Cable TV Issue: Suggestions Welcome

[Bill Gillespie]

Four weeks ago the Direct TV on the boat worked perfectly. I have a standard dish on the dock. Yesterday I did a check and observed that the satellite signal was zero. After three hours of checking cable hookups through the boat's system, I observed nothing wrong. The diagnostic for the box indicated it was fine. I attached the cable from the dish directly to the receiver and it still indicated no signal at all. I even switched antenna dishes with the neighbor with no improvement. I have ordered a new receiver over the objection of Directtv. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Bill

 

[tdschafer]

Was the dish getting power? I have a little power pack that plugs in at home and powers the LNB in the dish.


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[jgoedd99]

Anytime i have a problem with my DirectTV it is always the external connector, where the dockside antenna connects to the port on the boat. I have had to cut the end and put a new end on it several times. It seems like the braided outer wire they use is a light aluminum and corrodes very easily. I can't .say for sure that is your problem, but that's where i'd start. (I also try my best to keep the cable end dry.)

Good luck
JohnG

 

[Jims380DA]

Does your boat have the factory Glomex antenna? If so make sure the amplifier, or gain control is turned off. The unit acts like a splitter when turned on and bypasses the input line from the dock. I had the same problem and it drove me nuts. Just a thought.

 

[spikedaddy99]

If you go too long without using some of the Direct TV receivers, they go inactive. Didn't Direct TV "reactivate" you receiver? I have to do this when we go camping all of the time.
Mike

 

[tdschafer]

If you go too long without using some of the Direct TV receivers, they go inactive. Didn't Direct TV "reactivate" you receiver? I have to do this when we go camping all of the time.
Mike

You're right. I have to do this several times a year if one of the boxes isn't used for a while.

 

[Bill Gillespie]

Reactivating the programming is required if not used for an extended period of time. However, if you run a signal strength test in any scenario there will be a reading usually in excess of 80. In my case that reading is zero, no signal from the dish I will be installing a new box to see if it corrects the problem. I promise to get back to this group after the weekend to report on the outcome.

Bill

 

[Bill Gillespie]

It was the perfect storm of issues. A boating neighbor and Sea Ray member is also an electronics contractor who knows how this stuff works. After a couple of hours it was determined that the A/B switch was defective and the cable from the dish to the boat was defecttive. I missed this because I was checking one issue at a time. I know my stuff now. We are back to watching television. Total cost: $10 for a new A/B switch.