Free to air box,low voltage querey.

iqon66

Hi lads
Im back again with another problem,I set up my free to air dish and i alligned it correctly to astra 28.2.I have 2 fta boxs one from lidl which i connected to straight away and is getting signal quality 73 % and intensity93% im very happy with that so i connected it to my other pace sky box which i use for fta and i went to check the signal on it and its only up a small amount very weak so i checked the output cable voltage and in only getting 13.2 volts on it and i checked the lidl fta box and im getting 18 volts.So im getting a voltage drop i checked my connections they are fine,just would like to get this solved.Any one experience this problem before?

C3P0

13V and 18V are the voltages that the receiver sends to the LNB to switch to either H or V polarisation, so your voltages are unlikely to be the problem.

Also, comparing the signal intensity/quality of two different brands of STB may be meaningless. What size dish are you using?

iqon66

Im using a zone 2 dish looks the same as a sky dish,when i was using my sat finder to allign the dish i was getting the needle up to 10 with the lidl box and when i used my pace box to see what the signal was like i was only getting 8 on my meter,and the signal was only up quarter way on the signal test.

Gerry Wicklow

There is no point trying to compare the meters in different makes of box. They are only intended to give you a (very) rough guide when tuning. Also some tuners will be more sensitive than others. Bottom line, how good is the picture in heavy rain.

Peter Rhea

You'd get a more useful comparison if both boxes were tuned to the same transponder. I'm not sure how the Sky box signal test works though; could be from a default transponder (or maybe not).

iqon66

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

There is no point trying to compare the meters in different makes of box. They are only intended to give you a (very) rough guide when tuning. Also some tuners will be more sensitive than others. Bottom line, how good is the picture in heavy rain.

heavy rain on lidl box fine on pace box the picture breaks up like when the wind moves dish and i checked the signal test and its low when rain i even use amalgimating tape

Peter Rhea

You need to compare reception on different transponders; check between horizontal & vertical polarity (discrepancy could indicate lnb skew is wrong), also between channels on Eurobird 1 @ 28.5 east & Astra 2 @ 28.2, as I believe it's possible to favour one over the other even with a 'small' dish (& the skew for each is different).

Also, your dish shouldn't move enough to cause breakup, except in exceptionally strong winds.

iqon66

Peter Rhea wrote: »

You need to compare reception on different transponders; check between horizontal & vertical polarity (discrepancy could indicate lnb skew is wrong), also between channels on Eurobird 1 @ 28.5 east & Astra 2 @ 28.2, as I believe it's possible to favour one over the other even with a 'small' dish (& the skew for each is different).

Also, your dish shouldn't move enough to cause breakup, except in exceptionally strong winds.

i live beside the sea and the wind does be severe.i am getting full signal strength and signal quality is up half way.would that be acceptable or should the quality be up more than it is

Peter Rhea

As Gerry says above, it's only acceptable quality if you can actually watch programs, no matter the weather conditions (unless there's a hurricane blowing or something).

Proper signal measuring equipment is needed for any further diagnosis.

iqon66

Peter Rhea wrote: »

As Gerry says above, it's only acceptable quality if you can actually watch programs, no matter the weather conditions (unless there's a hurricane blowing or something).

Proper signal measuring equipment is needed for any further diagnosis.

the most im getting is the quality up to half way some channels are working some arnt and some are breaking up a mix really ive never had this problem before

Peter Rhea

It shouldn't be a problem to get a 60-70% quality reading on a Skybox in good weather afaia.

You can check it on the cable you're using for the Lidl receiver (presuming you have a quad lnb) to rule out the other cable as the cause of the problem.

Probably a less sensitive tuner in the Pace box & your dish is either poorly aligned or too small.

iqon66

Yes the lidl box i have i used with the big grey dish took it down because it was beginning to rust i had it mounted 5-6 foot off the ground got great signal-intensity.The new dish is mounted 12 feet up the wall like all the other houses have beside me and i know they are using fta boxs i might change the lnb see if it makes any difference.The cable is god quality no joints is a straight run to the fta box.

Peter Rhea

Your lnb skew probably needs adjusting. Do you know how to do this & why it is important?

iqon66

Come to mind peter i didnt go near the skew so that could well be the problem il give it a try tomorrow il keep you posted thanks for that

dharn

The cable is god quality no joints is a straight run to the fta box. that must be very expensive !!:D

iqon66

OOPs was meant to be good instead of god.I adjusted the skew of the lnb and the most im getting on sky box is signal intensity 100% signal quality 50% i have seen the signal on sky boxs before up in the 80% mark.

watty

Level is not relevant unless you have more than 60m cable.

Only quality is important. If skew is correct and dish aligned then quality should be over 75%.

Systems will still work well even at 20% signal but over 75% quality*. Most LNBs have a very powerful IF amplifier nowadays so "level" is meaningless unless something is broken.


(*You'd only get that strange combination on a Distribution system or very long cable as smaller dish, bent dish or mis-alignment reduces quality faster than signal reduction)