Teleco Flatsat Easy S 85 Satellite Signal Problem (1 Viewer)

[dbailey2]

I had the above system fitted to my van in 2014 and it has always worked well both here in the UK and main land Europe. Last week I did the firmware / software update because my dish was no longer locking onto the Astra 28.2 satellite. The dish now locks onto the satellite however, when I scanned for TV stations on my Avtex L185drs tv it only found about 12 obscure stations. Having played around with the LNB when we were in Spain and the North of Scotland I thought I would check the LNB position. The LNB was set with the arrow in the 12 o'clock position which I think is correct. But I tried rotating it clockwise about 20 degs as you look at it facing the dish but it didn't make any difference. I then turned it anti clockwise about 20 degs the other way from the centre position and bingo the tv picked up about 80 TV stations and a number of radio stations. I thought I was back in business but when I select any station it plays for about 5 seconds then drops out and a message comes up "no signal" I have run in temporary new cables in case it was a connection problem but no change. Can anybody help please.

 

[Vansflyer]

Hi, When you managed to receive the 80 or so Tv channels were they the ones you would expect, as in BBC1, ITV etc or ones you didn't recognise? Trying to establish what Sat you were locked onto. It can't lock on unless it gets a certain signal which is slightly confusing as this is affected by the position of the LNB. If you are in UK at the mo and the LNB cable outlet is at the bottom, looking at the dish from the front it should be set to about 6:30 - 7.00 based on a clock face. Hard to do without a meter but that's about right. If it works and you get the channels you would expect (the UK ones) then you can tweak the skew to get the best quality reading on the Tv if you have that? The Teleco needs power to the control box all the time or it won't let the signal through, did you run the test cable from the dish to the Tv or the control box?

 

[dbailey2]

Hi, thank you for your reply. The TV channels were as expected e.g 10 different BBC1 Channels e.g. BBC1 East W, BBC1 LON, BBC N West, BBC Scot, etc, BBC2 x 2, C Beebies x 2, Channel 4 x 6, Channel 5, C!TV, C41, ETV1, E4, E4+1, FILM 4, FORCES TV, ITV x 5, ITV Wales, ITV +1, KISS, Magic and so on. I ran a new cable from the LNB to the control box and a new cable from the control box to the TV. I also tried running a cable from the LNB directly to the TV, therefore, bypassing the control box. I am in Brentwood Essex and the LNB cable outlet is at the bottom. Where the LNB is clamped to the arm there is a molded arrow in the plastic on top with graduations lines on either side of the arrow. When looking into the dish from the front and behind the LNB the arrow is in the 12 o'clock position when it is central. I have turned the LNB anticlockwise so the arrow is now in the 10 o'clock position. It would not be possible to turn the LNB further round so the arrow is in the 6.30 - 7 o'clock position because the cable coming out of the LBN would be too tight. I am slightly confused when you say the LNB should be set to about 6.30 - 7.00 based on a clock face. What is the reference point on the LNB that is pointing to this clock position. Are you saying the rectangular body of the LBN is at an angle in line with 6.30 - 7.00 or 12.00 - 1.00. When I do a scan I first select the satellite i.e Astra 28.2 the signal strength bar is showing 56% and the Signal Quality bar is showing about 90% but these readings are only showing for about 5 seconds before they disappear. These figures reappear during the scan at different frequencies. Thank you again for your response.

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[Vansflyer]

Happy to help. I understand the confusion, I was referring to the position of the cable exit on the LNB, sorry for the lack of clarity.
Set the arrow at the top off the LNB to about 1 o'clock, as the sat is East of True south the LNB needs to twist to the right, if you were looking at a sat at true south the LNB arrow would point up, a sat to the far West such as Intelsat 27.5W would require the LNB to point to left. All observations looking directly at the dish. Hence why the new units have autoskew which rotates the LNB based on GPS position. I have simplified the explanation as it does depend what bird you are looking at and your location.
So set the arrow to point to 1 o'clock, run the cable directly to the Tv once the Teleco has locked on. We know you are pointing at the correct sat as you are receiving the channels transmitted from 28.2 East.
Make sure all connections are tight and go to BBC1 and look at the signal strength / quality. If the strength is fluctuating a lot it is either windy, you have an obstacle in the way (tree, house etc), a poor connection or the LNB is failing. If the signal is constant do another scan and see what you get. If all is good and signal / picture is reliable go to the strength / quality screen and adjust the LNB ever so gently by turning it a few mm so the arrow is slightly more to the right, about 1:30 on the hour hand of a clock. If signal quality goes up, brilliant and leave it at that, if it goes down put it back to where it was. Hard to do without a proper meter reading BER (Bit error rate) but a few TVs have that display. Once you have optimised the LNB position tighten it up so it doesn't move. Watch the Tv for 10 mins and if all good reconnect the original wiring and test again.
If not good report back with the findings and if fixed mine is a large MalT
Let us know.

 

[dbailey2]

Hi Vansflyer, I tried out what you suggested but it wasn't successful I'm afraid. I am absolutely shattered. If I went up and down the ladder onto the roof to make a slight adjustment to the LNB once I must have done it a hundred times. Any LNB setting with the arrow pointing anywhere between 12 and 2 on a clock face produced at most 25 tv channels, most of them I have never seen before like - wion, dunamis tv, tbn uk, ewtn catholic, revelation, mta muslim tv, pcne chinese. So I reverted back to turning the LNB anticlockwise everywhere in tiny steps from 12 and 10 on a clock face. Like before I managed to get all the normal TV stations BBC1, BBC2, ITV, CHANNEL 4 ETC but none of them was watchable, after a few seconds of playing they dropped out with "no signal" appearing on the TV. I tried calling Scan- Terieur but they did not have any technical backup and they recommended I take the van to my nearest motorhome dealer which is Pullingers near Halstead. I also spoke to Avtex technical dept but they couldn't help. The Telco installation guide shows the LNB in the 12 o'clock position for the UK, 37 deg for Lisbon, 41 deg for Casablanca, and -5 deg for Ankora. The fact that I have to turn the LNB as much as - 37 deg makes me think the dish is not pointing in the right direction even though it locks onto the satellite. So it's back to the drawing board but I will still get you that large Malt if our paths cross at a rally or show. Cheers, Doug.

 

[Vansflyer]

You have a PM, keep the MalT in the box till we fix it ;-) Looks the channels you are getting are on 28.2 East so suspect we need to delve deeper.

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[dbailey2]

Having worked in the automotive industry as a product development engineer for over 30yrs, I thought I was pretty experienced when it came to diagnosing / fault finding various electrical system failures. However, this fault with my satellite TV system really caught me out and if it wasn’t for Mal’s (Vansflyer) experience and patience in helping me I think I would have given up. An analogy is like having a tyre with more than one puncture and it is not until you fix them all, that you are able to inflate the tyre. What made this one worse was that the sat TV was working fine prior to doing the firmware/software update on the Teleco module. After renewing a faulty coax cable behind the TV and a lot of trial and error with the LNB positioning we finally renewed the LNB. The final test was to borrow a Sky Box to prove the decoder in the TV was faulty and finally, we were able to get it all working properly. So, I am now in the market for a new TV but I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you again to Mal for his continued help during the many Facetime sessions, it was very much appreciated.

 

[Vansflyer]

No problem matey, some fixes are easier than others but we got there in the end. Now about that lifetime supply of MalT