A problem with my mutli-dish setup?

[Wajih]

Hello,

I have two DishPro 500 equiped with Twin LNBF each, a 301 reciever and SW21 switch. Please note that one of the dishes is aiming at 61.5 satellite while the other is at 119 satellite.

If I run a single hardwire between each dish (i.e. using one LNB on each dish) and the receiver, I can pick the signals.

However, when I hook a wire from one port of each of the LNBF into the SW21 switch, the receiver can only pick up only one of the satellites but not both?

Could you please advice what did I do wrong? How can I fix the problem?

 

[SimpleSimon]

DishPro is not compatible with SW21. Do you mean DP21 switch?

 

[Wajih]

In fact, I meant SW21.....

I just looked up for DP21 and I don't understand the different between the two switches in theory? They both act as splitters, am I correct? In other words, what should be the difference between SW21 and DP21 if I I hook only one port from each DishPro-Twin LNBF to the switch? Please advice.

 

[SimpleSimon]

In theory, they do the same job. In practice, they do not. Neither of them are splitters, which are passive devices.

These are switches that both accept commands and also pass other commands to the LNBFs. DishPro signalling is different from the Legacy equipment, which is why they are not interchangable parts.

Other important terms to not confuse with others are combiner and diplexer. These often look like splitters, but in fact do things that are quite different from splitters, switches, and each other.

 

[Smith P.]

And tell him about DPP and the separators. Sink him to the bottom .

 

[Wajih]

Then the installation diagram at dishnetwork website is misleading?! Do you agree?

http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/technology/installation/install-4.pdf

 

[SimpleSimon]

Unh. No, sorry. The diagram looks good to me. None of that gear has the DishPro logo on it.

I think all you need to do is replace the SW21's with DP21's and you'll be fine.

 

[SimpleSimon]

OK - picking up from where we left off.

In the new thread you started, you said you got a DP21 to replace the SW21 so now all the hardware is DishPro: DP21 and 2 Twin LNBFs. Please correct if this is wrong.

You say you want to get 119 & 61.5. I'll assume you mean 110 & 119 on one Twin, and 61.5 on the other.

First things first. The 38-step switch test is not good - that only happens with Legacy gear to the best of my knowledge.

So, let's go to just ONE Twin, and get 110/119 locked in and running. Both satellites, odd & even transponders. You maybe already have this done.

Then, hook JUST that LNBF to the DP21 switch, Check Switch and see what happens. It should recognize the DP21, both 110 & 119, and get a little pissy about no other satellite.

Now, disconnect it all, pull the power plug, power up, run Check Switch with NOTHING attached.

Now, plug 61.5 LNBF directly into receiver and make sure IT'S good - on the LEFT eye of the LNBF - that is, the "119" eye. Cover the other side with tinfoil. Left in this case means left as you look at the white plastic part, not from 'behind' it.

Now reset the switch matrix again (pull power, disconnect, check switch).

Now plug 61.5 into DP21 Port #2, hook the switch output up to the receiver and run Check Switch again.

Cross Fingers and hope - but I think you'll be OK.

I'm worried a bit about using a Twin for the 61.5 slot - which is why I want you to be SURE it's on the "default" side. I hope I got the side correct - someone out there correct me if I'm wrong here!

 

[Wajih]

Hey Simon, Thank you for the step-by-step guides and you are right... All of my gears are Dishpro right now.

As for the 38 steps testing, I noticed that my receiver does it when no satellite is hooked up or no signal is picked. In other words, I guess it happens to all receivers regardless of the types of LNB being Legacy or Dishpro as far as no signal is received.

Speaking of testing the switch between 119 and 110, I didn’t hook the 110 at all because I didn’t want to buy another DP21 switch. Unfortunately, I can’t try it right now, because it is already dark and the sky is cloudy here. I will do it tomorrow morning, if the weather permits, and will keep you posted with what happened.

Something else that I noticed in your post: Do you think if I hooked the 119 and 61.5 to the same transponder type (even-even or odd-odd) which I assume is the input port number in each of the twin-LNBF, this will cause the problem. I am not sure if I did that but I will check it tomorrow as well.

Thanks, - Wajih

 

[SimpleSimon]

A DishPro Twin LNB will output BOTH 110 & 119 on the same cable (but not at the same time). It's got a switch like the DP21 built right into it.

DishPro puts both odd & even of a single satellite on the cable at the same time. The 2nd port on the Twin is to run another receiver.

So, with 2 DishPro Twins you can run 4 separate receivers using 110/119. But that's not your need.

Once you get through the procedure posted above - with the added step of making sure the 119 LNBF is aimed correctly at 110/119, you should find you're getting all 3 satellites - assuming there's no quirky thing about using a Twin to hit 61.5.