Dish receiver 500 problems?

Archived from groups: alt.satellite.tv (More info?)

I have a Dish 5000 receiver in my motorhome. It receives the sat signal
one of two ways. 1.From a fixed dish 500 with legacy Quad LNB mounted on an
outbuilding with underground RG6 cable. 2.A KVH LM satellite dome mounted on
the roof. When we are "camping" on our property we use the fixed dish as
trees prevent a lock. When we are traveling the KVH in-motion takes over.
Recently I have been losing the lock at both locations. I can stay
locked on my locals and any other channels that are "spotbeamed". It seems
to lose signal quicker if an even number transponder is selected.
It's sitting in my driveway right now. (the motorhome) This morning I
tuned in a Sirius channel prior to going to work. Checked it at lunch and it
was still locked. After work it was still locked. A few hours later after
doing some other maintenance on the coach it had lost signal. I could only
lock if I picked a transponder like 1, 3, or 5. (I didn't try too many more)
It wouldn't find 10 or 19 when I tried to tune in a couple other channels
like Fox Sports Net (west) or ESPN.
The receiver is in a rather tight cubbyhole above the drivers seat with
a screened door on it. I leave the door open to allow air flow. It does seem
warm in the cabinet. But it is just as warm when it locks as it is when it
loses lock. I've by-passed all the motorhome wiring to ensure I don't have a
bad cable somewhere.

Any suggestions for testing the receiver prior to buying a new one would
be appreciated. Yes I've tried every "reset" I could find.

thanks
Howard