Snipe 4 Antenna Problem - an update. What replacement?

[DickB]

Over a year ago my replacement Snipe satellite antenna failed to lock on despite it being under 3 years old. An attempted repair involved a trip from the south coast to Cheshire and a hefty minimum service charge to no avail. After advice on this forum to contact satco,  the European importer in Germany, I sent them the control box. For €150 the main circuit board was replaced and initially all worked OK, only for the antenna to lock on, but the TV showed no signal. A second TV and cable produced the same result. The box went back to Germany only for a report that it was "no fault found" and to send the whole system.

Removing the antenna was fairly straightforward but 7m of cable hidden in lockers and under panels took some time. The distance from the antenna to the control box is only 70cm! After a week in Germany, a new LNB at a further €125, the system was returned, refitted and it seemed to work OK again. However, after a few more trips I have found locking on to Astra2 can take 10mins or more, but more annoying is that when the TV is turned off when everything is working, the next time it is turned there is no signal and the antenna has to be retuned.

I have lost confidence in the whole setup and am not prepared to expend more time and money on this system. Has anyone got user experience of an easy to fit satellite system to replace my rubbish product? 

Dick 

[Labby]

Have a look at Maxview , they are based in Kings Lynn , Norfolk , I now have their Target  satellite system fitted and it is working well  , their customer service seemed to be very efficient when I had a question . ( I had similar problems, to yourself with a different foreign based satellite company that  had poor back up , even if you could contact anybody for help, and in the end I gave up with it)

Edited November 10 by Labby

[DickB]

Thanks for the quick reply. I definitely feel I need a UK supplier who can be trusted and give support.

Just turned on the TV again having successfully tuned in the antenna a few hours ago, and programme came up perfectly - for 30 secs then no signal though nothing had changed: I definitely give up! 

Dick 

[onecal]

Hi Dick

Have you tried using a different TV (Not a DC Motorhome TV with an overloaded bells and whistles)  One with a different tuner Or one tuned in to a  specific country This can cause issues Are you using an Avtex TV ?

Regards

Edited November 10 by onecal

[DickB]

15 hours ago, onecal said:

Hi Dick

Have you tried using a different TV (Not a DC Motorhome TV with an overloaded bells and whistles)  One with a different tuner Or one tuned in to a  specific country This can cause issues Are you using an Avtex TV ?

Regards

Hi onecal

I have tried with an Avtex as well as with a Vision plus and the same problem. When the current antenna did work initially, the TV worked when switched on if the antenna had been left in the erect position and therefore remained tuned in to Astra2. Now in the same situation there is "No Signal" and the antenna has to be moved to home position and then returned. Clearly something wrong and having to go though the tuning procedure every time is unacceptable. Having spent 11 months and over £200 to no avail I have given and will cut my losses and get something new. 

Dick 

[onecal]

Hi Dick.

Sorry , no anything except an Avtex / Vision plus etc'

Try it with a standard TV and see what happens 

Will it hold on Hotbird?

Regards

Edited November 11 by onecal

[onecal]

Hi Dick 

Just a thought , what way are the three power connection wires connected to your battery?

The RED , BLACK and WHITE wires ?

Regards

[DickB]

Hi

I don't believe that a standard TV would work as it doesn't have a satellite decoder, and the only remaining TV I have is huge and can't be moved. The black and red wires go via the "interior" switch. No idea where the white wire goes. I don't believe that there is any problem with wiring as my first Snipe worked OK as did this replacement, until a series of definite failures were found. I have locked onto Hotbird, Astra1 and Hotbird, but not much use for UK programmes. There is clearly something wrong when just turning off the TV when it is tuned in and working, and then switching on again it has no signal. 

Dick 

[colin]

When you say turning off TV, is this turning off the power to the Snipe as well? 

[Keithl]

25 minutes ago, DickB said:

The black and red wires go via the "interior" switch. No idea where the white wire goes.

Has anybody got any idea what the white wire actually does? Is it possibly a 'memory' connection to retain settings?

[onecal]

Hi Sorry for my slow reply , Busy day

So are they staying locked on when you turn off as you say Have you tried a seperate decoder ? 

I understand your frustration but a lot of changes have been made at quite a cost to yourself So it is very important that all connections and wiring are correct . Is the white wire connected to the battery or where ? It should be connected via the Ignition This incorrectly connected or faulty  may cause some issues you describe Have you had a software update ?

 

 

Edited November 11 by onecal

[DickB]

Thanks all for comments. I assume that the white wire is actually connected via the ignition as it hasn't been disturbed since the first Snipe was installed before I bought the mh. This system failed completely about 4 years ago and as the base plate was the same as the Snipe4 I decided to stick with the same make. After just over a year this started to have intermittent problems with the lowering the antenna, rather worrying, so I took it back to the supplier in Cheshire. First comment was "out of warranty" so minimum 2 hours charge to look at it. Connections checked and no fault found, but within a day the problem recurred and also the no signal message despite the position of the antenna unchanged. Satco in Germany assessed the problem as a faulty PI box and replaced the main board. All OK for a month or so then satelite locked on but no signal. PI box back to Germany and no fault found. Complete system to Germany and LNB changed. Satellite slow to lock on, but eventually it does. TV ok and great joy, until TV is turned off and later when on again the dreaded no signal. Antenna lowered and raised again and TV works until it is turned off when the whole process has to be done again. 

I have connected to Astra1 and Hotbird and all works first tune in, but switch TV off and on again and no signal. On one occasion the TV did show a channel for a few seconds then it reverted to no signal. Tried everything with 2 different TVs and different cables and the problem remains. Currently watching TV and dreading switching off and losing everything again! 

Dick 

[colin]

As per my earlier post, when you switch off the TV does this also cut the power to the Snipe?

On my old iSat system switching off the power to iSat meant it needed to be restarted.

[onecal]

Hi 

Again due to all the changes that have been made to your applicance, all connections need to be rechecked Hence have you established that the white wire is now actually conected correctly and not bypassed ? (Maybe from your purchase)

If not correctly connected it may not actually be retaining your settings and as Colin has stated and may have to be reset everytime.

It also can effect the raising and lowering of your antenna (No signal, sometimes)

I note before you had a difficulty  of the unit not raising or lowering properly? 

I would suggest a firmware update and a factory reset 

Edited November 12 by onecal

[DickB]

Thanks again. Colin, when the TV is switched off the power remains on the PI box. I noted this evening that the green LED which is usually on when the TV is in satellite mode isn't, so something has changed. For a couple of sessions today after retuning from Astra1 to 2 the TV has worked on each occasion after switch on; this didn't happen yesterday so some improvement and I look forward to tomorrow to see what occurs.

Onecal, just checked the firmware for the antenna and it is already the latest version. I did an update before the PI box went to Germany, and I guess they would have checked also. I am away from home at the moment, but I will try to check out the white wire to the box tomorrow and provide an update. According to the book the ignition function is optional, but if connected then the  antenna returns to the home position when the ignition is turned on. I have never noticed as  I always check the antenna is locked home before starting the engine, but will investigate tomorrow. According to the book the antenna draws no power when not searching, and when the TV is turned on it is powered from the TV, so my belief is that the white wire into essential except as a safeguard.

Tomorrow is another day! 

Dick 

[onecal]

Hi Dick

Yes on starting your motorhome it should indeed return to the home position if it is wired correctly from the outset (Also can be on vehicle speed) This is someting you now say never happened? How did you do the update ? This is very important . You need also establish what the white control wire is connected too (or bypassed) and reinstate it correctly 

I think it would be prudent to have all your wiring rechecked including all connections and then have the latest firmware updated along with a factory reset 

Regards

Edited November 13 by onecal

[colin]

12 hours ago, DickB said:

 According to the book the antenna draws no power when not searching, and when the TV is turned on it is powered from the TV, so my belief is that the white wire into essential except as a safeguard.

Tomorrow is another day! 

Dick 

My old iSat said something similar, it's not quite true, whilst the steering mechanism might not draw power the LNB does require power to work.

I wonder if you put TV into standby it will continue to power the unit, but if you switch power off to TV that's when it needs to 'reboot', or if it takes some time for residual power to dissipate before needing a 'reboot'. 

[onecal]

Hi

Yes Colin that is correct, I am a little puzzled as to why he reported no fault codes (see attachment) and why it now looks like the unit was not wired up to the ignition from the start One wonders what it is wired up to and could this be his issue from the start 

He really needs to re check his installation fully. Try with a different TV on standby first or use a Sat decoder and see will it retain the signal I would recommend you do a firmware update and factory reset first and start from there 

Regards

[DickB]

Definitely another day - it all works as it should I think! 

Switched on this morning and TV worked correctly with no need to retune the antenna. Repeated 4 times during the day and each time TV came on straight away as I would expect. 

I have checked the cables and the white wire has never been connected as it is cut off where the + and - wires are linked into the van electrics. This clearly hasn't been a cause of any problems as it is stated as being an option, and the system has worked correctly for most of the time. Satco found 2 definite problems, but even so there have been the random times when retuning has been required. At the moment (today) it all seems to be working correctly. The only remaining puzzle is that the green LED which shows that the TV is connected to the PI box and is providing power to it, is not ON like it should be. However, I will just say thanks for the assistance without which I would have scrapped the Snipe already, but will now persevere for a bit longer while it works correctly. 

Thanks

Dick 

[onecal]

Hi Dick

The fact that the fault is intermittent is for you  a major issue going forward.  

Now the antenna must have a direct line of sight and heavy rainfall effects the signal

But I still think it's a wiring issue , Is the white wire sealead if bypassed?

Make sure it is not touching anything if this is the case I would suggest it should be wired correctly to the ignition .

Have you never had any error messages?

Again i would check all connections ,paying very close attention also to the the controller connecting wire connection to the dish base?
They are the black and grey coaxial wires . Check their orientation as per your manual

I still would do a firmware update and reset 

Hope it stays working for you .

If it fails to lock on again Try the method I advised Scarch for Hotbird lock on and then Astra 2 and lock on 

This works for so many 

Regards

[DickB]

Thanks onecal. The white wire is cleanly cut off and inside a sleeve, so no possibility of touching anything.

No, I have never had any error messages, but I generally use the app which shows the status as the antenna searches and locks on. The single coax between the antenna and the PI box was 7m long, all of which had to be coiled away, while the distance is only 70cm. It was checked by satco when they had the whole system. However, I have replaced it with a short length of coax which seems to work fine. Everything was OK again today. 

I will keep in mind your suggestion of selecting Hotbird first.

Dick 

[onecal]

Hi

I am amazed you had no error messages and very strange anyone would wire out  one the big advantages of the Snipe 4 in this manner.   I would be wiring it correctly and making sure i was always  able to read any error messages via remote (as attached) Your model should auto update with power on 

Yes searching for an other satellite should work in this order, as it does for many 

Select another satellite as example Hotbird or Astra1 or 3, if any locks then select your desired satellite. ie Astra 2.

Turn the unit off and then back on again to the select desired satellite.

Turn on the STB or TV  with DVB-S2-Tuner and start the satellite search again.

Only switch on the STB or TV with DVB-S2-Tuner, after your sat system has found the required satellite.

Note:- it only has a search time of 180 seconds and maxium power consumption of  30w searching

Also You can set on the European version of the controller itself. Press on the controller the two arrow keys at the bottom center until the upper left corner "Home" flashes. Then press the down arrow key until "User 3" flashes and then press the OK button. Then flashes / lights GPS top right. Now  turn off the controller. The next time the controller is programmed again in the Europe version. You do not need to repeat the search anymore.

Regards

Edited November 15 by onecal

[DickB]

Thanks onecal. I will keep in mind your suggestion of selecting Hotbird/Astra1, and the tuning sequence. It will be interesting to see what happens when I next turn on the antenna. We are at home now and won't be moving for a couple of weeks; plenty more jobs to be done! 

Best regards 

Dick 

[onecal]

Hi Dick

You are very welcome I hope we all may have helpd you a little (not to give up) 

By the way is your app you are using on your phone up to date ? (very strange no error mesages)

I would try using your remote next time . Upgrades are availble but must be for the correct controller unit I think there are at least 3 now available for different controllers (example Snipe dome requires a completely different upgrade)

When use antenna and remote control for the first time or when you delete the antenna list stored in the remote control, a list of products that can be connected will appear.and may be accepted 

Press the left and right buttons on the remote control to select the MAC Address of your antenna unit, and press the SET button to connect to the remote control

SELECT MAC P - 09 : 39 :

Then

E2 PRESS SET When the remote control and the antenna are connected, a “connected” message appears.

P - 39: E2 Connected The MAC Address of the connected antenna, the satellite name set for the antenna, and the current status are displayed.

Then

Press the left or right arrow button to select the desired satellite P-39 : E2 and press the SET button to search for the satellite again

When the antenna is searching for satellites Found SAT will appear  - When the satellite search is complete Move To Home - the antenna will move to the home position. P - 39 : E2 ASTRA 2 is now set

Home Pressing the DiSEqC button changes the DiSEqC settings of antenna unit. DiSEqC mode is indicated by D mark in the first line.

Your Sat on now  powering up should search for Astra 2 for a min of 180 sec' on start up

Hope this helps 

Your Sat set up should be as per attachment

[DickB]

Thanks onecal. The app I use is called Satconnect which is Snipe specific I believe. It was recommended to me by the supplier, and is up to date. I will try the controller next time. The app only shows the status of the antenna, Home, Searching, Fine Tuning, Satellite Checking, Satellite Lock, and no error message. I won't be using the TV for a while (the van is parked behind trees), but will try all suggestions and let you know the outcome. 

Dick