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zuterbru's avatar
zuterbru
Explorer
Jun 19, 2015

Automatic Satellite finding a Satellite but no signal

Hi There!
I have a KVH TracVision S2 automatic satellite dish.
I have DirecTV.
I did download the user manual from KVH and I have been using that.

It is an older unit I bought used.
I was able to get it to work, went camping it did not.
Got home, it worked fine, (of course! lol) went camping again and now I cant get it to work, even after I got home.
I think it had an intermittent issue that has now failed completely.
Before when I was able to get it to work the receiver showed a signal while it was still searching. Now that it does not work, I never see a signal while it is searching.

Sometimes when you turn it on, it just hums.
Turn it off, unplug the coax, turn it on and it starts to work, plug cable back in, it locks onto a satellite.

When it does sound like it is working, it does look for a satellite and locks in on it. I can tell it to look for another satellite as per instructions, and it does. I took the dome off and according to my compass reading it is locking on the correct satellite.

This is an older unit, I found an LNB for it online for $80.
Not much else for part on this unit and KVH told me they don't care about this unit anymore.

I am planning on replacing all the coax cables on it this weekend, worth a shot and does not cost me much.

Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Steve...
  • 2chiefsRus's avatar
    2chiefsRus
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2015
    does the sat dish run on 12 volt power or 110? If 12 volt, it sounds like the same problem we had until we added the AC power supply referenced in a Tracvision service bulletin. The state of our batteries charge was the variable that was causing the intermittent problem.
  • zuterbru's avatar
    zuterbru
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2015
    It gets its power from 12V through a panel that connects to the dish, along with the Coax cable. It is working as far as finding a satellite, but I never get a signal to the box.
  • imgoin4it's avatar
    imgoin4it
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2015
    When you first connect the TV to the satallite Direct TV receiver you should get a picture on the TV that says Looking for satallite or have a large "D" moving around the screen or something equilivant. That means the TV and sat receiver are communicating. If nothing like that they are not communicating and you cannot get a sat. Assuming they are communicating then you must have the sat receiver and TV both set or tuned to a station that can be received, which is how the antenna knows it is receiving a signal, before you start the antenna to search. Sometimes I have a hard time getting set up and "find" the over air station first, then set up everything as I listed above and make sure sat receiver is set for either channel 3 or 4 depending on which is not used over the air, then on the TV do and "add a channel before I start searching for the sat. sometimes go through a lot of trial and error but eventually find everything. te
  • bgum's avatar
    bgum
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2015
    I will tell you it needs a good hot 12v battery. Otherwise it wll hunt and not find.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jun 19, 2015
    You CANNOT use a compass or anything else like that to verify you are on the 101 SAT. Your model KVH can lock onto ALL sats, one at a time
    101--107-110-119(there are a lot more), are within a narrow scope and your compass cannot be accurate enough to determine you are on the correct sat. The KVH(IF programmed for Direct tv) will lock onto a sat. You then use Transponder 19 and see if you get a signal. IF NOT, you tell the dome to find another Sat, you then see if you get signal. When you find the CORRECT Sat(101) you will get a signal on Transponder 19. The KVH will remember THIS sat when you reacquire later on. You also may need a Software update from KVH for this model to work correctly. Doug
  • Triker33's avatar
    Triker33
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2015
    Time to replace it with a Trav'ler and move up to the HD world.
  • Executive45's avatar
    Executive45
    Explorer III
    Jun 19, 2015
    Here's the fix for your unit...I paid some yokel at an RV rally $50 to trouble shoot mine and he 'fixed' it in about 15 seconds. You won't find this 'fix' in any literature from KVH or anywhere else that I've been able to find. I am assuming you know you have to have a clear view of the southern sky and no blockage above the antenna.

    Ok here's the 'fix'...push the button and hold for 3 seconds and allow the satellite to rotate. Once it locks on the satellite, (light turns from red/yellow to green) see if you have a picture. If not, push the button AGAIN for only ONE SECOND. The problem you're experiencing is the dish is locking onto the wrong satellite. By pressing the button for only one second, you're moving the dish to the next satellite ONLY.

    When you're home the dish locks onto the right one but when traveling it needs a small push to find the right one. Try it next time. I think you'll be happy.....Dennis
  • YC_1's avatar
    YC_1
    Nomad
    Jun 19, 2015
    Low voltage, low voltage, low voltage is my vote. Intermittent issues due to low voltage was common. If I wasn't an ET I probably would not have chased it down. Connected to shoreline with batteries full it worked fine. Generator running and things were fine. The very long run of the DC wire caused about a 2 volt drop. When the batteries were not being charged that dropped the voltage below the level the dish wants.

    Since I have an inverter a simple power supply cured the problem. Once the dish is locked on simply turn things off.

    Make sure your rv is level and not one twig is in the way.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jun 20, 2015
    Executive wrote:
    Here's the fix for your unit...I paid some yokel at an RV rally $50 to trouble shoot mine and he 'fixed' it in about 15 seconds. You won't find this 'fix' in any literature from KVH or anywhere else that I've been able to find. I am assuming you know you have to have a clear view of the southern sky and no blockage above the antenna.

    Ok here's the 'fix'...push the button and hold for 3 seconds and allow the satellite to rotate. Once it locks on the satellite, (light turns from red/yellow to green) see if you have a picture. If not, push the button AGAIN for only ONE SECOND. The problem you're experiencing is the dish is locking onto the wrong satellite. By pressing the button for only one second, you're moving the dish to the next satellite ONLY.

    When you're home the dish locks onto the right one but when traveling it needs a small push to find the right one. Try it next time. I think you'll be happy.....Dennis


    You paid $50 for what IS in the operation manual from KVH. Are YOU positive you have a KVH Dome? Usually KINGDOME has the Red/Yellow Green LED. Doug
    3.2.2 Using the Switchplate for Satellite
    Selection
    If your system is not connected to an IRD’s low-speed data port,
    you will need to use the switchplate to manually find your
    satellite.
    1. Press the switchplate’s SAT SELECT button.
    2. The Status indicator flashes while the antenna
    searches for a satellite signal. Once the antenna
    finds and starts tracking a satellite, the Status
    indicator stops flashing.
    3. If your TV shows a clear picture, you are tracking
    the correct satellite. If no picture appears, repeat
    this procedure starting with Step 1.
  • zuterbru's avatar
    zuterbru
    Explorer
    Jun 25, 2015
    I finally got a chance to check out trying to find transponder 19 yesterday, and I was able to find a signal!
    It is not that strong so there might still be something going on.
    I am thinking one of the internal cables has some corrosion or moisture in it.

    I always used transponder 32 and it worked in the past.

    Like I said, I think there is an intermittent problem and that is why it was replaced, I just need to track it down.
    I called KVH and they do not support this, there is no replacement parts.

    Thanks for the help guys!
    Steve...

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