# R15 Momentary (771) Searching for Sat



## ericw352 (Mar 5, 2008)

My R15-300 recently started exhibiting strange behavior while viewing live shows. At random intervals the "Searching for Satellite" (771) will pop up in the corner and the picture and sound will briefly cut out. And by briefly, I mean within half of a second. It took a couple of these "cut outs" before I could make out the (771) error code. DirecTV support walked me through the standard checking of the signal meters and no trouble was indicated in the signal strength. In fact the show I was watching was doing this as I was working with support. Their only option was to replace the receiver at my cost due to my expired contract.

Anyone else have this issue and found a resolve?

Thanks

Eric


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## BobN (Jun 19, 2007)

Funny you should mention this but I have been having the same problem with my R15-300 for a few months ever since we had a snowstorm bad enough to cover the LNB on the dish on the roof. Prior to this it worked fine. I have an old RCA receiver that does not experience this problem. I have tried swapping cables/receivers and the problem remains. It does not occur on all, or in fact many, of the channels (primarily TLC and Food Network) but of course it happens on the channels the wife watches the most.

I have tried reformatting the disk but it did not make a difference. I have yet to call DirectTV for advice - I figured I would wait until the snow melts in case they have to replace the dish/LNB.

Suggestions?


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## BobN (Jun 19, 2007)

The wife just pointed out to me that my previous reply is not correct. While the R15 gives brief momentary 771 errors the old RCA receiver is experiencing the same type of problem by displaying partial pixellation on the same channels that the R15-300 gets the 771 errors


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Sounds like your dish alignment may be off, if you are having the issue with both receivers. You could also try swapping your inputs around to see if the issue occurs with both cables. If it doesn't then the issue might be related to the cable or multiswitch.

- Merg


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

I agree with Merg. However, the signal strength should confirm it. What was your signal strength like? Did you check odd and even on each satelite?


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## ilavu (Sep 25, 2007)

ericw352 said:


> My R15-300 recently started exhibiting strange behavior while viewing live shows. At random intervals the "Searching for Satellite" (771) will pop up in the corner and the picture and sound will briefly cut out. And by briefly, I mean within half of a second. It took a couple of these "cut outs" before I could make out the (771) error code. DirecTV support walked me through the standard checking of the signal meters and no trouble was indicated in the signal strength. In fact the show I was watching was doing this as I was working with support. Their only option was to replace the receiver at my cost due to my expired contract.
> 
> Anyone else have this issue and found a resolve?
> 
> ...


You are correct on this. Yesterday they did software upgrade and since all r15 is acting like same as your. Directv tech support is filled with best idiots available in the world. They are very well unknowledgeble. When dtv hires them, dtv ask 10 questions and all of the answers are wrong than you are hired. Biggest BS you get is from dtv.

All of the above is 100% correct because my frend circle has total 9 r15 with same problem and all called dtv and got different answers.


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## ericw352 (Mar 5, 2008)

Bob N: The symptoms did not seem to arise until about the beginning of last week. Is it related to weather in the Pacific Northwest? The trouble is constant on rainy and clear days. I don't have the luxury of a second receiver to test with. Not that calling support to resolve the issue with both of your receivers is a luxury.

The Merg: I set out to verify the dish alignment before calling support and made every attempt to obtain the strongest signal possible. As for swapping my inputs, how would I know which input is being utilized to begin with. To my knowledge the R15 does not tell the user which input is in use at any time. Noob question here, what is a multiswitch?

qwerty: My signal strength hovers around 86/81 Input 1/2. Please explain "odd and even" on each sat.

ilavu: Directv told me that my box received the update about a week and a half ago, and coincidentally so did my issue.

Also, my recored shows are starting to play back with broken video and audio at random moments.

Eric


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## bjdotson (Feb 20, 2007)

I had a similar problem. Turned out that one of the cables on the multiswitch box was loose and if it moved at all I would lose the signal on certain stations. (the box had two cables going in and 4 cables going out. One of the Two was the loose one) Apparently the cable would disconnect, reconnect, disconnect etc. I screwed down the cable and haven't had a problem since.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

ericw352 said:


> Bob N: The symptoms did not seem to arise until about the beginning of last week. Is it related to weather in the Pacific Northwest? The trouble is constant on rainy and clear days. I don't have the luxury of a second receiver to test with. Not that calling support to resolve the issue with both of your receivers is a luxury.
> 
> The Merg: I set out to verify the dish alignment before calling support and made every attempt to obtain the strongest signal possible. As for swapping my inputs, how would I know which input is being utilized to begin with. To my knowledge the R15 does not tell the user which input is in use at any time. Noob question here, what is a multiswitch?
> 
> ...


Hold the Info button for about three seconds to get to the setup menu.
Go to the Satelite menu.
Select view signal strength.
Select signal meters.
Then use the + & - to check the signal each satelite available & even and odd transponders.
I was having the same symptoms as you. My readings were in the upper 50's. I realigned my dish and got them into the 90's and the problem was solved.
Are you experiencing the problem on all channels? I suspect you may have better signal from one satelite than another.


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## yooper99 (Mar 6, 2008)

I am having the same problem. This started after the software upgrade sent to my system on March 4th. The dish alignment is fine. The wiring is fine, etc. As soon as someone figures out what went wrong with the software maybe "they" will fix it.
Terry


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## red.bean.head (Feb 1, 2007)

If it was software, would I not see the same issue? I am fine. Is your LNB in good shape as well?


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## yooper99 (Mar 6, 2008)

RE: the LNB and dish alignment.

The signal strength readings range from 76 to 100 on the screen where all 32 transponders are tested. (Excluding the three dead ones). Using the individual test screen with tuner one and tuner two, there are a few feeds in the mid 60s and one at 60.

The dropouts all occur on three channels (231 Food, 269 History, and 327 CMT) on transponder number one. This transponder is one of the lower readings but not the lowest. I Checked the channels on the lowest signal transponder and those channels all perform fine.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

I agree with red.bean.head. If it were the software, it would be much more widespread. I think it's just coincidental timing.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

When we had a massive snowstorm in January, I learned that the R15 does not act like other DirecTV receivers when it is receiving a signal just above it's threshold. It does that miserable quick flashing of the "searching for satellite" message-often so fast you can't see what it is.

Older receivers would pixelate, freeze and produce screeching sounds from the speaker before they went belly up and gave the "searching for satellite" message. At least you knew what was happening.

What MODEL R15 is giving this problem? Is it a 100, 300, or 500?

I've found with my R15-300 it starts the "searching" message flash when signal strength drops below 50. My older legacy receivers could go down to a reading of about 40 before they would start going crazy.


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## yooper99 (Mar 6, 2008)

It is an R15 - 300.

A reading of 58 will cause the problem to show up.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

yooper99 said:


> It is an R15 - 300.
> 
> A reading of 58 will cause the problem to show up.


Yes. I was having probles with signals in the high 50's. It also induced the premature "keep or delete" message in the middle of recordings.


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## EricTheRed (Mar 7, 2008)

I'm having the same issue with my R15-300; like others it started with the 0x1192 software release, and also when the signal drops to the high 50's -- right now we've got some sporadic rain/t-storms and a few transponders are flirting with 55-60. I've swapped cables with the D10's I have, clamped them in, all to no avail. The D10's look fine, and are also conisitently showing 5-8 points higher per transponder than the R15.

I unfortunately don't have time to be on with tech support right now. If anyone has an other ideas that'd be quick to try I'd love to hear them. Otherwise, I know I'll be spending my evening on the phone.


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## ericw352 (Mar 5, 2008)

Just today I was experiencing the this trouble again and quickly jumped to the transponder signal strength screen and sure enough transponder 1 on receiver 1 indicated a signal strength of 52 for a brief moment. It has just started to rain outside so It may actually be weather related or at least water related. I will check the connections at the LMB again, and re check the dish alignment.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

ericw352 said:


> Just today I was experiencing the this trouble again and quickly jumped to the transponder signal strength screen and sure enough transponder 1 on receiver 1 indicated a signal strength of 52 for a brief moment. It has just started to rain outside so It may actually be weather related or at least water related. I will check the connections at the LMB again, and re check the dish alignment.


How are you checking the dish alignment?
I went to the trouble of running an extension cord and brought out the receiver and a small TV. That way I could immediately see the results on the signal meter as I tweaked the dish alignment.


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

Having the same problem with two R15-300s that were working perfectly until the 1192 SW spool. Problem showed up with the 1192 software.


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

Just got off the phone with a very knowledgeable advanced tech agent at DTV and she said that she'd personally received four calls in the last day all complaining about the problem in this thread.

She told me that in all four calls the customers stated that the problem didn't exist before the 1192 software.

Although DTV does seem to monitor the forum perhaps we should remember to call advanced tech support and make a record of these problems so they can be escalated internally at DTV along with posting the problems here.

The more irons in the fire, the more irons in the fire.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

I have been having the same problems all day on my 300 as well. But I am also in Washington, like the OP and we had rain all day. I don't usually have this problem unless we are having bad weather. And I am not on 1192, I have the newest CE.


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

Spent a lot of time this weekend watching free preview stuff and noticed that the _searching for satellite_ split-second pop up seems to happen more often when watching one thing and recording another.

Seems that when nothing is recording the pop up is less frequent but when watching live or a recorded event and recording on the other tuner the pop up happens more often.

I've also noticed that since 1192 spooled to my R15-300 I can check signal strength on a sat and transponder and get different signal strengths on the two tuners. Seems to me that the signal strength of each tuner should be the same since they're connected to the same LNB. Swapping the cables between the two tuners has no effect.

I'm beginning to wonder if the 1192 SW has changed the way signal strength is calibrated and that's tripping a warning flag in the error reporting part of the software causing the pop up.

If you're having the _searching for sat_ pop up see if you see the same thing I've seen and let us know.


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## BobN (Jun 19, 2007)

Sorry it took so long since my initial post to follow up but…

- I am located in the greater Boston, MA area
- I have a R15-300 that had been working fine until a snowstorm earlier this winter that covered the roof-mounted 18inch dish and dual LNB
- The R15-300 is running version 1192
- Ever since then (once the snow melted) I get frequent, occasional, and brief "Searching for Satellite" (771) messages on several, but not all channels.
- The channels that had this problem at the time of entering this note included
231 – Food Network
280 – TLC
287 – Military Channel
I am sure there are others
- The signal strengths are as follows:
Transp	Tuner 1	Tuner 2
1	51	55
2	72	69
3	57	54
4	96	97
5	52	47
6	91	90
7	59	58
8	88	81
9	54	54
10	79	79
11	55	57
12	92	91
13	58	57
14	88	91
15	58	58
16	90	91
17	55	54
18	94	95
19	57	57
20	89	88
21	58	59
22	89	87
23	61	63
24	80	78
25	66	66
26	72	71
27	69	68
28	88	88
29	71	70
30	86	86
31	67	66
32	88	88

Suggestions are greatly appreciated


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## Tufguy (Mar 9, 2008)

I've been experiencing this issue for about the past two weeks as well. I tried the hold record and down arrow on front panel procedure and it just ignored me. I tried the Reset All option in settings. I did have to walk through the initial setup but there were still recorded programs on the hard drive when I thought those should of been gone. So who knows if this was a genuinely successful reset. Upon completion of the initial setup I landed on the default directv channel which promptly started displaying the Searching for Sat message about every 30 seconds. I have three regular SD D11 receivers in the bedrooms and those all work fine. I also live in the Pacific Northwest but weather doesn't seem to matter. It's a clear day out with no wind. Any suggestions of what to check? This is very aggravating. I've had the R15 since September 2006 and have had nothing but problems. Is there another DVR I can buy like a Samsung or Phillips to replace this piece of junk? :nono2:


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## BobN (Jun 19, 2007)

Here is an update to my “Searching for Signal” saga…

I disconnected my R15-300 DVR and connected my old RCA Model DRD420RE receiver. It worked just fine with NO “Searching for Signal” problems on the channels that have the problem with the R15. I tried it with each cable from my multiswitch and it worked both times.

Here is an updated table of signal strengths for both the R15 and the RCA receiver. One interesting thing is that the signal strengths appear to be higher for the old RCA receiver. None are under 60.

Does this point to a bad R15? If so, what are the chances of having it replaced with an R16?


Transp	Tuner 1	Tuner 2	RCA
1	51	55	69
2	72	69	76
3	57	54	65
4	96	97	97
5	52	47	61
6	91	90	87
7	59	58	68
8	88	81	82
9	54	54	63
10	79	79	79
11	55	57	65
12	92	91	87
13	58	57	70
14	88	91	86
15	58	58	70
16	90	91	87
17	55	54	63
18	94	95	94
19	57	57	61
20	89	88	89
21	58	59	70
22	89	87	80
23	61	63	71
24	80	78	72
25	66	66	75
26	72	71	78
27	69	68	73
28	88	88	86
29	71	70	81
30	86	86	83
31	67	66	71
32	88	88	84


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

BobN said:


> - The signal strengths are as follows:
> Transp	Tuner 1	Tuner 2
> 1	51	55
> 2	72	69
> ...


Something changed with the 101 satellite sometime back. I even thought there was something wrong with my triple LNB satellite dish when I noticed that some of the odd transponders were very low in signal (1, 3, 5, etc). The transponders on the 101 (not the spot-beam transponders) were all about the same for many years.

Unfortunately, in your case, your signal strength readings (the ones in the 50's) are UNACCEPTABLE. EVERY transponder should be at least 70 for reliable service on a clear day.

It appears that 0x1192 has changed the threshold where the "searching for satellite" message appears so that it appears BEFORE the signal starts breaking up or the audio starts screeching. The older receivers would NOT display the "searching" message until the bitter end. I've even had my legacy receivers keep screeching and pixelating with a signal strength of 38!! 45 or above would produce a stable, watchable picture... 

The required solution (which is being exacerbated by the 0x1192 software) is to get your system fixed so it produces a signal strength reading of at least 70 on EVERY transponder on EVERY satellite and on EVERY tuner.

On my two R15-300's, the signal strength BETWEEN TUNERS on the same satellite/transponder only varies by 1 or 2 so if you have widely varying signal strengths BETWEEN TUNERS you may have a cabling and/or multiswitch problem too.

Good luck!


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

ericw352 said:


> The Merg: I set out to verify the dish alignment before calling support and made every attempt to obtain the strongest signal possible. As for swapping my inputs, how would I know which input is being utilized to begin with. To my knowledge the R15 does not tell the user which input is in use at any time. Noob question here, what is a multiswitch?


Just switch the inputs around. Whatever was Input 1 will now be Input 2 and vice versa. When you are watching LiveTV you are using Input 1. The only time you actually watch what is on Input 2 is if you are recording something and switch to another channel or you are recording two items and switch the second show.

Also, I just got my first (and so far only) 771 error today. I flipped on The Weather Channel and the error message popped up for about a 1/4 second. That's the only time I've gotten the error.

I have a R15-300 with CE v0x1202.

- Merg


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

ThomasM said:


> It appears that 0x1192 has changed the threshold where the "searching for satellite" message appears so that it appears BEFORE the signal starts breaking up or the audio starts screeching.


ThomasM,

Based on my observations I believe you are right. Seems that 1192 has changed the trigger level for the error flag on signal strength and that's why the error has started popping up.

I do have a confusing observation though, my LR R15-300 (call this #1) is afflicted with the error but my BR R15-300 (call this #2) is not. I've swapped receiver locations to eliminate the wiring and I have a 3lnb dish with no multiswitch. I have swapped LNBs with no improvement.

Regardless of which locations the receivers are in the R15-300 (#1) that was the LR unit has the error and the R15-300 (#2) that was the BR unit does not have the error.

It would seem that there still is an anomaly we haven't recognized or discovered regarding why some R15-300s have the problem and some don't.

I have forced a SW download on the LR R15 (#1) to see if it's 1192 download was corrupted but the new SW download offered no improvement.


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## senorgregster (Apr 29, 2006)

I have this happening on one of my R15 300s as well. Not paid too much attention but I will now and report back.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Just switch the inputs around. Whatever was Input 1 will now be Input 2 and vice versa. When you are watching LiveTV you are using Input 1.
> 
> - Merg


BUZZZ!!! Wrong!

The R15 only changes inputs when it HAS to. Right now you could flip your unit on and be watching live TV on input 1 or 2 depending on your previous recording schedule. The only way to insure never having the R15 switch inputs around is never to schedule it to record 2 shows at once. Then, whatever input is presently being used to view live TV will remain and recordings will be made using the other input unless, of course you schedule a recording on the channel the unit is tuned to. Remember, it is constantly keeping a 90 minute "live buffer" so it ALWAYS needs the use of 1 input for this unless it is told to record 2 shows at once.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

subeluvr said:


> ThomasM,
> 
> Based on my observations I believe you are right. Seems that 1192 has changed the trigger level for the error flag on signal strength and that's why the error has started popping up.
> 
> I do have a confusing observation though, my LR R15-300 (call this #1) is afflicted with the error but my BR R15-300 (call this #2) is not. I've swapped receiver locations to eliminate the wiring and I have a 3lnb dish with no multiswitch. I have swapped LNBs with no improvement.


This one is easy. The HARDWARE (tuners) in one of your units are just more sensitive than the other one! Just like you can buy 2 identical radios and one picks up the same distant station more clearly because for whatever reason (tuning? component selection?) it is just more sensitive.


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

ThomasM said:


> This one is easy. The HARDWARE (tuners) in one of your units are just more sensitive than the other one! Just like you can buy 2 identical radios and one picks up the same distant station more clearly because for whatever reason (tuning? component selection?) it is just more sensitive.


We call it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday production variables. That's exactly what I figured.

If I need to have my #1 R15 replaced I'll ask for a _marginal_ unit so both my R15s will be equally _signal challenged_


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## phipps (Nov 10, 2007)

I have noticed the same thing on my R15-300. A post over on the DirecTV forums hints at it being a software issue related to the error message threshold.


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## phipps (Nov 10, 2007)

I forced a download today and I now have software version 1196. Time will tell whether this fixes it or not.


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## BobN (Jun 19, 2007)

I too forced a download and now have version 1196 as well. It appears to have resolved the "Searching for Signal" problems I was experiencing


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## Majique (Apr 11, 2008)

I have two each Directv systems. Both systems were working fine until earlier last week. System #2 showed the Searching for Satellite page so I began troubleshooting....

1) the dish hasn't moved
2) the D10 is working fine (confirmed on system #1)
3) cable and connectors are good (confirmed on system #1)
4) getting 13vdc and 18 vdc to the triple LNB
5) none of the four connectors worked on the LNB
6) opened LNB found fried ICs and circuit board
7) obtained a different LNB, the design is the same but the manufacturer is different
8) still get Searching for Satellite with system connected or not connected to LNB.
9) beginning to think I got another bad LNB

Short of taking system #1 LNB off and placing it on system #2 antenna and visa-versa in hopes to determine the newly aquired LNB is good, what else can I do?

~Majique


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