Loss of Signal

Loss of signal does not happen often but when it does there are several steps you can take to pinpoint the source of the problem. 

First... check for severe weather conditions.  There are two locations that affect your signal... your location and the uplink facility in Atlanta, GA.  Normally weather that is severe enough to disrupt service will only last for 15 minutes or so before it clears out of the area.

Any weather that affects the uplink facility will appear on the 100 Mile Radar map within a triangle formed by the “b” in Chamblee, the “S” in Stone Mountain and the “78” highway indicator to the right of Stone Mountain.

100 Mile Radar Map:
http://image.weather.com/web/radar/us_atl_metroradar_large_usen.jpg

300 Mile Radar Map:
http://image.weather.com/web/radar/us_atl_ultraradar_large_usen.jpg

600 Mile Radar Map:
http://image.weather.com/web/radar/us_atl_closeradar_large_usen.jpg

Next... if problems continue... shut your computer (and external USB Satellite modem) COMPLETELY OFF for at least 15 seconds.  A complete shutdown as opposed to a restart or reboot will clear out any renegade code that has built up in RAM, reset the motherboard, and reset your modems.

There are other items to check but feel free to contact us and confirm that we are not having transponder or server issues on our end.

Other items to check:

• Check your software settings and make sure they are still correct and have not changed. Click Here .

• Check to make sure your firewall is not blocking ANY of the Satellite services. (server4pc.exe, openvpn.exe, openvpn-gui.exe)

• Take a visual check of your dish (reflector) and make sure it has not moved, been damaged, bent, or simply has a build up of snow or ice.

• Make sure nothing has come apart or is loose on the on the dish (reflector) and your satellite modem.

• Make sure that nothing has moved or grown into the sight path of the reflector to satellite.

• Make sure both ends of your cable is securely connected to both the LNB (mounted on the end of the reflectors arm) and the satellite modem.

• Check your cable for shorts.  Try to keep your cable run as short and with as few splices as possible.  Make sure that any splices are not exposed to the ground which can cause a short.  Make sure your connectors are fitted and crimped properly so as to not create a short.
  
  The satellite modem powers the LNB... you can test to make sure that power is getting through the cable to the LNB with a voltmeter.  Disconnect the cable from the LNB and test the cable end with a voltmeter while the satellite modem is on.  You should get a reading between 12 and 18 volts DC.

If the issue is still not resolved then there may be problems with the satellite modem or more likely the LNB.  It is very rare that a satellite modem becomes defective but as with any computer component... it can happen.  More often we see that the LNB has stop working but feel free to send either piece back to us for testing.  

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