Problems. Lost, suggestions welcome

I have the latest software package. Using a pi3 , 5volt 2amp power supply. I ordered it special to power my pi3. Here’s my problem my receiver worked great till I unhooked it. I am a 100% full time rv’er. I tried connecting everything but now no joy. I get the power inductor but there’s no activity. I can log into the dreamcatcher, but there nothing in the tuner-signal status. I get flashing icons on top of the page. I set up the lna and attached my birding meter to the lna and I can’t get any signal report. Tried a new lna. Same thing. I’m open to suggestions. I download the latest software last night and burned it to the card last night. Thanks for the help.

What LNA? The current Dreamcatcher doesen’t need a LNA. Only the Dreamcatcher and the LNB is required. What does the log say in the Webinterface (Apps -> Logviewer)?

Ok…lnb. I seem to get something now. But my signal stays at -76 no matter where I turn the lnb. Here in florida I’m supposed to be 192 degrees. I can turn the lnb due north and still get -76. How do you get the signal to update? I had this working before Christmas perfect. But now I’m having all kinds of problems. Thanks for the help

Does the Tuner app status say -76? Is it really updating every few seconds? If yes the packet count should go up. otherwise it will shaow the last signal it got.

I entered your location based on your qth on qrz into the calculator on Skylark and you should point your lnb to the following:

  • List item============================================
    Skylark v5.7 / dc (6d28806)
    built at 2019-10-30 09:54:40+00:00

Copyright 2019 Othernet Inc
Some rights reserved.

Mon Jan 13 17:43:29 UTC 2020 up 52 min, load average: 0.31, 0.35, 0.35

         total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached

Mem: 250864 114940 135924 220 18356 66724
-/+ buffers/cache: 29860 221004
Swap: 251324 0 251324

/dev/mmcblk0p4 6.6G 56.1M 6.1G 1% /mnt/downloads

4: wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq qlen 1000
inet 10.0.0.1/24 brd 10.0.0.255 scope global wlan0
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

[ OK ] Tuner is running

   Last few h/w reports:

   Jan 13 17:42:36 spi_master spi32764: spi32764.0: timeout transferring 0 bytes@10000000Hz for 110(100)ms

[ OK ] Audio service is running
[ OK ] Local audio is running
[ OK ] File service is running

   Last few updates from file service:

   Jan  1 00:00:06 othernet user.info ondd[470]: [main] v3.0.0
   Jan  1 00:05:32 othernet user.info ondd[470]: [carousel] setting time
   Jan  1 00:00:06 othernet user.info ondd[464]: [main] v3.0.0
   Jan  1 00:00:06 othernet user.info ondd[464]: [main] v3.0.0
   Jan  1 00:08:00 othernet user.info ondd[464]: [carousel] setting time

[ OK ] Bias-T is configured on: 0xbb
[ OK ] Bias-T voltage is set to 14.2V
[ OK ] LNB power is configured on
[ OK ] LNB detected, normal current flow: 0x23
[ OK ] Bias-T Voltage normal

log looks good, what shows the Tuner app on the status tab? Did you set the Satellite to US?

on the status page i have “no lock” snr -17.25, rssi -76, bitrate, packet rate, audio bitrate are ALL 0. lnb is “othernet dual band” sate is americas, freq is 11.9024, and the beam type 228.

ive have experience with dish tv and such so i know a little. ive even tried a birdog meter. something is just not right. i didnt have the skew set. i see the hash marks on the lnb but no idea what each on means…what does each mark mean?

For Skew adjust take a look in the othernet manual or online on google etc.: https://archive.othernet.is/Dreamcatcher3%20Skylark/

no lock snr -17… on the status page means you have got a signal. if it updates constently you are about right with the pointing. Calculate where the sat is for you and try it again. if you got a signal shown in the status page then do only fine adjustments until you got a lock.

ok. ive tried that. no matter where i turn the lnb the signal -76 doesnt change. i can point the lnb due north and the -76 doesnt change. ive tried adjusting . suggests. thanks for all the help.

no no no, the SNR is important! first get the snr / packets coming in constantly. then worry about other things :slight_smile:

You dont point it somewhere, you need to point it where the sat is, use my calculation (hope your grid is right on qrz) or use any sat calc on the internet to calculate it.

i understand what your saying about point the lnb at a very specific spot. this isnt much different than puting up a dish system. but when you move a “dish system” you can see the signal change im not seeing this here. ive pointed the lnb due north and the signal doesnt change

also when im on the status page where the clock is, all the icons on top of the page keeps changing.

seems strange to me, you have a screenshot of the Interface with the strange icons?

The Signal doesen’t change because it doesen’t got another packet. It then shows the last it received. maybe a restart of the dc helps, then the status should show nothing at the beginning.

Is this a “Universal Single LNB” ? If it is, there is another ring of marks just under the first set with numbers assigned in degrees. You are seeing an RSSI of -76. This won’t change a lot no matter where you are. What you are trying to do is reduce your SNR figure to under -13. You will not achieve lock until that is achieved. Watch the SNR figure, and get it as close to 0 or a positive number as you can. Be sure your starting settings are close to @Tysonpower calculations, then work on the SNR figure. Skew usually comes last, and doesn’t vary radically, but is used like “fine tuning”.
If your RSSI reads the same no matter where the LNB is pointed, you may have a bad LNB or coax.

Jerry

the lnb is a exact copy of the one i got in the kit from othernet. they were on ebay for $7.00 each. i got a spare. i finally got the snr down to -9.75, and got a lock. but i had to set the elevation to like 25 degrees, instead of the 58.3. took me allday to figure that out. i did get some rg6. but i got tired of fiddleing with it. so ill see if i can fine tune a little bit more. thanks for all the help.

Hi Michael,
That low an elevation surprises me. Is it possible you are receiving a reflection from a nearby metallic object? The point is that you are receiving and locked now, so that is good. However, I would look into the elevation and be sure it is in reference to a level surface and that you are measuring along the flat surface of the barrel of the LNB, not the rounded face shield. Just ideas. Glad it is working for you… Jerry

Could you show your LNB in the pointed position? I’m also surprised that it’s receiving best at 25 degrees from the ground. That’s something you would see in Alaska.