Continuous searching

[herdriver]

An awning damaged my TRAV'LER SK-3005 slightly. It does not appear to be significant or have any other damage. Since then the antenna will not lock on to a satellite. It just circles and searches continuously. I also tried to get just 1 satellite and got the same results. Any ideas. I cannot find a reset on it if there is one.
Thanks for any help.

[Bill Adams]

What was damaged and how? If the reflector itself has been bent it is likely going to need replacement as you can't straighten one.

[herdriver]

Bill, thanks for the response. Can a slightly damaged reflector cause the lack of locking on to a satellite? The visible damage is a dented edge. I can't really tell if it is bent or not. Thanks.

[Bill Adams]

Depending upon how badly out-of-focus the reflector is, yes, it could effect the ability of the antenna to find the satellite. When you stow the antenna, do you see the antenna moving in all 3 directions? Do you get any error messages? Does the antenna search and search and search and then just stow itself without any other messages on the display? If you have not watched the display during the search you might want to do so to see if it is identifying anything. You need to be in an place where the antenna can "see" the 101 satellite (main DTV satellite) or it will not lock at all.

[herdriver]

Yes it does move in all three directions. No messages show up on the screen except searching. I even tried to manuall find 101 and it did the same thing. Line of sight is not the problem as we are out in the clear and it was OK prior to the incident. Sounds like the reflector is the best next step. Winegard suggested taking the whole thing down and sending it in to them. I'm not sure thats the best option. Thanks again for the input.

[Bill Adams]

Clearly, sending it to Winegard would get you a solution, but if you can find a local repair facility you might be able to have the problem addressed a bit more quickly. Not knowing what the awning did makes guessing at the problem difficult. It is likely in need of a new reflector but it could be a cable or the LNB itself and the only way to really know is to test the unit with a new reflector and/or a new LNB and check the cables for proper continuity.