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bobvick

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Oct 19, 2011 · posted in C-BAND Satellite Discussion

Is this dish worth saving?

I have a chance to get this dish. Looks like about a 10 footer. Does anyone know who made it? I have never seen a mover quite like this one. Do you all think it would be worth saving? Thanks

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bobvick

Oct 4, 2011

I found out a bit more about this dish yesterday. The man I got it from had me come by yesterday, and he gave me the old original Janiel receiver and positioner that went with it. He also had an old original M/A Com descrambler unit. He thought that he had the instructions for the dish, but could only find the old instructions for the Janiel positioner. Those old receivers and positioners are heavy and built like a tank. He had the old Long's Electronics magazine from Fall 1985 from when he bought it. According to the catalog, it was a bundled system. The dish it says is a 9' made by a company called Seer. It was $1,095 in 1985. Came with a 120 degree Amplica LNA. He gave me the old catalog, it has some neat old equipment in it. I will have to scan it some time and post the scans so anyone can see some of this old stuff from the 80's.

coinmaster32

Oct 14, 2011

Looks like the dish that radioshack sold at one time.
Radioshack 1990 Satellite System - YouTube

Anole

Oct 14, 2011

bobvick said:
I will have to scan it some time and post the scans so anyone can see some of this old stuff from the 80's.

Yes, please do.
I didn't dabble in the hobby back then, but it's still fun finding all the old adverts and documentation for was was often very well built equipment! - :up

As for the original Janiel positioner/controller, you might get it going with that.
One of our members got a very old actuator, and instead of converting it to reed switch, found the original controller, hooked up the existing pot, and is running that way now.

Nothing at all wrong with saving the reed-switch conversion to a later date.
Just get the tank running.
You can clean the plugs and boil out the carburetor later.

whatchel1

Oct 16, 2011

Anole said:
Yes, please do.
I didn't dabble in the hobby back then, but it's still fun finding all the old adverts and documentation for was was often very well built equipment! - :up

As for the original Janiel positioner/controller, you might get it going with that.
One of our members got a very old actuator, and instead of converting it to reed switch, found the original controller, hooked up the existing pot, and is running that way now.

Nothing at all wrong with saving the reed-switch conversion to a later date.
Just get the tank running.
You can clean the plugs and boil out the carburetor later.

Gonna disagree w/ you on the conversion. The pot positioners had drift problems in nearly all cases (due to it "counted" via resistance and length of wire could cause problems). I converted a bunch of birdview pot to reeds as they had some of the worse drift problems and dropped the use of the pots themselves.

whatchel1

Oct 16, 2011

coinmaster32 said:
Looks like the dish that radioshack sold at one time.
Radioshack 1990 Satellite System - YouTube

That brings back nightmares. That was the better dish like the one here. The receiver was a Uniden that was guaranteed to fry the positioner from heat. Uniden later redid the model so that the positioner box was in a separate unit.

54ChevyMan

Oct 19, 2011

This looks like the same dish that I have, which I bought new from Rat Shack. The panels themselves won't rust because they're aluminum. Despite some other comments here, it's a pretty good dish.

The one exception is the worm gear. It's made of some kind of plastic composite. You really have to keep it greased. Mine has never broken, but it wore to the point that there was a lot of slop when pointing to the western birds. Mainly because the 4DTV was moving it to "G1" for nightly downloads.

I looked for a metal replacement. I even looked through piles of flywheels in the salvage yard for one with the same pitch & diameter. I probably looked at over a hundred flywheels... no luck. So I contacted some machine shops to see about getting one custom made from something like brass or aluminum, no luck there either. Apparently the gear style is rather non-standard.

I ended up flipping the gear over to the other side. This was no picnic either. The gear mount was not reversible without drilling out each hole and making a spacer for each bolt. But I got it done. The good thing is that the gear has a wide surface and the worm only rides in the upper half. So when I flipped it, the worm now rides in the other half, which is not worn out. But if it ever breaks, I'll just get a custom made pair and rig the mount. It's a lot easier to find a replacement for the pair, than it is to match one half.

Also, if the motor ever becomes an issue, it would be simple enough to modify the mount where it connects to the worm. Then you could use a standard motor made for an arm.

Other than dealing with the odd H-H gear, this dish has performed nicely for me. The perf aluminum panels have very nice gain. My numbers have always been good for both C & Ku. BTW, the flatness of the dish is a little bit of an illusion in those pics. In person, it looks deeper.

One more thing, I wouldn't scrap this dish because of bent panels. They are made of nice and workable material. Any good sheet-metal man can straighten them right up.

bobvick

Oct 19, 2011

I have not tried to run the motor, but the gear on this one looks to be in pretty good shape. It is all gummed up right now with old hardened grease. I piddled a bit and cleaned some of it off with a toothbrush and some WD40, it comes off pretty easy. I was trying to remove the button hook the other day, and the set screw down where it hooks in was rusted real bad and broke. I guess I will have to try and drill that bolt out, and then tap out the hole and get a new bolt and put in there. I am just going to leave the dish together and spray on some rusty metal primer, the kind that has a chemical reaction with the rust. I suppose that when I get to the point that I am going to re attach the button hook, I might need to get it centered real well and put 3 or 4 guy wires on it.
Did you have to convert that motor to a reed sensor type design? I read on here in a previous post that I might have to do that.

54ChevyMan

Oct 19, 2011

bobvick said:
...Did you have to convert that motor to a reed sensor type design? I read on here in a previous post that I might have to do that.

Nope, mine is still original & going strong. But the gear thing was what got me thinking about "what if" concerning the motor. Looks like converting to a standard mount wouldn't be too hard... if ever needed.

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 10 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

10 minutes ago

See You in September - The Happenings

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply 48 minutes ago · 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 · 460517 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

48 minutes ago

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 52 minutes ago · 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

52 minutes ago

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.

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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: 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.

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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.