Sky+ and humax odd signal problem

K

Keith G

New Member
My Satellite Setup
Dual LNB, Humax Foxsat HDR and Sky+HD
My Location
Luxembourg
My 1st post so go easy...

I have a dual LNB, Sky+ box upstairs, Humax box downstairs.

Everything has been fine up until a couple of weeks or so ago when the Sky box started getting a blocky signal on some channels ITV3, Film 4, briefly dropping out completely, this happens pretty much from switching on. Humax downstairs was perfect.

1st thing I did was swap the cables at the LNB to see if one of the outputs was duff. Still had the same problem.

So I moved the boxes to check if it's the line in. I moved the Sky box downstairs and the Humax box upstairs. Everything was perfect for a few couple of hours. Sky box is still perfect downstairs, but the Humax started OK, but is now dropping the signal... this is after 3 hours.

When the signal is OK I have pretty much 100% quality and strength on the line upstairs... Humax, 90% quality and 75% strength on the line downstairs... sky box (the sky box is still perfect) .

So the upstairs signal took a few hours to start dropping out on the Humax, but immediately on the Sky box. So, I'm thinking that it is a cable issue, where the Sky box is more sensitive to a bad line than the Humax, or that it's weather, atmospherics i.e. later in the evening ? or something else ? Could it be water ingress on the cable ?

The Humax is now losing the signal every 30secs or so but only for a flash of a second and then is back to full strength.
 
I might suspect a failing PSU in the Humax due to "overheating" &/or the HV or LV circuit smoothing capacitors, although others may know better??
 
I'd check for water ingress, either a damaged cable, or at the F connector. Also check all the F Connectors, and re-do the connections, ensuring that the braid is still making full contact.
fit a F connector.webp
 
Mickha said:
I'd check for water ingress, either a damaged cable, or at the F connector. Also check all the F Connectors, and re-do the connections, ensuring that the braid is still making full contact.
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@Mickha
TBH, I would think that those possible causes of the OP's problem would be imediately obvious when the receiver was connected to the cables from the dish, and not only 2-3 hours thereafter.
 
Misalignment of the dish, or a failing LNB, potentially water in the feed.
 
Wait till the problem occurs, leave the receivers on, (I assume there are no switches in-line) then using a DVM check the DC voltage at the LNB connectors, (center conductor to outside of the connector) you should have ether +13 volts or +18 volts plus or minus a volt, anything less on one or both feeds then it could be a problem with the coax, or the receiver on that line could have a problem, the same voltage should be present at the "F" connector on the receivers LNB input.

Water getting into the coax between the shield and center conductor can cause strange problems like this, and it doesn't have to always be the connector, a coax staple or nail into the coaxes PVC jacket can cause a headache like this.
 
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