Error 771 help (direct TV)

[Scott]

Guys, I have the 20 and 21 HD boxes from Direct TV.  Just got them put in about a six weeks ago with the new 5 lnb dish.

Things seemed to work fine the first two weeks.  Then during those snowstorms, I'd get the 771 error indicating that it couldn't find the satellites so I'd get no HD channels.  I'd brush the snow off and they would work fine.

Now I'm getting the 771 error on both boxes. All day long.  I get most channels save for the HD channels were I get the error 771.

Dish looks clean outside.  I've done plenty of system resets.  The boxes are set for 5 lnb dishes.  I just did a dish reset and it came up with the error saying that my dish has detected only 3 satellites rather than five.  Couldn't find the 99 (b) and 103(a).  

Is my dish out of alignment?  Or is the dish frozen up with all this bad weather?  Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Tom Snyder]

Did the wind knock your dish of whack?

[Scott]

Tom, the problems did start when we had those really high winds a month ago.  So I called out a tech.  The tech simply came in, pressed the system reset buttons on both receivers and they worked.  So I started to think it wasn't the dish alignment.

I'm not sure though, since maybe this wind is screwing it up.  It seems as though I've got a really finicky dish.  The slightest bit of snow, ice or wind hitting it, and I'm done...or so it's been with error 771 here the last month.  So I guess yes, there could be an alignment problem.

For you guys with the 5 lnb dish, what type of readings do you get?  I noticed that on the 101 sat for example tonight I'm getting some 45's mixed in with some 85's and everything else in that wide range from 45 to 85.  Could it be this thing is out of alignment just enough to not get the two main HD sats and is just barely getting the regular channels?

[Bebop]

I think your dish is out of whack. Most my transponders are 90+

[murdoc]

Are you loosing the new MPEG4 HD channels?  If so check you 103b signals.  99b and 103a are spot-beam signals and not always active.  Your 103b should be in the 80's at least, and your 101 should get over 90 easily.  Sounds like your dish needs an alignment.    

My 103b signals are in the 50's and 60's on a clear sunny day.  During the snow storms they were in the teens, and the picture would drop out or I would get a 771.  I called D* and they said they would come out and re-aim the dish.  They should be here by noon today (working on X-mas eve? :confused: ) and hopefully that takes care of everything.

[Scott]

Thanks guys....it is clearly the dish out of alignment.  I gave the dish a little nudge out the window with a broom last night and then lost all channels....I was able to nudge it back to where I can get the regular but not HD channels.   The problem is that it is a hard place to reach this thing on my roof.  The D-tv guy is coming later in the week but I'm debating a roof walk this morning.  Balancing the kids wanting to watch Christmas story in HD versus Max McGee's tragedy.  

I read more online and apparently those D-tv HD sats (the 99 and 103) are incredibly tough to align given the short wave-length (?) which is a much different type signal than D-tv's traditional sats. If I understood what I was reading last night on the web, perhaps even 1/8th inch off alignment will take out the signal from those new HD sats.

I also read that the 5lnb dish apparently isn't a real sturdy player in wind and weather.  Seems like a bunch of other D-tv users who recently got the 5lnb have been having the same problems and had to change from a roof mount to something on the ground in a sheltered area and/or low where they can adjust it if it gets out of whack.

Bebop: thanks for posting that screen shot to give me an idea of what mine should look like.

[Talos4]

I also read that the 5lnb dish apparently isn't a real sturdy player in wind and weather. Seems like a bunch of other D-tv users who recently got the 5lnb have been having the same problems and had to change from a roof mount to something on the ground in a sheltered area and/or low where they can adjust it if it gets out of whack.

Well Scott,  I've had my AT-9 (5lnb) for 2 years. and in that time I haven't had a need to have the dish re-aligned. My signals are al in the high 80's and 90's and have never varied over that time.

After the winds of the last day and a half however, my dish is fine, my OTA antenna on the other hand is spaghetti.

Time for new one:(

[Scott]

I did a "McGee" and braved the roof......when I got up there, I found that the dish was indeed out of alignment.  The guy who installed it didn't have screws locking down the support struts.....nor a screw in the lnb piece.....it was a mess.  So the support strut collars not being screwed tight had slid down the main tube supporting the dish.  The thing was probably 4 inches off.....

What I'm guessing happened is the guy who installed it got up there, and either was short some bolts or dropped some down the roof and said "screw it, it seems to work so I don't need to put bolts on these support struts.  So what happened was the winds came, and this thing moved in and out of alignment.

Uggh....so I took a couple extra bolts I had in the tool drawer and bolted it into position by tightening the support struts in the right place, but am not sure I did the best job.  This thing really needs another support strut so it doesn't pull out of the side of the house.  So I'll have the guy fix it when he comes later in the week.  

But the good news is that I'm now pulling 80's and 90's at least for now and the picture is back.    Christmas story in HD on WTBS for the kids tonight......

We are certifiably nuts on this board about our TV's...aren't we?  

Thanks for the help guys.

[Matt Heebner]

Yep, had the same thing happen for me a few weeks ago. Had to have a Directv installer come out and check things out right after the big first snow storm. Turns out my original installer had the support arms on backwords and the whole thing was "loose". He fixed it right up though and have not had any problems since. Watch out, Direct tried to charge a $70 service charge to me though. I had it reversed.