Extending cable runs

[rojer]

I'm a Dish Network satellite customer, formerly happy. I just moved to the woods. I have a clearing that will get sat reception but the cablerun to the house is 250+ feet. Local installers say you CANNOT push the signal that far, home office says there are amps but they can't get the locals to do anything but come out and tell me it can't be done. Question: CAN I push the signal to my house? Are there amps? How about optical? Divine intervention (great product name...)? I also can't get DSL -- can I get high speed internet from Dish? WiFi provider will build a tower -- can I get Dish over WiFi? If we can put a man on the moon, why can't...

 

[TheKrell]

I'll let people who have done it say "Yes" first. RG11 or an amp if RG6 alone won't work. DishPro gear is spec'd for 200', so I don't know why your locals are acting as they are.

 

[Frank7004]

I won't install a cable run over ~125' from dish to ground block. -on rg6

 

[chainblu]

I think the problem with the local guys is that once you get the cable into the house and to the receiver, you could now be looking at a 300+ run. They probably don't want to risk repeat Trouble Calls due to excessive cable length. I have pulled it slightly beyond 200' a couple of times with no apparent problems and I'm sure someone is going to chime in on how they have gone beyond that.

You may have to use RG11 (expensive) or try to do it yourself with RG6.
Have you talked to a local Dish retailer? They have a little more flexibility than the inhouse guys and may work with you... at a cost.

 

[Brisak]

There are amps I have used plenty,I just installed a dish 1000.4 wa on a pole about 300 feet of direct burial rg6 with an amp in the middle of the run worked great

 

[dishnet_tech]

There are amps I have used plenty,I just installed a dish 1000.4 wa on a pole about 300 feet of direct burial rg6 with an amp in the middle of the run worked great

Chiming in...lol... specs say not more than 200' from dish to receiver...have seen further on tc's and upgrades...done some on NC's...no amps, no problems, RG6 copper clad.

 

[Liquidforce88]

Dishpro and Dishpro+ will go way beyond 250'. I have done runs well in to the 400' range. I just turned down a customer for Directv his Dish system was well over 300' and working just fine.

THe real reason they don't want to do it...... money...

Dish only pays for 150 of cable, but techs know they can't charge you because you may call in and complain about paying for extras.

The way to get this done, if you know where you can get a LOS.

Install a 1 5/8" steel pole at that location. Go on ebay and buy a 1000' roll of RG6 with messenger. If you can find orange flooded cable that would be best. Run 3 lines from the dish location to your electrical D-mark or the area where all your cables are if the house is prewired. Make sure to leave plenty of cable at either end.

This way when the tech pulls up all he will have to do is set the dish on the pole and wire things up. This way he wont be laying out a bunch of money, and will be more willing to do it. Plus you can say all you have to do is set the dish and check signals at the house then you will know if it will work.

I know you will work just fine from 250'. Certainly you may loose a few signal points, but not much if any. Dish does not have a required signal strength for the system to activate. So if the signals are not perfect it does not matter the system will work.

I just realised you are right in my back door. I can get you hooked up. e-mail me djnum14u at comcast.net

 

[dishcomm]

I would not do it either unless I had no other jobs that day and was being paid extra for the excessive runs of cable.
At least 50 cents per foot which would cover the cable and the labor.
As a business person I am entitled to make a profit on the cable as well as charge for my time, materials, expertise and labor.
If I will not be compensated, buh bye.

 

[hudgreen]

I was told (and anyone is welcome to "chime in" ) that its not so much the signal loss thats the issue but the voltage drop on the power feed from the STB to the LNB.
If that voltage drops to low then it just wont work very well if at all. A 44switch 1/2 way down the line may solve that.
Without an amp It may work fine at first when every thing is new but what happens when it's below 0 or above 100 or a few years old , there's just no margin for error
I turned one down with a 200' run to the ground block an another 40' or so inside
He was a nice guy and was willing to pay extra but as a sub installer I just didn't want to take the chance on it working anything less then perfect.
I'm the one that has to fix it for free and I have better things to do then babysit an iffy or complex jerry rigged system

 

[Liquidforce88]

I would have no problem installing a system 250' as long as I am paid for the extra cable. Have done so several times with no problems.

If the original poster comes back to this thread, I can help him out. I only live about 15 min away.

 

[PleasureSeeker]

Having had a run of over 300' myself I can say that you would be wasting time & money with anything less than RG11. In my case I was using RG6 and the voltage drop was so great that the LNB could not change polarity and thus I was not receiving all transponders. I had experimented with an inline amp but that only made matters worse. Ask the author of post #10 to give you a quote.

 

[Frank7004]

I was told (and anyone is welcome to "chime in" ) that its not so much the signal loss thats the issue but the voltage drop on the power feed from the STB to the LNB.
If that voltage drops to low then it just wont work very well if at all. A 44switch 1/2 way down the line may solve that.
Without an amp It may work fine at first when every thing is new but what happens when it's below 0 or above 100 or a few years old , there's just no margin for error
I turned one down with a 200' run to the ground block an another 40' or so inside
He was a nice guy and was willing to pay extra but as a sub installer I just didn't want to take the chance on it working anything less then perfect.
I'm the one that has to fix it for free and I have better things to do then babysit an iffy or complex jerry rigged system

Pretty much why I wont do them. Voltage to the LNB has to be solid. Dish pro systems aren't as bad, k4 systems, forget it.

Liquid force, not calling your bluff but I've been to several jobs further than or close to 200' that had nothing but issues. I know your a sub so you have a few more tricks than in house techs but it sucks when you roll to a job you know isn't going to work due to the length of the cable run and there is nothin you can do.

I just flat out refuse anything greater than 125-150' from dish to ground block. If it's a tc or ch I'll notify m fsm and let him deal with it.

 

[rojer]

Which amps?

There are amps I have used plenty,I just installed a dish 1000.4 wa on a pole about 300 feet of direct burial rg6 with an amp in the middle of the run worked great

Which amp did you use?

 

[rojer]

If you live close, contact me at drrhensley@yahoo.com. I need all the help I can get...

 

[TheKrell]

In my case I was using RG6 and the voltage drop was so great that the LNB could not change polarity and thus I was not receiving all transponders.

That sounds like legacy LNBs to me. DishPro gear does not switch polarizations, since the two are bandstacked and always present. Perhaps your SS was so low at the higher frequencies that the receiver lost lock? Or maybe you were using a 1K2 or 1K4 and the voltage was insufficient for the internal DPP43 switch to do anything?

 

[Frank7004]

That would be what he's saying...

 

[Brisak]

Amps work fine I have used with out amps,I do whatever it takes to put a new connect in the ground.

I also force connectivity my Connectivity score is 75% gotta love those blue codes

 

[joshua.mcglothlen]

I work tomorrow and service your area I will tell you the same it cant happen sell your house and move to Diamond lake where you have LOS. Sorry to be blunt but all of you say 300+ feet is trouble waiting to happen. Leave your number and answer when they call

 

[Frank7004]

I didn't realize you were local. Reschedule it for Monday since both Josh and I have that day off. We will come up with a case o beer and our lawn chairs, watch one of these guys who say it can be done string huhdreds of feet of cable, and laugh when the rcvr doesn't check switch. By the time it's rcvr time I should be feeling pretty good and Josh will tell you I can be ruthless when you look like a fool.

 

[dishnet_tech]

Amps work fine I have used with out amps,I do whatever it takes to put a new connect in the ground.

I also force connectivity my Connectivity score is 75% gotta love those blue codes

Just curious...how do you "force" connectivity? What does "blue codes" refer to?