Social Feed

Mongo53

Last reply Jun 4, 2010 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Newb Satellite Question

Everyone, I'm new to the board. I'm utterly disgusted with COMCAST and looking for Satellite. I have some tech question about Satellite that I really haven't found answers to with some google searches or literature on the websites, hopefully they are appropriate here. BTW, I'm leaning heavily toward Dish Network, so keep that in mind as you answer.

How many receivers can be connected to a Dish?
I "think" I get the RH/LH polarization thing, and most Dishes today have a dual LNB, and with a dual LNB you can connect multiple receivers and receive all channels. The thing I don't get, can a single LNB only receive one channel at a time, or multiple channels to multiple receivers (well even or odd)? i.e. 4 receivers connected to a single dual LNB dish, can channel 4 separate channels all at the same time (yes, I understand I need a mulit-switch)?

If that is true, what limits the number of receivers you can connect to a single dual LNB switch? If its just the number of drops on the Multi-Switch, can more than one Multi-Switch be connected to a single dish to produce more drops?

I see dishes with 2 or 3 LNB's (assume each is a dual LNB) on them, and each LNB is described as an angle. At first I assumed the additional LNB's were for supply extra receivers, 2 receiver per LNB, now I'm getting the impression the additional LNB's are actually oriented slightly different, to pick up multiple satellites with a single dish. Which is it, more LNB's to service more recievers, or more LNB's to receive multiple satellites while using a single dish? If its to receive multiple satellites, why? Customers getting additional packages, have to connect to additional satellites to get the extra channels?

I'm looking at Dish Network, 5 receivers all able to receive different channels at the same time. Can this be done with a single Dish and 2 multi-switchs (haven't seen a 8 drop multi-switch for Dish Network yet) ?

12 Replies · 2003 views

Load Replies (12) Reply Legacy View

Mongo53

Jun 3, 2010

Wow, thanks for all the info, still a bit confused.

Dish Network, Dual Tuners? is that a Dual Reciever or Dual LNB on the dish? Unfortunately, none of the cable co's or satellite co's every explain any technical details of their service or products on the websites or literature. Best I can tell from Dish Network is that their dual recievers still need 2 coax cables running to the reciever, if NOT they are still pretty inconvient because 1) only one TV can get HD, the the other only SD 2) you need to run a coax connection to the other TV in another room. I'd much prefer 5 seperate recievers, I hope dish network will give me that option.

I guess I need to learn what satellites I need to see to get the package I want to get, which will tell me what antenna I will need. Then I can figure out how to connect up the 5 recievers to that single dish antenna.

I saw a 3rd party 3X8 multiswitch that says it can work with Dish Network, only seen 4X4 multiswitches branded for Dish Network.

Eitherway, I guess, I have to talk to Dish Network, have them give me as close to as what I want to for the free install. Then do the rest myself, because its reasonable to expect there is some limit on what they do for a free install.

Biggest point for me, location of the dish, I'm sure they'll want to put it on the roof even though at best it will barely clear the trees and will likely be obscured in a few years. 2ft above the highest point on my roof is 27° elevation to clear the tree line behind my home to the southwest (I'm located 50 mi southeast of DC) southwest at 27° is what I looked up for most of Dish Networks satellites. I have a road and High School parking lot and athletic fields on the other side of my tree line.

Instead of having a dish on the most conspicous spot on my roof, quite visible from the front of the home. I'm thinking it might be wiser to set up a dish at the other edge of the tree line, with a clear shot to the southwest sky, it would require setting up a solid pole and buying probably 150' of Coax (its a narrow but tall tree line, close to the house), perhaps amps on the lines since its over 100'. I doubt a free install would cover that ellaborate of a setup, I'd think at least if I mount pole (in a cement pour) and bury the coax from the house to the pole, they'd do it, but I have to figure out how much.

Mr Tony

Jun 3, 2010

Mongo53 said:
Dish Network, Dual Tuners? is that a Dual Reciever or Dual LNB on the dish?

dual tuner....as in 2 separate tuners built into one unit. My dad has one and he can watch Speed in the garage while the g/f watches say Lifetime

Best I can tell from Dish Network is that their dual recievers still need 2 coax cables running to the reciever,

nope. The dual tuner units only use one cable into the house. The way the LNB's are setup it allows them to run one line and then at the back of the receiver add a separator (looks like a splitter but it isnt)

if NOT they are still pretty inconvient because 1) only one TV can get HD, the the other only SD 2) you need to run a coax connection to the other TV in another room. I'd much prefer 5 seperate recievers, I hope dish network will give me that option.

they might if you buy the equipment. I dont know how that works when you lease

I guess I need to learn what satellites I need to see to get the package I want to get, which will tell me what antenna I will need. Then I can figure out how to connect up the 5 recievers to that single dish antenna.

I saw a 3rd party 3X8 multiswitch that says it can work with Dish Network, only seen 4X4 multiswitches branded for Dish Network.

3x8 wont work with Dish Network. They use switched that are like DPP44, DPP33 etc

Eitherway, I guess, I have to talk to Dish Network, have them give me as close to as what I want to for the free install. Then do the rest myself, because its reasonable to expect there is some limit on what they do for a free install.

you might want to talk with a local retailer to see what they can do.

Biggest point for me, location of the dish, I'm sure they'll want to put it on the roof even though at best it will barely clear the trees and will likely be obscured in a few years. 2ft above the highest point on my roof is 27° elevation to clear the tree line behind my home to the southwest (I'm located 50 mi southeast of DC) southwest at 27° is what I looked up for most of Dish Networks satellites. I have a road and High School parking lot and athletic fields on the other side of my tree line.

Actually they'd put you on Eastern Arc which is satellites at 61.5/72/77 longitude so using DC as the location the elevation is about 44 which is higher and would work

Mongo53

Jun 4, 2010

Thanks for all the help guys, and the patience with my inexperience.

1 Coax to a Dual Tuner Reciever: this does NOT jive with what I've learned so far, in fact a few install docs I've seen for dish network show 2 coax running to their dual tuners. Is this the result of the DishPro Technology? Starting to sound like to me, they build in a lot of the features/components of multi-switches into the LNB's and recievers to avoid using Multi-Switches inbetween them. So I guess, a Duo Vip 222k can have a single coax going to the satellite and tune 2 seperate channels to 2 seperate outputs. Any limitation, like both channels have to be on the same polarization, OR its unlimited, get any combination of channel/tuner, they've managed to combined all on the same coax?

Lease vs Buy receivers: The Recievers I get free with the installation, they are actually leased? I'll have to pay monthly fees for those recievers. Do I have the option to buy my recievers and NOT pay monthly fees for them? A quick google search shows Dish Recievers on sale all over for very reasonable prices, granted some or used or refurbished. Can I buy a reciever, hook it up and activate it with my service? As long as its a Duo Vip 222k, I can buy it and avoid lease fees?

Actually, 3 dual tuner recievers may work for me, I have 3 TV's with a dual tuner Recorder, it would leave me room to add another TV in the future.

Now my odd ball out of the ordinary for my setup: HTPC, basically a 3rd party digital recorder. I'd like to connect it to a dual tuner, control it with an IR blaster. Seen some other threads indicating its very possible to control both tuners with the IR port. Granted, the 2nd tuner will be SD. Granted there is NO off the shelf equipment right now for a HTPC to recieve HD, other than clearqam/atsc. BUT, it likely will be in the future, if they ever work out the DRM issues and I can get a cheap piece of hardware to let me recieve the HD. For the moment, I'd be stuck with SD on both outputs, which would also NOT be violating any of the content provider concerns about digital recording, at least as I undertand them.

Will an installer give me a problem about a HTPC, i.e. copyright, NOT inteded for their service, etc reasons, OR is the installer just interested in getting the install done, he's NOT going to get overly concerned about how I'm going to use the receiver. Granted I'd be responsible to get this odd ball combo working NOT the installer. I'm more concerned the Installer would refuse to leave the receiver behind and tell me your NOT allowed to hook this up to that.

Mr Tony

Jun 4, 2010

Mongo53 said:
1 Coax to a Dual Tuner Reciever: this does NOT jive with what I've learned so far, in fact a few install docs I've seen for dish network show 2 coax running to their dual tuners. Is this the result of the DishPro Technology?

Its actually DishProPlus technology and Dish has been using it for a couple years now.
Each tuner can watch a different channel...period...so dual tuner is two tuners

Lease vs Buy receivers: The Recievers I get free with the installation, they are actually leased?

yes. When you cancel Dish wants them back

I'll have to pay monthly fees for those recievers.

you pay a monthly fee for each receiver past the 1st. The 1st is included in the package

Do I have the option to buy my recievers and NOT pay monthly fees for them? A quick google search shows Dish Recievers on sale all over for very reasonable prices, granted some or used or refurbished. Can I buy a reciever, hook it up and activate it with my service? As long as its a Duo Vip 222k, I can buy it and avoid lease fees?

you pay an extra receiver fee for each receiver past the 1st regardless if you lease or buy it. Folks sometimes buy receivers because they can sell it when they cancel and there is no extension of contract when you buy the receiver

sca

Jun 4, 2010

what iceberg said

6 tuners = six tvs on whatever channel. polarization does not matter. single coax to each tv.
and no the installer isnt going to care what you hook the receiver up to after he leaves, just as long as you dont do something which will require him to return and fix it (which will cost him/her money-chargeback)

Mongo53

Jun 4, 2010

Iceberg said:
Actually they'd put you on Eastern Arc which is satellites at 61.5/72/77 longitude so using DC as the location the elevation is about 44 which is higher and would work

Any disadvantage to be on those satellites vice the 110/119? Less reliable signal? The same number of channels, same number of HD channels? More problems with weather? Local Channels (DC local channels).

Keep in mind, the Top 200 w/HD package is the most I think I'll ever want.

The free HD for life, especially with me so steamed at COMCAST and their Monopoly exploiting/building policies right now, is looking mighty attractive.

Laddyboy

Jun 4, 2010

Mongo53 said:
Any disadvantage to be on those satellites vice the 110/119? Less reliable signal? The same number of channels, same number of HD channels? More problems with weather? Local Channels (DC local channels).

Keep in mind, the Top 200 w/HD package is the most I think I'll ever want.

The free HD for life, especially with me so steamed at COMCAST and their Monopoly exploiting/building policies right now, is looking mighty attractive.

There is no difference in national programming between the two satellite arcs. There are differences in locals and some regional sports nets, etc. If you are in the Washington DC market, you likely would get an eastern arc 1000.4 (61.5/72.7/77) install since DC is an eastern arc market. There are new satellites up in both arcs with another new one coming to 61.5 very shortly and another to follow to that same location in another year or so.

SparksPA

Jun 4, 2010

As a relatively Newb as well, I have had many of the very same questions as Mongo53 has. We also share the same reasons for switching to Satellite TV, the burning desire to fire Comcast. (The reasons for that would fill another thread - and there are no surprises as to why.) I may be just a little ahead of Mongo53 but the questions posed in this thread and the concise answers have been very helpful to me as well. I suggest that any Newb (present company included) may benefit from access to this thread. Perhaps a sticky is in order? I know that it will be helpful to others that are starting down the same path.

Well done Guys! Your expertise, time, patience is sincerely appreciated! :up

View all replies (12)

osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 10:49 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

USA Healthcare Costs are Ridiculous

Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.

Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.

After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.

I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.

50 Replies · 695 views

Load Replies (50) Reply Legacy View

Reactions: AZ.

osu1991

Sunday at 7:39 PM

Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs.

Reactions: dishstaller

dishstaller

Sunday at 8:15 PM

osu1991 said:
I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years

That's why I cancelled ours and just started saving the money. We're about to do the same thing with our home insurance.....not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage. We're paying over $5k right now and that is AFTER I dumbed things down...and it keeps going up. Got a couple trees I want to have taken down first before I do that however. After we do that, it will knock about $3k off our annual premium.

Reactions: osu1991

harshness

Yesterday at 10:51 AM

dishstaller said:
not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage.

Other than fire, what other kinds of damage do you guys get down there?

dishstaller

Yesterday at 11:26 AM

harshness said:
Other than fire, what other kinds of damage do you guys get down there?

Not much else. Fire is the only thing I really worry about. I honestly didn't know I could remove wind coverage until someone told that they had....dropped their annual rate from $6,500 to $1,800. I'm currently paying $5,160.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 6:36 PM

dishstaller said:
Not much else. Fire is the only thing I really worry about. I honestly didn't know I could remove wind coverage until someone told that they had....dropped their annual rate from $6,500 to $1,800. I'm currently paying $5,160.

Does the Wind portion cover Hurricanes ?

dishstaller

Yesterday at 8:58 PM

Jimbo said:
Does the Wind portion cover Hurricanes ?

Yes. I covers ANYTHING wind related. If the wind blows down a tree on my roof...that is wind related.
That is why I want to take out a few trees first before I drop it.

I'm not worried about my roof. House was very solidly built and has hurricane straps. I put the metal roof on myself with the help of a friend and I recently replaced all of the outer screws with #12 2 in screws which I also dipped the tip in silicone before driving them in. Any other damage I'll fix myself like I did after Michael gave us a visit in 2018.

dishdude

Yesterday at 9:06 PM

The other thing you can look at are deductibles. I bumped my homeowners up to $10k and it dropped my premium in half - I'm not filing a claim unless the damage is catastrophic.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 10:13 PM

dishstaller said:
Yes. I covers ANYTHING wind related. If the wind blows down a tree on my roof...that is wind related.
That is why I want to take out a few trees first before I drop it.

I'm not worried about my roof. House was very solidly built and has hurricane straps. I put the metal roof on myself with the help of a friend and I recently replaced all of the outer screws with #12 2 in screws which I also dipped the tip in silicone before driving them in. Any other damage I'll fix myself like I did after Michael gave us a visit in 2018.

So, the Roof will stay, hopefully the rest of the house stays as well ... if the Hurricane decides to take the house and move it down the street, well at least the roof will go with it !

meStevo

Yesterday at 10:44 PM

dishdude said:
The other thing you can look at are deductibles. I bumped my homeowners up to $10k and it dropped my premium in half - I'm not filing a claim unless the damage is catastrophic.

Yeah, I made our homeowners insurance deductible tied to a percentage of value or something - basically will only use it if the place burns down.

dishstaller

Yesterday at 10:49 PM

Jimbo said:
So, the Roof will stay, hopefully the rest of the house stays as well ... if the Hurricane decides to take the house and move it down the street, well at least the roof will go with it !

Why be such a smartbutt.
We went through a cat 5 hurricane.....the foundation is sound. Trees hitting the house are the only thing I am worried about when it comes to wind related damage.
IF you had actually been through multiple hurricanes like I have, you would know that most of the damage, unless you were stupid enough to build along the coast.....something ALL of our ancestors knew better than to do, is roof related. In a lot of cases the roof gives way and then the house suffers water damage due to the heavy rain.

View all replies (50)

mheisen

Last reply Yesterday at 10:47 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Hopper 3 with Hopper plus internet connection problems

Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?

11 Replies · 551 views

Load Replies (11) Reply Legacy View

slow_poke_pete

Friday at 3:43 AM

mheisen said:
Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?

Buy a roku and dump the hopper plus you'll be better off. If you have a smart tv you don't need either one. No hopper plus here and no issues!!!

Reactions: MikeD-C05, navychop and charlesrshell

Almighty1

Friday at 3:34 PM

slow_poke_pete said:
Buy a roku and dump the hopper plus you'll be better off. If you have a smart tv you don't need either one. No hopper plus here and no issues!!!

The Roku costs $$$, Hopper Plus is free. That may not be the only costs as it depends if the TV in question still has available HDMI ports and if not, it will require a HDMI switch and HDMI cable which adds more to the cost.

I have a LG 3D OLED Smart TV and I still need either of them because it does not have Android TV built in. Add a Hopper Plus and see if you actually have issues or not as until you actually tried it, it means nothing.

Reactions: charlesrshell

jsmit86

Sunday at 9:05 AM

If the OP has a router and a managed switch, that could be the problem.
I have a Hopper 3 and 5 Joey 4s. I recently updated my Router, Switch and access points with Ubiquiti UniFi gear. I had an issue where the switch interpreted the communication between the hopper internet connection and one of the Joeys as a data loop. I had to change some settings in the switch to re-enable that port. Your router could possibly be doing the same thing blocking the connection.

If your router has a malware connection setting, try disabling it temporarily, and see if the internet comes back. Contact your ISP and see if there is a block happening at the router or switch level, or via the ISP's threat protection.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Almighty1

Sunday at 5:20 PM

jsmit86 said:
If the OP has a router and a managed switch, that could be the problem.
I have a Hopper 3 and 5 Joey 4s. I recently updated my Router, Switch and access points with Ubiquiti UniFi gear. I had an issue where the switch interpreted the communication between the hopper internet connection and one of the Joeys as a data loop. I had to change some settings in the switch to re-enable that port. Your router could possibly be doing the same thing blocking the connection.

If your router has a malware connection setting, try disabling it temporarily, and see if the internet comes back. Contact your ISP and see if there is a block happening at the router or switch level, or via the ISP's threat protection.

Can you share what settings you had to change?

Required Inbound & Outbound Network Ports
The standard ports designated for DISH Hopper configurations include:

- TCP Port 80 – HTTP communication
- TCP Port 443 – HTTPS secure communication
- TCP Port 5678 – Neighbor Discovery / Device Sync
- UDP Port 80 – Alternative streaming/network data
- UDP Port 443 – Alternative secure media streams
- UDP Port 5678 – Remote pairing and network discovery

Critical Network & Security Considerations

- UPnP (Universal Plug and Play): Enabling UPnP on your router is the easiest way to allow the Hopper to automatically handle its own port maps.
Internal Communication (MoCA & Local LAN): The Hopper Plus and Joeys communicate internally over your local home network using router's default internal traffic policies. Local firewall software or strict internal VLAN isolation can block the Hopper 3 from seeing the Hopper Plus or Joey extensions.

The other thing is that these are streaming channels which was why I asked if they have worked correctly even without the Hopper Plus as checking the post history of the OP, it appears that the Hopper Plus was added around 1/2 a year ago and from looking at my own Internet settings portion, all the Hopper 3 does is really measure signal strenth for WiFi and probably just check ping times to show it is connected or not to the internet, it does not check the actual speed or latency. Since the OP has a Hopper Plus, OP can always install the Speedtest app for diagnostics and then take a photo of the results and post it here. Before 2017, I used tȯhave 6Mbps/768Kbps ADSL and even though the Hopper 1 and Hopper 3 also showed internet connectivity is okay, everytime my Ring Doorbell is uploading, it would knock the entire internet connection off-line as the upload pipe would be 100% filled by the Ring Door bell uploading the video because the ACKnowledgement packets would not have priority being sent back in time which was fixed with QoS traffic shaping but that still does not mean streaming will work as it requires at least 25Mbps minimum or more if there are other devices on the same connection sharing the bandwidth.

Reactions: charlesrshell

jsmit86

Yesterday at 4:45 PM

Almighty1 said:
Can you share what settings you had to change?

Required Inbound & Outbound Network Ports
The standard ports designated for DISH Hopper configurations include:

TCP Port 80 – HTTP communication

TCP Port 443 – HTTPS secure communication

TCP Port 5678 – Neighbor Discovery / Device Sync

UDP Port 80 – Alternative streaming/network data

UDP Port 443 – Alternative secure media streams

UDP Port 5678 – Remote pairing and network discovery

Critical Network & Security Considerations

UPnP (Universal Plug and Play): Enabling UPnP on your router is the easiest way to allow the Hopper to automatically handle its own port maps.

Internal Communication (MoCA & Local LAN): The Hopper Plus and Joeys communicate internally over your local home network using router's default internal traffic policies. Local firewall software or strict internal VLAN isolation can block the Hopper 3 from seeing the Hopper Plus or Joey extensions.The other thing is that these are streaming channels which was why I asked if they have worked correctly even without the Hopper Plus as checking the post history of the OP, it appears that the Hopper Plus was added around 1/2 a year ago and from looking at my own Internet settings portion, all the Hopper 3 does is really measure signal strenth for WiFi and probably just check ping times to show it is connected or not to the internet, it does not check the actual speed or latency. Since the OP has a Hopper Plus, OP can always install the Speedtest app for diagnostics and then take a photo of the results and post it here. Before 2017, I used tȯhave 6Mbps/768Kbps ADSL and even though the Hopper 1 and Hopper 3 also showed internet connectivity is okay, everytime my Ring Doorbell is uploading, it would knock the entire internet connection off-line as the upload pipe would be 100% filled by the Ring Door bell uploading the video because the ACKnowledgement packets would not have priority being sent back in time which was fixed with QoS traffic shaping but that still does not mean streaming will work as it requires at least 25Mbps minimum or more if there are other devices on the same connection sharing the bandwidth.

This was for port settings for the switch, not the router.

Originally was recommended to use EDGE vs. Infrastructure, but had to change that back to Infrastructure.

Had to leave STP (Spanning tree protocol) ON, but disable BPDU guard, and also had to disable Non-STP loop protection.

The previous settings were flagging normal dish system packets as a data loop, and fully blocked that port on the UniFI Pro Max 16 POE switch.

These were specific to my managed switch, and may not apply to the OP's issue.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Almighty1

Yesterday at 10:47 PM

jsmit86 said:
This was for port settings for the switch, not the router.

Originally was recommended to use EDGE vs. Infrastructure, but had to change that back to Infrastructure.

Had to leave STP (Spanning tree protocol) ON, but disable BPDU guard, and also had to disable Non-STP loop protection.

The previous settings were flagging normal dish system packets as a data loop, and fully blocked that port on the UniFI Pro Max 16 POE switch.

These were specific to my managed switch, and may not apply to the OP's issue.

Yes, a switch unlike what the consumer calls a router does not use NAT (Network Address Translation. There could be other settings in the router itself that may have a effect as well. A router does contain a Layer 2/Layer 3 switch as well. A Managed switch does contain a Layer 2/Layer 3 router as well, just not the NAT type of router.

I have both HP/Aruba and Cisco Managed 1GBit and 10Gbit switches and never had any of the issues mentioned as my modem goes into the switch first while the router(s) all are connected to the switches. As for the OP, until we know his configuration and whether it ever worked with the Hopper Plus or without the Hopper Plus and just the Hopper 3 only, it would be hard to know where the issue lies since it could be a issue with the provider, bandwidth or the network hardware configuration among other things.

Reactions: charlesrshell

View all replies (11)

reubenray

Last reply Yesterday at 10:43 PM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

New Laptop?

After having continuing trouble with my eight+ year old Dell Inspiron laptop I am looking to hopefully catch a good deal on new one. My options to buy is Costco and Sam's Club. It seems like a lot of new laptops are 2 in 1 which I do not need. I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus. The keyboard would need to lighted also. I don't game any. It would have to be Windows instead of and not Mac. The brands I see the most are Asus, Dell and HP. My two last laptops has been Dell's. Of these brands are there any standouts over the other brands. My budget (hopefully) is $600+-. Also while researching I noticed that do not have ethernet ports.

12 Replies · 258 views

Load Replies (12) Reply Legacy View

arlo

Sunday at 12:16 PM

Can't really help with an exact set of suggestions. I can say that if you have a set budget. And $600 these days wont get you much. One thing I can say is check out Dell Refurbished.
I've suggested and even configured, ordered a few for friends who were a bit iffy in deciding what they needed and wanted.
Refurbished doesn't mean that they came back defective and were repaired. Companies and organizations who order quantities of the same computers often cancel or modify their requirements.
Dell builds usually on demand. Their direct refurbished line will be brand new, unused. Perhaps not exactly the "today" specifications of the latest-greatest. And you can get a nice pc for quite a bit less with full warranty.
Just a suggestion.
"I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus".

As far as Asus, HP goes. And others you may consider. I'd think $600 (new) would get you a laptop. A quality, long lasting one? Not so sure. Now. If you could get a $1000 lappy for $600. Good deal, don't you think?
Surf the web doesn't need a killer Nvidia graphics chip. Nor a pinnacle, top of the line Intel, AMD processor.
12-16 gigs of memory will get you by just fine.
I'm personally an Asus fan. Brands aside. The one thing is the batteries. We discussed that here someplace else.
I repair these critters. Batteries. Cheap laptops have cheap batteries. Asus suggests that you don't keep the charger plugged in all of the time to make them last. Like you see on phones where 85% vs full charge is suggested to preserve battery life.

Reactions: HipKat, Foxbat and reubenray

Foxbat

Sunday at 9:56 PM

GB is the new MB (remember when Windows used to be happy with 8 MB of RAM?)

I had great experiences with Dell's Refurbished systems in the past. I ended up getting Business desktops instead of the Home PCs since they didn't come loaded with bloatware and the one Desktop I got for Mrs. Foxbat even had a license for MS Office Professional included.

arlo

Yesterday at 3:58 AM

arlo said:
Can't really help with an exact set of suggestions. I can say that if you have a set budget. And $600 these days wont get you much. One thing I can say is check out Dell Refurbished.
I've suggested and even configured, ordered a few for friends who were a bit iffy in deciding what they needed and wanted.
Refurbished doesn't mean that they came back defective and were repaired. Companies and organizations who order quantities of the same computers often cancel or modify their requirements.
Dell builds usually on demand. Their direct refurbished line will be brand new, unused. Perhaps not exactly the "today" specifications of the latest-greatest. And you can get a nice pc for quite a bit less with full warranty.
Just a suggestion.
"I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus".

As far as Asus, HP goes. And others you may consider. I'd think $600 (new) would get you a laptop. A quality, long lasting one? Not so sure. Now. If you could get a $1000 lappy for $600. Good deal, don't you think?
Surf the web doesn't need a killer Nvidia graphics chip. Nor a pinnacle, top of the line Intel, AMD processor.
12-16 gigs of memory will get you by just fine.
I'm personally an Asus fan. Brands aside. The one thing is the batteries. We discussed that here someplace else.
I repair these critters. Batteries. Cheap laptops have cheap batteries. Asus suggests that you don't keep the charger plugged in all of the time to make them last. Like you see on phones where 85% vs full charge is suggested to preserve battery life.

Just an edit. I did look on Dell's refurb site. To me I didn't really see anything approaching the six-hundred dollar range that I'd even consider owning. That's me though. Marginally in the $700 range.
Upwards of $1000, sure. Me? I'd save up a little more. I think their warranty is 100 days. Not that you'll need it. Square Trade is a viable option too.
The other guys replies after my first post here are viable. All I can say is that my friends and folks who chose refurbished over new have been entirely happy.

Just beware of cheap. It might just bite you. We do have tariffs now since when you bought your lappy 8 years ago.

Harshness' comment of on-cpu gpu. Intel Integrated Graphics is usually accompanied with and Nvidia gpu also.
Low power drain, good graphics and when needed, the Nvidia kicks in.

2 in 1 goes along with touch screen. Fold the display over and use it as a tablet. They go hand in hand. The keyboard shuts off. Normally open, the touch screen works as is should. I never use the touch screen when opened normally on mine. Kind of clumsy. In tablet configuration, does as it should.

harshness

Yesterday at 10:44 AM

In a world where Chromebooks are retailing for upwards of $600, that probably isn't enough for a self-respecting Windows laptop.

Come to think of it, it is barely enough for a reasonable mini PC with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse these days.

If a laptop is a mandate, you're looking in the used market, and that's a complete crap shoot unless you can get a factory refurb with a >90-day warranty.

reubenray

Yesterday at 11:54 AM

After checking on new laptops and not liking the prices I checked to see when I replaced the battery in mine. It was about five years ago. I also installed a bigger 1TB SSD drive a few years ago. It already has 12GB of RAM which was more than most new laptops I looked at. I plan on replacing the battery to see what happens. The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 5570. Is there anything else I need to replace?

primestar31

Yesterday at 10:43 PM

reubenray said:
After checking on new laptops and not liking the prices I checked to see when I replaced the battery in mine. It was about five years ago. I also installed a bigger 1TB SSD drive a few years ago. It already has 12GB of RAM which was more than most new laptops I looked at. I plan on replacing the battery to see what happens. The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 5570. Is there anything else I need to replace?

Maybe replace the CMOS battery? Power on while taping the F2 key to get into the Setup screen, then take photos of all your cmos settings before replacement, so you can easily restore them after replacement.

View all replies (12)

Ray_Clum

Last reply Yesterday at 10:29 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Wireless Joey4 (Android TV)

I had an old Wireless Joey replaced by a Wireless Joey 4 (Android TV) - still have a Hopper 3 without the Hopper Plus. What do I have to do to get the EPG to show channel logos instead of "Dish"? This is annoying as hell and it's been this way for over a month…

4 Replies · 117 views

Load Replies (4) Reply Legacy View

bnewt

Sunday at 8:13 PM

That kind of crap annoys me to no end.
That is one reason I haven't switched to h3and the same wireless joey 4
Hope you get it resolved.

Reactions: MikeD-C05 and charlesrshell

KAB

Yesterday at 7:27 AM

Just so you know, my WJ4 (with no Hopper+) shows all the logos. I can't think of why yours isn't. I'll do some digging in the settings.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Scott Greczkowski

Yesterday at 8:29 AM

They "should" appear after a few days. If not reboot the hopper and joey. Sometimes it needs a kick.

Reactions: MikeD-C05 and charlesrshell

Almighty1

Yesterday at 10:29 PM

There are some channels that would not show the logos but the ones you listed should all have logos as I have a Hopper 3 + Hopper Plus here. You might try forcing a Guide Update first before doing what Scott mentioned.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Yesterday at 10:08 PM · 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....

68713 Replies · 2683275 views

Load Replies (68713) Reply Legacy View

Reactions: c-spand

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 6:50 PM

Fountain Of Sorrow - James Browne

gms49ers

Yesterday at 6:52 PM

Funk #49 - James Gang

Reactions: dishstaller and long_time_Dish

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 8:52 PM

Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders

Reactions: gms49ers, RaiderPower and dishstaller

dishstaller

Yesterday at 8:54 PM

My City Was Gone - The Pretenders

Reactions: gms49ers

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 10:08 PM

Already Gone - The Eagles

Reactions: dishstaller and RaiderPower

View all replies (68713)

dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 8:51 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

TVs are really getting big these days

Was raining yesterday so I went to Sams up in Dothan to stock up on some things. Haven't been there in quite a while. I was amazed at how large most of the TVs were. When I walked in they had a 100 in Vizio (I think it was Vizio) that was marked down to something like $1,200. The first rows of TVs were all in the 80 in + sizes. The next couple of rows had the "smaller" models....those 75 and under. I was amazed at how small the 75s looked when lined up with the larger screens.

7 Replies · 111 views

Load Replies (7) Reply Legacy View

Foxbat

Yesterday at 2:45 PM

I'm at a limit for TV sizes at this time. My Father-in-Law crafted a custom entertainment center for our family room and we were restricted from going too big based on the side cabinets and central bridge fitting in the width of the room. It turns out to be where a 55" screen with bezels fits but no 65" bezel-less screen can fit. I think there was a brief period where 58" screens where a thing, but no more.

So, no huge screens for the Foxbat's…

TRG

Yesterday at 3:04 PM

Foxbat said:
I'm at a limit for TV sizes at this time. My Father-in-Law crafted a custom entertainment center for our family room and we were restricted from going too big based on the side cabinets and central bridge fitting in the width of the room. It turns out to be where a 55" screen with bezels fits but no 65" bezel-less screen can fit. I think there was a brief period where 58" screens where a thing, but no more.

So, no huge screens for the Foxbat's…

55" is plenty big.

Reactions: Foxbat

dishstaller

Yesterday at 3:11 PM

TRG said:
55" is plenty big.

And to think....I was SO proud of myself when I bought a 27 in TV in the late 80s. Everyone just had a 25 in so I was really in high cotton.

Reactions: Foxbat, primestar31, navychop and 1 other person

Jimbo

Yesterday at 7:20 PM

dishstaller said:
And to think....I was SO proud of myself when I bought a 27 in TV in the late 80s. Everyone just had a 25 in so I was really in high cotton.

I remember buying my 1st Sony .... a whopping Big 27" CRT XBR .... $1200.

Reactions: AZ., dishstaller and Foxbat

Bobby

Yesterday at 7:39 PM

I bought my 50" Mitsubishi rear projection in 1981!

Reactions: dishstaller and Foxbat

dishstaller

Yesterday at 8:51 PM

Jimbo said:
I remember buying my 1st Sony .... a whopping Big 27" CRT XBR .... $1200.

Yep....because they weren't going to get any bigger and the CERTAINLY weren't going to get any cheaper.

I remember MANY years ago I went into Sams Club and saw a thumb drive on sale for $49.88....the storage capacity was a whopping 256mb....yes, MB. I just KNEW that was as cheap as they could ever go and there was simply NO way they could fit any more memory into something that small.

Reactions: navychop and Jimbo

View all replies (7)

dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Yesterday at 8:34 PM · posted in The Sports Section

Auto Racing 2026

New thread or keep this one?

View: https://www.youtube.com/live/AgOI9DNCmPg?si=l-YcZmHl7GXXF8fX

161 Replies · 3776 views

Load Replies (161) Reply Legacy View

Reactions: Foxbat and meStevo

Foxbat

Sep 26, 2026

Weird F1 weekend is already over with a Saturday race.

dfergie

Oct 9, 2026

Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…

Reactions: Yespage

Yespage

Oct 16, 2026

Today is the anniversary of Dan Wheldon's passing at Las Vegas in a dreadful crash that luckily didn't take more drivers' lives. I vaguely remember the crash, but I more strongly remember Paul Tracy trying to keep it together as he left the Medical Center knowing that Dan most likely wasn't going to.

The safety in these vehicles is beyond incomprehensible, especially relative to what it was 60 years ago, when dying wasn't unexpected. But it is still very dangerous. I always scoff at the prayer invocations, but never scoff at the risks these drivers take and the emergency workers out there who might need to pull short of a miracle to save a driver's life.

dfergie said:
Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…

HBO Max has the live in car streaming without commercials, which provides an interesting take, but you are driving blind, knowing only what the team is telling the driver about what is happening on the track. The stages definitely ruin the NASCAR set up.

Reactions: dfergie

Yespage

Friday at 4:09 PM

NASCAR is an abject mess, but at least it has Kyle Larson. Guy had the lead on the green/white checker, fell back to 12th or the like, kept his cool, and charged back to win with room to spare at the line. And win very cleanly!

NASCAR needs to stop racing at Talladega. Especially if they are going for elderly Sunday drives at the track! Stage racing is real stupid, but NASCAR should consider one half point a second per group gap as a bonus.

Foxbat

Yesterday at 8:34 PM

Congratulations to the youngest Formula 1 World Champion, 20-year old Kimi Antonelli! The podium at the Mexican Grand Prix featured three World Champions with 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen, 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and newly-crowned World Champion Kimi Antonelli. A dozen World Championships represented!

https://youtube.com/post/UgkxnO1m73VHzLCyqFP8qgvzZMJyvwqtcc4d

Reactions: dfergie and meStevo

View all replies (161)

osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 7:32 PM · posted in TV Shows

Percy Jackson - Disney+

View: https://youtu.be/nK0HytQwrw8

Coming December 20, 2023

7 Replies · 983 views

Load Replies (7) Reply Legacy View

Foxbat

Jan 17, 2026

Still enjoying the show.

Reactions: osu1991

osu1991

Jan 17, 2026

Ive got to find time to get back to it. Watched the first episode and been too busy to squeeze it into out watch schedule.

osu1991

Jul 23, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/7D8y_W4YmoI?is=5XX-XPh0je2O4aRw

Season 3 starts Nov 20

Reactions: Foxbat

osu1991

Aug 15, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/dhXp_rpzUJ0?si=YwKlil2p3bO8ZGab

Reactions: Foxbat

Foxbat

Yesterday at 7:32 PM

The latest trailer for Season 3 starting November 20th just came out:

Reactions: osu1991

View all replies (7)

Ramy

Supporting Founder

Last reply Yesterday at 7:18 PM · posted in The Sports Section

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.

184 Replies · 3219 views

Load Replies (184) Reply Legacy View

Reactions: Mike0616

meStevo

Sunday at 9:24 PM

View: https://x.com/CSOonX/status/2117053113781698800?a=-y87e7mFcfr7a6ptnjc&s=20

Reactions: AZ.

osu1991

Yesterday at 9:15 AM

View: https://youtu.be/b9vzhHLNUcQ?si=iNzfZTeZ3m9UKyKw

Reactions: Foxbat and Jimbo

Yespage

Yesterday at 10:31 AM

Parity is growing in College Football. Making it even harder to tell who is better than each other.

Reactions: Howard Simmons, Jimbo and Ronnie-

rvvaquero

Yesterday at 11:48 AM

Yespage said:
Parity is growing in College Football. Making it even harder to tell who is better than each other.

I agree to a point. The transfer policy is creating parity, but only for the top 20-25 teams. The other 110+ teams in the FBS are just breeding grounds for the bigger schools which have more money and more recruiting appeal.

If a smaller school recruits, trains, and matures a quality player, they can't keep them past their sophomore year because the bigger schools snatch them up. Example: LSU didn't cultivate Sam Leavitt, they just harvested him from other schools. LSU is a top contender, in large part because of Leavitt. Michigan State and Arizona State.................are not. If either of those schools had been able to retain his services, who knows where they would be now.

Reactions: Jimbo, Yespage and AZ.

osu1991

Yesterday at 7:18 PM

View: https://youtu.be/rIo_AKwhuro?is=j487ez2Gx1kGS565

Reactions: Foxbat

View all replies (184)

TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Yesterday at 6:22 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Home Theater Geeks 556

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vc6LXyvmmE

Direct YouTube Link - Home Theater Geeks 556
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

Search

Search

Social Feed

Newb Satellite Question

USA Healthcare Costs are Ridiculous

Hopper 3 with Hopper plus internet connection problems

New Laptop?

Wireless Joey4 (Android TV)

Song Name Game Part 3!

TVs are really getting big these days

Auto Racing 2026

Percy Jackson - Disney+

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Home Theater Geeks 556