Power inserter questions ??

[bhelms]

Hi all. When I read the threads here about equipment problems especially those caused by lightning I guess I have to consider myself quite lucky. I have issues to be sure, but they're minor in comparison. Regardless...

Last evening my power went out...again...for several hours. That's the third time in about 2 weeks, always at an inconvenient time like when I trying to cook supper, and it's starting to pi$$ me off! Last evening I was planning to head up on the roof to...once again...tweak my 129 wing to try to restore some semblence of HD channel reliability until the tree trimmer can make it over to take care of some LOS issues. (He postponed yesterday...again!) So I did some gardening instead. I don't need much power for that - a simple battery-powered radio provided the entertainment.

The power finally came back on near dusk. The TV and AVR had been on, so they went through their start-ups. But the 211 receiver never came out of the "Acquiring Signal..." screen with the progress at -0-. I tried a reboot and a couple of other tricks I've learned (I'm used to seeing that screen with the 129 issues)...nada.

Then I remembered that once when this happened it was because I had turned-off the power strip that controls my 622 set-up in another room. I rarely use that system anymore especially in the summer, so I am now leaving that strip off for weeks at a time to save some power. And that's where the DPP44's power inserter is located, so I moved it off the strip to a wall outlet. I checked that. The outlet has power, but the inserter looked dead. It appears to have a pilot light on the power supply part. I can't recall if I ever saw that illuminated, but it was dead. I disconnected the cable to the switch and tried to measure voltage at the output of the inserter...nada. Same result at a different outlet. I then powered the 622 and measured the voltage at the separator and got ~18vdc, so I connected the cable leading to the switch directly to the separator and voila, full operation was restored.

I called Dish tech support and within 8 minutes I had another power inserter on its way. (Great bunch! I always get what I need from them when I need it.)

So my questions: Should I have seen a lit pilot light on the inserter's power supply, and what am I risking running my system off the 622's power for a couple of days until the replacement inserter can be installed? I have the switch, a DP Twin, and a DP Dual in the system.

I guess I've learned a lesson. When I removed the power inserter from the 622's power strip / surge protector, I didn't provide a separate surge protector for the inserter. I'll do that for the replacement...

 

[magnum2066]

You can try but keep in mind you might damage the switch or more likely the receiver.

 

[the mack]

it will be fine, I have a friend who lost his inserter in a move and has not been using one for over a year.
Install it when you get but you should be good.

 

[sca]

yes the power inserter has a green light that should be lit. it may or may not work without it. i would guess not in your case or it would have signal now. do you need the 44? you mentioned a 211 and a 622. do you have other receivers...or 4 sats?

 

[Mongo53]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread with a newb question, but I "thought" the recievers themselves did power injection? Am I wrong on that? If I need to add an inline amp, I have to get a power injector?

 

[bhelms]

Thanks all for your comments!

yes the power inserter has a green light that should be lit. it may or may not work without it. i would guess not in your case or it would have signal now. do you need the 44? you mentioned a 211 and a 622. do you have other receivers...or 4 sats?

I have the aforementioned 3 LNBs and 3 receivers at present including a 301. A DPP34 would have been sufficient but at the time I had my 44 installed the 34 wasn't available yet. (Does the DPP34 have a separate power inserter as well?) I know with just 2 receivers I could have gotten by also with a DPP Twin (with built-in switch) in the D500 and DP Single in the wing D300 but I now only have that DP Twin in the D500.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread with a newb question, but I "thought" the recievers themselves did power injection? Am I wrong on that? If I need to add an inline amp, I have to get a power injector?

NP on the hijack - I do it all the time! Receivers do indeed provide power that's sufficient for a couple of LNBs. When you add more LNBs and/or a switch that may not be enough power however, so in the case of the DPP44 (4 LNBs max. and whatever the switch needs to also push 4 outputs max.) they add an in-line "power inserter" to the cable going to the Receiver 1 output to replace the limited power from a receiver and give the switch and up to 4 LNBs all the juice it needs. A receiver might be able to handle the added load for a while, or maybe even indefinitely, but that could be a push as I suspected and others here more or less confirmed. I don't know what your "in-line amp" draws, or what it is for that matter! Are you talking about a pre-amp for your OTA antenna that's diplexed into your sat. cables? (In such systems the preamp can be powered off the DC in the sat. cable that's there for the LNBs with the correct diplexer that will pass DC to the OTA tap.) I don't know of any in-line amp for the sat. signals however. (Maybe someone can educate me on that!)

 

[the mack]

do you need the 44? you mentioned a 211 and a 622. do you have other receivers...or 4 sats?

I assume he has a 1000 not a 1000.2 that is why the dpp44?

 

[sca]

a 34 would have worked. so would a dpp 33. neither have a power inserter. the 34 was practically always available. its been around a long time. maybe the guy didnt have one. more likely he didnt want to run 2 lines (required with dp switch) to your dual tuner.

 

[bhelms]

I assume he has a 1000 not a 1000.2 that is why the dpp44?

No, I have a D500 with a wing D300 to receive 110/119/61.5, or in my current configuration a D500 with wing D500 for 110/119 and 129. I have never had more than 3 LNBs connected at at time however regardless of which configuration I have active. (61.5 is the back-up for when I have LOS issues with 129, like I'm having now until I can get those trees trimmed - hopefully this coming weekend...!)

 

[rdinkel]

Some of us use a DPP44 because we have 4 (or more) dual tuner DVRs--even though we are looking at a total of 3 satellite positions.

 

[bhelms]

Understood. In that situation the DPP34 would have worked also, no? I believe the 34 came after the 44, and when I was reconfigured for 110/119/61.5 in late 2005 the 34 had not yet been released. I have only one cable running between my 622 and the 44, via the separator and (until last Thur.) the power inserter.

I expect a replacement power inserter should be on my doorstep when I get home this evening, so I'll resume status quo shortly. In the interim my 622 has been powering the 44 w/ 3 LNBs just fine...

 

[SparksPA]

No, I have a D500 with a wing D300 to receive 110/119/61.5, or in my current configuration a D500 with wing D500 for 110/119 and 129. I have never had more than 3 LNBs connected at at time however regardless of which configuration I have active. (61.5 is the back-up for when I have LOS issues with 129, like I'm having now until I can get those trees trimmed - hopefully this coming weekend...!)

I can't help you with the power inserter issue but I do have one of those electric chain saws on a stick and a telescoping manual pruning shears/saw thing that you can use if you need them.

The other B....

 

[bhelms]

Tks "other B"! I have one of those too (actually an attachment for my gas weedwacker) and have used it effectively for stuff no higher than perhaps what I can reach standing in the bed of my PU, almost 20' up. It can cut up to about 5" dia. but I don't cut anything that thick unless I'm on the ground and can get out of the way quickly! (Ask me why I know that little caveat!) What needs to come down now is about 50' up however...and blocking my 129 LOS almost 100%...!