wdk450
Well-known member
Gang:
I just went through a minor problem with my Dish Network system that I have been operating in the trailer for over 6 years. I couldn't get HD reception on most (but not all) of my local Sacramento local stations. This just didn't make sense. But I came to a revelation about the workings of DTV satellite systems that makes troubleshooting and most repairs a bit easier.
My thought is: The DTV satellite systems consist of 3 major subsystems - The antenna system, the converter box, AND THE SOFTWARE. To elaborate, to address my HD problem, I rechecked the aiming of my antenna via the box's built-in aiming strength screens. This pretty much checks out the LMB's, reflector dish, cabling, splitters, etc. I did a master reboot of the box (removing and replacing the smartcard temporarily), which self-tests the box on boot-up. But I forgot about the software. The software is updated/re-validated by calling the satellite TV provider and having the tech support send you a reset signal addressed to your box over their data stream. This told my box that I was SUPPOSED to be getting the HD feeds for ALL of the Sacramento stations, and then everything worked O.K.
I just went through a minor problem with my Dish Network system that I have been operating in the trailer for over 6 years. I couldn't get HD reception on most (but not all) of my local Sacramento local stations. This just didn't make sense. But I came to a revelation about the workings of DTV satellite systems that makes troubleshooting and most repairs a bit easier.
My thought is: The DTV satellite systems consist of 3 major subsystems - The antenna system, the converter box, AND THE SOFTWARE. To elaborate, to address my HD problem, I rechecked the aiming of my antenna via the box's built-in aiming strength screens. This pretty much checks out the LMB's, reflector dish, cabling, splitters, etc. I did a master reboot of the box (removing and replacing the smartcard temporarily), which self-tests the box on boot-up. But I forgot about the software. The software is updated/re-validated by calling the satellite TV provider and having the tech support send you a reset signal addressed to your box over their data stream. This told my box that I was SUPPOSED to be getting the HD feeds for ALL of the Sacramento stations, and then everything worked O.K.