SatSig topic:

Problem on HX150

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Mar 10^th, 2009 at 11:11pm

Dear all

I've an issue with my HX150 I've SQF value of 52 (signal strength) my Rxcode is 5 but my Txcode is 17. I've checked the power supply for my minicircuit that feeds the buc. the value is 24v which is good enough for the transmitter(buc). pls what can I really do to get my transmit part back. thanks in advance for your prompt reply.

Best regards,

Mar 11^th, 2009 at 3:54am

Quote:

ve checked the power supply for my minicircuit that feeds the buc. the value is 24v which is good enough for the transmitter(buc).

Whereas the voltage may seem acceptable, the amperage may not. If the amperage reaching the transmitter is insufficient, it will cause the issue you describe. So will a failing transmitter. But with a SQF of 52, I believe I'd first optimize the pointing angles, particularly POL

//greg//

Mar 11^th, 2009 at 8:50am

What does "minicircuit" mean ?

The transmit cable from the HX150 modem would normally go direct to the BUC. If you install a Bias-Tee power insertion component (e.g. https://www.minicircuits.com/pdfs/ZFBT-4R2G+.pdf) in the cable and add your own separate DC power supply on the side, then make sure the Bias-Tee is able to pass the 10 MHz reference from the modem, as well as the wanted L band transmit carrier.

Best regards, Eric.

Mar 11^th, 2009 at 11:37am

Thanks a bunch for ur replies Greg and Eric, Eric i can't thank u enough for ur support so far. Greg i will check for the amperage also i ve sent for a new transmitter before i left site and for the amperage what value could be sufficient for the transmiter

Eric, pls how do i test for the 10MHz Refrence being passed by the modem via the Bias-Tee power insertion as well as the wanted L band transmit carrier

Best regards,
Delson

Mar 11^th, 2009 at 12:02pm

It is unusual that you have a Bias-Tee in place in the BUC cable. The HX150 modem is normally connected direct to a HughesNet BUC.

You need a spectrum analyser to investigate exactly what is going on via this cable and if the Bias-Tee is interrupting it. As well as DC power and some frequency reference (10 MHz?), does the HX150 modem perhaps send and receive FSK data to/from the Hughesnet BUC ? I don't know.

Be careful with a spectrum analyser and DC power. It is easy to burn out expensive analysers that don't have DC protection on the input socket.

This is what the manual says about Transmit Code 17:

17 The satellite transmitter is unable to obtain an available transmission rate

This condition occurs if the transmitter cannot successfully range. Ranging is the process that adjusts the satellite transmitter timing and power. The satellite transmitter conducts ranging as needed to ensure that it can communicate with the Network Operation Center. A possible cause is that the transmitter could not achieve enough power to transmit. This is likely caused because the antenna is not accurately pointed. However, it may also be a transmitter power problem. Make sure the power supply is the correct type. See Table 2 on page 20. Also, this condition may be caused by incorrect bit rate mask usage.

Best regards, Eric.

Mar 11^th, 2009 at 12:57pm

Quote:

...and for the amperage what value could be sufficient for the transmiter.

The HX-series works in conjunction with a variety of BUCs, so the amperage draw will vary by configuration. But like Eric, I can't predict what effect that inline microcircuit may have.

If it helps though, I can advise that my own 2w Ku-band BUC causes the modem to draw up to 2.85 DC amps

//greg//

Mar 11^th, 2009 at 1:54pm

Does anyone have an HX50 or HX150 working with a non-Hughesnet BUC ?

Is that possible ?

Best regards, Eric.

Mar 16^th, 2009 at 3:08pm

Hello my dear Family

Sorry i've not been able to give feedback on my problematic site due to my sickness. at first i told my client to power down for 24hrs and after they powered up the link came alive again unfortunately it went down like 5hours after . lately i visited the site again and changed the minicircuit (Bias Tee power insertion) , BUC (transmitter) and the power supply unit infact everything on the Tx path but the problem still persist. apparently the site has been working until the issue started like a week ago. My 2.4m dish with circular pol is ponting at intelsat 706. pls help!!!!!!!!!!!! what else can i do to bring this site back again

Best regards
Delson

Mar 16^th, 2009 at 8:44pm

Damaged coaxial cable? The modem may (should) have internal circuit protection to power down the instant the center conductor shorts against any piece of the grounding shield - even a single strand from a mesh sheath. This protection guards against shorts on either cable. Ambient conditions (heat/wet/wind) can trigger intermittent shorts. Not saying this is your problem, but it's an example of how what one thinks may be a transmitter issue - can actually turn out to be a problem on the receive side. That said, I'd actually start with an inspection of the TX cable path.

//greg//

Mar 17^th, 2009 at 9:54am

If the site worked normally for 5 hours following a 24 hour period with the power off, I would repeat this process and investigate what might be causing the failure.

If the RX level gradually deteriorates to failure then maybe dish pointing and satellite movement.

Does waggling any of the cables or connectors cause it to fail ?

When it fails is the RX side unchanged?

Is failure associated with temperature, either outdoors or indoors ? Too hot or too cold ? Poor contacts in cables (see above) ? Poor solder joint internal to BUC or modem or LNB ? Oscillator PLL lock problem ? DC volts out of limits ?

What does the hub see ? Is this site like other sites when it is operating normally ? Is any deterioration noticed prior to failure ?

Best regards, Eric.