dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
5111

SMOKE665
@direcway.com

SMOKE665

Anon

[HN7000S] Hughes Satellite Strength Issues

SAT 87W - 1090

Started having problems in May with signal strength suddenly dropping from average 73-76 down to as low as 10 to 15. Course every time it did my connection would drop. Called Tech support and argued with them for 3 hrs, told it was sun spots, then it was my equipment. Finally agreed to have a service tech come out. 2hrs later everything back up and working fine. A week later when service tech called to schedule appointment told them there was no need.

Then on the 27th of July same thing happened again, signal would fall off to nothing then back up. Called them again, this time I agreed to let them send a service tech. Again couple hours after I got off the phone everything working fine again. This time however I let the service tech come out. He finally showed up this past Friday evening, checked all my equipment and told me he didn't have a clue that everything checked out fine.

Last night around 5 pm after working fine all day, signal strength fell again. Called tech support, again they denied any equipment problems on their end, but since the tech had just been here the day before and gave me a clean bill of health, they didn't claim it was my equipment. This time they didn't have a clue said they would refer it to T4 and they would call me back in 2 business days.

Service off until about 30 mins ago, now everything fine again.

I think they have a problem, or they're screwing with things trying to switch over to the new bird. Anyone else having issues with signal strength?

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

Not an unusual issue with older equipment in the heat of summer. Next time it drops, spray the LNB with your garden hose. Not that cold water is a permanent fix, it just confirms that you've got outdoor electronics that have finally started to succumb to heat stress.

//greg//

smoke665
@direcway.com

smoke665

Anon

The whole system is less than 6 years old, however the transmitter and horn were replaced a little over a year ago, because of another issue. My current problem started in early May before it got hot, then cleared up on its own. Started again about 2 weeks ago. Signal strength is fine then it will just fall off to nothing, and come back on its' own, usually within a couple of hours. Might be days or weeks before it does it again.

dbirdman
MVM
join:2003-07-07
usa

dbirdman

MVM

If the transmitter and horn were replaced, what about the LNB? It is the part that Greg asked you to test, and it is the part that is involved in receive strength. The transmitter is not involved at all, and the horn is involved only if something is blocking it (such as moisture in it).

One other part that can cause receive problems due to heat change is the cable and its connectors.

smoke665
@direcway.com

smoke665

Anon

I am assuming the LNB was replaced as well, because everything was replaced as a unit. They did not replace the cable, but did replace the connector at the dish.

T4 Support called me yesterday afternoon, but since I was up with no errors, they couldn't do anything supposedly, told me to call back when it went down again.

Signal strength dropped to 26 last night about 8 pm, and lost connection. RX Code 3, TX Code 6. It was actually cool all day, and even more so last night. Left it to see what would happen.

This morning still down with a signal strength of 26. Rebooted modem and all is well..

Hughes and the service tech that was here this past Friday don't seem to have any clues

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

Ok, we're narrowing it down. Define "reboot" please. Did you do it from the user interface? Or power cycle by unplugging the power adapter? And are you by any chance running the cable through a coaxial spike protector?

//greg//
zanjero
join:2011-08-20

zanjero to SMOKE665

Member

to SMOKE665
In that case, a good dedicated tech would gut the system and replace the cables if possible. It's intermittent enough that running test cables wouldn't prove much. Question is, how extensively did the tech who arrived check out the system? If you have an Express Repair contract you can get a dedicated satellite tech in 1-2 days; if not you may get a contractor tech showing up whenever he can fit you into his schedule. I'd replace everything, if necessary even the reflector.
monicakm
join:2005-03-12
Grand Saline, TX

monicakm to grohgreg

Member

to grohgreg
"coaxial spike protector"? Is that a UPS battery backup device and if so, is it a problem?
One More Too
join:2010-09-09
Galena, IL

One More Too

Member

said by monicakm:

"coaxial spike protector"? Is that a UPS battery backup device and if so, is it a problem?

There is a difference between running the power cord through a surge protector/UPS and running the transmit and receive coax cables through the surge protector/UPS. In the past, I've had no issues running the power supplies of various electronics through the UPS, but there are potential issues with running the coax cables through a surge protector.

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg to monicakm

Member

to monicakm
said by monicakm:

"coaxial spike protector"? Is that a UPS battery backup device and if so, is it a problem?

Well, I'm talking primarily about surge strips. At one time, less than informed (or crooked) Direcway installers would sell them to customers as "value added protection". Hughes has tried to put a stop to that practice. But with the proliferation of home theater systems, some UPS manufacturers now feature coaxial cable protection on their battery backup units. The feature is obvious if there are at least two threaded coaxial jacks somewhere on the device.

This protection is intended for TV cable or satellite TV which typically carries 1/2 amp or less. Both are receive-only, and typically carry 1/2 amp or less. What is not advertised is that satellite internet (transmit) cables can carry nearly six times that much current, which subsequently suffers when made to travel through the wrong type of coaxial spike suppression device. And when your TX suffers, the resultant number of retransmission requests necessarily slows down the RX.

Relative to the OP issue however, RX signal strength is not ordinarily affected - unless there is a malfunction internal to the coaxial spike protector.

//greg//

smoke665
@direcway.com

smoke665

Anon

Forgot to mention on previous posts I'm on 87 W 1090 MHz if that makes any difference.

I find it really hard to believe that my equipment could work for days, weeks and even months without incident and then suddenly start showing up this fluctuating signal strength issue.

I guess it could be a combination of both my equipment and Hughes.

SMOKE665
@direcway.com

SMOKE665 to grohgreg

Anon

to grohgreg
Reboot > Unplug the power
Cable goes direct to modem.

Problem happened again yesterday around noon, Signal strength 19 to 26, RX code 3, TX code 6. Slightly overcast with high clouds. Which by the way seems to be the case when this happens.

Current weather slightly overcast with high clouds. Did a reboot at 7 am, same condition, did a reboot at 9 am. It connected. Signal strength 76, no error codes.

I am showing the following diagnostic codes if that helps 0000-0010-2500-0009(Hourly)
0000-0005-1200-0001(Recent)

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

yeah, the first code points to an issue with either cable or antenna pointing plus web acceleration. Second code is web acceleration only. Ignore the WebAccel pointers, they're simply following the cable/antenna issue.

I'm guessing you haven't tried the push/pull test yet {?}

//greg//

smoke665
@direcway.com

smoke665

Anon

On line now for 6 hours steady signal at 73-76. Cloud cover still as before. Am showing new diagnostic codes 0104-8000-0000-0026(Hourly)
0051-2005-1200-5126(Recent)

No Push-Pull test. Service tech is supposed to be here on Thursday. Again, if it's up and operating he's going to scratch his head and say it's Hughes

At least now though I just bought a Verizon Mobile Hot Spot, if it goes down I'll activiate it and may just say goodbye to Hughes permanently.
smoke665

smoke665

Anon

Online now continuous with no signal issues for 2 days 21 hrs, 30 mins. Current signal 76, with fog and overcast sky. All green for the previous 24 hours except for 3 web acceleration error's.

Service tech that was scheduled for yesterday between 1 & 5 called at 3:05 and cancelled, due to personal reasons. Hughes service contractors are even more lacking in customer services than Hughes. They really don't care. Service rescheduled for next week.

I'd be upset if I was off line, but since I'm not I just consider it typical for Hughes, and reinforces my belief that it has been and still is a problem on their end.

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

One other suggestion; inclement weather at the NOC end. Those kids in India don't generally take that into consideration. So I have Germantown MD as one of the locations on my smartphone WeatherBug widget. When there's no obvious local reason for signal degradation, I reach for the smartphone and check the weather to the south and west of my NOC.

//greg//

smoke665
@direcway.com

smoke665

Anon

Online now continuous for 4 days 8 hrs, and 33 mins. No errors reported. Heavy overcast sky this morning signal strength 76.

I hadn't thougth about it, but the previous comment about inclement weather at the NOC end might be valid. Next time it goes out I'm going to check that.

T4 rep called me yesterday to find out if the Service Tech had fixed my problem Thursday. Was totally surprised that Tech had not shown up, despite the fact that I called T4 Thursday afternoon to complain about the fact that they hadn't. Had no record that the T4 Rep I had talked to on Thursday was supposed to be checking to see what was going on and call me back (which he didn't). It seems like they practice a company wide policy of confusion.

I still believe that it is an issue with Hughes and not my equipment, but they are determined to send a service tech out.
smoke665

smoke665 to grohgreg

Anon

to grohgreg
Tried your suggestion, my signal went to nothing yesterday, despite sunny skies outside. Sure enough storms moving through Maryland. Signal came back then went out this morning. Again storms in Maryland. I'm going to track this a little closer to see if it's always the case. Still don't understand how that would cause the signal strength to drop on my end???

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

Satellites are little more than orbiting radio relays. If the originating signal is blocked on the way TO the satellite, it has nothing to relay back down to the receiving station. In this case, you are the receiving station. And you may not know this, but - during heavy precipitation - your own transmit signal is usually blocked well before you lose the receive signal.

//greg//
zeddlar
join:2007-04-09
Jay, OK

zeddlar

Member

Kind of a side note. I am surprised that we havn't seen alot more problems at least from the mid US region with the long term extreme heat and especially once we first started getting a bit of relief because it would be extremly hot all day and then rain and cool off in the afternoon and then slowly go back to hot by evening. That has got to be hard on satellite equipment setting out in the sun all day. I have seen alot of equipment failure just in heavy equipment where I work that can be attributed to expansion and contraction and lots of tire failures as of late. Kind of shows just how tough any outside equipment really is.

smoke665
@comcast.net

smoke665

Anon

Well guess I'm down for the count now. Extremely low signal and won't come back. I can do a hard reboot and it comes back up for a few mins then looses signal strength. Hopefully the repair tech will show up today as scheduled.
smoke665

smoke665

Anon

Yesterday out of frustration went to Verizon to reactivate my modem so I could use as back up. Got back from the store and my Hughes Net must have experienced divine intervention, because it was back up. Not only was it up, but it was blazing. Signal strength up to 78, three different speed tests on DSL Reports showed downloads of 2+ Gig and uploads of 590k. I was in awe to say the least. The service tech arrived to find everything working fine with no equipment problems. His idea at this point is to get with his contacts at Hughes and switch me to an entirely different satellite, as he also believes that it is an equipment problem on Hughes end.
smoke665

smoke665

Anon

Just an update for others who may have had this problem. My Hughes Net has been up continuous now since 08/22 without loss of service. So there is no misunderstanding, there has been NOTHING done to the equipment on my end. The last service tech who came out again suggested it was a hughes satellite problem and was going to check on switching me to another satellite, and come back the next day. That was on 08/22 and haven't heard from him or seen him since. A tier 4 rep called last week to see if the issue had been resolved, told him what the service tech had said and that everything was working fine. Rep insisted he send me a replacement modem??? Got the modem in this week, Rep calls again yesterday to see if I had installed it, told him there still was not a problem with the service, so he tells me to return the modem. Not only is my signal strength good (74-79) my speeds are blazing, twice what they have been. I still think the problem was on their end and whatever adjustments made were on their end. I really am afraid to disturb anything at this point.
monicakm
join:2005-03-12
Grand Saline, TX

monicakm

Member

smoke, see the message I posted about an hour ago.
»I Just Downloaded a 8.46MB File in 0.01 Seconds!
pvtpilot94
System
Premium Member
join:2001-11-23
Bucyrus, OH

1 edit

pvtpilot94 to smoke665

Premium Member

to smoke665
NM

smoke665
@myvzw.com

smoke665

Anon

With Hughes all good things must end. Connection lost about 5 am this morning. Signal strength between 9 & 25. I'm still on 87 W. Any others out there with issues this morning.

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

And again, I bet you forgot to check the weather at the other end. Raining like crazy there this morning.

//greg//

smoke665
@myvzw.com

smoke665 to smoke665

Anon

to smoke665
Footnote to my previous post. Weather map shows storms over Maryland. Maybe Hughes needs to establish a backup NOC when weather is approaching.

dbirdman
MVM
join:2003-07-07
usa

dbirdman

MVM

said by smoke665 :

Footnote to my previous post. Weather map shows storms over Maryland. Maybe Hughes needs to establish a backup NOC when weather is approaching.

Essentially you are asking them to do something they've been doing for many years now. First primary in Las Vegas, and now a bunch of downlinks around the country.

The problem is that you (and I) are using old Hughes technology that is never going to be updated with things like multiple NOCs. They have moved way beyond the 7000 series.

That does not mean that all 7000 users are downlinked in Maryland, though. I think you said 87W/1090, is that right? I believe that is downlinked in Las Vegas.

smoke665
@myvzw.com

smoke665

Anon

Did check the weather once I signed on with Verizon and saw the weather map for MD. I am on 87W/1090 which is what I've been on for the last 3 years. I assumed the NOC was MD. Is this not correct??

In any case it came back up around 9 this morning and has operated without incident until about 30 mins ago. Signal strength dropped to 25 and lost connection. Weather map for my location, MD and Las Vegas clear.

They've escalated my problem up from T4, and someone is supposed to call me. Luckily I get a good signal on Verizon or I would be dead in the water. At this point seriously consdering dropping Hughes and just going with Verizon permanently. Price is about comparable for the same amount of bandwidth, and downloads seem to be faster.