Directv reciever with Dish Network Dish

[ReggieT]

I am going on vacation soon and am wanting to carry a spare Directv reciever with me. I have an old dish network dish around the house and was wondering if I could use it. I set a post in the ground an made sure it was perfectly upright. I looked on my house to observe the angle of the Directv dish and set the dish network dish at approximately the same angle. I set a small tv in the window near the dish so I could see the dish pointing screen and hear the tones. After a few minutes of tinkering, I had a 90 on my signal strength. I was impressed with myself. I went to the reciever and surfed a few channels and it was working perfectly. I tightened everything down and still had a 90 signal strength. Channel surfing was still great. When my wife got home from work, I was showing her my results. The tv was on SciFi channel with a crystal clear picture. As I turned to another channel, a screen popped up saying it was acquiring signal. Never got a picture. I changed back to SciFi and still got the message. Went out and readjusted the dish, and got a 95 on my signal strength. All the channels came back again. Surfing was great again. Then this morning, I thought I would see if everything was still working. I turned the tv on and had a great picture, and a signal strength of 94. Brought up the channel guide and went to Speed channel. Then , BOOOOO, no picture again. Acquiring signal again. Can anyone tell me what is going on. I need to get this thing working and keep it working. I can't find anyone who has a directv dish that they are not using, don't really want to buy one for only a weeks use, and can't go nine days on vacation without SOME television.

I know that the dish is not being moved and there is nothing blocking the line of sight. Even though my Directv dish is on the side of the house and the dish network dish is on the ground, they are only about five feet apart.

The directv dish is a round type with one LNB ( I assume, but it has two coax cables going to a single round lnb).

The dish network dish is the oval with dual LNB's.

Please help.

Thanks
Reggie

 

[larrystotler]

Do you have a Twin, which has both LNBs in 1 case? If so, you need to get rid of it and use a single sat LNB like the DIrecTV dish. E*'s twin has a switch built-in to it, and it will sometimes work(if it is a legacy or 500Twin, and will NOT work if it is a DP Twin). E*'s switches are NOT compatible with D*'s receivers.

 

[ReggieT]

The dish network dish I am trying to hook up is the dish 500 twin. I'm not really sure about the directv dish. I had it installed about 6 months ago. There are two coax cables going up the LNB mounting arm, so I guess it is maybe a dual in one case? Wal-mart has the LNB's on the shelf for about $20 or $25 I think. If I could only find a way to mount it on the dish.

Thanks for your help. Maybe I can get it working soon.

Thanks again.

Reggie

 

[fisherboy]

The dish network dish I am trying to hook up is the dish 500 twin. I'm not really sure about the directv dish. I had it installed about 6 months ago. There are two coax cables going up the LNB mounting arm, so I guess it is maybe a dual in one case? Wal-mart has the LNB's on the shelf for about $20 or $25 I think. If I could only find a way to mount it on the dish.

Thanks for your help. Maybe I can get it working soon.

Thanks again.

Reggie

Hey reggie better off taking the dual lnb off your dish sat and putting a single lnb to recieve dave..it will work then...or if your going on vacation and no ones home to watch tv well just borrow the single lnb off your direct satelite dish and put on your dish sat
well later

 

[ReggieT]

I thought about taking the dish or the lnb, but my son is staying home so he and his girlfriend can have the house to themselves. Although they probably not be watching much tv.

Looking at my Directv lnb, i found out that it is a dual in a single unit. The two cables run to a multi-switch. The dish network dish has a dual lnb but they are two seperate units. Could a multi-switch be put on it to remedy my problem.

One of my problems I have found today, is that the local walmart doesn't carry directv stuff anymore. The only dish network place here is Radio Shack. And they are two blasted expensive. I have found multi-switches on ebay that are fairly reasonably priced. What do you think, would this work or not.

Just looking for a simple, inexpensive solution. A neighbor works for a business that installs audio and video equipment in schools, business's and churches. He thinks he might be able to find something laying around the shop on monday. It would be free too.

Thanks for everyones help
Keep the helpful suggestions coming

Reggie

 

[VOOMER]

Your best bet is a DTV 18 in. round with a single lnb.
Much easier to deal with .a little smaller and also the correct part.
You should be able to pick one up Used for little money.
If you know anyone who had Voom and has the old dish it is just what you need.

 

[fisherboy]

Reggie did ya try taking of one of your cables off lnb? You dont need two cables to recieve dave..One cable to ONE lnb is all that is required for dave. the oval should work fine on one cable and lnb
well later

 

[ReggieT]

On the old dish network dish, there were two cables. Each LNB had a cable that came out to a grounding block. The grounding block had two inputs and two outputs. From there only one cable came into the house. Later, I hooked up another reciever in the bedroom and was told to hook another cable to the other output on the block and hook it to the reciever and that was all I needed. It worked great, with no problems at all. The directv dish has a dual lnb in a single case. There are two wires that come out of it that go to a multi-switch. One input says 13V and the other says 18V. What is ther purpose of this.

I havn't tried to take any of the cables off.

By the way...As I said before, the directv reciever worked with the dish net dish for a while and quit. Well last night, after leaving it alone for almost a day, it started working again. And this morning, it quit again.

Sounds like my x-wife.

Thanks for everyones help

Reggie

 

[fisherboy]

Well Reggie i think ya need to try and take one of those wires off the dish sat and put just one wire to the LNB..then other wire to reciever..will work then..Dish works on two satelites..hence the two wires and switches for more than one ird to get hooked up in house...The other wire being hooked up is interfearing with your correct signal....your hitting a satelite with one of the two LNB's ya got on dish and the other lnb is there for nothing screwing something up inside ird to make it loose signal..One wire to lnb that is recieving signal is all that is required..other end to dave ird..bam tv sub

 

[deezoneezo]

Sound like the DishNetwork dish doesn't work with the Directv system. Hmmm imaging that. Why not try a Directv dish? Pretty cheap on ebay, garage sales, local retailer.

 

[larrystotler]

If all you have is the D500 and it is a Legacy Twin as you described, you MAY be able to use it. Cover the 110 LNB, the round eye on the right side looking at both eyes, with duck tape. Then, you should be able to tune it into the D*'s 101 sat. Also, make sure you hook the wire to the 119 side of the Twin. The side of the LNB is labeled 119W and 110W. Good luck.

 

[ReggieT]

OK guys, this is what I have come up with. I can't find a used directv dish anywhere locally. Neither new or used is available. No dealers anywhere around here. But I do have a friend that is going to look for me where he works. They do dish, audio, and video installations in churches, business's and schools. He doesn't do dishes, but some of his co-workers do.

But on to the Dish/direct thing. I have found that as long as I leave it on one channel, there is no problem. Great pic with a signal strength of 94. When i change channels, I loose signal completely. I can unplug the reciever for about 1 minute, plug it back up, and wait. Then the pic comes back with all my channels. No problems at all. Signal strength of 94. After a couple of hours, when I change channels, I loose most of them again. On the channels that are out, the signal strength is 0. Unplug, replug, wait, then signal strength of 94 on the channel that I had a "0" on just 3 minutes earlier. Anyone know why this is?


Thanks
Reggie

 

[Newshawk]

OK guys, this is what I have come up with. I can't find a used directv dish anywhere locally. Neither new or used is available. No dealers anywhere around here.

Look on e-Bay. I found a guy with 24 new D* 18" dishes to sell for a BIN of $9.95 each, with S&H of $20, making the final cost about $30. I don't know if it's permissible to post the URL, so I'll hold off for now, but it took me about 2 minutes to find it.

 

[ReggieT]

Ok, I'm back guys. Still have had no luck in fixing my problem with the directv reciever and dish network dish. Broke down and bought a dish off ebay. There was absolutely nobody in my area that sells the directv dish or parts. The nearest place is 60 miles away. But like I said, got one off ebay for a grand total of $20.94. That is including shipping.

But I still have a question about the switch. Is a switch required if you are only using one reciever. I noticed there are connections for 13v and 18v on the input side. Can anyone tell me what these are for. I noticed two cables coming out of the lnb mounting arm on my directv dish going to this switch.

Thanks again guys

Reggie

 

[Newshawk]

LNB/multiswitch basics

But I still have a question about the switch. Is a switch required if you are only using one reciever. I noticed there are connections for 13v and 18v on the input side. Can anyone tell me what these are for. I noticed two cables coming out of the lnb mounting arm on my directv dish going to this switch.

OK, here's the explanation. Satellite signals are sent through transmitter/receiver combinatins called transponders. To allow for the least amount of bandwidth possible to get the signal across without crosstalk between the transponders, the signals are polarized. This means that only an antenna with a certain orientation (polarization) will receive the signal. With the old, larger C and Ku band systems, the polarization was either vertical or horizontal, and adjustment was made by physically/mechanically turning the LNB so the waveguide opening (which is rectangular and formed to the wavelength of the signal it is receiving) was oriented in the same direction.

Since mechanical polarization adjustment systems are prone to failure if overused (not to mention slow), a different method of polarization had to be found. Curcular polarization was adopted, with left hand and right hand polarization being the differences. This allowed for electronic switching of the polarization by the receiver. It also allowed the receiver to be designed to send the control voltages up the same line as the sat signal comes down, eliminating the need for a second multistranded control cable between the dish and receiver. It also opened the way to allow multiple receivers to access the same dish.

The control voltages used to switch between the left hand and right hand polarization are 13v and 18 v DC, with the left hand polarization using the higher voltage. Therefore right hand polarized transponders are the odd numbered transponders and the left hand polarized transponders are the even numbered ones. Think of it as two "antennas" nested together, each one only able to pick up a signal rotating in the correct direction.

The basic 18" round D* dish allows for two receivers to access the left or right hand polarized antennas (the even or odd transponders, respectively) at the same time. Either one can access either side independantly of the other. The receiver then just selects the proper frequency to tune within that set of transponders. When you try to have more than two receivers access the two "antennas", you must use a device to allow for each receiver to be able to access both right hand and left hand polarizations at any time. This is the multiswitch. It applies a constant 13v to one output of the LNB and a constant 18 v dc signal to the other - in effect, "locking" each output to the proper polarization.

The bottom line is, if you have one or two receivers, no multiswitch is necessary, but it won't hurt... you'll just be prepared to add extra receivers at a later date.

BTW, When you add the 119 and 110 satellites to the mix, as with an oval 3 LNB dish, you must have a way for each receiver to differentiate between the transponders on the 101 sat and on the combined 119/110 sat (there's a reason the 110 only uses three low numbered even transponders and the 119 sat only uses transponders about 22). That's where the 22 kHz signal comes in. It tells the multiswitch that the receiver want to access a transponder on the 119/110 sat vice the 101 sat.

Hope this helps.

(Note: I got some of my info from this excellent FAQ provided by Solid Signal... no connection to them, I just found it while researching this post: http://www.solidsignal.com/tech_faqs_01.asp .)

 

[silversurfer]

Awesome job Newshawk! I'm adding this to the FAQ section....

 

[Newshawk]

Thanks! Please fee free to edit for clarity and typos... I see I missed a few.

 

[ReggieT]

OK guys, I'm back. I finally gave up on the dish network dish with directv reciever. Found one on ebay and paid only $.99 for the dish and $15.00 shipping. It was a new dish still in the factory sealed box. Got it out, put it together, and put it up. Set it up with the same angle setting as the other dish. Pointed it in the same direction and I got a signal. Checked the dish pointing menu and had a 99 on the signal strength. I have had absolutely no problem with loosing signal. I have set up two big 10 foot c/ku band dishes and didn't encounter the problems I did with the dish network/directv thing i was working on. I have come to the conclusion that they will not work together.

Thanks for everybodys help with my delima.

Reggie