Satellite TV: [RVInternetBySatellite] Re: Suggested tool for applying "smackulation" to LNB

Yes. Took it apart down to the bare arm (i.e., removed xmtr, rcvr, cables, feedhorn, etc) to clean and dry out all connections a couple years ago. Took notes and drew a schematic of where parts came from and to where they should be reassembled as I disassembled the arm. Put it back together and it still works. I did NOT use any sealant during reconstruction despite the obvious weak point in the whole LNB: moisture accumulating behind the feed horn's plastic cover which then creeps back into the transmitter/receiver, both of which are solid ("black box") units and neither of which can be further disassembled at the consumer level. I'm gonna have to do this procedure again very shortly since the constant rains since early May here in the northeast have caused a gradual and visually measurable buildup of water behind the feedhorn's plastic cover. (Temporary solution: same as I did last time: drill two tiny holes in plastic cover, one top and the other at the bottom, blow compressed air to drive out the moisture, then reseal the holes. Problem: I am presently in a very high humidity region and all I'd be doing is trapping a lot of moisture inside the horn instead of getting it really dried out.)

IMNSHO, HughesNet engineers really need to work on the feedhorn and wave guide sealing problem... unless they intentionally let it ride to keep technicians employed.

One potential solution I have not yet tested nor employed: replace the rather rigid clear plastic feedhorn cover with a more flexible and less sun-sensitive plastic or, at the other extreme, an even more very rigid plexiglas cover installed in a very low humidity (say, 5%; prevents internal condensation) and sealed with silicon or something else which is not so environmentally sensitive.

Fred Stevens
Upstate NY tripod portable system

At 2:19 AM +0000 23/7/09, strip_it wrote:
>Anyone taken the LNB apart & had it survive to work again?

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