Thread: Screen keeps going blank

I have been trying to solve this problem now for a month, and it started right after the card swap.

My sister-in-law has 2 receivers, with 2 lines coming in from a dual LNB
she has 2- 4500 receivers.

Right after the card swap, you can be watching tv and all of a sudden, it will go blank for 2 seconds, come back for a few, blank again, and so on and so forth. It seems to happen when the receiver has been on for more than an hour.

So i thought it was the receivers. I brought them to my place and they work fine.
When i check signal strength, i get between 85 and 92.
THere is no switch involved but on one receiver if you check it shows that i'm only getting odd transponders.

Also if i disconnect a receiver the other has no signal .

Any help would be appreciated.
I also changed the LNB at the dish

Is it possible that one receiver is not outputting the required voltages to switch the LNBF.? Try to connect a meter to the coax output and look for 13 volts when selecting an ODD transponder and 18 volts for an EVEN transponder.

I don't have a meter, but why would they work fine at my place?

Edit: Please disregard the following, missed the model of the STB completely

If your S-i-L is using HDMI, this could be an HDMI issue, perhaps a poor connection at the TV or STB, see the following thread for why, and things to check:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71112

There are several threads in the BTV forums discussing HDMI audio and video dropouts.

57, the 4500 is so old I doubt HDMI was even considered back then.....lol

It could be that one of your recievers is powering the LNBF, via a switch maybe. Do you have a switch in your system.?

Otherwise it is back to the basics of checking all connectors, starting with the outdoor ones, then condition of the cable, then ensuring NO splitters in the lines.

It could also be the New Cards, although you say they work at your house. Did you run them for over an hour.?

Whoops, please disregard my previous post. Completely missed the model. Perhaps it's still useful to see the "things to check" link since there could be a poor connection somewhere, perhaps the card, perhaps inside the STB, etc.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=19694 Things to check.

If you don't see all the transponders then there must be a hardware problem with the receiver, wiring, connectors, LNB or dish. Perhaps as the outside temperature gets colder, a marginal problem turned into a disabling one.

I have seen the blinking out problem with my 3500 receiver after the card change. The picture cuts out for a few seconds and comes right back. This only happens on some channels and seems to happen randomly.

I called Bell and they told me it is a known issue with the 3500 receiver and the new cards. They told me they were working on a new software version to fix it. It is due sometime in December. Since this receiver is running almost all the time on Fairchild TV and that channel doesn't have the problem, I am living with it for now.

If I recall correctly, the 4500 came out at the same time as the 3500 and the only feature differences are event timers, VCR control and RF remote. They might be running similar software.

If you can make absolutely sure that you have good signal strength and all the transponders are working, then give them a call and report the problem.

Thanks for all the help
No HDMI
I'm thinking that if it works fine at my house, and i brought one of my receivers to her house and it acted up, And i changed the LNB, then it has to be Either wires or connectors.
Can bad wires or connectors work sporadically?

Bringing a known working box will help you to narrow down the problems for sure. Yes connectors and cable issues can be intermittent, everytime you tighten and/or loosen a cable, you are moving it so it is possible the problem can disappear and re-appear later, as the cables settles again.

If there is water in the cable, it can be affected by freezing and thawing etc.

If your box works, try to eliminate the existing issues by changing the connectors, ensure you use good quality compression types, NOT screw on fittings.

There are many many posts exactly on this topic and in 99% of the cases it is a wiring/cable/connetor issue. The 1% covers a defective receiver