Activation issue

[Snowman007]

I'm currently running a 3lmb slimline dish with a multi switch and a HR 21-700 receiver with 2 B band converters, which needed to be reset for it to turn on. I'm now attempting to use an HR24-500, at the end of the self check, it says I need to activate the receiver. Directv says they activated the receiver and still have no picture. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[raoul5788]

I'm currently running a 3lmb slimline dish with a multi switch and a HR 21-700 receiver with 2 B band converters, which needed to be reset for it to turn on. I'm now attempting to use an HR24-500, at the end of the self check, it says I need to activate the receiver. Directv says they activated the receiver and still have no picture. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

to Satelliteguys!
Are you using the b-band converters with the HR24?

 

[harshness]

B-band converters are not required with the HR24 (or the HR22 or HR23), so if they're still in line, remove them. You still need two cables coming from the multiswitch.

You should check the signal strengths to confirm that you're getting signals from all three satellite slots. If you aren't, you need to get that ironed out before you have another activation hit sent.

 

[Tom Speer]

The HR24 should not have the B-Band converter installed. If I remember right, the HR24 requires a SWM system. Hopefully you have no other non-SWM receivers. You will need a SL3S LNB for the sats at 99,101,and 103.
SWM LNBs are recognizable by the fact that they have only one F-connector on them.

P.S. No multiswitch.

For a system with no Genie to provide power to the LNB, you will also need a DirecTV 21V power inserter.

 

[David Ortiz]

The HR24 should not have the B-Band converter installed. If I remember right, the HR24 requires a SWM system. Hopefully you have no other non-SWM receivers. You will need a SL3S LNB for the sats at 99,101,and 103.
SWM LNBs are recognizable by the fact that they have only one F-connector on them.

P.S. No multiswitch.

For a system with no Genie to provide power to the LNB, you will also need a DirecTV 21V power inserter.

The HR24 has two sat inputs. So it can work with SWM or non-SWM systems. Perhaps the multi switch isn't being detected correctly.

I'm currently running a 3lmb slimline dish with a multi switch and a HR 21-700 receiver with 2 B band converters, which needed to be reset for it to turn on. I'm now attempting to use an HR24-500, at the end of the self check, it says I need to activate the receiver. Directv says they activated the receiver and still have no picture. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Tom Speer]

The HR24 has two sat inputs. So it can work with SWM or non-SWM systems. Perhaps the multi switch isn't being detected correctly.

You are correct. Thank you for refreshing my memory. My first HR24 was installed 15 years ago. Further research discloses that The HR24 was introduced before DirecTV's shift to Single Wire Multiswitch (SWM) technology. It was designed to work with legacy multiswitch out of the box.

 

[harshness]

If I remember right, the HR24 requires a SWM system.

The enigma is the "legacy" H25 that is SWM-only. The H(R)20 and H(R)21 are goofy in that they require B-band converters when used in conjunction with the WB68 stack plan to get full support of Ka-band.

The H24, H25, and HR24 all feature built-in DECA.

Band Stop Filters needed to be used on older receivers (and the HR20-100) if MoCA was present.

 

[Snowman007]

to Satelliteguys!
Are you using the b-band converters with the HR24?

I am not also the signal strength is perfect.

 

[Tom Speer]

I haven't had a HR24 in many years, but the only thing I can think of is that you will have to have two connections from the HR24 to the multiswitch. One is used for a tuner to tune to the guide channel, and the other to what you are watching. If someone else has better information, please step in here.

I did a little searching on Google and came up with the following:
A legacy system would need two coaxes one for each tuner and will need the BBC(b band connectors). A SWM system only needs one coax to each receiver.

So our advice that you don't need the B-Band convertor is incorrect. Sorry, most of our current systems all use SWM LNBs or in some cases SWM multiswitches.

 

[Tom Speer]

P.S. I use a separate slimline dish with a legacy LNB, but not with a DIRECTV receiver. Mine is connected to Genpix Skywalker-1 receivers for gathering guide and other metadata from the DIRECTV Ku band satellites.

 

[Snowman007]

I haven't had a HR24 in many years, but the only thing I can think of is that you will have to have two connections from the HR24 to the multiswitch. One is used for a tuner to tune to the guide channel, and the other to what you are watching. If someone else has better information, please step in here.

I did a little searching on Google and came up with the following:
A legacy system would need two coaxes one for each tuner and will need the BBC(b band connectors). A SWM system only needs one coax to each receiver.

So our advice that you don't need the B-Band convertor is incorrect. Sorry, most of our current systems all use SWM LNBs or in some cases SWM multiswitches.

Is this compatible with the HR24?

 

[harshness]

Is this compatible with the HR24?

This is the WB68 that I spoke of above. It works just fine with the HR24. It provided outputs for eight tuners when attached to a LNB assembly that offered only four.

 

[harshness]

So our advice that you don't need the B-Band convertor is incorrect.

The H(R)22-4 had built-in B-band conversion.

 

[Tom Speer]

That is a standard multiswitch for a DirecTV legacy LNB. You need two coaxes from that to your HR24, and apparently need to use B-Band convertors. I use that WB-68 multiswitch and a legacy LNB with my data monitoring system. I have been using SWM LNBs for DirecTV reception since I got my first HR-24 in 2010 to replace my old D10 SD receiver.. SWM is a much simpler system, but all your receivers must be SWM capable.

 

[Snowman007]

This is the WB68 that I spoke of above. It works just fine with the HR24. It provided outputs for eight tuners when attached to a LNB assembly that offered only four.

Should I try and find a used HR21 receiver?

 

[raoul5788]

The H(R)22-4 had built-in B-band conversion.

No, only the 23 series has the built in b-band converters.

 

[harshness]

Should I try and find a used HR21 receiver?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Reasoning:

1. The chances of finding an HR21 that DIRECTV is willing to activate are very nearly zero (if any)
2. You will be installing a device that was likely manufactured more than 17 years ago, using the technology of the day (the HR21 is perhaps the slowest HD DVR DIRECTV ever released)

If the HR24 isn't working for any reason, you need to get it replaced. There's no reason that an HR24 can't be made to work in a system where an HR21 will.

What you need depends mostly on what other receivers you have (if any):

• If the HR24 is to be your only DIRECTV receiver, you should replace your LNB assembly with a SWM LNB and a power inserter and use only one cable.
• If you have other H-class receivers or a later R>=12 receivers, you'll need a suitable green-label splitter along with the above.
• If you have an R<12, HR10-250, or something older, you'll want to stay with the WB68 and figure out what's wrong with the HR24 such that it can't receive an activation signal.

I haven't figured it out from your posts, so I'm going to ask directly: what DIRECTV set-top boxes do you hope to end up with after this exercise is complete?

 

[Snowman007]

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Reasoning:

1. The chances of finding an HR21 that DIRECTV is willing to activate are very nearly zero (if any)
2. You will be installing a device that was likely manufactured more than 17 years ago, using the technology of the day (the HR21 is perhaps the slowest HD DVR DIRECTV ever released)

If the HR24 isn't working for any reason, you need to get it replaced. There's no reason that an HR24 can't be made to work in a system where an HR21 will.

What you need depends mostly on what other receivers you have (if any):

• If the HR24 is to be your only DIRECTV receiver, you should replace your LNB assembly with a SWM LNB and a power inserter and use only one cable.
• If you have other H-class receivers or a later R>=12 receivers, you'll need a suitable green-label splitter along with the above.
• If you have an R<12, HR10-250, or something older, you'll want to stay with the WB68 and figure out what's wrong with the HR24 such that it can't receive an activation signal.

I haven't figured it out from your posts, so I'm going to ask directly: what DIRECTV set-top boxes do you hope to end up with after this exercise is complete?

Any DVR receiver that works with my system minus the genie also I'm only running one receiver

 

[harshness]

Any DVR receiver that works with my system minus the genie also I'm only running one receiver

"Works with my system" isn't the answer I was looking for. I wanted to know specifically what your system will be (how many of what receivers/DVRs) after the inclusion of the new (to you), fully functional DVR. This is much easier as we no longer have to worry about any additional qualifications/limitations in making our recommendations.

If you're goal in this exercise is to run one (or two) HR2x, you can dispense with the WB68 altogether (it isn't needed with four or fewer tuners) and just go straight from the LNB assembly (using 3GHZ couplers in place of the WB68). This removes the possibility of the WB68 being the source of the problem.

If the HR24 was set up for SWM, you'll need to go through the guided setup again to tell it differently. Adaptation to SWM is automatic, but switching to a legacy-legacy switch configuration such as yours is not.

It would be helpful in figuring out what might be wrong with the HR24 to know what the signal strengths at 99, 101, and 103 tend towards.

 

[Tom Speer]

I think Harshness has the right solution. You have to go through the satellite setup menus to tell the HR24 that you are not using SWM. The user interface on the HR24 is stuck in the past, and so different than what we have on Genie systems that I couldn't begin to walk you through that.