What you'll notice
Signal quality has been slowly deteriorating for months, with increasing pixelation, and the F-connector at the LNB looks green, white-crusted or rusty when inspected.
Why it happens
Galvanic corrosion at the connector, accelerated near the coast by salt air and anywhere by moisture that has been getting in past a failed seal.
Connector corrosion is the slow-motion version of water ingress, and it is dramatically more common within a few kilometres of the sea. Durban, Cape Town, Gqeberha, East London and the entire Garden Route see it constantly.
What corrosion does to signal
Corrosion products are poor conductors, so resistance across the joint slowly climbs. Satellite signals are already weak, and the loss shows up first on the highest-frequency channels — which is why "some channels pixelate and others are fine" is such a common early complaint. Left alone, it works its way down until nothing is left.
Why we cut back rather than clean up
Once corrosion has wicked into the braid it travels further along the cable than it appears from outside. Scrubbing the visible green off and refitting the same connector buys a few months at best. Cutting back to bright copper and fitting a new compression connector is a slightly longer job and it is the only version that lasts.
Coastal specification
If you are near the sea, ask whatever installer you use what grade of hardware they are fitting. Stainless or hot-dip galvanised fixings, quality connectors and proper sealing cost a little more once. Ordinary plated steel and twist-on connectors will have you making this same call in two years.
How we fix it
We cut back the cable to clean, bright copper, fit a new compression F-connector, seal it properly, and — on coastal installations — specify corrosion-resistant hardware so the repair actually lasts.
Still not working?
If the checks above haven't restored your lnb (low-noise block), this usually needs a technician. Our Smart LNB Installation service covers exactly this fault — from R750, quoted upfront.