Dish too far from house? No HD. Help!

[jpoesq1]

I also posted this on the other forum - not sure which spot is correct.

Hey guys - awesome forum. Here's my issue/question:

I have Direct TV at a house in the upsate region of South Carolina, fairly steep terrain. The only spot on the property that has access to the correct sky angle to get the HD signal is about 250 feet (maybe a bit more) from the house where all of the boxes are. At the time of the original installation, the installers (at my request) placed the dish at the top of the hill and installed somke sort of boosters and high-end cabling in order to get the signal dfown to the house.

I receive HBO in HD and ESPN in HD, but that is it. No other HD channels work. The DTV guy tells me it is because the dish is too far from the house and the signal is lost between the dish and the house. At one time, most HD channels were working, but that was months ago.

Does anyone know of any technology that can extend the distance the signal can travel so I can get HD? Is there any hope that one of the satellite companies will launch a sateelite that can be received at a better angle?

The technology seems poor relatively speaking and if I had access to cable, I'd be all over it (can't believe I just said that).

Thanks!

John

 

[iwc5893]

My guess would be that your "boosters" can't handle the new HD frequencies.

You may have some luck with a SWM setup using those boosters, but you would have to do the install yourself.

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to Satelliteguys!

 

[egnlsn]

Sonora - Products

 

[jtwex]

My guess here is you were receiving the Mpeg-2 HD channels & not the full channel list available via Mpeg-4 with the new Slimline/Receiver.

The Sonora product would work great (could always contact DTV retention about reimbursing you the cost of the booster) but this unit is powered so it would need to be plugged in (usually no problem as you plug it in near your utility closet).

I would imagine you've covered your entire surrounding about trying to locate a lOS nearer or on top of your roof that wouldn't require the booster. One persons "no line of sight" is only one persons opinion.

 

[jpoesq1]

Making Sure I Understand

Thanks for the insights guys. Just to make sure I am getting this correctly, let me run through my set up and make sure I am understanding.

Okay - so I have one Direct TV dish - it sits up the driveway at the top of a hill approximately 350 feet from my house. It is wired from there (above ground) to the house by what I believe to be RG6 Quad Shield Co-axial cable e233577. The wire(s) run(s) from the dish into a Zinwell 6x16 (WB616) multiswitch and from there to 8 HDTVs around the house. None of the TVs is more than 100 feet from the switch, most within 50 feet.

The problem is that I cannot get HD signal (with a couple of exceptions - one being HBO-HD which I can get).

From what I read above, it seems like the recommendation is to buy and install an amplifier that will extend the range of the signal dish-to-switch. My questions:

1. Is that correct?
2. Which model should I buy? The Sonora 144AT or the 1422A Polarity Locker?
3. Would switching from RG6 to RG11 cable help? (Or is that something totally different?)
4. Any other observations?

Many thanks again!


John

 

[iwc5893]

It might be cheaper, easier, and more reliable to move the dish to a point closer to the house, or even on it.

You said it was fairly steep terrain, but I'm curious as to what the actual elevation angle is from the top of your house to the top of the hills.

 

[Zynergi]

What exact Dish do you have?
Are you able to read if the cable is RG6 or RG11?
What are the model numbers of the boxes... ?
What error message are you getting when you go to say Chan 362 (HD) and on 480 and 481?
On the booster you have, are you able to read the freq range and if it has 22khtz capability?

 

[jpoesq1]

I think the dish is a 5 LNB au9s (note - had this wrong in original post). Cable is RG-6. I do not know the model number of the boxes. Three are Direct TV HD Receiver, with DVR. Brand new (just replaced), all black. I don't see a model number. The others are HD boxes without DVR and are about 18 months old. To clarify, I have no boosters or amplifiers of any kind (thought I did). The last DTV guy that came to the house reported that the signal at the dish itself was strong on all satellites (including HD) so the problem must be that the signal deteriorates betwen the dish and the house.

The installation team that installed the system spent three days trying to find a spot that would work closer to the house - no luck.

Thanks for the help.

 

[paulman182]

I think the dish is a DTVP3DS. Cable is RG-6. I do not know the model number of the boxes. Three are Direct TV HD Receiver, with DVR. Brand new (just replaced), all black. I don't see a model number. The others are HD boxes without DVR and are about 18 months old. To clarify, I have no boosters or amplifiers of any kind (thought I did). The last DTV guy that came to the house reported that the signal at the dish itself was strong on all satellites (including HD) so the problem must be that the signal deteriorates betwen the dish and the house.

The installation team that installed the system spent three days trying to find a spot that would work closer to the house - no luck.

Thanks for the help.

If that is really the dish you have, you cannot receive any of the MPEG-4 HD channels because they are on satellites and frequencies that it will not pick up. All the new HD channels are coming from the new satellites and the old channels are moving to the new satellites.

When you got the new receivers, DirecTV should have installed a 5-LNB dish.

 

[jpoesq1]

sorry

it is a 5 LNB - au9s. sorry for the confusion. Any thoughts?

 

[Zynergi]

Well 250' if way to far for rg6. You will need to get the lines updated to RG11 or see if a SWM setup may work for you (even that is pushing the limits. The problem is the distance.