Dish (not lnb) seems incompatible with receiver - is this possible?

[lazy_magician]

How many ohms did your meter read, while testing that?

Hey, as per my previous comment, I should mention that the cable I tested is quite short. I'd say its less than 15 feet.
But after I tested it, I hooked both receivers up to it, and the Blade media box had reception and the iview HD box didn't.
Now, with a cool head, I am starting to realise, my theory of cable incompatibility does not really make any sense.....

 

[Lazarus]

I'm not sure, but part of the body of the blade media box is steel. I could be wrong here, but I think that all electric components with conductive frames require an earth cable.

No.They are Class 2 appliances and meet the clearance, creepage and other design and construction requirements to be deemed safe without an earth connection. The metal case is a red herring. If it's supplied via a two core mains cable, leave it alone.

Edited to add: Looking back, it seems the box uses a power brick. Same applies - leave it alone.

 

[lazy_magician]

RG59 is very high loss at IF frequencies, not really designed for it.

The more I think about it now, the less my cable theory makes sense. The only thing I am starting to suspect is whether an internal aperture in the iview HD box is too small to fit the RG6U cable... I don't know. I'm only guessing at this stage...

 

[a33]

Puzzling problem, this is.

Correct me if I'm summarizing wrong:
Both your receivers work perfectly on your shed installation.
On your house installation, the Blade works, the Iview doesn't.
The cable from house to the LNB has continuity. Maybe three ohms over estimated 150 milli-Amp for the LNB would mean 0.45 V voltage drop ~ not too bad.
You used the shed LNB (that worked there for the Iview) also on the house installation: No reception for Iview. That would also rule out LO-frequency drift of an LNB as compared to the loaded channel list, as that LNB worked at the shed.

As your suggestion, I'd check voltage at the cable end at the LNB now.
That means: cable connected to the Iview, loose at the LNB.
Then power up the Iview, and check voltage at the cable end. Should be about 13V for a vertical channel, about 18 volt for a horizontal value (plus at the core). (Don't create a short, while measuring!)

If there is 0 volt, it really is a connection problem.
If there is a voltage, alas this measurement at the LNB-end would better be done under load of the LNB. That is a bit more difficult to set up, if you don't have a T-splitter or so to split off the 'core connection'.

For the rest I cannot think of other possibilities to test, at the moment.
Why does the Blade work at the house, whereas the Iview does not...?

Greetz,
A33

 

[ozumo]

Does the Blade Media box have an LNB out/loop-through connector?

 

[lazy_magician]

Puzzling problem, this is.

Correct me if I'm summarizing wrong:
Both your receivers work perfectly on your shed installation.
On your house installation, the Blade works, the Iview doesn't.
The cable from house to the LNB has continuity. Maybe three ohms over estimated 150 milli-Amp for the LNB would mean 0.45 V voltage drop ~ not too bad.
You used the shed LNB (that worked there for the Iview) also on the house installation: No reception for Iview. That would also rule out LO-frequency drift of an LNB as compared to the loaded channel list, as that LNB worked at the shed.

As your suggestion, I'd check voltage at the cable end at the LNB now.
That means: cable connected to the Iview, loose at the LNB.
Then power up the Iview, and check voltage at the cable end. Should be about 13V for a vertical channel, about 18 volt for a horizontal value (plus at the core). (Don't create a short, while measuring!)

If there is 0 volt, it really is a connection problem.
If there is a voltage, alas this measurement at the LNB-end would better be done under load of the LNB. That is a bit more difficult to set up, if you don't have a T-splitter or so to split off the 'core connection'.

For the rest I cannot think of other possibilities to test, at the moment.
Why does the Blade work at the house, whereas the Iview does not...?

Greetz,
A33

Hey, this response led me to the right answer, thanks very much for your help mate.

 

[ozumo]

And the answer was?

 

[lazy_magician]

So guys, I resolved this issue, but now I have another problem. I need to delete this entire thread to destroy any evidence of this stupidity......

I know how I did this, but it is too complicated to explain..... Just a brainfart, but one of the silent but deadly ones that keeps coming out and I was completely oblivious to the fact that the stink was my brain farting. I thought it was just everyone else's!

So yeah, deeply disappointed with myself..... but for the record, this is what I did.

I mixed up the power source. The iview HD box needed a 12v supply. I stuck in a 5v source from the android box I was trying to replace. That gave me all the functionality including the terrestrial TV stations, but no satellite TV stations. When I was in the shed I used a 12v supply for something else.


Anyway, thanks for all your help. A great community. I have learned an absolute tonne since I started to tackle this problem. Especially Greetz and Lazarus. I think ye were getting pretty close to recommending checking the power brick

 

[Lazarus]

No need to delete the Thread - it's actually quite informative, regardless of the actual cause!

 

[jeallen01]

Don't worry, we all make "stupid mistakes" like that at times - good job it wasn't the other way around and you had plugged a 12V (or higher!) PSU into a box that needed 5V!

And in your defence: if the markings on the 5V PSU were tiny and not very clear (as they often are - sometimes I've needed a bright light and a magnifying glass to read them! ) and the plugs were the same size and thus interchangeable, then the error is quite understandable!

 

[ozumo]

It's nothing to be ashamed of, I've killed a few boxes by plugging a 12v power supply into a 5v Input. When the plugs are identical it's so easy to get them mixed up.

 

[rolfw]

Well done, was certainly an interesting thread, if somewhat frustrating for you.

 

[Analoguesat]

I bought a cheap dymo labeller a few years ago - whenever a new bit of kit with a power block comes into the house the block immediately gets labelled so they dont get mixed up. Or if they get seperated from their device its a simple job to match them up again..

 

[Lazarus]

I bought a cheap dymo labeller a few years ago - whenever a new bit of kit with a power block comes into the house the block immediately gets labelled so they dont get mixed up..

Tippex for me.

 

[a33]

Anyway, thanks for all your help.

Well, it is good that you found the cause. I was about to have no ideas left....

Greetz,
A33

 

[jeallen01]

I bought a cheap dymo labeller a few years ago - whenever a new bit of kit with a power block comes into the house the block immediately gets labelled so they dont get mixed up. Or if they get seperated from their device its a simple job to match them up again..

Except, as I found out yesterday, when you put a power block somewhere "other than normal" - I'd been looking for the (51V o/p !) one for a PoE Ethernet switch for nearly 2 months, but only found it by accident yesterday in another room (the front bedroom!) where I had put it to "clear the office space a bit" as it's a very small room, and I have to do that sometimes

 

[rolfw]

I bought a cheap dymo labeller a few years ago - whenever a new bit of kit with a power block comes into the house the block immediately gets labelled so they dont get mixed up. Or if they get seperated from their device its a simple job to match them up again..

I started doing the same, got dozens of power supplies which are unallocated from before.

 

[jeallen01]

I started doing the same, got dozens of power supplies which are unallocated from before.

I did do that for quite a time - until I kinda stopped

Will now, having hopefully "learned my lesson", I will try to restart the labelling.

 

[Sleepingwiththefish]

I mixed up the power source. The iview HD box needed a 12v supply. I stuck in a 5v source from the android box I was trying to replace.

Well, I remember when a router fried, because connecting 12V to a USB port (external 5V Y power cable for HDD) is not healthy, immediately heard a pop. Luckly no more usb devices were connected.
Or maybe it was a factory defect and the warranty covered it! Can't recall correctly!

 

[Analoguesat]

I started doing the same, got dozens of power supplies which are unallocated from before.

And of course you cant throw them out because you are bound to need one as soon as its gone in the WEEE skip!