TrueVision and ER16 "No Signal Available" message

[orangeguy72]

I've been going around and around with calling TrueVision with my TV service for the last few weeks now. It's the ER16 "No Signal Available" message. I'm in a one year contract with them and this is my 4th month with them. When I bring up the topic if you cann't fix the problem will you let me out of my contract. I just hear I will have to talk with someone else and they try and send out the same tech again and again he may he may see the problem come up on the screen,but he just leaves again. Has anyone had this problem or am I stuck with having this one year contract.

[Pib]

You on cable or satellite TrueVisions? If on satellite (i.e., you have a dish) make sure it aligned properly/not being partially obstructed by another building/tree/etc., as you may be just barely receiving enough signal sometimes to give you a picture and other times not enough signal which gives you the No Signal Available message. Also, ensure your cabling is good especially at any "connection point."

[orangeguy72]

You on cable or satellite TrueVisions? If on satellite (i.e., you have a dish) make sure it aligned properly/not being partially obstructed by another building/tree/etc., as you may be just barely receiving enough signal sometimes to give you a picture and other times not enough signal which gives you the No Signal Available message. Also, ensure your cabling is good especially at any "connection point."

It's a cable system not a dish. The cable running from the pole to my place is from TrueVision. From my 20 plus years of working as a computer tech and cabling over 200 locations I would bet it's the cable runs. I put this post out to see what others that had TrueVision had run into my same problem. I want to get out of this mess but I'm in a one year contract. I may have to limp along on this poor service for the next 8 months. I already got a other TV service from TMN for just 3,500 baht a year. To cover when TrueVision goes out. So,now if I bring in 3BB for my internet then I basicly throwing away 3,000 baht a month on True.

[Pib]

I'm on TrueVisions cable also for TV and internet. I live in western Bangkok. i rarely see the error msg you mention which means there is no signal....and when that occurs I have no TV or internet...there are other occasions where I can't get an internet IP address but the TV is still working. Fortunately, my uptime for Truvisions TV and internet is far north of 99.9% and any down times are brief. Heck, even during the late 2011 floods when I had a meter of water in my moobaan for a month, the True cable TV and internet continued to work, while people on TOT ADSL lost service within days of the flood. About all you can do is check the cabling after the cable enters your residence and continue to contact True.

[orangeguy72]

I'm on TrueVisions cable also for TV and internet. I live in western Bangkok. i rarely see the error msg you mention which means there is no signal....and when that occurs I have no TV or internet...there are other occasions where I can't get an internet IP address but the TV is still working. Fortunately, my uptime for Truvisions TV and internet is far north of 99.9% and any down times are brief. Heck, even during the late 2011 floods when I had a meter of water in my moobaan for a month, the True cable TV and internet continued to work, while people on TOT ADSL lost service within days of the flood. About all you can do is check the cabling after the cable enters your residence and continue to contact True.

The True techs live at my place. They have been here almost everyday and have seen the problem,but their answer is "it's working now" and leave. From what I now hear about True that some section of a town maybe good and others bad. I have the luck of being in one of True's bad section of pattaya. Now,I'm given up on them fixing the problem and now working on them to cancelle my one year contract.

[phetphet]

You have probable already checked this, but whenever I have had a similar problem, it is usually a loose connection at the back of the box or the RF joints need tightening.

[RichCor]

You have probable already checked this, but whenever I have had a similar problem, it is usually a loose connection at the back of the box or the RF joints need tightening.

While this might be true, I would start with a broader diagnostic test.

Are ALL channels showing No Signal?

It True only delivering Digital Channels, or are there also some Analog Channels still available?

If so, can these Analog Channels be seen when the Cable is connected directly to a TV tuner input?

If you have a Volt Meter, does the cable measure power?

Does the issue, "No Signal Available", come and go, if so does it do it intermittently or is there a pattern?

Does anyone else near you subscribing to the service have similar issues?

Have you tried 'escalating' the issue to a 'manager' at True?

Is it possible (or desirable) to convert the contract to a Ku-band Satellite subscription???

Would True, You, and the building you're in allow it?

As the OP has already stated, it's probably easier to have the contract terminated. Unless the service has 100% uptime, he'll be dealing with the same 'True techs' to resolve issues and it appears the True Techs believe the issue is him.

[orangeguy72]

You have probable already checked this, but whenever I have had a similar problem, it is usually a loose connection at the back of the box or the RF joints need tightening.

You must understand that the tech's been at my place replacing everything....the box 3 times,cable inside twice. Today is his 8th visit. Right,now as I am typing I just lost the TV signal again. True doesn't have the techs or doesn't want to spend the money to fix this issue. I put up this post to see if anyone else has run into this problem and if the only way out of it was to go to a other company. I stuck in a one year contract at over 3,000 baht a month. One person that had true close to me was able to quit them because he put service in a thai's name and was able to quit it after a month.

[orangeguy72]

You have probable already checked this, but whenever I have had a similar problem, it is usually a loose connection at the back of the box or the RF joints need tightening.

While this might be true, I would start with a broader diagnostic test.

Are ALL channels showing No Signal?

It True only delivering Digital Channels, or are there also some Analog Channels still available?

If so, can these Analog Channels be seen when the Cable is connected directly to a TV tuner input?

If you have a Volt Meter, does the cable measure power?

Does the issue, "No Signal Available", come and go, if so does it do it intermittently or is there a pattern?

Does anyone else near you subscribing to the service have similar issues?

Have you tried 'escalating' the issue to a 'manager' at True?

Is it possible (or desirable) to convert the contract to a Ku-band Satellite subscription???

Would True, You, and the building you're in allow it?

As the OP has already stated, it's probably easier to have the contract terminated. Unless the service has 100% uptime, he'll be dealing with the same 'True techs' to resolve issues and it appears the True Techs believe the issue is him.

You must understand that the tech's been at my place replacing everything....the box 3 times,cable inside twice. Today is his 8th visit. Right,now as I am typing I just lost the TV signal again. True doesn't have the techs or doesn't want to spend the money to fix this issue. I put up this post to see if anyone else has run into this problem and if the only way out of it was to go to a other company. I stuck in a one year contract at over 3,000 baht a month. One person that had true close to me was able to quit them because he put service in a thai's name and was able to quit it after a month. True will not let me out of the contract. I can get 3BB into my place at a cost of 800baht of month. I feel at this time I will call true everyday and have the tech come out until they give up or I die.

P.S. True tech has seen the troblem for myself many times

Edited February 22, 2015 by orangeguy72

[RichCor]

The reason I was asking all the questions was an attempt to see if the 'issue' was external to your residence.

As you've stated that True has replaced the feed cable and digital set-top-box several times then all that's left is 'outside'.

A pole-mounted connection point, an amplifier/distribution switch, 'something' other than what's inside your building but on 'their' end.

I would take a trusted translator and start asking people in the area if they're experiencing any similar issues.

Keep a log of all the Date/Time/Duration of the events and escalate a trouble ticked to a supervisor or manager.

[orangeguy72]

The reason I was asking all the questions was an attempt to see if the 'issue' was external to your residence.

As you've stated that True has replaced the feed cable and digital set-top-box several times then all that's left is 'outside'.

A pole-mounted connection point, an amplifier/distribution switch, 'something' other than what's inside your building but on 'their' end.

I would take a trusted translator and start asking people in the area if they're experiencing any similar issues.

Keep a log of all the Date/Time/Duration of the events and escalate a trouble ticked to a supervisor or manager.

Rich,

I will put a printscreen of what there box reports coming from their side. So,that's external to my side. If you see the post I've put up. Yes,someone else had this same problem with just his internet that lives about 50 yards from me. Supervisors keep sending same guy out and he doesn't want to replace anything or is told not to replace anything up in the poles. As you will see in the printscreen signal quality is almost "0"

[RichCor]

When one channel goes out, do ALL the channels go out?

The image shows a "Signal Level" of 69%, and a "BER" (bit error rate) of 5%.

The next image is reporting "No Signal Available", meaning either there is no 'RF Signal being received, or no Digital Signal being detected)

69% and few errors look good to me. But these images aren't giving the best of diagnostics information.

Normally with Digital Signaling, we want to know the several things to see where the issue is actually located.

RF Quality: Power / (dBmV)

Signal Intensity or SNR

Digital signal Power (dBmV)

Digital Signal Quality, SNR, or

Errors (corrected/uncorrected) nn/nn

(%) percentages can also be displayed if a predictable range of operations (bad to good) is known

Were these images taken of 'their' test equipment? Connected inside your residents, or outside?

[orangeguy72]

When one channel goes out, do ALL the channels go out?

The image shows a "Signal Level" of 69%, and a "BER" (bit error rate) of 5%.

The next image is reporting "No Signal Available", meaning either there is no 'RF Signal being received, or no Digital Signal being detected)

69% and few errors look good to me. But these images aren't giving the best of diagnostics information.

Normally with Digital Signaling, we want to know the several things to see where the issue is actually located.

RF Quality: Power / (dBmV)

Signal Intensity or SNR

Digital signal Power (dBmV)

Digital Signal Quality, SNR, or

Errors (corrected/uncorrected) nn/nn

(%) percentages can also be displayed if a predictable range of operations (bad to good) is known

Were these images taken of 'their' test equipment? Connected inside your residents, or outside?

All Channels go out and sometimes the internet router which is theirs will go down at the same time. The Signal Quality should be at 90 to 100% thats stright from their mouths not mine. When all things are running good you want to see both of these counters at 80 to 100% and that what I see when everything is running good. They won't tell whats on their test units. I will email and call again tonight and the same tech will come out again,but he won't come inside my unit any longer because the thia property owner that told me to go with True bitch at him for a long time fix it.

[RichCor]

Oh, and now I see that the data on that first graphic isn't correlated correctly (first graphic element and text are the same, second graphic element and text represent different data points).

Yea, I was going to ask if your Internet was delivered over the same cable, and if it failed along site the Cable Set-Top-Box.

It really seems like it's external to your building.

IF/RF interference, bad delivery medium ... something 'external' to you.

Keep a log, and keep complaining.

[Pib]

Just as FYI. I just checked my Signal Level and Signal Quality on my TrueVisions cable box and got a Signal Level of 85% and Quality Level of 100%.

And the cable modem DownStream Power is 10.6dbmV and UpStream Power 48.7dbmV.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Pib

[orangeguy72]

Oh, and now I see that the data on that first graphic isn't correlated correctly (first graphic element and text are the same, second graphic element and text represent different data points).

Yea, I was going to ask if your Internet was delivered over the same cable, and if it failed along site the Cable Set-Top-Box.

It really seems like it's external to your building.

IF/RF interference, bad delivery medium ... something 'external' to you.

Keep a log, and keep complaining.

It's one cable coming inside giving both your TV and internet. So,thats why you see them go down at the same time. A thai teaher I know called in to see if they would let me out of my contract if they couldn't fix in the next couple of weeks....they told her"No". I'm just trying to get my internet to a point that it's stable for 5 to 6 hours. I can live without the TV service until 8 months from now when the contract is over.

[orangeguy72]

Just as FYI. I just checked my Signal Level and Signal Quality on my TrueVisions cable box and got a Signal Level of 85% and Quality Level of 100%.

And the cable modem DownStream Power is 10.6dbmV and UpStream Power 48.7dbmV.

yes, that's about what I see when it's running good also. Internet Router is hangup now....LoL

[Pib]

As additional FYI although I said my uptime for my TrueVisions cable TV and internet is north of 99.9% there are times during that 0.1% downtime that TV is working but not the internet. I still have a solid connection to my Wifi router but I don't get an IP connection which is probably being caused by True servers and not other parts of the cable infrastructure. But whenever the TV goes down (excluding those channel realignments they do a couple times per year) the internet is down also which tells me the basic cable infrastructure has went down.

[orangeguy72]

Update to my story. I got a call and at the same time a tech showed up at my place and they are going to replace the cable from the pole to my place. It's a start in the right direction.