving up, moving it very slowly, sideways and up/down, but no variation in tone from the sat finder whatsoever, or no increase in the signal strength on the screen (4-5%). How accurate does the dish need to be, is a millimeter either way the difference between receiving a signal or not, or would it be half an inch?

cnocbui

With the sat finder, you should turn the sensitivity knob all the way down so you don't get any tone, then increase it to the point where you start to get a tone and bit of movement on the display, then you start waving the dish about.

When the sound increases and the display goes wild, you are on a Sat. Then you wind down the sensitivity a bit so the strength is halfway on the display and fine tune the positioning, winding down the sensitivity as needed so it always has some room to register if the signal increases.

Fine adjustments are usually a mm or so. 13mm would be the difference between signal or none at all - if not a bit less.

YouWantWhat

Thanks for your help. I ended up getting a guy in to tune in the satellite dish. He even had problems trying to find a signal, he said as it was a small dish it would be difficult to align. He also replaced some of the connections. We are up and running now anyway.

Best Wishes