CCS repairs older Satellite Receivers capable of receiving Direct TV.

There are many so many different types of Direct TV receivers in the field that to try to cover them in detail seems like a waste of your time as well as ours. However, we can make some observations about satellite TV receivers which may be of benefit to our readers.

At least 80% of the Satellite Receivers we see for repair are damaged by electrical surge. As we are in the business of repairing these receivers, we don't recommend surge suppressors to our customers.

 If we were going to recommend them we would recommend the ones that have PHONE LINE protection. A further recommendation (if we were recommending them) would be to get one that also protects the Low Noise Block Amplifier (LNB or satellite input, or the knob-in-the-middle of the dish)  and external antenna inputs to the receiver.

A surge can do damage through the homes AC wiring, the phone connection, or the satellite input/LNB connection. Damage through the AC wiring is usually relatively easy to repair, for an electronic technician. Manufacturers install surge suppressors inside the receivers to attempt to protect the more delicate circuitry from surges.

A surge from the phone line damages the modem circuit. Typically the manufacturer has built surge protection in this circuit but is limited in the amount of protection that can be added before the phone line is loaded beyond Telco specifications. Larger surges sometimes get through the protection devices, and destroy major components, such as the modem IC itself. If the surge is of sufficient magnitude, it can travel through the modem and destroy the microprocessor as well. When this happens, it usually requires that many small components need replaced also.

The LNB driver circuit has some protection built in also. If the protection circuit does its job, the repair is again, easy for a technician. If the surge was too great for the circuit to dissipate, larger components are destroyed. Small components in the path of the surge usually also need replaced.

When a surge travels through the LNB circuit or the Modem circuit instead of the Power Supply it is much easier for it to get through the initial "front-end" circuitry and into the microprocessors data bus destroying major ICs.

If you are troubleshooting a fault and you have a surge suppressor installed, make sure you bypass it for testing. We have seen surge suppressors not only fail totally open but also cause leakage that can load the signal and cause loss of dial tone or loss of transponders.  

General Troubleshooting guide for all Satellite Receivers

No power: All Satellite TV units have a power indicator light on the front panel. If you have no light then unplug for a minute and plug back in. If still no power we would suggest disconnecting all cables and trying another outlet. No damage will result from powering up a receiver with cables unhooked.

No Display: If your power is up but you have no display on your TV you could have a cable problem. If you have a blue screen on your TV set then it is likely that your signal is not getting to the TV. TV's display blue screens when no signal is detected. Satellite receivers never send blank blue screens. Check your input cables and your TV input switching.

Snow: If you have snow, it is either a broken connection to your TV set or you have toggled the satellite receiver output to the antenna signal with no antenna attached. The satellite receiver has an RF jack (that threaded connector is called an "F" connector) on the back labeled "Antenna In" this is for an external antenna (not your Direct TV satellite signal). If you have an antenna attached, when you turn off the satellite receiver, it directs the signal from this jack to the TV set. This signal is not "translated" to channel 3 or 4 but will remain on the channel it was broadcasted on. You will likely have to tune your TV to some channel other than 3 or 4 to confirm this. It is extremely rare for a Direct TV receiver to be broken in a fashion that gives a "snow" display.

Dish Alignment: A satellite receiver system or an HDTV receiver consists of just a few parts. The Dish, the Low Noise Block Amp (LNB), the cable, and the receiver or set-top box. The Dish is rarely an issue as long as it was properly secured and aligned at installation and tightened down. We rarely see dish alignment changed by a storm. More often, we see people move their dish in a effort to troubleshoot and then need not only their problem fixed, but their dish aligned. If you think you dish has moved:

First, mark the adjusting axis with a magic marker. Try to move it applying reasonable tension with your hands. If you can't reasonably move it, it is unlikely that it has moved. The signal in most parts of the country is quite high. Understand that your dish would have to shift quite a bit to cause total loss of signal. Symptoms of needing alignment would most likely be low signal on multiple transponders, not a total loss of signal. Generally, without loosening anything, you can determine if an alignment will help just by flexing the dish slightly while watch the signal level screen.

No Channels or No Signal, Menus OK:  If you have no picture but have a display (menus work) then suspect your signal or signal path. There are several types of dishes and LNBs.  The most complex system will have three feed horns or "knobs" pointed into the dish.  These feed horns direct the signal into the body of the box that contains the LNB (It is called a block amp because a "block" or group of channels are actually sent into the receiver. The receiver then selects which of these channels it sends on to the decoding circuit of the set-top). If you have more than two receivers in your house, or more than one LNB, then you also have a multi-switch in your system.

The receiver or set-top box sends voltage down the cable to the LNB. This voltage powers the amplifier inside the LNB and tells the amplifier to switch in either the odd or even numbered transponders (think of a transponder as a collection of several channels). The voltage sent to the LNB will either be +13VDC or +18VDC (with respect to the jacket of the cable). As of this writing, Channel 100 is +13V and Channel 500 is  +18V. When the signal level screen is activated, Odd transponders are +13V and even transponders are +18V.  What channels are on which transponder is a system feature controlled by DirecTV and we know of no reasonable way to keep such a list updated nor are we sure it would be of any real value in troubleshooting. 

We offer the following suggestions for troubleshooting:

Ask the gardener if they recently ran the "weed eater" near the dish. Even a minor opening in the outer jacket will allow water to migrate into the cable. A minor tear in the jacket can be fixed with some silicon sealant.

Disconnect the "Sat IN" or Unplug all but one receiver to keep other receivers in the house from confusing the issues. Sometimes a units LNB switching voltage will fail. It will then begin to tune to the satellite selected by the receiver in the bedroom. Quite simply, if you want to check signal level it is a good idea to temporarily unplug the ac cord to additional receivers in the house.

If there is a multi-switch in your system by-pass it temporarily or try another jack. (dual male connectors or "splices" are available at RadioShack)

If you added cable and used a "Twist-on" connector instead of buying a crimping tool be very suspicious. Remember we are not just carrying signal like on a cable system, we are also carrying the operating voltage from the LNB. Splices and cheap connectors will fail.

If you added "discount-house" cable at least make sure it is RG-6 cable. This will be stamped on the outer jacket. RG-59 cable will not reliably carry the satellite signal or DC power.

If you know how to safely measure DC voltage then we can offer the following: Disconnect the cable (s) at the LNB. Turn the satellite receiver OFF but leave plugged in. Measure from center pin of cable to jacket. You will see the receiver start searching for signal by toggling between +13 and +18 Volts. A common failure is to see one of these voltages not working. This can be confirmed by seeing either odd or even transponders missing from the signal level screen. (If you don't have a Voltage meter we DO NOT recommend sticking the cable on your tongue like a 9 volt battery).

If you have more than one LNB on your dish, the signal to switch from one LNB to the other is a 22KHz signal (about 1V P-P). This circuit does fail but not often. If you have channels from the "A" satellite but not the "B" it is more likely caused by your menus being set to the wrong dish type.

The "A" LNB and the "B" LNBs are interchangeable for troubleshooting purposes. A "C" LNB is a different thing altogether. The "C" LNB would generally be used on a system subscribed to Foreign channels or High Definition programs. If your LNB has two RF jacks on it  (Dual LNB) they can be used interchangeably. If you have one of the newer dishes with a combined triple LNB and multi-switch built in we can only tell you to try all the jacks on it. They are all interchangeable.

Other things we know:

We know the volume buttons on the remote are used only to program for volume control on your TV set. None of the receivers we are aware of have volume control built into the set-top.

We know if your unit shuts off at the same time or times every day it is probably trying to run a software  update from Direct TV it is not necessarily broken. Chances are it will stop doing it in a few days.

We know if your box orders Pay-per-View events it has been told to do so by someone (babysitter?). The box doesn't just go watch WWF events and adult movies when it is bored.

 We know that stealing signal is a crime. We know we will not knowingly assist you, nor will we repair any satellite receiver box sent to us, with suspicious jumper wires installed. (To the best of our knowledge, a modification to the satellite receiver without a modification to the card will never work.)

Along those same lines: We do nothing with cards, we don't need yours to repair your box, we don't sell them, wipe them, or rent them. Call your service provider for ALL issues dealing with cards. We believe that in the long run it is cheaper to buy signal.

Only you can judge as to your ability to safely diagnose your problems using the methods here-in described. If you need to go onto the roof, or hang precariously off a ladder, we suggest getting a know-it-all colleague from work to assist you with the dangerous stuff.

Obviously, we take no legal responsibility for our advice. It is meant to be helpful and that's about it.

There are also some good screen shots and troubleshooting available from DIRECTV Customer Center.