GMM box reception Ku band

[taotoo]

It's started raining and some of my channels cut out. Before was on True and all channels would cut out at the same time (and not often).

It's the old SD box (used to be 1,600 baht, now 1,000 I believe).

Channels on 123xx frequencies are fine, but those on 126xx cut-out in the rain.

I've tried re-pointing the dish, but just got a slight increase in Q for a slight reduction in S.

In dry weather I get roughly:

123xx:

S 69

Q 67

126xx:

S 70

Q 51

And in the rain:

123xx:

S 66

Q 53

126xx:

S 66

Q 30

I'm in Chiang Mai. The LNB is at the same angle as my neighbours'. The cable is probably less than 20m. No splitter. The dish/lnb is about 9 years old - not sure if the dish can warp etc. As I say, it worked well with True - rarely cut out.

So, are all channels actually on the same satellite?

Is it simply that the higher frequencies are more affected by rain?

Do the numbers suggest that the dish is aligned properly?

Does the HD box get better reception?

Could I just plug a C band dish into my existing box?

Thanks for any pointers..

[IMHO]

Those signal and quality levels are very low - when adjusting these dishes, fractions of a mm count. You might also have a bad connection, bad LNB and/or cable damage contributing to the problem. A satellite TV tech should have it sorted out for a few hundred Baht.

Edited November 18, 2013 by IMHO

[taotoo]

Those signal and quality levels are very low - when adjusting these dishes, fractions of a mm count. You might also have a bad connection, bad LNB and/or cable damage contributing to the problem. A satellite TV tech should have it sorted out for a few hundred Baht.

Thanks, that's very useful! I'll check the connection and look for obvious cable damage, retry pointing the dish, and if that doesn't work I'll get someone around.

[lopburi3]

And yes you can simply change to a C-band antenna (on same Thaisat5/6) with that set and it will OTA the new channels lineup (about 200 plus any pay).

[taotoo]

And yes you can simply change to a C-band antenna (on same Thaisat5/6) with that set and it will OTA the new channels lineup (about 200 plus any pay).

Thank you! It may come to that yet.

[taotoo]

Just to update this topic - I swapped the old-style box for a HD box and the Signal value went up by about 20, and the Quality also went up, by a variable amount.

[Satcommlee]

Same Satellite but different transponders, a transponder is basically an amplifier in space.

 

Transponders will vary, and so will your signal levels..

 

perfectly normal!

[taotoo]

But this was comparing the same channels on the two boxes - all SD channels. The numbers vary by channel, but in exactly the same way as they did on the old box, just offset by +20 or so.

[apetley]

Using GMM with the HD Lite decoder.
Since yesterday the CTH channels have gone missing. When checking signal strength it is either non existent or very low.
All other channels are fine including others on the Platinum package.
Calling their helpline didn't help at all as they were clueless.
Anyone else having the same problem?
Thanks for reading.

[RichCor]

Using GMM with the HD Lite decoder.
Since yesterday the CTH channels have gone missing. When checking signal strength it is either non existent or very low.
All other channels are fine including others on the Platinum package.
Calling their helpline didn't help at all as they were clueless.
Anyone else having the same problem?
Thanks for reading.

 

You would need to say what Satellite, Band (C or Ku), Transponder Frequency, and Polarization has dropped out for you, as CTH operates on 3 different satellites.

 

They will sometimes shift channels from one transport stream (channels broadcast together on a transponder frequency) to another transponder steam, but the box should know this when it receives the OTA updates.  Maybe you need to unplug your box for a few minutes to force an update.

[apetley]

Thanks for the reply.
Channels returned this afternoon with no input from me.......wish I knew why :-)