Signal weakened on one of two devices

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PhilANZ

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#249052 22-Apr-2019 20:50

We've had a Panasonic TV and dual recorder for 5-6 years. The only issue was when Maori changed its location. Suddenly our recorder's getting a weak signal - sometimes to the point of not recording (TV1 and 2 sometimes). We've swapped the cables and no matter which we use, the TV signal is strong and the recorder signal is weak.
That's the limit of our ability - just thought back to the old issue and remembered I got the answer here, so thought I'd better try again. Any answers gratefully received.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

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#2222395 22-Apr-2019 20:53

have you given the recorder the old sniff test?

given the age and the sudden change, i'd wonder if a cap or such blew.

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PhilANZ

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#2222655 23-Apr-2019 11:46

It's not wearing a cap. Sorry - poor excuse for humour but that's how little I know. We've eliminated factors outside the unit - but that's the limit of our ability. I guess it's time to look for local technical help.
Trouble with that is it is probably cheaper to get a new unit. Trouble with that is we have stuff on the hard disk and putting it onto DVD will take a while.
Thanks

hio77

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#2222659 23-Apr-2019 12:04

lol, what i was asking is does it smell like fried electronics. It's quite an identifiable smell which is why i ask.

Definitely backup your data first.

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PhilANZ

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#2222662 23-Apr-2019 12:25

Ah. neither of us has noticed anything - and we got quite close to it when experimenting with the aerial connections. While I don't have a lot of positive experience with electronics, I do sadly recall the smell from the distant past when I did spend time fiddling inside computers. I was the accountant for a $30m company and since I knew a bit about using software (I tried programming for six months with Perce Harpham before deciding to leave programming to my wife and later discovering systems analysis) so I also put together their PC's and LAN's. Hence my familiarity with "that" smell.
Backing up our data is problematic. Our unit only writes to DVD - I haven't found a way to get at the disk over the network. We've been working on putting the collection onto DVD - but that's one of those round tuit jobs.

Brunzy

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#2222670 23-Apr-2019 12:51

Are the units fed from a splitter, or do you use the loop through ( in and out of the recorder)?
It could be a few things , Pana recorders are often susceptible to interference, the Tv’s are very optimistic with the diagnostics, saying you have 10/10 S & Q , in that case you could have a weak signal for both .
No real way to tell without measuring.

PhilANZ

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#2222686 23-Apr-2019 13:49

The aerial comes in and splits into two. As I said, swapping them over made no difference to either the TV or the recorder.