Weak sattelite signals from 119 Dish

B

Bufford

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Mar 13, 2006
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I just started having issues with the Dish network sattelite tv system. I use the dish 500 using two dishes one for 110 which works fine and is 1 year old, and 119 (very weak now) and 12 years old.

Its been a gradual deterioration in signal over the past year and now I only get half the channels on 119. 110 is fine. There is a spruce tree in the area that sometimes bothers the signal. Last evening I pumped out half a box of 12 gauge shells using #4 shot and cleared away alot of branches without any real improvement to the signal, so I am thinking the problem maybe in the wiring.

I am wondering if it could be the switch, or perhaps the LNBF on the older dish which is 12 years old? The reciever is only 1 year old too. I will also check the connections if time permits today.
 
It is most likely the tree, the problem branches are prolly higher than the ones you would expect them to be.

Otherwise to check to see if it is the switch just switch the dish hook ups on the switch and do a check switch in the menu (hit menu,6,1,1, then select check switch, and test).

But usually if it is the LNB or the switch it doesn't get gradually worse it goes out all at once. The wiring could go out gradually but then there is usually a visible bad spot in it.
 
I pretty much ruled out trees. I tried clearing more branches and the signal does not respond. I cut down a suspect tree further in the yard and nothing. I took appart the connections and reconnected them- nothing. I am going to replace the dish with a spare one in the garage and if that doesn't work then its time to call in the professionals.
 
If you're using two dishes, you must have a combiner switch in the line somewhere. It looks more like a 2-way splitter than a "switch" but that's what they call it. SW-21 if I remember correctly. They are known to go bad after a few years.
 
On the remote control hit "Menu" --> "System Setup" --> "Installation" --> "Point Dish" and you should see the signal strength bar. The Dish tech told me anything over 55 is good. If less than 55 the dish needs to have its angle reset or needs a clear line of sight to the satellite...
 
I ran the diagnostics on the switch test that the reciever can perform and it came up saying that it can find only one sattelite, it did not tell me if the switch failed. So does this mean the switch is bad, or some other problem?
 
Sorry to leave you hanging. If you're running two dishes and only one showed up after a switch test, it usually means the switch is bad (I did Dish and DirecTV installs for a year so I hope I don't mislead you). You can test the switch by bypassing it (use a barrel connector to join the two co-axial cables together) and running the test again for each satellite.

That doesn't sound very clear. Let me try again. The SW-21 has two co-ax leads going to one side and one coming out the other. Take one of the input cables to the switch and join it to the output cable with a barrel connector (a co-ax cable connector with threads on both sides). Run the switch test on the satellite receiver back at the TV. You should see either satelitte 110 or 119. Then, go back to the SW-21 and switch the input leads. Run the switch check again. You should see the other satellite now. If this makes sense to you, you have isolated the switch as your problem. They usually go for around $30 new and some shops will sell them used for $15. You may even call Dish and see if they'll send you a new one, some of their operators are better than others. But no matter what, do not call Dish after 3 p.m. on a Friday, all the smart people have gone home for the weekend.

The switch check on Dish receivers is a helpful diagnostic tool but it won't tell you what's wrong, only tells you what's right. It will never tell you the switch is bad, only that you are getting or not getting reception from a specific satellite.

Another thing, the dishes themselves don't go bad unless they get bent so I wouldn't bother changing the whole dish. You may inspect where the mast is mounted, occasionally they will work their way loose and affect alignment. Rare, but possible. Sometimes the LNB goes bad but more often it is the combiner switch (SW-21) that goes bad, especially on older setups. The newer systems have the combiner built right into the LNB; they are a little more durable. Hope this helps, you can click on my name and email me if you want to know anything more specific.
 
I just got back from a two week visit with family, and now had a chance to work on the dish. I isolated the switch with the inline barrel connector and managed to isolate the problem to a bad cable between the dish on 119 and the switch. Everything is good now with equal signal strength from both sattelites.

Over the past year the problem developed gradually, and it was worse during and after wet weather. After blaming the problem on trees, it was time to look at the hardware. Problem solved, dish problems are very annoying.
 
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