Help with Dish signal

[Ann99]

I hope I've put this in the right place.

We have a problem with our dish receiver; model # VIP612dvr. It's been losing the signal;
the screen goes black and the words'no signal' appear. Within about a minute, 'searching
for satellite' appears, while it downloads the signal. It is usually out for 2 minutes.
At other times, it loses sound, but keeps the picture; or the picture freezes, but there
is still sound.
Dish replaced the first receiver, but this one is doing the same thing. When the sound stops,
I have to cut the power source for about 30 seconds, and plug it back in.

Any help greatly appreciated!!

 

[CptlA]

They replaced the receiver, did they ever check the dish itself? Do you know how to check the signal and alignment of your dish through your setup screen?

 

[Don_M]

Thread moved

:welcome: , ann!

Moving this question to the Dish Network forum should yield an answer for you more quickly.

 

[Ann99]

CptlA,
The technician did all that when he was here last, after he replaced the receiver. I'm not sure if hubby and I want to try it ourselves; the hdtv is new, so we're not really used to it yet.
Thanks, Don, for moving this.

 

[Aaron62]

Ann,
Sounds like you're going to have to have Dish come back out. You're renting the set top box/converter box right?

Some other things to check, is there anything that might be in front of the dish that could block the signal from being received? Perhaps a tree that has grown a bit or have there been any windy storms that could have knocked the dish out of alignment?

 

[JeepJeep]

They replaced the receiver, did they ever check the dish itself? Do you know how to check the signal and alignment of your dish through your setup screen?

I've got Dish,

to go to the dish alignment screen, press the menu button, then press 6, press 1, and then 1 which will bring you to the dish alignment and pointing screen.

 

[Ann99]

No converter box; just the Dish receiver, and there isn't anything blocking the signal.
The picture is great when it's working, but it intermittently loses the signal.
This doesn't happen every day, btw. Yet this morning it lost signal about every 45 minutes, until 12:10; since then it's been fine. We did call Dish numerous times; they've been here twice, and now are coming out tomorrow morning again.
I sure appreciate the input, and will post here after they leave tomorrow.
What is so puzzling is that it isn't at certain times, but intermittent with no rhyme or reason.

 

[Yes616]

Press menu then 6 then 1 then 3. What satellites are you looking at? It should be either 61.5, 72 and 77 OR 110, 119 and 129. Find this in box g.

Let me know what city you are in and we can go from there.

Also, how long have you had your current antenna? It was probably changed when you got your HD receiver. Is this when your trouble started?

PS.. Welcome!

 

[Ann99]

Yes616, the dish is at 61.5. You are right that the trouble started when we got the new antenna.
Thanks for the welcome, and for putting up with this; lol. I wish we knew more about this.

ETA: Ok, we checked the dish alignment, and it is at 61.5; the signal strength varies from 43 to 47. Is that a strong signal??

 

[Yes616]

Yes616, the dish is at 61.5. You are right that the trouble started when we got the new antenna.
Thanks for the welcome, and for putting up with this; lol. I wish we knew more about this.

Are you saying they just added a dish at 61.5 and your troubles are mostly the HD channels?

Again, where are you getting your locals from? NYC, etc. Also, what other receivers do you have?

43 to 47 can be okay but answer the above questions.

 

[Ann99]

Yes, to both questions. We are located in SW Missouri, and our locals are from Springfield.

Are you saying they just added a dish at 61.5 and your troubles are mostly the HD channels?

Again, where are you getting your locals from? NYC, etc. Also, what other receivers do you have?

43 to 47 can be okay but answer the above questions.

 

[Yes616]

Yes, to both questions. We are located in SW Missouri, and our locals are from Springfield.

You did not answer the receiver question. Do you have any others besides the 612?

 

[Ann99]

We have a 211 for a second tv which is not HD, with no DVR.

You did not answer the receiver question. Do you have any others besides the 612?

 

[Yes616]

We have a 211 for a second tv which is not HD, with no DVR.

So you are set up for HD with that 211. You also have all MPEG-4 receivers. Tell them you want the Eastern Arc Dish. It is one dish that looks at 3 satellites. If you don't have this you will be missing some of the channels you already pay for like BBC America HD, E! HD and Retroplex to name just a few. They can only be found at 72 and 129 and if paying for HD, you are already paying for these channels.

 

[highdefjeff]

Yes616, the dish is at 61.5. You are right that the trouble started when we got the new antenna.
Thanks for the welcome, and for putting up with this; lol. I wish we knew more about this.

ETA: Ok, we checked the dish alignment, and it is at 61.5; the signal strength varies from 43 to 47. Is that a strong signal??

43 to 47 is too low!!! The signal strength needs to increase. Shoot for 66 minimum but any increase on the way to 66 will result in less frequent drop outs.

Is your second dish (and the first grounded correctly?) Look here:

Grounding

 

[Yes616]

This is a little low for 61.5 but still OK. I am in the 50's. 77 stays around 30 for me and 72 at around 40 to 50.

These kind of numbers are common with EA but I have not had any trouble since I got this antenna except for the big storms 2 weeks ago. And that was only because lots of snow stuck to the face of the dish. 18" of snow early in the week then the monster 36" storm and as long as I cleared the snow off the dish, it worked the whole time.

It is true numbers in the 40's are bad if using a Dish 500. When I had that dish the numbers were in the 80's and 90's.

 

[highdefjeff]

It is true numbers in the 40's are bad if using a Dish 500. When I had that dish the numbers were in the 80's and 90's.

You must be referring to the "old meter" when you say "Dish 500". Correct?

When I say that 43 to 47 is too low, I am referring to the current signal meter readings.

Before looking at anything else, I would peak their dish, whether EA or added 61.5 wing dish.

 

[Ann99]

They came out this morning, and here is what the receipt states:
Inside: Replaced 612 receiver; Outside: LNBF(s) 1000.4; signal: 65.

He said it is grounded correctly, so that shouldn't be the problem.
Also, we do get 72, 129, and the BBC. The picture is very clear, I'm assuming it is HD.
We are hoping the problem is solved; so far, so good. I sincerely thank all of you for your help with this problem; we really do appreciate it.

 

[Yes616]

They came out this morning, and here is what the receipt states:
Inside: Replaced 612 receiver; Outside: LNBF(s) 1000.4; signal: 65.

He said it is grounded correctly, so that shouldn't be the problem.
Also, we do get 72, 129, and the BBC. The picture is very clear, I'm assuming it is HD.
We are hoping the problem is solved; so far, so good. I sincerely thank all of you for your help with this problem; we really do appreciate it.

That 1000.4 is the Eastern Arc dish. You are looking at 61.5, 72 and 77. Not 129. Press menu on your remote then 6, 1 then 3. Here you see the satellites you are receiving signals from. The front of the dish says TurboHD.

Do you play with favorites lists? If so, it's time to change some channels there. Change what you were seeing in SD before to HD. It always says HD in the guide list on the left side. If you need additional help on this one, let me know.

Also, make sure you are seeing lots of HD channels in the upper 300 range. Those are the "Platnum" channels. If you are paying the $10.00 per month for HD, you are entitled to those at no additional charge. If you don't see them, follow my special instructions to get them added. It must be done online.

 

[Yes616]

You must be referring to the "old meter" when you say "Dish 500". Correct?

When I say that 43 to 47 is too low, I am referring to the current signal meter readings.

Before looking at anything else, I would peak their dish, whether EA or added 61.5 wing dish.

There is the old meter, true. 119 used to come in at 125% in those days. The readings I show above are with the modified meter. Now we seem to playing another game with these readings on EA. These readings are even lower. Readings in the 30's and 40's in those days were totally unacceptable. My low 77° readings seem to work good now.