Question about HD using Legacy Switches

[Tom Bombadil]

Okay, I've got this idea and I need to know if there are huge, gaping reasons why it wouldn't work.

I have two receivers running off of the original Dish 500, that I self-installed. It uses two Dual-LNBs and two SW21 switches.

My idea is to replace one receiver with an 811 to get HD. As I understand it, all HD programming is coming off of 110.

Could I put up a 2nd dish to point at 61.5, disconnect the LNB coming into the SW21 from 119 going to the 811, connect the output from 61.5 into the SW21, and then have the 811 see all HD content from both 61.5 and 110? While my other receiver continues to see 110 & 119?

And would I then have access to all current Dish HD programming?

Thanks.

 

[ats7627]

As of right now, all current Dish Network HD programming is coming from 110 & 61.5. As long as your 61.5 lnb is legacy, it should work fine.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, everything is legacy. I still have a Dish 300 w/legacy LNB that I installed in 1998, and then replaced with the Dish 500 around 2000-2001.

It seemed to me that this would work. But I didn't know if there would be some software reason why it might not.

Gee Whiz, a no installation cost way to access all of that HD, Voom & all. It seems too easy. There must be a catch.

 

[Dish Dude]

why not get a legacy twin and combine all 3

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Well, that's a thought too. Replace my two dual LNBs on the Dish 500 with the Twin, and then cascade the output through my existing SW21s.

It adds a cost, but not a high one.

Would I also have the option of using a SW42 from my existing dual LNBs and then cascade the 61.5 using a SW21. Or pick up one of the SW21X switches and use it to cascade the 61.5 with my existing SW21?

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ats7627]

The only catch is, without installing a legacy twin as Dish Dude suggested, you won't be able to receive 119 on your 811.

 

[ats7627]

If you already have the SW42, then your back to no cost. The SW42 to SW21 should work fine.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I was willing to give up 119 on the 811, as I would be running 110 & 119 through my 510 and into the same TV.

But this Legacy Twin idea is a good one. Just checked eBay and those things are cheap. Cheaper than the SW42 that I had access to.

Thanks a lot. This has been very helpful to me.

 

[Dish Dude]

your welcome the technical people(most) on this forum are always willing to help out

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Checking back in to report that I picked up a legacy Twin for a ridiculously low price and it works beautifully. Eliminated two 10' runs of RG6 & a SW21 on one receiver and was able to merge in the output from my 61.5 dish into my other SW21 without changing any of my cabling except out at my dish "array."

I had some fun running around my yard, testing out potential 61.5 dish locations. I hooked up a spare 4700 receiver to a 13" B&W TV and put both on a rolling handcart with a 100' extension cord. I horizontally "mounted" my Dish 300 w/arm on a 3' long 2"x4" and carried it and a plastic bucket around while pulling the cart. When arriving to a potential spot, I put the bucket on the ground, open side down. Laid the 2x4 across it, lining up the Dish 300 with my compass. Then slowly adjusting it while reading the signal meter on the TV. Got to where I could line up 61.5 in 1-2 minutes from any spot. In fact, I found it twice holding the Dish 300 by hand.

After all of that, I ended up putting it right next to my Dish 500 pole. I didn't expect to see 61.5 from there as my neighbor's oak tree was directly in line with the bird. But it must have been just over the tree. When I moved 10' closer to the tree, I couldn't find it anymore. I mounted the 300 a foot higher than the 500, but I suppose the oak tree might block it in a couple of years. Not going to worry about that for now because putting it at the same spot sure simplied the installation.

As I have another 300 in the garage, and another LNB, I am now tempted to rig it up to take on vacations with me. It is so easy to align.

 

[rvsixer]

Tom,

Glad it worked out for you, how much was the legacy twin? I had the same initial setup as you, and added 61.5 to my 110/119 811 with a $8 SW-21X switch.

 

[boy921]

As of right now, all current Dish Network HD programming is coming from 110 & 61.5. As long as your 61.5 lnb is legacy, it should work fine.

Also CBSHD West and mirrored SHOHD and HBOHD on 148.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I looked around for a SW-21X but the only one I found was $21. I picked up the (used) Twin for $13 (inc shipping). Good thing too, because the extra LNB I had didn't work. After replacing the two on my Dish 500 with the Twin, I used one on the new dish and now have a spare. In fact I now have an extra LNB, another Dish 300 (that came with one of my receivers several years ago and has never been used), a mounting arm, and an extra SW21 that I recovered from using the Twin. So if there is any reason to need a third dish, I've already got all of the hardware.

I was impressed by how easy it was to bring everything up. Hooked it all up, ran a switch test, did the EPG download thing, and bang, new channels to watch. Didn't have to repoint the Dish 500 after replacing the dual LNBs with the Twin either.