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Topic:
New HD TiVo: odd quirk when no LNB B,C signals present
This thread has 5 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Wednesday October 5, 2005 at 10:33
Ernie Bornn-Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
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Heads up:

When you test signal levels on the new HD TiVo, it will tell you that you have good signal on LNBs B and C even if it is only connected to an old multiswitch giving you signals from LNB A. My client spent at least an hour on the phone with DirecTV the other day and they did not understand what was wrong.

He had an old Sony SAT-B2 and a 19" TV in his kitchen/dinette. He upgraded to a bright new LCD with a new HD TiVo. When DirecTV installed it, he had good signal strength on all three LNBs, but could not receive a single HD channel.

Backing up three years, he has a total of five receivers in the house. Back then, we had a hard time finding 5x8 multiswitches. He only had one HD receiver so we split the LNB A signals, running one half to a 3x4 multiswitch and the other half, along with the LNB B and LNB C signals, to a 5x4 multiswitch.

The kitchen was connected to the LNB A ONLY multiswitch.

The new HD TiVo, when looking at signal strength on this setup, did not notice when looking at the signal on LNB B and LNB C that it was actually looking at the signals from LNB A, so it appeared that he had good signal strength. But after checking strength, the setup process does another step which checks for dial tone and good signal on LNBs A, B, and C. THAT step could tell that there were really no signals coming from LNBs B and C, so they always failed and reset the dish choice to "round."

The tech who came to the house could not figure it out, and the techs on the phone could not figure it out. I moved the line to the HD multiswitch and everything worked.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 2 made on Thursday October 6, 2005 at 14:13
Spiky
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Sounds like your title should be: "New Multiswitch setup needed: odd quirk when no LNB B,C signals present"

This isn't the case with a normal setup. When I got my HDTivo, I had one 18" dish pointed to 101. It registered zero signal on 110 or 119, as you would expect.
OP | Post 3 made on Friday October 7, 2005 at 00:36
Ernie Bornn-Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
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That is exactly what I expected and why I called this an odd quirk. If I had installed this, I would have checked to see where the signal came from because I know how the house was wired, and this problem would not have arisen. This is an unintended result of DirecTV thinking that custom installers are not needed and telling their clients that they, or DirecTV, can do this themselves or over the phone.

What model HD TiVo do you have?
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 4 made on Friday October 7, 2005 at 10:33
Spiky
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There's only one. HR10-250. It may have started with a different model number, but it hasn't been altered on the inside since it came out. Software is at 3.x.x.x and won't be upgraded to 6.x like the Series 2 Tivos. It's basically a Series 1 Tivo with HD capability.
OP | Post 5 made on Friday October 7, 2005 at 11:22
Ernie Bornn-Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
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On 10/06/05 14:13 ET, Spiky said...
Sounds like your title should be: "New Multiswitch
setup needed: odd quirk when no LNB B,C signals
present"

Really? Seeing signals on 110 and 119 seem to indicate that there is a multiswitch in place and that it is working properly. The clue for me was the zero level on the same transponder of 110 or 119 that has zero level on the 101. The client and DirecTV had no idea that there might be a non-HD multiswitch in the house as they have HD in the living room.

This isn't the case with a normal setup. When
I got my HDTivo, I had one 18" dish pointed to
101. It registered zero signal on 110 or 119,
as you would expect.

Then I guess you would agree with the title of the thread, as your HD TiVo, same model, did not register any signal on 110 or 119, but this one did. I call that an odd quirk of at least this one TiVo.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 6 made on Monday October 10, 2005 at 17:43
Spiky
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
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2,288
Congrats on solving this guy's problem. Not sure why you're up in arms over what I wrote. If they plugged the Tivo sat connections into the antenna lead I would assume something wrong would happen, too.

I am also not familiar with the purported problem of D* not using custom installers. They won't even let you buy a receiver and install it yourself anymore. DIYers are trying to bribe the D* installers to let the customer go pick up their new receivers themselves when all they have to do is plug them in, but can't get a guy to show up. Maybe you just mean outside contractors aren't being used. Sorry, they are attempting to screw far more than just you guys. They'll be losing my business if they don't figure it out next year.


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