Monday, November 23, 2009
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Troubleshooting Guide
Westlink Help DeskIf you are experiencing problems with reception, or are unsure how to receive a Westlink program, the Westlink help desk is available and can be accessed by ringing: 1800 991111 (Office hours) Troubleshooting and the UEC-642 Decoder Problem 1: Three green dashes and a red dot. The UEC 642 manual seems to point mainly to weather problems when this condition occurs on the decoder. This can be the case, but does not normally last for too long. This normally only occurs during heavy rain or heavy cloud conditions. If your decoder shows the above condition and the weather is fine, there are several steps you can take to identify what the problem might be. Note: This condition refers to a lack of signal reaching the decoder. First check that the cable from the satellite dish is connected to the 'LNB in' connector on the back of the decoder. Make sure the connection is not cross threaded on the back of the decoder and is tightly secured. Are you receiving an acceptable signal level? To test this, pick up your decoder remote control and select the menu by pushing the menu button. Move the yellow band down by pushing the down arrow on the remote control until you reach the 'Advanced Options' section. Press 'OK' on the remote. You should now be in the second level of the menu. Move the yellow bar down to 'Signal Detection' and press 'OK'. The screen will now show 'Course Tune' and should also say Optus C1 156 degrees E. Press the down arrow to select the fine tune. The black bar (coarse tune) should be at least 50% on the indicator bar. You will also notice at the bottom of the screen instructions to get to the 'Fine Tune' section. If you try to select the fine tune and nothing happens this is an indication of one of several things. There could be a spider inside the feed horn at the back of the LNB on the dish which is blocking the signal. The dish could be out of alignment, the cable could be broken or the LNB not working (note: the fine tune bar should be at least 50% on the indicator bar). Try the spider eradication step first - refer to Time to Zap a Spider below. If the fine tune bar does not appear after the spider treatment then your dish could be out of alignment or the LNC may not be working. After cleaning the spider out you will have to turn your decoder off at the power socket and on again to reset the system. To realign the dish refer to the section on dish alignment. If the condition still exists after the above two steps it is time to call in a satellite installer to check if the cable is open circuit or if the LNB is not working. Westlink and WA Hospital sites should contact the Westlink head office (1800 99 1111) before proceeding with work requiring the attendance of an offsite professional. WA school sites should contact Westlink before calling the Department of Housing and Works to report any faults with their satellite reception equipment. Problem 2: Channel number showing with a red dot. This indicates a channel that is currently scrambled and usually you will see a grey bar appear with the following message: 'E16 - Service is currently scrambled'. If you have previously been able to watch programs on the decoder channel you have selected but now the decoder shows a red dot against the channel number, then the selected channel, e.g. Westlink or Rural Health, may be broadcasting a 'closed telecast' to a selected few sites. This will occur when clients request a secure channel to reach their customers. If you are registered to receive the program your decoder smartcard number will be included in the 'User Group' set up for this broadcast. If the problem occurs however on a free-to-air service, please ring Westlink on 1800 991 111. Private dish owners should contact OPTUS on 1300 301 681.
Re-aligning your Satellite Dish The satellite dish being so large can move after buffeting from very strong winds. It only needs to move one degree from true position to cause a loss of signal. To reset the dish manually, you will need to have a second person watching the television screen as the first person makes adjustments to the dish. There are two possible adjustments. The first one for an up or down (elevation) adjustment should not need to be made as it is rare for this to move. The second for Azimuth or horizontal left/right adjustment is what you need to make the change to. With a spanner - loosen the centre U-bolt and then adjust the threaded bolt provided for the azimuth adjustment purpose. Make small 180 degree (half-turn) adjustments, pausing for a small period to allow the second person time to confirm if there has been any improvement to the signal. If after two or three turns in one direction there has been no change, return to the starting position and repeat the half turns in the opposite direction. When the signal returns make very small adjustments in either direction to ensure the best possible signal is achieved. Lock off the centre U-bolt firmly and tighten the two other U-bolts on the pole while you are up there. If you do not succeed , you will need to contact your local satellite installer. Check the feed horn on the LNC for spiders and remove carefully so as not to damage the instrumentation on the front of the LNC (a small watercolour brush works best). To stop the spider returning seal the feed horn as recommended in the Zap a Spider Story. If the sealing tape on the LNC/cable connection needs replacing now is a good time to do it. Time to zap a spider! The LNB is one part of your receiving system that seems to be irresistibly attractive to spiders. Inside this apparatus is an antenna used in gathering the reflected signal from the receiving dish. The spider does not know this, all they can see is a long opening protected from the weather with a bonus three struts perfect for building their web upon. The effect of having an unwanted boarder in the LNB usually results in the picture breaking up intermittently on the TV screen or loss of picture completely. The spider can be removed with a small paint brush or something similar by twisting it around in the hole at the back of the LNB. You can prevent any thought of a return visit by providing a door in the following manner. Take a thin piece of polystyrene and cut out a circular section the same size as the opening on the LNB. Very gently, push the piece of styrene into the opening until the surface is flush with the leading edge of the opening. Now you have an effective door but the all important signal can still penetrate the styrene reaching the receiving antenna. A plastic cap off a soft drink bottle can also achieve the same result. When you are up on the roof it is a good idea to check that the waterproof tape sealing the back of the LNB and the cable outlet is still intact. If it has suffered with the weather, it is suggested to replace the tape. That's about all the maintenance you will ever have to do.
Correct Decoder, TV & VCR Connections 1 The cable running from the satellite dish to your decoder should be connected into the 'LNB In' socket on the back of your decoder. 2 If you have a VCR connected, there should be a cable running from the 'RF Out' on the back of your decoder into the 'RF In' on the back of your VCR. There should also be a cable running out of the 'RF Out' on the back of the VCR into the 'Antenna In' on the back of your TV. 2.1 The TV should be tuned to the VCR, and then your VCR tuned to your decoder. You will need to refer to your TV and VCR manuals in order to do this correctly. When tuning your VCR to your decoder, you need to select the UHF band. If your VCR has the auto search function capability, then the UHF channel will be found automatically. Once the UHF channel has been found, a clear picture and clear audio should be received. To check that the procedure has been completed correctly, part record a program and then play it back. 2.2 If you do not have a VCR connected then there should be a cable running from the 'RF Out' on the back of your decoder into the 'Antenna In' on the back of your TV. The TV should be tuned to the decoder, you will need to refer to your TV manual to do this. 3 If you have video and audio cables, you will need to run your cables out of your video out and mono audio out sockets on the back of the decoder, into the video and audio In sockets on the back of your VCR. There should also be another set running from the video and audio cables running from video and audio Out on the back of your VCR into the video and audio In sockets on the back of your TV. 3.1 You do not need to tune your TV, VCR or decoder when using this method. However, you will need to select the AV channel on your TV and VCR (refer to your manuals if in doubt). 3.2 If you do not have a VCR connected, then you will need to run your cables out of your video out and mono audio out sockets on the back of your decoder into the video and audio In sockets on the back of your TV. You do not need to tune your TV, but you will need to select the AV channel on your TV. 4 Things to check for: If you are getting a blue screen on your TV, check to make sure that your VCR operate and VTR/TV buttons are on. One way of checking this is to play a tape on your VCR, if you are still getting a blue screen, this usually indicates that your VTR/TV button is off. A black or fuzzy TV screen can be caused by not having the VCR or TV on the correct channel. When using video and audio cables check to make sure that the AV channels on your TV and VCR have been selected. If you are using the RF cables, check that the channels tuned on your TV and VCR are selected. If you are using RF cables and not getting a clear picture/audio on your TV, this may mean that the tuning is slightly off, you will need to retune your VCR to your decoder (refer to your manuals). |
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