DP34 Switch Problem

[jdward]

I am working on a satellite system that is using seven 301 receivers. The system uses two DP34 switches with three receivers connected to each switch. There are switch output cables on the second DP34 that must go to a 3rd switch which powers that last receiver by itself.

A couple of the cable runs are very long, probably somewhere around 250-300 feet between the switch and the receivers. One of these receivers is having trouble switching between the 110 and 119 satellite feeds. I have swapped receivers and tried different switch output configurations with the same results. There must be something wrong with the cable run itself as I have eliminated everything else. The cable run is very difficult to trace given the way it was installed (big high-rise building with components on different floors).

The picture quality and signal strength on all of the receivers seems to be okay.

Is there a way to check the DC switching voltage at the switch? Maybe I'm losing too much voltage due to the long cable run.

I am not a Dish Network technician but I do know a bit about the technology.

Any ideas?

 

[boba]

I am working on a satellite system that is using seven 301 receivers. The system uses two DP34 switches with three receivers connected to each switch. There are switch output cables on the second DP34 that must go to a 3rd switch which powers that last receiver by itself.

A couple of the cable runs are very long, probably somewhere around 250-300 feet between the switch and the receivers. One of these receivers is having trouble switching between the 110 and 119 satellite feeds. I have swapped receivers and tried different switch output configurations with the same results. There must be something wrong with the cable run itself as I have eliminated everything else. The cable run is very difficult to trace given the way it was installed (big high-rise building with components on different floors).

The picture quality and signal strength on all of the receivers seems to be okay.

Is there a way to check the DC switching voltage at the switch? Maybe I'm losing too much voltage due to the long cable run.

I am not a Dish Network technician but I do know a bit about the technology.

Any ideas?

Dish Pro dosen't use switching voltage that was the Legacy systems, Dish Pro uses band stacked technology to send both odd and even channels down the coax at the same time. Tell us about the 7th receiver and connections on the second DP34. Is this receiver with the problem switching satellites?

 

[TheKrell]

The system uses two DP34 switches with three receivers connected to each switch. There are switch output cables on the second DP34 that must go to a 3rd switch which powers that last receiver by itself... One of these receivers is having trouble switching between the 110 and 119 satellite feeds.

What does "having trouble" mean? Does it ever switch between satellites? Is the malfunctioning receiver the one on this phantom 3rd DP34? Difficult or not, I think you are going to have to locate that 3rd switch and see how it's hooked up. The DP34 has 4 receiver outputs which switch, and 3 passthrough ports which do not. If that last receiver is hooked up to a passthrough port, rather than a switch output port, then that might explain the problem.

 

[jdward]

Dish Pro dosen't use switching voltage that was the Legacy systems, Dish Pro uses band stacked technology to send both odd and even channels down the coax at the same time. Tell us about the 7th receiver and connections on the second DP34. Is this receiver with the problem switching satellites?

Yeah, like I said, I am probably a little behind the power curve as far as the technology is concerned. I have no idea what band stacked technology is but I'm guessing that explains why I was getting a consistant 18 VDC out of the receiver today. I was expecting a lower switching voltage that I did not see.

So back to some troubleshooting that I did today, the one receiver that I am having the most problems with has a 328' cable run between the switch and the receiver. This is connected to a switch receiver output, not the thru cable connections on the second switch. So I tried the receiver with a short cable connected to the switch and it works perfect. It has to be a problem with that cable run. I did check the cable with a Fluke cable checker. With a terminator on the far end, I was getting the 328' length and about 90 ohms of resistance. Still no luck switching satellite inputs when the receiver is connected back to it's original location.

 

[jdward]

What does "having trouble" mean? Does it ever switch between satellites? Is the malfunctioning receiver the one on this phantom 3rd DP34? Difficult or not, I think you are going to have to locate that 3rd switch and see how it's hooked up. The DP34 has 4 receiver outputs which switch, and 3 passthrough ports which do not. If that last receiver is hooked up to a passthrough port, rather than a switch output port, then that might explain the problem.

The 7th receiver is for sure connected to the two thru outputs of the second DP34. I am not sure what kind of switch is used with the two cables going to the 7th receiver because I haven't traced it out yet. The cables are in a dropped ceiling so it's a little time consuming tracing it out. Right now, the 7th receiver seems to be working okay.

The main problem I'm having now is with one of the receivers connected to DP34 #1 or #2 (I've tried them both with different receivers and different output ports). The receiver is 328' away from the switch and is picking up the 119 satellite only.

Side Note - The installation is at a hospital so some of the TVs are in use. It is not always convenient for me to jump in and run checks. The 7th receiver was in that shape today. It appeared to be working fine but I only saw Fox News on the 119 satellite.

 

[Jimmerinwi]

Sad as it is to say, me thinks your 328' cable is junk and will need to be replaced. Good Luck!

 

[nezerach]

328' is a rather long run. recommended by dish of no more than 200' between the LNB to the reciever. that amounts to alot more signal and voltage loss. make sure your connectors are all in good shape and see if you can shorten the cable.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/user-guides/installation/DISHPro_InstallGuide.pdf
you may find this doc useful as well