Every fault below comes from real call-outs across Durban and surrounding areas. Some have a quick check you can try yourself before booking anyone — where that's true, we say so. When a visit is needed, the diagnosis is done with a signal meter, quoted before work starts, and covered by our 6-month workmanship warranty. New to this part? Start with the f-connectors component guide.
1. Loose or finger-tightened connector E48-32
What you'll see: "No Signal" that comes and goes; signal that changes when the cable is touched or the wind blows.
Why it happens: Connectors seated by hand at installation and never torqued, working loose with thermal cycling and vibration.
How we fix it: Re-termination with a compression fitting, torqued correctly — and a check of every other connector in the chain while the meter is out, because they were fitted by the same hands.
2. Corrosion / water penetration
What you'll see: Green or white crust on the fitting; rain-linked faults; gradual signal decline.
Why it happens: Unbooted outdoor connectors in coastal air; water wicking into the cable end.
How we fix it: The corroded fitting and the wetted cable end are cut back and re-terminated with a booted compression connector; if water has travelled up the run, that cable section is replaced.
3. Bad crimp / incorrect stripping
What you'll see: Weak or intermittent signal from day one; a system that never performed as it should.
Why it happens: Twist-on or crimp fittings, core cut too short or bent, braid strands shorting against the centre conductor.
How we fix it: Re-termination to spec. This is the classic inherited fault from bargain installations — invisible from the couch, obvious under a meter.
4. Short circuit at the fitting E48-32
What you'll see: The decoder reports no signal or an LNB fault; in some cases the decoder's LNB power output shuts down to protect itself.
Why it happens: A stray braid strand touching the centre core inside a badly-made fitting, shorting the LNB supply voltage the decoder sends up the cable.
How we fix it: Locate with a continuity test, cut back and re-terminate. We also confirm the decoder's LNB output recovered — some need a power cycle to restore it.
Symptom doesn't match any of these?
Faults overlap — a "f-connectors problem" is sometimes another link in the chain wearing a disguise. Describe what your system is doing on +27 69 423 8290 (or WhatsApp a photo of the error screen) and we'll tell you which component it actually sounds like, free, before anything is booked.