Dying VIP211k

[jerryk1234]

Hello,
I've been a DISH subscriber for a LONG time. At the moment, I have a pair of VIP211k receivers. One of them is going a little wonky. When I set it to record ( via an attached SSD ), it gives a big "partial signal lost" screen. And then sometimes a "total signal lost" screen. I suspect that the power supply is going out. It is, after all, a pretty old receiver. The other VIP211k is working fine.

I looked up the receiver and smart card IDs for the dying one, and it turns out that it's a leased unit. I've been paying $7/month for this thing. Since it belongs to DISH, I can just call them and get it replaced, right?

...probably not. The VIP211k is really old news and I'm sure they'd just want to send me a Hopper of some kind. I have a couple problems with that: 1 - it seems that they charge a $15/month "DVR fee" for the hopper, whereas DVR functionality on the VIP211k is free. There was a one-time $35 fee when I first
hooked a disk to it, but that's already long paid. Now I'm sure the DVR on the hopper is *much* nicer, but the DISH one is adequate....

...which gets us to the second reason. My wife Does. NOT. LIKE. TO. LEARN. NEW. EQUIPMENT. She is comfortable with the good old UI of the VIP211.

In fact, I was ready to discard the entire DISH setup and just subscribe to Youtube TV. She just didn't like that UI. Too fancy.

So right now, I'm considering to score another VIP211k on Ebay and call DISH to have them take back theirs. Comments?

 

[Bobby]

Why don’t you just call DISH and tell them your 211K is failing. You are are making a lot of suppositions about how they will force you to upgrade. You just may be surprised that they may well send you a new 211K free of charge. What do you have to lose?

 

[pattykay]

First, as far as the "Partial Signal Loss" and "Complete Signal Loss" screens, this seems to be a flaw with the ViP UI, regardless of which model of ViP receiver (or maybe just the "k" series) that you are using. On both my ViP222k and ViP211k, I frequently see those screens any time I re-scan the OTA locals and save the changes when I exit that screen. In some cases, I then have to reboot the receiver to get those "signal loss" screens to go away.

This brings me to another point. If OTA is important to you, then make absolutely sure you get another ViP211k. If Dish sends you a replacement receiver, they may just send whatever they happen to have in stock, which could be the slightly newer ViP211z. The difference between the ViP211k and ViP211z is that the "z" model does not have a built-in OTA tuner. (The "z" also lacks a coaxial output.) To connect an OTA antenna to the "z" it requires a USB OTA adapter that may be hard to find. The last I heard, only the really old single-tuner OTA adapters work with the "z" model. I have not heard of anyone successfully using any of the newer dual-tuner OTA adapters with a ViP211z.

Finally, I agree with Bobby that you should call Dish and see what they can do for you. If they won't send you a free replacement (or if they want to lock you into a new contract, and you do not want a new contract) then I know someone who can sell you a purchased ViP211k, cheap.

 

[Radioguy41]

Yes, they will replace it. I had the wife's replaced just a few weeks ago. They're going to try and push the "upgrade" on you but just insist all you want is a replacement. They'll send you one and tell you to scrap the bad one. They don't want them back.

 

[jerryk1234]

Sounds like asking for a replacement is a reasonable bet. But only if they give me a vip211k. If a USB OTA adapter can be found, the "z" would
be OK. But I just did some casual web/ebay/amazon searching, and I came up dry on the adapter. One forum gave me the part number: 73913.
I couldn't even find a picture of it on google images!

OTA is very import to us. Even though - I have a "Tablo" OTA receiver, that makes OTA programming available to any wifi-connected device in the house. It's that whole UI thing. My wife does NOT want to learn a new interface. If I have to bite that bullet, I'll just toss DISH and get our programming over the Internet.

 

[TheKrell]

Sounds like asking for a replacement is a reasonable bet. But only if they give me a vip211k. If a USB OTA adapter can be found, the "z" would
be OK. But I just did some casual web/ebay/amazon searching, and I came up dry on the adapter. One forum gave me the part number: 73913.
I couldn't even find a picture of it on google images!

OTA is very import to us. Even though - I have a "Tablo" OTA receiver, that makes OTA programming available to any wifi-connected device in the house. It's that whole UI thing. My wife does NOT want to learn a new interface. If I have to bite that bullet, I'll just toss DISH and get our programming over the Internet.

According to Speedy Gonzales, the dual tuner adapter should work. But members here OTA adapter for 211z receiver? say it does not. How about this one? DISH OTA Tuner Adapter in Very Good Used Condition. DISH Network Digital Dongle | eBay I can't find a model number...

I think they'll replace your 211k with another 211k. If they can't do that, I'd demand a Wally and a dual-tuner adapter. The AirTV version is only $30.

 

[davideo]

If all else fails, your problem may be the dastardly notorious VIP211 component: Capacitor C1382