[NLRS] Checking out performance of a satellite ground station

[Carl Estey]

Howdy …

Please forgive this slightly off-topic question but this group is by far the most knowledgeable on weak signal VHF/UHF communication regardless of mode or purpose.  So here goes …

The Gear:
In June of 2021 a contractor friend and I put together a satellite station consisting of:
ICOM IC-9700 transceiver
RF-sensing preamps at the radio for 2-meters and another for 70-cm
2-meter bandpass DCI filter on 2-meters and another on 70-cm
About 75’ of LMR-400 Ultraflex coax commercially assembled by ABR Industries (No groans, please)
Roof-mounted M2 LEO pack VHF/UHF antenna array
Yaesu G-5500 Az-El rotor mounted on a tripod and about 8’ above roof
CSN Technologies S.A.T. tracking controller (See my product review in February 2022 QST magazine.)
Installation:
Since I no longer do roof or tower work, my contractor friend installed the feedline, rotor control cable, tripod and antennas.  He knows a lot about mechanics but little about RF or electronics.  From what I can see from the ground it appears that not of the coax connections were taped or waterproofed. 

The Issue:
When the gear was initially installed,  performance was good.  My noise floor on 2-meters ranged from S-5 to S-9 and seemed subject to time of day.  Incoming signals from 6 to 18-db above the noise floor.   On 70-CM the noise floor ran about S-1 to 2 and signals were  from the noise floor to 40-db above the noise floor.  Remember that satellite signals are highly variable in signal strength and subject to many factors.  SWR on both bands was very low, in the area of 1.1:1.

Now, signals seem much lower in strength, as is the noise floor.  I have by-passed the DCI Bandpass filters and the preamps and none appear to have a problem.  SWR on both bands remains un-changed from initial installation.

The Questions:
In view of the above I have several questions for you.
From the ground, how can I detect fouled cable and connectors?
What testing procedures would you recommend?  Keep in mind that on the ground I panhandle most anything but the guy on the roof knows mechanical things, follows directions and is as dumb as a box of rocks about technical things.

In advance, thanks for reading and your input.

73, 
Carl WA0CQG

carl at esteys.net
(952)250-3110

Amateur Radio Callsign:  WA0CQG