How can you tell if your LNB is toast?

[torontogreg]

This might be a hard q to answer exactly, but I just want to get consensus- I bought all 4 of my lnb's 2nd hand about 2005... 6 years ago. They are likely at least 10 years old. They are Normal D*sh 'LNBF' with dual outputs & two to a dish.

I have an I-link 9500.
I have two dishes aimed at 110/119 & one aimed at 129 with a large (about 33") Aziza dish. (I dont aim at B*v anymore so I have a spare now). All my problem is with the hd channels from the big dish aimed at 129. With one lnb, I got pretty good reception of hd channels, generally, but all the channels on tp 12472 (including CNN 9436) were weak or scrambled. So I switched that LNB & CNN & the others on 12472 came in fine buuut now all the channels on 12486 don't come in. same problem.

THe S&Q on channels that do come in are good, 99 & 80-90 so that leads me to believe its not a cable or aiming problem but something to do with the LNB's.

So my question is, speshly to those that have been in this hobby a while, what is the expected life span of an lnb, & what are the signs that one is worn out? There are no moving parts but like anything I guess they don't last forever.

[anyonomus]

An LNB is like a lightbulb..
It works or it does not..There is no in-between that I have ever seen..
However I have seen reports that the LNB was 'weak' but I have never seen nor witnessed that myself.
If u are receiving channels then the LNB is working...
If you are not receiving 'all' the channels u are supposed to be receiving..I suggest u tweak the dish to get a higher Quality or change up to a bigger dish to make the Q higher..
The Q that u show cannot be on that transponder u are getting no pic on ,or u would be receiving the channel if it is not scrambled.
There are 'newer' LNB's that have a lower operating Temp then the older ones (this would make them bring in a higher Q)but a larger dish or tweaking will do the same thing.
I am sure there are more 'technical' explanations and hopefully members/staff will stop by and add there opinions because that is all this is...MHO..
Any

[bliz]

Try adding a 22Khz switch to the 129

[black bear]

If your signal level is @ zero then i would check your cable / switch . A quick test to see if the lnb is getting power is to take the lnb off the dish and take it to your receiver , then take a short piece of RG6 and attach it to the lnb then into lnb IN then check Signal level reading in the antenna page and see if the numbers are high or low . If they are low then i would suspect a bad lnb .. Remember to power down stb with back switch while doing any connections to lnbs , switches etc ......

[anyonomus]

S&Q[/B] on channels that do come in are good, 99 & 80-90 so that leads me to believe its not a cable or aiming problem but something to do with the LNB's.




If your signal level is @ zero then i would check your cable / switch . A quick test to see if the lnb is getting power is to take the lnb off the dish and take it to your receiver , then take a short piece of RG6 and attach it to the lnb then into lnb IN then check Signal level reading in the antenna page and see if the numbers are high or low . If they are low then i would suspect a bad lnb .. Remember to power down stb with back switch while doing any connections to lnbs , switches etc ......

He has S&Q on the channels he can view..acording to his post above..
He has S but no Q on the ones he can't see.. LNB is working or he would have no pic on any transponder/channel..
As mentioned,,,Tweak or bigger dish ...

[stman]

I'm thinking that it is an alignment issue because of the closeness of the two transponders you are having problems with. I have used the type lnbs you are using for at least as long or longer with no problems. You didn't say if you are running other receivers on your setup or only one. That can cause strange transponder issues too. You might also look at the FEC and SER settings for those tps in your receivers sat settings and compare them with those on lyngsat to be sure they match.

[torontogreg]

well, I switched lnb's and at the same time switched cables & disecq's. I have a nano2 sharing the lnb's for 110/119 but not for the 129- I doubt that matters... anyway the hd's are coming in much better but for what reason I'm still not 100% sure... one thing I didnt mention- one cable going to roof is for sure quality r6 & Im using it now for the Ilink & 129, but the other I'm not as sure about- it doesnt say 59 so Im not sure it is 59, it does say catv though. It looks like quality cable & is a leftover from a companies cable installation... works for 110/119 anyway but maybe all the hd on 129 maxed it out? I donno.

[Don_Quixote]

If your signal level is @ zero then i would check your cable / switch . A quick test to see if the lnb is getting power is to take the lnb off the dish and take it to your receiver , then take a short piece of RG6 and attach it to the lnb then into lnb IN then check Signal level reading in the antenna page and see if the numbers are high or low . If they are low then i would suspect a bad lnb .. Remember to power down stb with back switch while doing any connections to lnbs , switches etc ......

If the LNB isn't on the dish and pointing at least near a bird it would get a zero on signal on the receiver wouldn't it?

[anyonomus]

If the LNB isn't on the dish and pointing at least near a bird it would get a zero on signal on the receiver wouldn't it?

Sorry.. No..and no disrespect intended..
To explain is simple terms ,if I may..
Signal is the electrical connection between the LNB and the receiver.. The LNB could actually be sitting in the living room pointed at the floor and if the coax cable and connectors are good..u would have a good "signal"
The Q is what the LNB sees from the sat and the Q or Quality that gives u a picture.
No Q no Pic..

[bigdummy]

well, I switched lnb's and at the same time switched cables & disecq's. I have a nano2 sharing the lnb's for 110/119 but not for the 129- I doubt that matters... anyway the hd's are coming in much better but for what reason I'm still not 100% sure... one thing I didnt mention- one cable going to roof is for sure quality r6 & Im using it now for the Ilink & 129, but the other I'm not as sure about- it doesnt say 59 so Im not sure it is 59, it does say catv though. It looks like quality cable & is a leftover from a companies cable installation... works for 110/119 anyway but maybe all the hd on 129 maxed it out? I donno.

You might have had a leaking switch , i had lots of those heavy duty chieta wd2041 leak accross ports and cause strange S and Q issues

[Don_Quixote]

Sorry.. No..and no disrespect intended..
To explain is simple terms ,if I may..
Signal is the electrical connection between the LNB and the receiver.. The LNB could actually be sitting in the living room pointed at the floor and if the coax cable and connectors are good..u would have a good "signal"
The Q is what the LNB sees from the sat and the Q or Quality that gives u a picture.
No Q no Pic..

Ahhh.. ok.. I know where I got confused here. I have actual Be|_ receivers. They only show the strength of the signal the LNB is getting from the bird.