With just one 301 receiver, the RG-59 should not be causing a problem. And if that's all he has to work with then I can't believe that the problem has anything to do with the cable.. It's the splitter.. Or he just plain got some bad equipment. As long as the RG-59 is intact and all connections are good with no corrosion then there will be no problems with just ONE 301 receiver.. If he had said he had some of the newer stuff like dual tuners or Dish Pro Plus then you can start looking at the RG-59.. But for one 301.. It's not the cable itself that is causing any problems.
I agree.
Now I don't use any RG59 in my set-up, but with the DishNOW system I have:
1. DP 301 receiver
2. Dish 500 satellite dish
3. RG6 rated up to 3Ghz(as supplied by the Dish Home install kit sold at Radio Shack for $20+tax).
4. Legacy Twin LNB
You connect it to the 119 satellite connection ONLY, and then the switch inside "switches" between the 119 satellite and the 110.
THERE SHOULD BE NO SPLITTER AT ALL IN THIS SETUP, PERIOD!!
This is a ONE ROOM install ONLY.
If you wanted Dish in multiple rooms, then you should have gone with the "Free for All" from Dish in which you buy all the equipment you need/want up front, and then you can start/stop service anytime you want. No contracts, or anything. Just needed to make sure that receivers are connected to a phone line(in the the DishNOW setup, this is not needed and is totally uneccessary), give a SS# to start an account(again, this is unecessary in a DishNOW setup. No SS# needed), and go from there.
Sounds like something is not working on the setup.
DEFINITELY get that splitter out of there.
The LNB might be defective.
If you are within 30 days, you can exchange it for another no questions asked.
But try it again with no splitter.
Again, this is a ONE ROOM setup only(the Dish 322 may become available in the future for 2-room setup's on the DishNOW line, but don't hold your breath. That could be a while) so one cable line should not be causing all these problems.
Although 80 ft is a long ways.
But still, one line from the 119 side of the Twin LNB(the LNB doing the switch over too 110)?
Sounds like a possible bad LNB, OR the RG59, being 11 years old, may have gotten moisture in it somewhere, causing it too be defective for DC current completely.
This may not effect the RG59 line with cable.
But with a satellite hookup, it would be a MAJOR problem.