Slow Internet - iDirect low C/N 9.8 ?

Clarify with TS2 if they are referring to your downstream or upstream C/N.

I am assuming the problem is with your upstream - the transmit direction from you to the teleport hub.

Your upstream C/N, measured at the hub, depends on your dish size, dish pointing and transmit power.  Typically your maximum theoretical uplink C/N will be about 15 dB if your BUC were to be operated at its full power output in clear sky conditions. In practice your BUC will only go to its maximum power output during heavy rain, in order to maintain a continuing service and nominal C/N between about 9 and 11. Under clear sky conditions your BUC will be operating well below its rated power so as to get a C/N at the hub of 9 - 11, exactly the same as all the other remote sites.

If you maximum possible upstream C/N (BUC at full power, clear sky) is only 9.8dB, then I suspect a degraded cable/cable connector on the transmit direction to the BUC, or dish mispointing.

Cable: Any rain/moisture getting into the BUC F connector will corrode the connector and may degrade the sheath and wire for a long distance down inside the cable.  The wire pin may be blackened and almost burned away. The solution is either a new cable or to cut back the end of the cable to good clean bright copper. If the pin is burned away, the contact springs inside the BUC will be damaged also. It is worth using a piece of centre wire and poking it in and out of the BUC socket many times to try and clean up the springs. If the spring contacts have vanished then you need the BUC repaired with a new F socket/spring connector.  A spot of electronic grade silicone contact grease is good at final assembly as this seals the microscopic points of contact from oxygen and moisture. Really good waterproofing is essential.  The ideal F plugs are the watertight axial-crimp variety but they are expensive and so is the special axial crimping tool. Use plenty of self-amalgamating rubber tape or heat shrink tubing with hot melt glue.

Pointing: A value of 15.9 may be entirely satisfactory for receive quality in clear sky conditions. But don't get excited about the exact figure however; it is whether or not the value is the maximum possible value that matters.  Two sites may have perfect maximums of 15.1 and 16.4, but if the second site is 15.9 it is unacceptable as it is not peaked and the transmit beam may be well off the satellite. The transmit beam is narrower than the receive beam so getting to the exact centre maximum matters. Just getting above some arbitary 'good enough' value is irrelevent.

Please would other iDirect sites say what is their downstream signal level ?

Best regards, Eric.

If TS2 have other sites of the same size working on the same beam contour, what are their downstream C/Ns ?

It is strange for there to be a good voltage plus a poor receive C/N.  I don't know the relationship between the two.

I can't think of any likely cause for this.

Straightforward improvements in receive voltage and C/N come from good F contacts and cable, good pointing, no water in feed and dish not distorted.

You might check for dish distortion.  The weight of the feed assembly can pull the sides of the dish forwards.  Put tight threads up-down and across the front. They should just touch ( <1.5mm ) in the middle.  

A rather improbable possibility is the possibility of AC mains currents in the LNB and BUC cables due to slight differences in the earth voltages at the modem and the antenna. This tends to happen when the antenna has a local lightning protection earth (e.g. on the roof or direct to the ground some distance from the building).

Sorry I can't think of anything else.  

Please would other iDirect sites say what is their downstream signal level (voltage 12 - 24V) and say if their system is working well ?

Best regards, Eric.

I exchange emails with TS2 again. They said its a shared at 10:1 and thats why its slow. I replied... if you sell a service it must work. It has been unusable for over a month now.

Sir

Sorry to hear about the issues you have been having with TS2.

Bentley Walker can service you with your current equipment. Unlike TS2 we do not have a set contention ratio with our services - We guarantee typical speeds you receive rather than limit them with a set contention ratio.

For example, on a 10:1 connection of 1024/256, the only speeds you are guaranteed are 102.4/25.6kbps. Bentley Walkers 1024/256 guarantee typical download speeds of 600kbps in off peak hours.

We can also upgrade you to the latest iDirect X3 modem free of charge, giving you access to a more efficient service.

If you would like more information please contact me at david@bentleywalker.com, Thanks.