# sat.tv



## heavyduty (Jan 10, 2008)

i had similar problem with one too certain lites and the wifes treadmill. Turns out it was a bad sat box. don't know if it's the same problem or not might be worth swapping out boxes withone some where else in the house.


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## gmoliveira (Sep 12, 2007)

thanks heavy duty.i asked a bunch of friends and none of them had ever heard of this problem.


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## david81 (Feb 9, 2008)

i am a directv service technician and i have run into this problem in the past. there is a possibility of an electrical back feed through your ground plug. try eliminating that problem(cut the ground plug off, or get a 3/2 plug adapter), if that doesnt work run an electrical cord from the other end of the house (this works because u will be on another breaker) and see if it acts up then. if it still acts up, get a length of cable long enough to reach from the wall outlet on the other reciever, or if the cable is coming through the wall, unplug the cable from the back of the reciever, put a "barrel" connector on the end of the cable(not a splitter, it wil not work properly with satellite), and connect the cables together. u may have to leave it hooked up for a while if u cant make it happen. if it still acts up u probably have a bad box. i would change it out if i did a service call at your house and u took these steps, but dont be suprised if the tech wants to run through these steps himself.


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

david81 said:


> i am a directv service technician and i have run into this problem in the past. there is a possibility of an electrical back feed through your ground plug. try eliminating that problem(*cut the ground plug off*, or get a 3/2 plug adapter),



UGGHHH... that is very bad advice... if it is a ground loop its probably because the dish guy drove his own ground rod and did not follow the rules of the NEC....


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## david81 (Feb 9, 2008)

chris75 said:


> UGGHHH... that is very bad advice... if it is a ground loop its probably because the dish guy drove his own ground rod and did not follow the rules of the NEC....


i was not talking about the grounding on the dish, i was talking about the house ground. also, cutting the ground prong off of the electrical cord from the reciever has the same effect as using a 3/2 plug adaptor. when the dish is grounded properly to the house ground, meter box, or meter pole, that does not have anything to do with the specific problem this person was having, it will help in stopping a lightning surge outside of a 500 foot or so radius. educate yourself.


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

david81 said:


> i was not talking about the grounding on the dish, i was talking about the house ground. also, cutting the ground prong off of the electrical cord from the reciever has the same effect as using a 3/2 plug adaptor. when the dish is grounded properly to the house ground, meter box, or meter pole, that does not have anything to do with the specific problem this person was having, it will help in stopping a lightning surge outside of a 500 foot or so radius. educate yourself.



I am very educated, Do you think it is a very wise choice to cut off a ground pin on a cord? C'mon man... Do you know what the ground pin even does? I will teach you if you let me...

Cutting the ground pin off a cord is never educated advice...


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## david81 (Feb 9, 2008)

chris75 said:


> I am very educated, Do you think it is a very wise choice to cut off a ground pin on a cord? C'mon man... Do you know what the ground pin even does? I will teach you if you let me...
> 
> Cutting the ground pin off a cord is never educated advice...


the reason i said cut the ground prong off the plug is b/c electrical back feeds through the ground prong cause some very odd problems, many times solved when the ground is taken off of the plug. when we, or the customer does not have any 3/2 adaptors we have to do what we can to make it work. directv does not make a receiver anymore with a ground prong on it for that exact reason.


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

david81 said:


> the reason i said cut the ground prong off the plug is b/c electrical back feeds through the ground prong cause some very odd problems, many times solved when the ground is taken off of the plug. when we, or the customer does not have any 3/2 adaptors we have to do what we can to make it work. directv does not make a receiver anymore with a ground prong on it for that exact reason.


You should not mask a problem by cutting the ground pin off. This sounds like a serious law suit waiting to happen... Glad DTV has some coin to back this type of install up with...


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

David, you may want to read through http://www.nfpa.org/freecodes/free_access_agreement.asp?id=7008SB which is the 2008 NEC codes that explains about grounding, etc. Section 820 is where you should start.

If there is a Ground loop problem, it needs to be looked at, and this may mean having an Certified Electrician come out. Cutting off the ground off of a plug is just asking for problems. Especially if the chassis is metal, and ends up being electrified.

To gmoliveira, if you are getting a bad signal such as Pixelation, or no signal to the box, have the Cable connections checked. You may even have to use Quad Shield cable, or re-route away from Electrical devices. I would not be suprised if the installer "Screwed the Pooch" on your install. My inlaws install is not even grounded, and the installer ran a cable through the wall in their basement, instead of where the other coax entranced above the drop ceiling.


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