DPP33 & Solo Node connection nightmare!

[ScubaGuy]

Hello All,

I really hope that someone can help me before I start destroying stuff!

Some background info:

• All equipment bought new in 2012 and has been working without any issues
• Original Hopper, 2 Joeys, DPP33, & Solo Node
• Looking at 119, 110, and 72.5 with three separate DPP LNBs
  
• All hooked up at a rental house for the last five years, with existing RG6 coaxial cable and connectors, probably installed sometime around 2004
• Due to the way that the house was wired, had the DPP33 outside with the dishes, then two runs of RG6 going inside to the living room, with the Solo Node hooked up to them, and then straight to the Hopper with a short piece of RG6. Then RG6 from the Solo Node to a splitter and then to the two Joeys.

Looked something like this:
_______ __________
119 LNB-----| |------------------------------| Solo Node |-----Hopper
110 LNB-----|DPP33|-------------------------------|_________|--------------------------Splitter--------Joey
72.5 LNB----|______| |_____Joey

Over the last year I have been having a new home built, and specifically designed and wired the house to have all of the satellite feeds to enter the garage, hook up to the DPP33 and Solo Node, and then feed all of the rooms with televisions. I did all of the research to make sure that I did it correctly. I made sure that the total length of RG6 isn't more than 200'. I bought the best 3GHz RG6 I could find, along with the best compression connectors. I have now moved in and am trying to get all of my satellite equipment working, but it isn't turning out to be quite that simple. So far I have only been trying to get 119 and 110 to work, and I want it to be hooked up like this:

_______ __________
119 LNB-----------------------------| |--| Solo Node |-----------------------------------------------------------Hopper
110 LNB-----------------------------|DPP33|--|_________|--Splitter------------------------------------------------Joey
|______| |_____________________________Joey

However, with it hooked up like that (although in case it is important, I haven't even tried hooking up both Joeys yet), when I do a check switch on the Hopper (which is using the U117 software), the node and switch both show up as not connected, and of course, no signals.

If I remove the Solo Node and do another check switch, the Hopper will show that the node isn't connected, but will list the DPP33 and both 119 and 110 signals. However, it seems to be confused, because it will show 118 also available, and only tuner 1 is usable (although it appears that tuner 2 should work, but the Hopper never even tries). I can't tune in to more than one channel at a time (record one show and watch another), because as soon as I try to do so, it will attempt to use tuner 3 for the second show (which has no signal). Plus, every time that I turn on the Hopper, it goes through a check switch and acquiring signal phase that kills anything that is recording, plus takes about five minutes. Keep in mind that all I did was remove the Solo Node, but didn't change any of the cabling. It looks something like this:


_______
119 LNB-----------------------------| |----------------------------------------------------------------------Hopper
110 LNB-----------------------------|DPP33|
|______|

So, the first thing that I thought was that maybe the Solo Node went bad somehow. However, it doesn't really make any sense, because it had been working fine at the other house, and all I did was unhook everything, put it in the car and drive down the road five minutes, and then hook it back up.

So then I tried something else. I took the DPP33 and the Solo Node and hooked them back together with the exact same cables that I had between them when they were in the garage, but moved them to the living room behind the Hopper. I used a barrel connector to connect the feed from 119 to the cable going to the living room, but otherwise, all other cabling and connections are exactly the same. When I did another check switch, the Hopper now recognizes the Solo Node and the DPP33, as well as the signal from 119. It looks something like this:


_______ __________
119 LNB-----------------------------Barrel---------------------------------------| |--| Solo Node |--Hopper
Connector |DPP33|--|_________|
|______|

It makes absolutely no sense to me. Apparently, all of my equipment is fine, as well as all of my cabling and connections. However, the Solo Node is being a pain in the butt and refusing to work unless it is connected right at the Hopper (like it was at the rental house).

If it helps any, the lengths of cabling are approximately as follows:

• Distance between LNBs and garage is about 80'
• Distance between garage and living room (where the Hopper is) is about 50'
• Cables currently between the DPP33 and the Solo Node are about 5' each (haven't bothered to make up new ones the correct length until everything is sorted. The plan is to mount the DPP33 and Solo Node on the wall in the garage and then make everything nice and neat with custom length cables, which should be quite short).
• Cable between the Hopper and the wall jack is about 7'

I'm hoping that someone has a clue as to what it is that I'm overlooking. My wife is getting very frustrated that she can't watch TV in the master bedroom yet, plus all of the hassles that we're having with the constant check switch/acquiring signal stuff.

Regards,

ScubaGuy

 

[ScubaGuy]

Well, I see that my diagrams got screwed up when making the post. I've copied them into a Word document and attached it if it would be helpful.

 

[boba]

Get DISH to do a mover and setup your Hopper correctly. You really need an upgrade do to CUI upgrade slowing down your Hopper.

 

[HipKat]

Why not just upgrade to an Eastern Arc 1000.2 dish (I assume your HD locals are on Eastern) and eliminate the way outdated DPP33 switch?

 

[ScubaGuy]

Get DISH to do a mover and setup your Hopper correctly. You really need an upgrade do to CUI upgrade slowing down your Hopper.

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately (for me), without going into too many details, I'm located WAY out of range of any DISH service techs, which means I'm on my own when it comes to issues like this. Out of curiosity, what type of an upgrade would you recommend? I've got a trip planned soon and can buy some new equipment if that is what I need to do.

 

[ScubaGuy]

Why not just upgrade to an Eastern Arc 1000.2 dish (I assume your HD locals are on Eastern) and eliminate the way outdated DPP33 switch?

Thanks for the reply.

However, again, without going into too many details, one of those dishes wouldn't help me much where I am. My 119 and 110 are being picked up on one 6' dish, and the 72.5 (once I get it set up) is on an 8' dish. Is there another more up-to-date switch that I should get? I'm pretty much stuck with using individual DPP LNBs.

 

[boba]

Thanks for the reply.

However, again, without going into too many details, one of those dishes wouldn't help me much where I am. My 119 and 110 are being picked up on one 6' dish, and the 72.5 (once I get it set up) is on an 8' dish. Is there another more up-to-date switch that I should get? I'm pretty much stuck with using individual DPP LNBs.

A DPH42 switch and a HOPPER3 would be suggested.

 

[Bobby]

A DPH42 switch and a HOPPER3 would be suggested.

and if you do that, you need Joey 2s as well...

 

[ScubaGuy]

A DPH42 switch and a HOPPER3 would be suggested.

Yeah, I was afraid that someone would probably say that I should switch to the latest and greatest thing. I'm a little worried, though. A friend of mine tried to upgrade his receiver (I'm not sure what he had or bought, but neither was a Hopper) by buying one on Amazon, and when he called DISH to try and get them to activate his new receiver, they told him that since he was upgrading to something much different that they would have to send out a tech to make sure everything was done correctly. Since as I said before that is very much impossible, he just told them that he would have to wait on that and hung up. He now has a new receiver doing him no good sitting in the closet.

Of course, there is also the issue that Bobby brought up - I'd have to change everything! It cost me nearly $1,000 to buy all of this equipment (granted, it was five years ago), so I'd rather not have to do that again if I can help it. With that being said, I wouldn't mind buying another receiver to add to the equipment that I have just as a backup in the event that my original one dies (my wife would be pretty pissed if we suddenly have no TV and we have to wait months before being able to make a trip to get another one). I've tried to find out whether the Hopper 2 would work, but I haven't been able to find out anything definite yet.

 

[boba]

Hopper 2000 (#1) when it receives the Carbon User Interface (CUI) slows down to the point that most people want to upgrade.

Hopper with Sling (#2) is still acceptable with the CUI but it slows down also. Neither H1 or H2 were designed with processors to handle CUI.

DISH will only allow Wally and VIP 211 receivers on the same account with a HOPPER that is limited to 2 receivers.

HOPPER 3 because it uses Hybrid LNB can't be used with other receivers. Only Joey 2/4K and wireless work with H3.

Upgrade to the next generation of technology or limp along with the old equipment.

 

[ScubaGuy]

Although I appreciate all of the feedback so far, none of it has helped me with my current issue of the Solo Node not working properly when placed in the garage. Oh well.

Also, I just realized that I erroneously listed my third satellite input as 72.5, instead of 72.7. Oops. I usually just refer to it as 72 when talking to others about it, and goofed up on the specific exact position. I've also just recently been informed that pretty much all of the HD channels that have been on 72.7 for the last five years have been moved to 61.5, so in all reality, once I get this other issue sorted, I'll actually be pointing my 8' dish to 61.5 so I can get those channels.

This morning I've been doing a ton of research to learn more about the DPH42 switch that was recommended, as well as a little more about the Hopper 3. If I'm understanding what I've been reading correctly, the DPH42 won't require me to change all of my DPP LNBs (although they are about the cheapest part of my system, but hey, it would save me a little bit of money). In fact, I don't even see a version of a hybrid LNB that would work for a single dish setup. That caused my brain to run off on another tangent related to the comment from boba above: "HOPPER 3 because it uses Hybrid LNB can't be used with other receivers." If the DPH42 can still use DPP LNBs, and the Hopper 3 will work with the DPH42, and my current Hopper uses DPP LNBs, will my current Hopper work with the DPH42? And if so, theoretically, could both my current Hopper with Joeys be hooked up to the DPH42, as well as a separate Hopper 3? I have a feeling that DISH would say no, but I'm not asking what are they okay with, I'm asking would it work. Just wondering. If it would work, I would suspect that DISH would say that I have to set up a separate account for the Hopper 3, but I don't mind that if necessary.

And then for a different question related to the upgrade to a DPH42 and Hopper 3 (in the event that I choose to do that instead of fixing whatever is ailing my current system). After all of this research that I've been doing, it seems to me that the reason that a Hopper 3 requires the hybrid LNBs is because of the fact that it has 16 tuners. I can't find it written anywhere, but I gather that a DPP LNB won't allow the Hopper 3 to use all of those tuners (although I can't find anything that totally supports this, or that states how many of the tuners would work - I'm assuming at least three would work since that's how many my current Hopper has). Is this correct? If I was to upgrade to a DPH42 and Hopper 3, but keep my DPP LNBs, how many tuners would work?

 

[boba]

Although I appreciate all of the feedback so far, none of it has helped me with my current issue of the Solo Node not working properly when placed in the garage. Oh well.

Also, I just realized that I erroneously listed my third satellite input as 72.5, instead of 72.7. Oops. I usually just refer to it as 72 when talking to others about it, and goofed up on the specific exact position. I've also just recently been informed that pretty much all of the HD channels that have been on 72.7 for the last five years have been moved to 61.5, so in all reality, once I get this other issue sorted, I'll actually be pointing my 8' dish to 61.5 so I can get those channels.

This morning I've been doing a ton of research to learn more about the DPH42 switch that was recommended, as well as a little more about the Hopper 3. If I'm understanding what I've been reading correctly, the DPH42 won't require me to change all of my DPP LNBs (although they are about the cheapest part of my system, but hey, it would save me a little bit of money). In fact, I don't even see a version of a hybrid LNB that would work for a single dish setup. That caused my brain to run off on another tangent related to the comment from boba above: "HOPPER 3 because it uses Hybrid LNB can't be used with other receivers." If the DPH42 can still use DPP LNBs, and the Hopper 3 will work with the DPH42, and my current Hopper uses DPP LNBs, will my current Hopper work with the DPH42? And if so, theoretically, could both my current Hopper with Joeys be hooked up to the DPH42, as well as a separate Hopper 3? I have a feeling that DISH would say no, but I'm not asking what are they okay with, I'm asking would it work. Just wondering. If it would work, I would suspect that DISH would say that I have to set up a separate account for the Hopper 3, but I don't mind that if necessary.

And then for a different question related to the upgrade to a DPH42 and Hopper 3 (in the event that I choose to do that instead of fixing whatever is ailing my current system). After all of this research that I've been doing, it seems to me that the reason that a Hopper 3 requires the hybrid LNBs is because of the fact that it has 16 tuners. I can't find it written anywhere, but I gather that a DPP LNB won't allow the Hopper 3 to use all of those tuners (although I can't find anything that totally supports this, or that states how many of the tuners would work - I'm assuming at least three would work since that's how many my current Hopper has). Is this correct? If I was to upgrade to a DPH42 and Hopper 3, but keep my DPP LNBs, how many tuners would work?

A partial answer you don't have DPP LNB's if you have single or duals on your dishes. A DPP TWIN was made for dishes such as the 500 or original 1000. All that really means is band stacking was used instead of voltage switching used on Legacy LNB's (original DISH or Directv LNB)
DPH42 takes DP LNBs and converts them to work on hybrid systems giving correct frequencies and satellites.

If you can see 61.5 and 72.7 you only need 2 dishes to get all of DISH's programming. 61.5 & 72.7 will work with your existing Hopper 1.

 

[HipKat]

I guess we really need to know more info, like where you're located to so we can see which sats have which channels, including your HD locals. If you need two dishes, and you can't use a 42 switch, which it sounds like you can, the DPH western and Eastern arcs lnb's have inputs for a wing dish to hit a separate satellite. The fact is, as per receivers, the Hopper 2000, or Hooper 1 as it's now called, is outdated thanks to the CUI and really, outdated in general. If you're looking for long term use, a Hopper 3 really is the best way to go

 

[Bobby]

He's either in Mexico or the Caribbean. He probably isn't interested in locals. But it is true he can go to 61.5 and 72.7 and get everything he needs.

 

[JSheridan]

He's either in Mexico or the Caribbean. He probably isn't interested in locals. But it is true he can go to 61.5 and 72.7 and get everything he needs.

Except IIRC 61.5 has a narrow footprint and doesn't extend much past the CONUS borders at all.

 

[Bobby]

Except IIRC 61.5 has a narrow footprint and doesn't extend much past the CONUS borders at all.

There goes that thought...

 

[ScubaGuy]

I guess we really need to know more info, like where you're located to so we can see which sats have which channels, including your HD locals. If you need two dishes, and you can't use a 42 switch, which it sounds like you can, the DPH western and Eastern arcs lnb's have inputs for a wing dish to hit a separate satellite. The fact is, as per receivers, the Hopper 2000, or Hooper 1 as it's now called, is outdated thanks to the CUI and really, outdated in general. If you're looking for long term use, a Hopper 3 really is the best way to go

Not to be rude, but you really don't need to know where I am, other than I am far enough away that none of the little dishes that my friends in the States use won't work here. Keep in mind that I've been using this system for the last five years without issue, and the only problem that I'm having right now is that my Solo Node is acting up. I don't have a problem with reception.

 

[ScubaGuy]

He's either in Mexico or the Caribbean. He probably isn't interested in locals. But it is true he can go to 61.5 and 72.7 and get everything he needs.

 

[ScubaGuy]

There goes that thought...

A friend of mine just moved his 6' dish that had been looking at 72.7 and aimed it to look at 61.5 instead, and he said that it is working good for him with decent signal strength. Once I get my 8' dish set up, I don't see me having any issues.

 

[Bobby]

A friend of mine just moved his 6' dish that had been looking at 72.7 and aimed it to look at 61.5 instead, and he said that it is working good for him with decent signal strength. Once I get my 8' dish set up, I don't see me having any issues.

That's a good sign, good luck...