SoloSE with Monoblock - Astra Issues

O

Orias

Vu+ Newbie
Hi all,

I have a monoblock on my dish which allows me to hit Hotbird 13E and Astra 19.2E (I am in Spain right now). It just has one cable coming out of it, and down into my VU+ box. I've had access to channels on both satellites for a year or so now without any issues, but suddenly I have stopped getting anything from Astra 19.2. When I do a manual scan of Hotbird, it finds everything. When I do the same for Astra, it finds 26 channels only!

I don't think I've changed anything, but maybe I am missing something somewhere. Hotbird seems ok, but can be a bit 'stuttery' at times. I am not 100% clear on what I should be seeing in the "Satfinder" menu, but this is what I get ...

Hotbird 13.0E:
The indicator bars will only show up when it's set to "Predefined Transponder", and with that my results are:
SNR: 50%
AGC: 65%
BER: 0%
LOCK: Ticked

Astra 19.2E:
The indicator bars will only show up when it's set to "Manual Transponder" in this instance:
SNR: Bounces up and down like crazy and won't settle
AGC: Same as above. Seems to go from 0 to 65% every second
BER: 0%
LOCK: Constantly goes on and off

If I leave the Satfinder menu, and go back later, Astra 19.2E will usually have locked on, but the SNR and AGC are similar to the Hotbird ones (50% and 65% respectively).

It seems like Astra just can't get a lock anymore for some reason, and the overall SNR readings seem pretty low. I am not 100% sure, but I am guessing they should be higher than that? I am sure it was around 90% in the past. I haven't gone up on the roof to check the satellite itself because it's not very accessible. I can't think of any reason for that to suddenly go wrong though as no one goes up there and we don't really have any extreme weather.

Can anyone think of anything else that might be causing this suddenly? I'd rather make sure I've done everything I can to fix it at the box-level before I have to go check on the roof. Even if I do go up there, I am guessing I would need professional help to adjust anything accurately?

Here are the rest of my relevant box settings:

Model: VU+ Solo SE
Image: BlackHole 2.1.6 (.1)
Tuner Configuration: Vuplus DVB-S NIM(AVL6211) (DVB-S2)
DISEqc A/B (Sats: 13E Eutelsat, 19.2E Astra)

Sorry for the long post, just want to get as much info in here as possible to help troubleshoot. I am not an expert in this stuff (although have some experience), hence posting in the newbies section :)

Thanks very much,
Ori
 
I would first check your F Connectors, check to see if they have become loose, or if it has suffered water ingress, into the cable.
If the cable, and F connectors, are fine then there are only a few possible reasons:
1. Your dish has moved, and needs re-aligning.
2. The Monoblock LNB is failing.
3. Your receiver is failing.

If possible check your receiver on a different set up, a friends, neighbours, or relatives, to rule out a problem with your receiver.
If the receiver is fine then try nudging your dish, slightly, to see if you can increase your signal quality.
If that fails try a new monoblock LNB, or get two separate LNB's, and a Diseqc switch.
 
Thanks very much for the reply.

I was hoping it wouldn't be a physical issue, as opposed to a configuration issue, but I did suspect it. The low SNR readings, and inability to lock on to Astra anymore do seem like a loose connection type of issue. It's just a bit of a nightmare to get to the dish, it's on a raised piece of roof that's too high for a normal step-ladder and with no good footholds to climb up there!

Is there a way to check the dish alignment/signal power from up on the roof without either getting a professional in to do it, or talking to someone who's sitting in-front of the TV at the time?

Thanks again,
Cheers
 
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