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Being the manager of my business and selling Dish I had the luxury of leaving work early to try and upgrade to the new Hopper system. I have had a 922 and 211k for over a year and have been very happy with it. I have been waiting for the Hopper for a couple years though. I was too excited to wait so I thought I'd do it today. It's been an adventure.
I decided to upgrade to 2 Hoppers and 2 Joeys for the 5 HDTVS I have in the house. I had two coax cables running into my house from the Dish. The Dish is on the opposite side of the house that the cables come in at. Since the duo node needs 3 cables coming from the dish and only two going out I put the node out by the dish. I just had to add a short cable from the dish to the node and then I could use my existing cables that go into the house. It was a little time consuming but was pretty nice on a sunny 79 degree day in Iowa.
Once that was done I just had to find which cables went where in my basement and connect the 2 taps. One tap has a cable from the dish going into it and then has on cable out to the Hopper and one cable to the Joey. The other tap has the second cable from the dish going into it and then one cable to the second Hopper and the other cable out to the second Joey. Very easy to set up since all the cable were already run.
I then hooked up the first Hopper and had it go through the download process. This can take up to 20 minutes. While that was happening I went upsatairs to the second Hopper and did the same. This is where this got tricky for me. The TV in the living room is where I have the 922 and has an EHD on it. My 922 had 390 recording on it and I was trying to transfer them over to the EHD. I started this process yesterday and it still had about 4 hours left. CRAP! Now what was I going to do. I decided I would try unhooking everything from the 922 except the power cord EHD and video cables. I hooked the satellite cable and another video cable up the Hopper and got that downloading while I still had the 922 sitting there transferring. NOTE: Recordings can be transferred to an EHD even though the receiver is not connected to satellite. This may come in handy for some.
So I got everything downloaded except for the Joeys. They are sitting in place waiting their turn. The Hoppers must first be downloaded and activated first before the Joeys can even be plugged in. At this point I'm ready to activate. I call DASH to activate it under a retailer Dish'N It Up and they say I do not have a work order. Hmmm.... I have the work order in my hand. They tell me it was canceled. The call then goes to a higher department and they tell me I need to print another work order. No problem. An hour later I get back home and call again. The same problem happens. They say there is no work order. I tell the helpful fellow, I have two work orders sitting in front of me. So while on the phone with him I get on my laptop and generate a third work order but he is unable to see it at Dish. This is very odd because I do this every week and rarely have issues.
The gentleman at Dish stayed on the phone with me for 47 minutes trying to get me activated. I was actaully sill on the phone with hime when I started writing this. He was able to get me activated as I just checked my Hoppers and they have programming. My next step is to get the Joeys going now. Tomorrow I need to talk to my distributor and make sure I'm going to get paid for this. I haven't seen an upgrade go this crazy in a while.
I'll update soon when I get the Joeys going.
I decided to upgrade to 2 Hoppers and 2 Joeys for the 5 HDTVS I have in the house. I had two coax cables running into my house from the Dish. The Dish is on the opposite side of the house that the cables come in at. Since the duo node needs 3 cables coming from the dish and only two going out I put the node out by the dish. I just had to add a short cable from the dish to the node and then I could use my existing cables that go into the house. It was a little time consuming but was pretty nice on a sunny 79 degree day in Iowa.
Once that was done I just had to find which cables went where in my basement and connect the 2 taps. One tap has a cable from the dish going into it and then has on cable out to the Hopper and one cable to the Joey. The other tap has the second cable from the dish going into it and then one cable to the second Hopper and the other cable out to the second Joey. Very easy to set up since all the cable were already run.
I then hooked up the first Hopper and had it go through the download process. This can take up to 20 minutes. While that was happening I went upsatairs to the second Hopper and did the same. This is where this got tricky for me. The TV in the living room is where I have the 922 and has an EHD on it. My 922 had 390 recording on it and I was trying to transfer them over to the EHD. I started this process yesterday and it still had about 4 hours left. CRAP! Now what was I going to do. I decided I would try unhooking everything from the 922 except the power cord EHD and video cables. I hooked the satellite cable and another video cable up the Hopper and got that downloading while I still had the 922 sitting there transferring. NOTE: Recordings can be transferred to an EHD even though the receiver is not connected to satellite. This may come in handy for some.
So I got everything downloaded except for the Joeys. They are sitting in place waiting their turn. The Hoppers must first be downloaded and activated first before the Joeys can even be plugged in. At this point I'm ready to activate. I call DASH to activate it under a retailer Dish'N It Up and they say I do not have a work order. Hmmm.... I have the work order in my hand. They tell me it was canceled. The call then goes to a higher department and they tell me I need to print another work order. No problem. An hour later I get back home and call again. The same problem happens. They say there is no work order. I tell the helpful fellow, I have two work orders sitting in front of me. So while on the phone with him I get on my laptop and generate a third work order but he is unable to see it at Dish. This is very odd because I do this every week and rarely have issues.
The gentleman at Dish stayed on the phone with me for 47 minutes trying to get me activated. I was actaully sill on the phone with hime when I started writing this. He was able to get me activated as I just checked my Hoppers and they have programming. My next step is to get the Joeys going now. Tomorrow I need to talk to my distributor and make sure I'm going to get paid for this. I haven't seen an upgrade go this crazy in a while.
I'll update soon when I get the Joeys going.
20 Replies
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10894 views
IMHO Shart's post works fine in this thread. It's very close to being on topic, and he's already bucked up his confidence (with our help) and done with this thread. Except perhaps to come back and declare success. If he does, it's always good to hear of a happy self-install Dish customer. 
S
Just going to update... I saw this thread about self install which attracted me to this site so I figured I'd just chime in on this thread instead of making a new one...
Anyway, for anyone that reads or is told by Dish "you can't install a hopper yourself", that is completely false. It IS that easy, especially if you are upgrading from a fairly new Dish DVR like the VIP722K. My dish was fairly new (3 years) with the 4 ports, and my cable that is running from the dish to my VIP722K is RG6 (not sure if it was swept to 3GHz, but it works). My 722 was using a cable off of port 1 on the dish. I connected that to port 1 on the solo node. I unscrewed 2 screws and pulled out the LNB's and attached a 2nd cable that runs to port 2 on the solo node. The cable running into the house connects to the Host port on the solo node. Connect the RG6 cable from the Host port on the Solo node to the Hopper w/ Sling, fire it up, and wait for it to do the setup. The hardware part took me less than 20 minutes (roof on single story house). The Hopper w/ Sling update/setup takes longer of course but whole thing was around 1 hour.
Joey is coming this afternoon and I anticipate that being ever bit as simple.
YMMV. I was fortunate that all of the equipment was functioning properly. If the solo node, for example, had been defective I would have had no way of knowing that and probably would have called in a tech. Anyways, thanks for the help on here!!!
Final note: I contacted Dish through their online chat and was quoted along the lines of $450 for a hopper and two Joeys. So I began traveling down the road of buying my own equipment and ended up with Hopper w/ Sling and a Joey for about $200 plus about $15 for a solo node. Had I known about contacting a DIRT member on here, then I would have known I had the option of upgrading to Hopper w/ Sling and a Joey for $100 and two year commitment, which would have included free installation. Had I known that, then that would have been the route I'd have taken...
Anyway, for anyone that reads or is told by Dish "you can't install a hopper yourself", that is completely false. It IS that easy, especially if you are upgrading from a fairly new Dish DVR like the VIP722K. My dish was fairly new (3 years) with the 4 ports, and my cable that is running from the dish to my VIP722K is RG6 (not sure if it was swept to 3GHz, but it works). My 722 was using a cable off of port 1 on the dish. I connected that to port 1 on the solo node. I unscrewed 2 screws and pulled out the LNB's and attached a 2nd cable that runs to port 2 on the solo node. The cable running into the house connects to the Host port on the solo node. Connect the RG6 cable from the Host port on the Solo node to the Hopper w/ Sling, fire it up, and wait for it to do the setup. The hardware part took me less than 20 minutes (roof on single story house). The Hopper w/ Sling update/setup takes longer of course but whole thing was around 1 hour.
Joey is coming this afternoon and I anticipate that being ever bit as simple.
YMMV. I was fortunate that all of the equipment was functioning properly. If the solo node, for example, had been defective I would have had no way of knowing that and probably would have called in a tech. Anyways, thanks for the help on here!!!
Final note: I contacted Dish through their online chat and was quoted along the lines of $450 for a hopper and two Joeys. So I began traveling down the road of buying my own equipment and ended up with Hopper w/ Sling and a Joey for about $200 plus about $15 for a solo node. Had I known about contacting a DIRT member on here, then I would have known I had the option of upgrading to Hopper w/ Sling and a Joey for $100 and two year commitment, which would have included free installation. Had I known that, then that would have been the route I'd have taken...
D
Keep in mind that Dish has since made the Hopper installs faster and a bit less exacting from what it was on launch. Further, not everyone is as smart as you, and those people begin with the attitude that installing Hoppers is just like installing past systems. Further, one should have knowledge (and I'm sure you do, but not a lot of other people) of what to do should the Hopper install not go as planned or hangs, etc., and Dish does publish such checklists, but many DYI folks don't do the research. So, for the majority, a Hopper install can be a long and frustrating experience and they feel so emotionally upset that they either don't want the system or no longer want Dish. So, to prevent such ill-will, Dish prefers that CSR's etc. just say that "you can't do a Hopper install. Please let us do it." While a smart individual who does some research can DYI a Hopper with Joeys install, they are NOT the majority of the population. The refrain from Dish that one should not DYI a Hopper install, I believe, has prevented more problems than if Dish just let everyone consider the DYI (as Dish used to the 1990's) option. Remember it costs Dish to provide the professional installation, and the reason Dish spends a huge boatload of money that it otherwise could save is because there would be far too many people who would not install it correctly and blame it on Dish being a terrible service, and Dish would LOSE customers rather than having modest gains and keeping existing customers happy. Dish employees are merely doing as they are told because it is easier than taking 10 minutes of back and forth for someone to finally comprehend that they would prefer Dish to go ahead and install for them, after all.
Just going to update... I saw this thread about self install which attracted me to this site so I figured I'd just chime in on this thread instead of making a new one...
Anyway, for anyone that reads or is told by Dish "you can't install a hopper yourself", that is completely false. It IS that easy, especially if you are upgrading from a fairly new Dish DVR like the VIP722K. My dish was fairly new (3 years) with the 4 ports, and my cable that is running from the dish to my VIP722K is RG6 (not sure if it was swept to 3GHz, but it works). My 722 was using a cable off of port 1 on the dish. I connected that to port 1 on the solo node. I unscrewed 2 screws and pulled out the LNB's and attached a 2nd cable that runs to port 2 on the solo node. The cable running into the house connects to the Host port on the solo node. Connect the RG6 cable from the Host port on the Solo node to the Hopper w/ Sling, fire it up, and wait for it to do the setup. The hardware part took me less than 20 minutes (roof on single story house). The Hopper w/ Sling update/setup takes longer of course but whole thing was around 1 hour.
Joey is coming this afternoon and I anticipate that being ever bit as simple.
YMMV. I was fortunate that all of the equipment was functioning properly. If the solo node, for example, had been defective I would have had no way of knowing that and probably would have called in a tech. Anyways, thanks for the help on here!!!
Final note: I contacted Dish through their online chat and was quoted along the lines of $450 for a hopper and two Joeys. So I began traveling down the road of buying my own equipment and ended up with Hopper w/ Sling and a Joey for about $200 plus about $15 for a solo node. Had I known about contacting a DIRT member on here, then I would have known I had the option of upgrading to Hopper w/ Sling and a Joey for $100 and two year commitment, which would have included free installation. Had I known that, then that would have been the route I'd have taken...
Keep in mind that Dish has since made the Hopper installs faster and a bit less exacting from what it was on launch. Further, not everyone is as smart as you, and those people begin with the attitude that installing Hoppers is just like installing past systems. Further, one should have knowledge (and I'm sure you do, but not a lot of other people) of what to do should the Hopper install not go as planned or hangs, etc., and Dish does publish such checklists, but many DYI folks don't do the research. So, for the majority, a Hopper install can be a long and frustrating experience and they feel so emotionally upset that they either don't want the system or no longer want Dish. So, to prevent such ill-will, Dish prefers that CSR's etc. just say that "you can't do a Hopper install. Please let us do it." While a smart individual who does some research can DYI a Hopper with Joeys install, they are NOT the majority of the population. The refrain from Dish that one should not DYI a Hopper install, I believe, has prevented more problems than if Dish just let everyone consider the DYI (as Dish used to the 1990's) option. Remember it costs Dish to provide the professional installation, and the reason Dish spends a huge boatload of money that it otherwise could save is because there would be far too many people who would not install it correctly and blame it on Dish being a terrible service, and Dish would LOSE customers rather than having modest gains and keeping existing customers happy. Dish employees are merely doing as they are told because it is easier than taking 10 minutes of back and forth for someone to finally comprehend that they would prefer Dish to go ahead and install for them, after all.
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Lifetime Supporter
Thanks to Fitch Ratings ( who gives the ratings on Credit and debt, as approved by the SEC, so they have accurate numbers) we have the totals.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
6 Replies
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361 views
Recently came back to DirectTV Satellite service and have two boxes, Gemini and a main HR54.
DirecTV is charging me two "TV access fees" of $10 each, but can only watch TV on the one without the server. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
DirecTV is charging me two "TV access fees" of $10 each, but can only watch TV on the one without the server. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
24 Replies
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940 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
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....
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....
67110 Replies
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2662374 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I feel like this was discussed in another thread, but I can't find it. I have T-Mobile and my last iPhone upgrade was in 2020. I want to get a new iPhone, but what is the best way to go about doing it? Should I order the iPhone from T-Mobile directly, or should I buy from the Apple Store? I feel like there are pros/cons to each option.
2 Replies
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34 views
I have a Hopper with Sling. (Don't know exact model.) A couple nights ago, I went into the DVR screen, and noted that it was recording three programs. Yet I was able to view live TV (that was not one of the channels being recorded.) Did something change? In the past, it would only let me watch one of the channels being recorded, or any recording in the DVR menu. Maybe it was streaming, although there was no indication of that?
Apologies if this has been covered; I searched and didn't find anything.
Thanks.
Apologies if this has been covered; I searched and didn't find anything.
Thanks.
9 Replies
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354 views
iJustine
Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YJjxjYvmQ8s
Direct YouTube Link - Good Bye, Tim! Last WWDC
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YJjxjYvmQ8s
Direct YouTube Link - Good Bye, Tim! Last WWDC
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
0 Replies
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10 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
WANTED DirecTV LCC
Anyone have a DirecTV Local Channel Connector that you'd like to get rid of at a reasonable price? DirecTV is currently in a contract dispute with owner of my local ABC affiliate.
12 Replies
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307 views
I did that. The response was that the LCC is not available. Escalated the issue to a tech support person with the same results.
Could be out of them I guess ... I'd keep trying, every 3-4 days.I did that. The response was that the LCC is not available. Escalated the issue to a tech support person with the same results.
If they are not out of them as them WHY you can't get one, seeing Your in a Dispute. Thats what they are for.
I would make them give you a real answer, don't let them off the hook.
I had one, and it worked well, but I believe I gave it to another D* friend (also had a AM21), I know I gave them away ...
According to the tech support guy, they don't have any in stock. He said I should receive an email when and if they have them. I even told him I would accept a refurbished unit.
I'm not sure your going to find any Refurbished ones as D* doesn't ask for them back.According to the tech support guy, they don't have any in stock. He said I should receive an email when and if they have them. I even told him I would accept a refurbished unit.
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Did anyone have a price increase today on their equipment? I own my VIP211k's, and they have been $5.00. My bill that I received last week shows the "add-ons" as being $5.00. However, I just logged into my Dish account, and my "add-ons" are now $10.00. Did the additional receivers go up by $5.00 recently?
As I mentioned, my last bill shows $5.00 and under the notes, nothing is mentioned about a price increase.
As I mentioned, my last bill shows $5.00 and under the notes, nothing is mentioned about a price increase.
11 Replies
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202 views
Hello everyone, new guy here. I'm trying to solve problem I'm having with Dish bonus view channels. When I'm watching the bonus view channels then I switch back to regular dish channels, after few minutes the screen flips to black and after 30 seconds flips back to regular channels and continues to flip back and forth until I turn off TV. After I wait 30 minutes and turn back on , I can use regular channels again. So, its after I switch from bonus view channels to regular dish channels the problem starts. Been trying to fix this for a month, but no luck
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
6 Replies
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103 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, premieres on HBO Max on 8/21. I will be warching
www.syfy.com
View: https://youtu.be/fNwwt25mheo
S~
'Game of Thrones' spinoff 'House of the Dragon' fires up release date at HBO, drops new character pics
The wait’s felt a little like watching for a dragon egg to hatch, but HBO’s hugely anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series finally has a release date. House of the Dragon will debut the first of its initial 10-episode season this summer, the network revealed today in a series of tweets that...
View: https://youtu.be/fNwwt25mheo
S~
39 Replies
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5648 views
