Does Dish recommend any specific EHDs for the 211 receiver? I've done some searches on here and I've read more about problems with certain EHDs than successes. I would like to get an EHD with a reasonable assurance that it will be compatible. Thanks!
Recommended EHD for 211 receiver
- Thread starter Cruise J.D.
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AC POWER SUPPLIED Western Digital (Elements, Essential) will be fine. Dish does not recommend USB powered drives. While some have been reported to work, just as many have not. Seagates, though recommended by Dish at one time, have trouble "waking up" when they go into their sleep mode, requiring a power cycle. It can be disabled. but not worth the hassle. The majority of users here use WD.
The problem with Seagates is that they have taken on the worst attribute of their red-headed stepsister (Maxtor) drives and they don't seem to live very long.
I'm also a firm believer in avoiding setups from companies that don't make their own drives as many of them seem to use Seagates (and I used to like Buffalo).
I recommend finding the cheapest self-powered Western Digital USB kit that you can. Stay away from the 2.5" drives and the lion's share of them are USB powered and they typically cost more/MB.
Thanks. I'm having a tough time finding a "cheap" self-powered WD. The cheapest ones all seem to be USB powered. I had a really cheap WD that was self-powered. I guess things have changed.
the best solution found here, was to buy an external 3.5" drive usb enclosure. You can get one of these for $15-$20.
then took a 2.5" notebook hdd and installed it in the enclosure. This greatly reduces the amount of heat and noise generated as it runs 24/7.
Did this with parts that were laying around. Whichever route you go, you will need to disable the hdd timeout setting. it will cause problems if you don't.
You can use a USB powered 2.5" external drive, but you will still need to provide additional power via a powered hub and y-cable. Didn't want to have that many extra wires, so went the route stated above.
then took a 2.5" notebook hdd and installed it in the enclosure. This greatly reduces the amount of heat and noise generated as it runs 24/7.
Did this with parts that were laying around. Whichever route you go, you will need to disable the hdd timeout setting. it will cause problems if you don't.
You can use a USB powered 2.5" external drive, but you will still need to provide additional power via a powered hub and y-cable. Didn't want to have that many extra wires, so went the route stated above.
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Yeah, I was just saying that the cheapest ones are not self-powered. Cheap is in the eye of the beholder 
I used an older 1T 3.5" WD "MyBook" which worked flawlessly. I tried several bargain-basement USB enclosures with various drives and never got any to work reliably. I'm not convinced the 211 USB power is adequate to power a drive, and it ran hot enough as it was without adding additional current draw.
In years past I had done pretty well with a wd elements 1tb and wd my book 500gb price wise.Not the case this year,I ended up buying an 3.5" enclosure and a wd blue 400gb hdd.Came out about $20 cheaper.You can try checking newegg for open box or refurbs,while they don't have as long of a warranty I have had really good luck with items from both depts.
It's not adequate,and that's why it's not recommended to use usb powered drives.The hdd needs to be self powered.
Here's a pretty good deal. Saw them for $70 over the weekend.Yeah, I was just saying that the cheapest ones are not self-powered. Cheap is in the eye of the beholder
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...PCK0010BBK_NESN_1TB_Elements_SE_Portable.html
You got my hopes up. Before the flood, I was able to get 2TB WD Elements for $70 last year at this time.
Yea I read or heard somewhere that hdd production was higher than before the floods but,they didn't forecast prices to really come down much in the next 12 months.WD and Seagate being the only 2 companies they pretty much can charge what they want now.
That would be a good deal, but as mentioned, I clicked on the What's in the Box link and there wasn't an AC power supply listed.
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This is the specs for the elements psu.
12 Volts
1.5 Amps
18 Watts
http://store.westerndigital.com/sto...goryID.13096000/parid.13092600/catid.13096000
$15 from WD store.
12 Volts
1.5 Amps
18 Watts
http://store.westerndigital.com/sto...goryID.13096000/parid.13092600/catid.13096000
$15 from WD store.
You can use a $20 "stand" and "raw" disks. I have 4 raws--1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB.
The sweet spot for cheapest disks is now at 3TB. Unfortunately Dish doesn't allow, AFAIK.
I have about 11TB all together, including my 5 original WD 750GB ones, first $194 in '07.
Two of the 1TB single buys (a Buffalo and a Cavalry) have had bad transfer rates.
I removed (slowly) all the recordings and can now use them again but sometimes painfully.
Before the flood and sometimes now disks drop to $40/TB and sometimes even with cases.
I went with IMDb ranges on different disks. The problem comes with changing ratings.
You move a lot. Better in hindsight to just keep the disk name/color in the spreadsheet.
I would hate to lose the 8.4 and up drive. (Or any of them, for that matter, even 7.2 one.)
Eventually as you get better and smaller recordings there will be holes--fragmentation.
The big re-doing was the switch from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, a factor of 2 and more for OTA.
If obsessive, just copy them to a new disk--a weekend project--and recycle the old one.
This doesn't help much for the 211. I'm using 2 722s and a 622--time to upgrade.
-Ken
The sweet spot for cheapest disks is now at 3TB. Unfortunately Dish doesn't allow, AFAIK.
I have about 11TB all together, including my 5 original WD 750GB ones, first $194 in '07.
Two of the 1TB single buys (a Buffalo and a Cavalry) have had bad transfer rates.
I removed (slowly) all the recordings and can now use them again but sometimes painfully.
Before the flood and sometimes now disks drop to $40/TB and sometimes even with cases.
I went with IMDb ranges on different disks. The problem comes with changing ratings.
You move a lot. Better in hindsight to just keep the disk name/color in the spreadsheet.
I would hate to lose the 8.4 and up drive. (Or any of them, for that matter, even 7.2 one.)
Eventually as you get better and smaller recordings there will be holes--fragmentation.
The big re-doing was the switch from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, a factor of 2 and more for OTA.
If obsessive, just copy them to a new disk--a weekend project--and recycle the old one.
This doesn't help much for the 211. I'm using 2 722s and a 622--time to upgrade.
-Ken
I've had a Seagate 750 gig EHDD running with my 221k for almost 2 years with no problems, used it with my 622 before that.
