DISH - setting up tv2 on VIP722

[elmonomalo]

Hello,

I have setup my DISH network with the following configuration and menu settings and I cannot watch both TV1 and TV2 at the same time:

https://s31.postimg.org/mirj3qfm3/TV_setup.png

Menu configuration: Setup-->Installation-->Modulation: TV1 cable (channel 75), TV2 cable (channel 85). DVR is lit up blue on TV2 and I have gotten the connection to work through reseting the DVR. There is also a TV3 which works correctly - it's sole function is to mirror what TV1 sees. More details below.

I confirmed that either TV1 or TV2 will work while the other will display a signal loss error [11-11-11 or 11-12-11 (015a)] and it is seemingly random. By seemingly random, I mean that I hit the reset button on the DVR unit and sometimes TV1 would work, other times TV2 would work. When one works the other gets a signal loss error. The remotes are working on both TV's and I can change TV2 without affecting TV1, so I believe I have the correct setup.

I am unsure of what I need next. Do I need to run the sat1 and sat2 coax through an amplifier? Maybe I need another dvr box at TV2? Please see image I uploaded for the setup. I tried a few different setups and the way I have it currently seemed to work the best.

Something else that I though of after digging around:

Do you think it is possible that I would need a new splitter for the TV2 connection? I believe the one I have in there now has a range of up to 1000 MHz and if I have been reading correctly, TV2 goes on a higher frequency of 1650-2150 MHz. Would this be creating a filter effect causing TV2 to run at TV1 frequency when I hit the reset button and only allowing one connection to work at a time?

Thanks!
Aaron

EDIT: Realized that I put DirectTV instead of DISH in title and description. Oops! I switched from DirectTV to DISH and sometimes mix up the two without thinking, sorry!

 

[TheKrell]

Well, you confused me completely. First of all, let's ignore the TV1/TV2 outputs for the moment, and concentrate on the TV1 and TV2 inputs. Do I understand that you have two coax cables from LNB to receiver? Normally, you route one cable per receiver from an LNB, feeding two tuners (if so equipped as with a 722) from one cable via a separator. That requires a DishPro Plus switch or LNB. What LNB do you have now?

 

[elmonomalo]

Well, you confused me completely. First of all, let's ignore the TV1/TV2 outputs for the moment, and concentrate on the TV1 and TV2 inputs. Do I understand that you have two coax cables from LNB to receiver? Normally, you route one cable per receiver from an LNB, feeding two tuners (if so equipped as with a 722) from one cable via a separator. That requires a DishPro Plus switch or LNB. What LNB do you have now?

You are correct. When the DISH technician installed a couple years back one coax cable was fed into the house and I have that cable going into what I thought was termed a triplexer - it is a DishPro Plus switch. Sorry about the terminology

 

[Bobby]

Is your receiver in single mode or dual mode? There is a mode button behind a door on the face of your receiver.

 

[elmonomalo]

Is your receiver in single mode or dual mode? There is a mode button behind a door on the face of your receiver.

It is in dual mode, the panel is lit up on the front too. I have the mode settings to distribute TV2 to digital channel 85.

When I press the reset button on the front of the DVR sometimes I get TV1 displaying while TV2 displays signal loss, other times it is switched.

 

[TheKrell]

You are correct. When the DISH technician installed a couple years back one coax cable was fed into the house and I have that cable going into what I thought was termed a triplexer - it is a DishPro Plus switch. Sorry about the terminology

OK, that sounds right. IIRC, the triplexer is just a separator that also handles the signal going to the OTA tuner, or else the TV2 backfeed. This is going to be difficult to diagnose. You could have a funky connector somewhere, or a bad LNB, or a bad receiver. Do you have any other Dish receivers you can play with?

 

[TheKrell]

When I press the reset button on the front of the DVR sometimes I get TV1 displaying while TV2 displays signal loss, other times it is switched.

Was there ever a time when both sat tuners worked?

 

[elmonomalo]

OK, that sounds right. IIRC, the triplexer is just a separator that also handles the signal going to the OTA tuner, or else the TV2 backfeed. This is going to be difficult to diagnose. You could have a funky connector somewhere, or a bad LNB, or a bad receiver. Do you have any other Dish receivers you can play with?

Unfortunately I don't have any other receivers. The one thing that caught my eye after playing with the settings was that the coax splitter coming off of the home distribution port was only rated up to 1000 MHz. Do you think that could be the problem? I saw something about TV2 being run at a higher frequency but wasn't sure exactly how the DishPro Plus switch worked in that regard. I would think that if I had bad equipment that TV2 would not work at all? When I hit the reset button TV1 or TV2 works perfectly but not at the same time. And once it reboots, the system chooses which one works randomly - it seems like TV1 is preferred (1/5 times approximately)

Thanks

 

[elmonomalo]

Was there ever a time when both sat tuners worked?

Not at the same time that I can attest to. One or the other works, but not both at the same time

 

[Bobby]

Have you ever recorded one program while watching another program live? If you have, you are seeing both tuners.

 

[elmonomalo]

Have you ever recorded one program while watching another program live? If you have, you are seeing both tuners.

I haven't actually recorded anything. It's at my parent's cabin and they don't watch too much cable when they go up there. I don't know if this makes a difference, just thought of it, all the tv's are older one's with SD connections and not HD.

 

[TheKrell]

The one thing that caught my eye after playing with the settings was that the coax splitter coming off of the home distribution port was only rated up to 1000 MHz. Do you think that could be the problem? I saw something about TV2 being run at a higher frequency but wasn't sure exactly how the DishPro Plus switch worked in that regard.

The DishPro Plus LNB or switch should not see the output from your home distribution port. There should be a diplexer to pick off that signal before it gets back up there. Are you using the home distribution port through a splitter to feed TV1 and TV2 directly with separate cables, or did you plug it into the triplexer?

 

[Bobby]

I haven't actually recorded anything. It's at my parent's cabin and they don't watch too much cable when they go up there. I don't know if this makes a difference, just thought of it, all the tv's are older one's with SD connections and not HD.

The latter should matter at all.

 

[elmonomalo]

Directly attached the setup below.

The DishPro Plus is only set up to Sat1 and Sat2. TV1 output is from a component cable and TV2 is off the home distribution port

 

[Bobby]

I wonder what would happen if you took the triplexer out and replaced it with the more common separator. I don't see the need for the triplexer...

 

[bajasat]

Something is wrong with the connections,I´ve had something like this before,the diagram doesn´t look good to me

 

[Tecnicoloco]

Something is wrong with the connections,I´ve had something like this before,the diagram doesn´t look good to me

Why ?

Most of the new equipment comes with Triplexers instead of the Diplexer

He is not backtracking the signal via Triplexer

Install a 75 Ohms Terminator Cap on the open port of the Triplexer to stop any signal ingress

Replace the 3-way splitter with a 2-way splitter to minimize signal loss

A 3-way splitter has 1 port with 3.5dB insertion loss and 2 ports with 7dB insertion loss

A 2-way splitter has 3.5dB insertion loss on both ports

The splitter up to 1000 Mhz or 1 Ghz is ok for signal distribution for TV1 and TV2

I am more incline that a splice or connector is faulty in the satellite dish line from the LNB to the Triplexer,also check the short jumpers from the Triplexer to the satellite receiver


My 2 Pesos
Tecnicoloco

 

[elmonomalo]

Why ?

Most of the new equipment comes with Triplexers instead of the Diplexer

He is not backtracking the signal via Triplexer

Install a 75 Ohms Terminator Cap on the open port of the Triplexer to stop any signal ingress

Replace the 3-way splitter with a 2-way splitter to minimize signal loss

A 3-way splitter has 1 port with 3.5dB insertion loss and 2 ports with 7dB insertion loss

A 2-way splitter has 3.5dB insertion loss on both ports

The splitter up to 1000 Mhz or 1 Ghz is ok for signal distribution for TV1 and TV2

I am more incline that a splice or connector is faulty in the satellite dish line from the LNB to the Triplexer,also check the short jumpers from the Triplexer to the satellite receiver


My 2 Pesos
Tecnicoloco

I think I will try getting some caps and downgrading the splitter to a 2 way.

I found an older DISH setup diagram and it seems like most people backtrack for TV2. Should I be doing that? Maybe in the below diagram triplexer takes place of the two diplexers? So, if I directly connect the home distribution port to the triplexer with a splitter connected to the remote antenna and home distribution port and use a diplexer before the triplexer to send the signal back to tv2, would that be more efficient?

I am usually pretty technically inclined, but I am a little confused with the best setup in my situation. Does anyone have a diagram similar to the one I posted below for a triplexer instead of the two diplexers that I could review?



Thanks

 

[bajasat]

This is a better known diagram, it can be done with a triplexer,but one port of the triplexer muts go into the TV2 output, and you must add another triplexer after the lnb output.

 

[elmonomalo]

Excuse the bad mspaint job... so would this diagram work? The triplexer acts as two diplexers doesn't it? And why would I need another triplexer for the LNB output cable? Wouldn't a diplexer work fine?



Thanks