Going from Legacy setup to DPP

smirciat

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Original poster
Apr 4, 2010
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Seldovia, AK
I upgraded to a 625 on one of my 3 receivers only to learn it needed 2 coaxes with my existing legacy generic lnb and switch. Not wanting to run another coax, I switched out to a DP Dual LNBF and a DPP33 switch. Had the 625 on Port 1 as recommended but Check Switch failed to view the switch. Tried it again from a 301 receiver with no luck either. Some of these discussions mention older RG6 coax may not work with DP LNBFs. This is definitely older RG6 ~15 years old, but works fine in the legacy setup. So my options appear to be replace underground RG6 cable (I suppose I could find a way to test it first) or try a DPP LNBF with a DPP44 switch. Any thoughts?
 
You need to run one coax per orbit to the switch. Also ProPlus twins are incompatible with external switches, so make sure it is a DishPro twin not a ProPlus twin. If you are using a ProPlus twin just remove the switch because ProPlus twins will feed dual tuners with only one cable also.
 
Thanks. Yes it is a Dish Pro Dual (with the dp logo on it) with two outlets, but run to the switch on ports 1 and 2. I had considered using a DPP LNBF and skipping the switch, but I have 3 receivers total, so that would leave me 1 short as there are only 2 coaxes coming from the Dish to inside where the switch is, run underground.
 
I hope you meant a DP twin, not DP dual. If you really have only a DP dual (one satellite) there is nothing to switch!

One of the nice things about DP equipment is that it conducts two-way communications between receivers, switches, and LNBs. So, your 625 should be able to see that it's connected to a DPP33, and furthermore which ports are connected to DP LNBs, on both tuners. IIRC it even says something about a separator. If the Check Switch goes through it's routine and sees no connection to the DPP33, then I can only conclude that either receiver, DPP33, cabling, separators, and diplexers (if any) are bad or misconfigured.
 
Please educate me on the DP Dual (which is what I have for an LNBF). Are you saying this will not work with a DPP33 to split into 3 receivers? If not, is it necessary to get a DP twin for that reason? The documentation with the DPP33 only mentioned a DP LNBF, not a specific one only. And are you saying that regardless of LNBF, the receiver should see the DPP33 on check switch? 2 different receivers failed to see it, do I have a bad switch? Not sure what a diplexer is, but I don't think I have any.
 
A dual only looks at one sat, a twin looks at two sats. Here are some pictures the first is a dual the second is a twin.
 

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Also, I wrote incorrectly earlier. The 625 and the 301 both did recognize the DP33 switch. But the check switch test did not notice any satellites with the DP dual installed. Perhaps I should try hooking the DP dual lead in directly to one of the receivers?
 
OK so I hooked the DP Dual directly to the back of the TV1 on the 625 (and also to the 301) and ran a check switch. It recognized that it was a DP Dual, but Satellite read CONN and Transponder was X. No reception. So assuming bad RG6 cable I ran brand new single cable to the DP Dual LNBF with the same result. Testing through the DPP33 switch also recognizes the DP Dual but with no reception. Bad LNBF? It is reflected off a 6 foot generic dish, is there any compatibility issues there? Legacy LNBF and switch work fine still, but of course 2 coaxes are required for the 625.
 
A DP "DUAL" only sees 1 satellite you need 2 of them if you want 110 and 119. You also would need 2 six foot dishes one aimed at 119 and one at 110. With that sized dish yor DP LNB probably isn't aimed accurately at the satellite, with the narrow beam width less than a 1/64th inch of movement could miss the satellite.
 
We get all our programming through 119 so the dual is OK. Since it has to be aimed so locally I need some ideas in how to mount it better. The legacy LNBF has a narrow neck that a collar clamps around to hold it tightly in place. The DP Dual has a wider neck and is obviously designed to be mounted on the end of a shaft at the same point the coaxes attach to it. Am I shopping for a new dish or is there any king of mounting adapter that will allow me to hold it more securely that tie-straps onto the dish?
 
So the plastic casing over the DP dual LNBF comes off rather easily revealing a core that looks much more like the legacy LNBF I am replacing. I am going to try to install it like that tomorrow.
 
After much troubleshooting and hand wringing, I have determined my 625 is NFG. One factor is a long cable distance from the Dish to the 625's location, but the 301 I put back there works fine. One thing I noticed is the other 2 receiver's signal quality went down about 30% whenever the 625 was hooked up to the switch. I am getting rid of the 625, maybe a solo DVR is in my future.
 
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