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AFineMan

Last reply Jun 28, 2009 · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

New Guy

Greetings All

This (obviously) is my first post.

Yesterday I was at a yard sale and came across a CoolSat 5000 for $5 I just couldn't resist (I work in electronics and can't bare to see (what I assume to be newer) electronics sold as junk).

Anyways last night and today I spent searching for what this thing does (I was told it use to get a satellite subscription service for free), I am amazed that I was totally unaware of this Dish network thing. Regardless I have this thing, I'm not looking to reactivate it for the pirating reasons, I want to play with FTA.

I researched the CoolSat 5000 that lead me to Dish Network and FTA , I follower the FTA path, and found a BUNCH of stuff. I found out for under $200 I could actually get true "Free" satellite TV (seeing I found the major cost for $5).

Here is the part I'm not sure about, I did the due diligence (of checking many forums and doing the search), but I never found the hand book for dummies. This web site came up in most of my searches so I figured this is the place to begin my quest :-} .

I have the RX with unknown files loaded to it, should I care about these files, and if I do, what should I do?

Via the due diligence I figured this was a good LNB to start with (SORRY if links aren't permitted (I read part of the TOC but my A.D.D kicked in and didn't finish) [Cant post links as NEW member]

figured this would be an OK motor [Cant post links as NEW member]

[Cant post links as NEW member]

and finally for the dish.

I realize there are differing opinions out there, I'm not looking to see a debate of 1 OEM vs. another I'm just looking for a skilled person in FTA to say if I'm heading in the correct direction or am I heading down the path of disappointment.

Thanks for Reading

AFM

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zamar23

Jun 26, 2009

AFineMan

Look at above post - could you imagine how good and friendly some FTA fans really are! May be this is the guy who dumped you the dish without a scale - just kidding.

You're on the right pass, but mixing up a lot of things in a bottle.

May be its a good idea to let Turbosat call you. Also find out your Longitude and select in Lyngsat 3 circular sats: in the middle and opposite sites of your Sat Arc to set your dish roughly on the Arc. Compass might not be too accurate at pointing to true south, even if you account for magnetic declination, especially given your "earth magnet" stock. But Sun shadow won't let you down, if you catch it at "solar noon" time. You must be very accurate at pointing to true south, if you want USALS to help you out with catching sats. Don't bother with Skew when aiming a motorized dish, its automatic - just put LNB vertically when facing due south.

AFineMan

Jun 28, 2009

Morning All

turbosat

I am honored by the offer (and quick acceptance by all here), yet when starting something new I derive the most pleasure in the journey not the final location.

Like when I picked up my first computer in 1982 and this journey is still being fulled today by Linux, there are many more (short lived) hobbies that I became proficient in and then lost interest (heck I'm on my 3rd wife), it is more about the learning than the doing (for me anyways). 30 years ago 1 of the things 1 of my mentors taught me is "you learn nothing from success, it is only when you fail the learning begins"

So anyways, I found 89 through 101 yesterday, actually they were always there, this was why I missed them. This Coolsat receiver has a signal and quality bar graph indicator that not only does it graph it switches between red (no good) to green and when I scanned the sky it stayed red on the linear LNB yet finding 91 through 110 on the circular. using the sat finding meter I adjusted for the highest pitch and did a blind scan and voila, there they were.

I'm not out of the woods yet, I've made a big mistake in dish placement, and goofed on my site survey. Earlier I spoke about using a compass, protractor with plumb line and a straw to survey my yard, well even tho it was accurate I missed something (nube mistake), the straw is 1/4 inch diameter where the dish is 36 inches in diameter so I need to trim some trees to get full signal.

My set up is off a hair in one (if not more) of it's axis my ark is not perfect requiring a slight elevation adjustment, I'll assume here and guess my true south is off a hair (well that's what my math is telling me).

A few thing I've discovered yesterday and have concluded upon (and PLEASE correct me if I am wrong) these LNBs are nothing more than VOCs (Voltage Controlled Oscillators) meaning the receivers must be very precise power supply.

An easier way to find true south (I believe) would be to adjust for your truest south sat for my location it is 71.8 = 181.02 them move to 101.01 = 220.60, having covered 30 degrees of my ark measure the amount of elevation change needed, then calculate the # of degrees rotation needed, or is there already an online applet out here that will do the math for you?

Or the non math way, (for my location) adjust for 71.8 drive to 101.01 and if the elevation has to go up that means I have to rotate a little to the west, if it goes down then a little to the east, I would guess 3 cycles of this should get you there (I'll test this theory today, this all came to me last night in the hot tube with a glass of wine and a cigar).

I'd better stop here, this is becoming a book

Later All

AFM

zamar23

Jun 28, 2009

When using a motor, you don't have to correct dish elevation manually for each sat. For your 71W Longitude - what 3 sats did you choose to set your dish on the Arc and why? Did you look at their area coverage map at Lyngsat Maps and SatcoDX?

Since you have Invacom, connect its C port for circular, or L for Linear sats, while the receiver is Off. Did you connect any switch so far? Coolsat controls the motor and LNB pretty well, but you need to select a correct LNB LO value (10750 for L, 11250 for C), and, once at signal pick for a select sat, scroll down its Transponders list slowly to find the one with a strong signal to see Q bar moving. You may need to add a strong TP from the list posted on this website for a particular sat , as Lyngsat info may be obsolete. Keep in mind, your assumption about what sat gives you a meter pick may be wrong, so try several close sats, but don't forget to select LNB LO and type each time you try, and go down the TP list for each.

turbosat

Jun 28, 2009

You're doing ok then, it does take time until you get really used to setting up these things. The best way I saw came with instructions my motor contained. Put motor on pole, adjust to due south as close as you can, adjust elevation to your site latitude. Then mount dish to motor, adjust declination. Set up your true south satellite in the reciever, use USALS to move dish to that satellite, try blind scan. If no luck, manually add a channel on that satellite, then loosen motor bracket slightly to allow east/west movement-try to find that channel. May require slight tweaking of east/west and elevation, but I found the USALS prog is pretty accurate. Once you get the elevation/declination worked out , you can tweak the tracking, by adjusting east/west again. Takes practice.

zamar23

Jun 28, 2009

This sequence may vary slightly. A few things to note:
- USALS positioning accuracy at times depends on Motor type - there're multiple reports on this;
- to get USALS effective, one needs to exactly point Motor 0 towards due south;
- hard to grasp, but his new dish from a good supplier doesn't have an elevation scale. Slow times force people to cut corners - it sounds like pennies, but depending on sales volume might not be...

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 53 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne

Get it?

An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....

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dishstaller

Today at 9:56 AM

Mississippi Squirrel Revival - Ray Stevens

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Bobby

Today at 10:25 AM

Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town - Charley Pride

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harshness

Today at 11:29 AM

Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker

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dishstaller

Today at 12:33 PM

Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band

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sdfntx

53 minutes ago

See You in September - The Happenings

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Today at 2:04 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Gas Price Info With National Gas Temperature Map

Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy

Ethanol Free Stations

5550 Replies · 460521 views

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Bobby

Thursday at 11:20 AM

Regular$6.099
Premium$6.599
Diesel$7.999
at Costco, Rohnert Park.

Bobby

Today at 10:27 AM

Regular$5.999
Premium$6.399
Diesel$7.999
at Costco, Rohnert Park.

Reactions: harshness

harshness

Today at 11:30 AM

I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.

dishstaller

Today at 12:32 PM

Bobby said:
Regular$5.999
Premium$6.399

Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.

Last night it was about $4.17 gas, $6,19 diesel.

harshness

Today at 2:04 PM

dishstaller said:
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.

On the West Coast, a 40-cent differential is common. It used to be 30 cents before the prices rose above $3.

A "full dollar more" sounds like it may be boat gas (non-alcoholic), which is a whole different discussion.

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klang

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 2:00 PM · posted in TV Shows

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Paramount+

Season 2 order already in hand:

'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' Renewed for Season 2, Tatiana Maslany to Guest Star in Season 1

I've not been optimistic about this show based on what I've read so far. Seems to be aimed at a younger audience. Interesting though that Tatiana Maslany will have some sort of role.

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klang

Jul 28, 2025

I'm sure I will watch at least the first episode but I am not optimistic.

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klang

Oct 11, 2026

klang said:
I'm sure I will watch at least the first episode but I am not optimistic.

Here i am over a year later and just finished season 1. Not great but not as bad as I was expecting. Did not care for the barefoot captain stuff but overall ok. Actually looking forward to see what they did for season 2.

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MikeD-C05

Oct 11, 2026

klang said:
Here i am over a year later and just finished season 1. Not great but not as bad as I was expecting. Did not care for the barefoot captain stuff but overall ok. Actually looking forward to see what they did for season 2.

Yeah, the foot stuff was just nasty. I kept thinking of how dirty her feet would get traipsing around shoe-less. Funny, I love being shoe less at home and never wear shoes indoors in my home for long, but seeing her laying on all her furniture with her bare feet hanging out just kind of grossed me out.

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harshness

Tuesday at 11:28 AM

MikeD-C05 said:
I kept thinking of how dirty her feet would get traipsing around shoe-less.

Where would this "dirt" come from? Dead skin and dandruff?

MikeD-C05

Today at 12:51 PM

harshness said:
Where would this "dirt" come from? Dead skin and dandruff?

There would still be dirt ,dust in the future I am sure. So walking around the station like she did she would get stuff on her feet. I am sure the robot vacuum is still going to miss stuff, with all those different alien species running around there.

harshness

Today at 2:00 PM

MikeD-C05 said:
There would still be dirt ,dust in the future I am sure.

Where is it going to come from -- specifically?

Why do you think cleaning technology won't improve in the next few hundred years? HEPA filtration was invented as part of the Manhattan Project.

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JohnGalt1234

Last reply Today at 1:49 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

H3 EHD lists upcoming airings instead of recordings on EHD and often won't recognize EHD is connected after reboot

This started a couple months ago. I have 2 H3s on one network, both with 2 EHD identical 3 TB seperately powered so all recordings are accessible by all 4k & J4s (8 of them).

On one H3 (not the main one that controls the MOCA network), after it reboots, it doesn't recognize it has two EHDs plugged into it. Rebooting the EHD by their power source doesn't fix it. Resetting the network doesn't. Software h3 reset doesn't fix it. Rebooting MOCA h3 doesn't fix it but so far, after 3+ cold boots (unplug pwr to H3 with unrecognized EHDs), it finally it figures out they are plugged into it. BUT.... Then when you open a program it only partially shows series and episodes, but instead of showing recordings, it only shows upcoming airings. HELP!!!!

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navychop

Yesterday at 3:40 PM

It'll only see two EHDs at a time.

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Almighty1

Yesterday at 7:18 PM

JohnGalt1234 - So you basically have 2 Hopper 3's. The CasinoH3 is the one that is Hopper 3 only while Master Bedroom is a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus setup.
Master Bedroom uses Android TV (ATV) software so the DISH part is actually a app and will behave differently as you can probably tell the Guide's are different on the Master Bedroom which will resemble the same guide used on other ATV devices such as the Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4. If I am correct, the CasinoH3 is the one with the problem since you did say the one dated 09/05/2026 is the naughty one while 08/15/2026 named Master Bedroom is the nice one. Usually I would expect the CasinoH3 to be the one without the problem because it's Hopper 3 only and Master Bedroom would be the one with problems because it has the Hopper Plus involved. That is why they behave differently because CasinoH3 is running the native Hopper 3 software while Master Bedroom is running the Android TV software and also it runs a app called DISH known as package com.dish.atv.launcher, the version for mines is P15403 2026100917 so it's probably the same version as the Hopper Plus software version with the date of October 9, 2026, not sure what the 17 means except maybe revision 17?

This explains it better than I can. Sorry, had to take all the ads out.

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JohnGalt1234

Yesterday at 9:02 PM

Almighty1 said:
JohnGalt1234 - So you basically have 2 Hopper 3's. The CasinoH3 is the one that is Hopper 3 only while Master Bedroom is a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus setup.
Master Bedroom uses Android TV (ATV) software so the DISH part is actually a app and will behave differently as you can probably tell the Guide's are different on the Master Bedroom which will resemble the same guide used on other ATV devices such as the Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4. If I am correct, the CasinoH3 is the one with the problem since you did say the one dated 09/05/2026 is the naughty one while 08/15/2026 named Master Bedroom is the nice one. Usually I would expect the CasinoH3 to be the one without the problem because it's Hopper 3 only and Master Bedroom would be the one with problems because it has the Hopper Plus involved. That is why they behave differently because CasinoH3 is running the native Hopper 3 software while Master Bedroom is running the Android TV software and also it runs a app called DISH known as package com.dish.atv.launcher, the version for mines is P15403 2026100917 so it's probably the same version as the Hopper Plus software version with the date of October 9, 2026, not sure what the 17 means except maybe revision 17?

This explains it better than I can. Sorry, had to take all the ads out.

View attachment 194857

As I understand it, the android is just the display signal from the hopper+. I can disconnect the H+ and plug the hdmi directly into the master hopper3.

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Almighty1

Today at 12:02 AM

JohnGalt1234 said:
As I understand it, the android is just the display signal from the hopper+. I can disconnect the H+ and plug the hdmi directly into the master hopper3.

It is not just a display signal as explained above. When you have the Hopper+ connected, it uses Android TV for pretty much everything except for the satellite signal which is why it uses the DISH app for the standard Hopper 3 functions. But that should not matter because in your case, CasinoH3 is the Hopper 3 with the EHD which is what you call the naughty one based on the dates you mentioned and Master Bedroom which has the Hopper Plus connected to the Hopper 3 that does not have the problem. So one way to test the theory is disconnect the Hopper Plus from that Hopper 3 and then use the EHD's connected to CasinoH3 currently to see if the same issue exists. That way you will know if the problem is there without a Hopper Plus connected or if CasinoH3 is just a bad hopper to begin with.

Normally when you disconnect the Hopper Plus, it will be 30 minutes or more before you can use the Hopper 3 again.

What you want to do is:
hold the POWER button in, not the red reset button, for about 45 seconds or so while disconnecting the power to the Plus and moving the HDMI cable and it will reboot to the normal Hopper only immediately.

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bookworm370

Today at 1:41 PM

navychop said:
It'll only see two EHDs at a time.

Yes, I have only two online at a time.
One comes online, the other one consistently will not come online

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bookworm370

Today at 1:49 PM

bookworm370 said:
Yes, I have only two online at a time.
One comes online; the other consistently won't. Also, when I connect the EHD, the USB Detected status light on the EHD itself changes from Red to Green. But the Hopper (713) does not start the EHD read process. The light changes to indicate that the EHD has detected a valid USB cable, but the Hopper does not recognize it.

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iJustine

Today at 1:12 PM · posted in iJustine

Microsoft Surface ultra unboxing

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uJiZVGQC3Gc

Direct YouTube Link - Microsoft Surface ultra unboxing
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!

0 Replies · 5 views

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 1:12 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

OpenAI Sued by 8 U.S. States

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bs1MNA6jlm4

Direct YouTube Link - OpenAI Sued by 8 U.S. States
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

0 Replies · 7 views

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Peter Parker

Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 1:01 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

DISH Hopper 3 Software Version 713 Is Out

No idea what improvements might be involved.

16 Replies · 708 views

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bookworm370

Yesterday at 3:17 PM

Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.

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reubenray

Yesterday at 6:40 PM

I got the 713 update yesterday.

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naptime

Today at 1:05 AM

I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.

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reubenray

Today at 6:14 AM

bookworm370 said:
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.

My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning. She hit FF and it went to 15x FF.

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Bobby

Today at 10:32 AM

naptime said:
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.

This has been an ongoing issue. A fix is coming, probably in the next software version.

Reactions: naptime and charlesrshell

dishstaller

Today at 1:01 PM

reubenray said:
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning.

Had a customer call recently saying their remote was really acting up, some buttons no longer functioned. Told them to reboot the Hopper....problem fixed.
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

https://www.amazon.com/Have-Tried-Turning-Again-T-Shirt/dp/B07G1ZV9W9/ref=sr_1_11?crid=3NNRAEED195WV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.86TxUTPcw48CRYlDcLntwpMxbPDBfjiLu4wMZGX3VN6ajG_cFCuoDBJT7pS9CW2mjThKlke5Z6dlXH8bJKkQF4s892wGVU1ca_00S0BQz6F15V30_4szIdWeycvw3_zoVtsULQASM8bGcgvsKms930xApC43y_-YBVN0Q8Xsf_csSqXcmhWpresARdXHfx2VazllrXI8asduvrbnk9S3CGnzjqnVTkjzFSpSQLdQKA6Dx_7UfbQIBBJsqAmQwwtDGqM0YKVIkjV4ARgVJvJ69vLPhxV0m8pkJQd_2w_QX_A.-jSy9OqrqWdxPBsgZGia1hHMbvDAKxxhRn9kK1EBdCc&dib_tag=se&keywords=have%2Byou%2Btried%2Bturning%2Bit%2Boff%2Band%2Bon%2Bagain&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1792342839&sprefix=have%2Byou%2Btried%2B%2Caps%2C265&sr=8-11&customId=B0752XJYNL&customizationToken=MC_Assembly_1%23B0752XJYNL&th=1&psc=1

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telebiker

Last reply Today at 12:54 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Dish Hopper and Dish Hopper Plus No Alexa in settings

I have Dish Hopper and Hopper Plus and also have Alexa Echo. I link the Alex skill to Dish and it asks me to enter the pairing code shown on the TV. I go into Dish Settings and there is no Alexa shown. Not sure what to do.

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HipKat

Mar 15, 2026

Guys,
Android is Google. Google is Android. Android OS and Google TV are the same thing.
The Hopper+ and Joey 4's run Android TV, which is Google's television version of Android.
That means under the hood, you have:

Linux kernel
Android framework
Google TV / Android TV interface
Google Play Store for TV apps

Alexa is the competition. Google is not going to host their competition.
The old Hopper Carbon UI is NOT Google so that's why Alexa was on there.

Reactions: KAB, tanman, Cold Irons and 2 others

Harryhaggle

Mar 18, 2026

Understood. But here's the rub - Google Assistant setup is ALSO missing from the Hopper Plus setup. I'm a paraplegic.and need to use voice controls as much as possible but I can't press a button on the remote to activate Google Assistant. I prefer ALEXA (or ALEXA+) but I have one older google device and will go that route IF they make it available. BTW calling Dish Customer Service is no help- they just say they have no info on if/when there will be an update.

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navychop

Mar 18, 2026

Ungood.

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reubenray

Today at 10:17 AM

What is the purpose of connecting Alexa and the H3?

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navychop

Today at 12:54 PM

Tell Alexa verbally what to do.