Extra receiver compatibility & pricing

comfortably_numb

Dogs have owners, cats have staff
Original poster
Pub Member / Supporter
Nov 30, 2011
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Kansas City / Las Vegas
I had a Hopper with 2 Joey's. I just returned one of the Joey's to Dish, so now I have a Hopper and one Joey. Could I purchase (from Ebay or wherever) a standalone receiver like a 211 and plug it in where the previous Joey was? If not, how much more is it to have 2 Hopper's? Do they work independently of each other? Never tried this before, and I don't want to spend a lot of $$$$$$$$ :popcorn
 
And it would have to be a 211. Other receivers will not be activated on a Hopper line. Also that 211, even if you purchased it, will cost you the same monthly fee as a Joey, $7....
 
No, you cannot use splitters either! You have to run a cable from Dish receivers all the way back to the nearest available switch. For most of us, this switch is internal to the LNB assembly.
 
Hmm. My system was installed last January, I have the black TurboHD dish with the Eastern Arc (dual head) LNB. Do those usually have more than one output? Sorry for the idiot questions.
 
Hmm. My system was installed last January, I have the black TurboHD dish with the Eastern Arc (dual head) LNB. Do those usually have more than one output? Sorry for the idiot questions.

No problem. We are all idiots from time to time. :D

I just googled the darn thing to get the answer. It's formally called a "1000.2 EA Twin LNBF". Yes, it has 3 outputs just like the standard 3 LNB EA dish. So two of these will go to your Hopper node, and that leaves the 3rd open for your proposed 211.
 
Is this a good price on a used 211? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dish-Networ...US_Satellite_TV_Receivers&hash=item3cdce244da

How much do new access cards cost?

Well, IMHO $50 on a used receiver is an OK price, but please note that you can buy a brand new 211z for $80 and be assured that it isn't a leased receiver, or a receiver with a high balance that you cannot afford to pay off and get it activated. Another consideration is the OTA tuner, if you care. There's an OTA tuner built into the 411/211/211k, but not in the 211z.

Access cards? That should come with the receiver. That can cost $50 all by itself.
 
Well, IMHO $50 on a used receiver is an OK price, but please note that you can buy a brand new 211z for $80 and be assured that it isn't a leased receiver, or a receiver with a high balance that you cannot afford to pay off and get it activated. Another consideration is an OTA tuner, if you care. There's an OTA tuner built into the 411/211/211k, but not in the 211z.

Access cards? That should come with the receiver. That can cost $50 all by itself.

I think that per Dish rules, a seller isn't permitted to sell access cards with receivers. I know this was true when I sold Directv equipment on Ebay. I'm pretty sure Dish probably handles it the same way....
 
I think Dish is different regarding smart cards; the card is embedded on the motherboard in all but the oldest Dish receivers. I'd recommend a 211z, if you don't care about the missing OTA tuner. It's cheap, and they're still being built. The rest are all refurbs.
 
I think Dish is different regarding smart cards; the card is embedded on the motherboard in all but the oldest Dish receivers. I'd recommend a 211z, if you don't care about the missing OTA tuner. It's cheap, and they're still being built. The rest are all refurbs.

Thanks, TheKrell. So basically all I have to do is buy a 211, run a dedicated line to an open port on the LNB, call Dish to activate, and that's it?
 
Why are you dropping the Joey and adding the 211? Is it so you can take it with you when traveling or so you can deactivate it when you want to? The reason I ask is because it cost you the same $7 per month but gives you a lot less features. I guess I'm just trying to make sense out of why you are going this route.

To answer your question on adding a second Hopper. You can either do an upgrade to ad one or you can purchase one but it will be much more expensive than a 211. A second Hopper would cost you $12 per month to have. You would also need to replace your Solo Node with a Duo node and run a third cable from the dish antenna to it.
 
Thanks, TheKrell. So basically all I have to do is buy a 211, run a dedicated line to an open port on the LNB, call Dish to activate, and that's it?


When you call Dish to activate it make sure you tell them it's for your camper or for tailgating. Better yet, just get a hold of DIRT on here and have them activate it.
 
When you call Dish to activate it make sure you tell them it's for your camper or for tailgating. Better yet, just get a hold of DIRT on here and have them activate it.

I want to be able to add another EHD to it. Which brings up my next question. Will I have to pay the $40 fee, even though I already have an EHD on my Hopper?
 
Two different animals. Adding an EHD to a 211 turns it into a DVR. There is a $40 fee for that if you have never turned a 211 into a DVR before on your account.
 
Got it. So it's basically just the one time $40 fee + $7 per month receiver fee, and I have the HD free for life already, so there shouldn't be anything additional?
 
The hard drive on a 211 is not compatible with a hopper you can't move programming from the hopper to the 211, bye bye to the kids programming start recording all over again. Put a joey back on the account and add a second hard drive to the hopper.