? :-( New mercury may be dying. :-(

wejones · #1 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 04:15 PM

Well, I was still trying to get the darn Mercury to work with AC3, still no success, however I've been using it to feed my Twinhan via the passthru.
Today, I was watching one of the PBS channels on the Twinhan, and was just starting to record something, when the signal started going away, and eventually went completely away. I checked the Mercury, and it was gone there too. I thought maybe solar outage, but checked, and the sun wasn't even close. I tried to peak the satellite, but still nothing. Then, while I was just sitting there trying to think of something else, the signal came back while I was doing NOTHING. Went from zero, up to about 60% quality (which was normal for the transponder I was on). Then, a few minutes later, it started jumping between 60 and 20%, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

I thought perhaps my DiseqC switch was going bad, so I bypassed that, and ran the coax directly to the Mercury. Still jumping between 20 and 60%. Tried several other things, then, decided to switch back to my old Ultra as a test. ..... ROCK SOLID 60%. Very strange. Strange too, because the problem seems to be only on Ku, not C-band, although I'm not positive about that yet. There shouldn't be any difference between C and Ku, since both are coming in as the 950-1450 IF. Also strange, because it wasn't passing the signal to the Twinhan.

Anyway, very annoying. Unfortunately, I don't have too much time to play with it since a snowstorm is coming, and I'm going to have to park the dish soon. Maybe I'll get more chance to experiment Saturday.

#2 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 04:39 PM

I had channels comming and going on 97W including Al Jazeera in the last 2 days.
Back now and stable.

Might be software updates to satellites not sure or maintanance.

If it happens again might need looking into on yours.

Might want to do a firmware update or reload the same firmware as is currently on the receiver .

Hope it help or get's you in the right direction.

wejones · #3 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarraWarra

I had channels comming and going on 97W including Al Jazeera in the last 2 days.
Back now and stable.

Might be software updates to satellites not sure or maintanance.

If it happens again might need looking into on yours.

Might want to do a firmware update or reload the same firmware as is currently on the receiver .

Hope it help or get's you in the right direction.

It is getting into the solar outage period, so if your instability only lasts about 10 minutes, I'd consider that. Wasn't the cause of my problem. I also have the most up to date firmware, although I guess it wouldn't hurt to re-load it.

Reinhold · #4 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 05:50 PM

Have you had any problem with mercury II and disqswitch?
I can not use a switch with mine.Maybe my settings are wrong?
Can you give me any idea how to set up the menue for the switch?
Reinhold.

rainman · #5 (**permalink**) 03-01-2007, 07:55 PM

my mercury works fine with a disqec switch i set mine to port 1 for ku and port 2 for c band.

wejones · #6 (**permalink**) 03-02-2007, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainman

my mercury works fine with a disqec switch i set mine to port 1 for ku and port 2 for c band.

Mine WAS working fine... I'm not sure that it still is. One interesting difference between the Mercury DiseqC setup and the setup on my Lifetime and Ultra, is that the switch I'm using is one of those "mini" "tone burst" diseqC switches, which have "A" and "B" ports rather than 1,2,3,4 . THe old lifetime and ultra had settings for both A/B and 1/2/3/4 , but the new Mercury only has 1/2/3/4. Generally A=1 and B=2, and either will work, but I'm not sure why the old Lifetimes had separate settings but the new one doesn't. I did notice that there is a DiseqC 1.0 and 1.1 setting, and the switch doesn't seem to work when in the 1.1 mode. I have some other switches I may try, but first I want to see if the thing comes back to life when not connected to a switch, because the last I used it, it didn't work at all, even bypassing the switch.

Reinhold · #7 (**permalink**) 03-02-2007, 06:37 PM

I tried using every possible switch setting and can not get it to work.
I ordered a 22KHZ switch maybe that will work.
Reinhold.

brentb636 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 02:27 PM

Since this a Merc discussion, have you guys seen the Merc being temperature sensitive ( not working outside at 28 degrees F) ? I'm trying to install my new 90cm dish with a new SG-2100 . Came yesterday from Sadoun. The motor works in the basement on the Merc ( with no dish attached). When I set it up outside on my deck tripod mount, the Merc ( outside now by the dish), no longer drives the motor, but the motor green light is still on, and the Merc still monitors the lnbf.
It seems likely that the problem is with the Merc, but I was looking for more assurance.

Brent

DougRuss · #9 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 02:49 PM

Never had that problem,cause I keep it in a Nice Warm and Cozy Room !!

brentb636 · #10 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 03:22 PM

Northern Indiana, huh? Why don't you bring your Merc up to Lansing, and we'll see if it likes cold weather , getting my dish aligned. This whole process is only temporary, so when I stick this turkey on the roof, all I have to do is find "true south" again, and I'll be "home free" .

wejones · #11 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brentb636

Since this a Merc discussion, have you guys seen the Merc being temperature sensitive ( not working outside at 28 degrees F) ? I'm trying to install my new 90cm dish with a new SG-2100 . Came yesterday from Sadoun. The motor works in the basement on the Merc ( with no dish attached). When I set it up outside on my deck tripod mount, the Merc ( outside now by the dish), no longer drives the motor, but the motor green light is still on, and the Merc still monitors the lnbf.
It seems likely that the problem is with the Merc, but I was looking for more assurance.

Brent

Does the motor still move when you push the buttons on the motor? If so, you might try using a LONG coax, even though you're right next to the dish. I think I read somewhere that the receiver/motor communications sometimes may not work well with a short coax. It worked for me with a short coax, but it's something to try.

You may well be right though about the temperature thing. Most electronics are not really designed to work well under extreme temperature ranges. I used to test electronics for the Army, and we tested things from about -40 to +120 or so, and it was very difficult for things to survive conditions like that. 28 Degrees isn't nearly so extreme, but it's possible that there might be some electrolytic capacitors or something that don't react well to freezing temps. Mill standard components cost a LOT more than the components they put in consumer devices.

brentb636 · #12 (**permalink**) 03-03-2007, 04:17 PM

The coax I'm using is about 20 feet long, so it's not exceptionally short, but I'll try a longer one, it's not like there's not plenty of it. Maybe it will tell me something. Tomorrow morning, I think I'll run a length out of my basement to the deck mount, and see what happens then, too. I'd hate to get up on the roof and find the motor didn't work there. Lot of work, and I'm not that young anymore. I just retired from GM this past week , and am looking forward to "self direction" in my daily activities.

It's been a day, and the motor moving problem was a cold Merc II. It definitely doesn't like the Michigan Winter Wonderland. I'm moving the motor from my basement room just fine ( other problems, though, plumb mast "not so plumb", for one ).

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