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I'm also in C. IL. Personally I would stay on the western arc and move the antenna location if needed. The EA sats are older for sure. As far as picture quality, there isn't any real difference between the two arcs. If you go EA you must have all mpeg4 capable receivers. That means no older receivers like your 501 and 301 can be used with the EA service. Also, your area in IL is likely not designated an EA DMA. (Chicago, St. Louis, and Quincy are EA designated. Peoria-Bloomington and Champaign-Decatur-Springfield are WA.) E* will therefore put up a 1000.2 WA antenna for you. In case you didn't know, P-B and C-D-S HD locals are supposed to go up on 129W this month.

Laddyboy said:

I'm also in C. IL. Personally I would stay on the western arc and move the antenna location if needed. The EA sats are older for sure. As far as picture quality, there isn't any real difference between the two arcs. If you go EA you must have all mpeg4 capable receivers. That means no older receivers like your 501 and 301 can be used with the EA service. Also, your area in IL is likely not designated an EA DMA. (Chicago, St. Louis, and Quincy are EA designated. Peoria-Bloomington and Champaign-Decatur-Springfield are WA.) E* will therefore put up a 1000.2 WA antenna for you. In case you didn't know, P-B and C-D-S HD locals are supposed to go up on 129W this month.

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Thanks for the reply Laddyboy. My preference would be the EA as the new dish could be installed where my current dish 500 is right now. Its tucked away and out of site.

If I go WA I need to relocate the dish to the South end of the house which would lead me to the next question. Is there a max distance on the coax from the dish to the entry point on my house, if I had to move the dish??

P.S.....I am in Bloomington. I don't believe that we have local HD as yet. If when this occurs I don't believe I will get them as my OTA local channels are perfect in picture quality.

G.B.

I think maximum coax length on dp/dpp products is 200ft.

dahenny said:

I think maximum coax length on dp/dpp products is 200ft.

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You are right..

chkord said:

Thanks for the reply Laddyboy. My preference would be the EA as the new dish could be installed where my current dish 500 is right now. Its tucked away and out of site.

If I go WA I need to relocate the dish to the South end of the house which would lead me to the next question. Is there a max distance on the coax from the dish to the entry point on my house, if I had to move the dish??

P.S.....I am in Bloomington. I don't believe that we have local HD as yet. If when this occurs I don't believe I will get them as my OTA local channels are perfect in picture quality.

G.B.

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I hear you. I just don't know that E* will do an EA install in a western arc DMA which P-B is. They may or may not, I just don't know. You'll have to talk to them. Maybe you can convince them of line of sight problems. You could always do it yourself, although E* usually insists on doing the HD upgrade. I would think if you went through a local retailer you might have better luck in getting what you want. In some markets the locals are on both arcs but the central IL markets will not be. You are clear that if you go to EA you will need all new receivers even for SD? I'll also leave you with one more tidbit. If you get an HD DVR you will pay a $5.95 per month DVR fee for it and all other DVRs on your account. If you signup for Dish DVR Advantage (DDA), you will get both locals and one DVR for $10 per month, thus locals cost about $4 more per month. That's the only reason I get them, since like you I get the CDS and PB locals fine OTA. Of course you need to be pointed at 129 to get them on sat. P-B locals are scheduled for March.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...-dish-retailer-chat-2-4-09-a.html#post1690663

Thanks for the replies guys!! I have a pretty good retailer in the area that I plan on working with. They are close to my location and are willing to talk to me and explain exactly what I would be getting myself into as far as equipment and services.

I read about way to many horror stories on this forum concerning attempts to get or upgrade service over the telephone.

Guess I will be waiting until the weather breaks around here and then contact my retailer.

Thanks again!!

G.B.