Dish 500 with VIP-211K receiver ?

[boba]

Greetings and thanks to posters since my last. Re deadline for receiver replacement, Dish has told me 15 March, both by mail and phone call. Don't know if there is any slack in that; maybe they are staggering dates for affected subscribers to smooth out their load.

AFIK I'm on western arc. All dishes around here are pointed west of due south. Located in Dallas area, actual coordinates 32.97N lat, 96.75W long. Don't need to worry about locals; I use a good outside VHF/UHF antenna for them. I also have perfectly clear LOS to 110, 119, and 129 sats, less so to east.

The reason I'm contemplating giving my present Dish 500 a try is partly curiosity but also to minimize wind load on my roof where its located. We get some pretty fierce winds here during spring storm seasons.

Still would like to know if anyone has data on comparative received signal strengths between Dish 500 and Dish 1000.2. Would not expect to see a large difference.

Best to all,
Stu33

A DISH 500 is designed for 110 & 119 locations a 9degree separation. If you use a DISH 500 for 119 & 129 there is a 10 degree separation which means you will have to compromise on signal strength, but it does work. Eastern Arc you are looking at 61.5 and 72.7 or 11.2 degrees beyond the 9 degrees the DISH 500 was designed for. Also the "2 week" guide for DVR may still be on 110 only. I can tell you in the Dallas area a correctly mounted 1000.2 dish won't come close to a problem wind load on your roof.

 

[Stu33]

A DISH 500 is designed for 110 & 119 locations a 9degree separation. If you use a DISH 500 for 119 & 129 there is a 10 degree separation which means you will have to compromise on signal strength, but it does work.

Hi Boba, thanks for the input. I have quite a bit of design experience with antennas and their patterns. Even true parabolic antennas don't cut off like a cliff at their edges. With a 1 degree greater spread, the response shouldn't be down more than 1 or 2 dB. I'm currently seeing fade margins of 10 dB or better on all of the active 119 transponders, so I think I'll be OK. I'm not rejecting the idea of going to a 1000.2 dish, but I need to do some repair work on my dish mounting arrangement, so I'm dragging my feet a little for warmer weather. Besides, I'm curious to see how the 500 works.

All the best,
Stu33

 

[KAB]

Stu, I respect your experience and background, but why are you making this so difficult? Just let Dish come and install a 1000.2 and if it needs any fine tuning, you are apparently capable of doing so! Relax!

 

[JayStil]

If you just want to play around and don't care about locals, why not try pointing at 72.7? Approx. 44° elevation and 141° azimuth for your location. Wouldn't need 61.5 for anything, but it's possible you might be able to finetune the dish and get it. I do up here in New England.

Not sure about your RSN availability on 72.7

 

[harshness]

Located in Dallas area, actual coordinates 32.97N lat, 96.75W long.

In what scale is Dallas located in "North Texas"?

Dallas can use either arc as all of the locals are on 110W and 61.5W.

If you had called DISH when you got the notice, you could have been changed over by now. It doesn't take weeks of preparation and deliberation. Depending on what has to be done, I'm guessing it could be done by Friday the sixth.

Note that if you're contemplating an upgrade, do it now so you can avoid the MPEG4 transition.

 

[Stu33]

why are you making this so difficult? Just let Dish come and install a 1000.2 and if it needs any fine tuning, you are apparently capable of doing so! Relax!

Well, KAB, good engineers are curious, like technical challenges, and are problem solvers -- just the nature of the beast, I guess.

Jaystil, thanks for the input, but looking east is not practical for me due to a large tree in LOS here. Still, I applaud you for creative thinking.

My thanks to all for inputs and comments. Will report back with results as things progress. I hope to provide some info that may be useful to others.

Stu33

 

[Stu33]

Just ordered a VIP-211K from DISH this afternoon, which solves the 301 "retirement" problem. The CSR I spoke with was in Colorado and both courteous, helpful. BTW, for those posters who had questioned the "drop-dead" date, she confirmed that it is actually May 31, not earlier dates that Dish is telling some affected subscribers.

No hassles at all on the receiver replacement and no change in monthly cost, but hit a snag in turning on HD. She insisted that for the latter to happen required a technician visit and a new triple LNB dish installation, even though I own all present equipment and installed it myself. I then asked if they could simply ship me a new dish for me to install; the answer was no. (I do more careful work than the technician installations I've seen -- like taping all external connectors with 3M 2228 self-vulcanizing tape to prevent corrosion and water leakage.)

In the end we agreed to defer the HD question. I may just buy a 1000.2 dish and install it myself. Aaah, the saga continues.

Stu33

 

[Bobby]

Stu, Stu, Stu.... Why not just let them install the dish and then go back and do your over the top preventative maintenance... Something tells me something else is going on her, I just don't know what it is!

 

[ChadT41]

Buy a 1000.2 dish? No sir. Even easier for you. Go to an apartment complex and ask the manager if you can take one down from an old unit. Hell, some will offer to pay you to do it. Got a place in Phoenix here that offered me $25/dish I removed, but I had to take all parts with me.

 

[KAB]

Stu, Stu, Stu.... Why not just let them install the dish and then go back and do your over the top preventative maintenance... Something tells me something else is going on her, I just don't know what it is!

Like my late Father, an engineer from Purdue, Stu seems to choose the Hard Way, over the obvious alternative. Drove me NUTS!!!

 

[Stu33]

Stu, Stu, Stu.... Why not just let them install the dish and then go back and do your over the top preventative maintenance... Something tells me something else is going on her, I just don't know what it is!

"Over the top," Sir? I disagree. My current installation, which I did myself, has been in place and worked perfectly for more than 13 years with minimal maintenance. That's what good engineering practice and attention to detail do. Have you bothered to read through this thread? I think I've made my objectives and concerns clear, so I see no need for obtuse comments like "Something tells me something else is going on her" (sic). And by the way, the word is preventive, not preventative.

My intent in my previous post was to relate my experience with DISH in the hope that it might prove in some way useful to those also faced with mandatory equipment replacement.

I very much appreciate constructive inputs and comments (those of osu1991 come to mind), but not gratuitous advice and inane commentary by those far removed from this locale.

Stu33

 

[Bobby]

Well, let's see, my outdoor wiring was installed in 1998. There are no external coverings on any of my connections. I have been trouble free in all those years. BTW, I spent a year in Wichita Falls between 1961 and 1962 so, yes, I have an idea what your climate is like..... As another aside, while I was in Texas, serving my country, we called it preventative...

http://grammarist.com/spelling/preventative-preventive/

 

[Stu33]

Buy a 1000.2 dish? No sir. Even easier for you. Go to an apartment complex and ask the manager if you can take one down from an old unit. Hell, some will offer to pay you to do it. Got a place in Phoenix here that offered me $25/dish I removed, but I had to take all parts with me.

Chad, still chuckling here -- not a bad idea, especially for us old pensioners always on the lookout to save a buck or two. Stu

 

[TheKrell]

And by the way, the word is preventive, not preventative.

Thank you. That always drives me crazy, along with interpretative.

 

[harshness]

Taping over connections is not the preferred method of avoiding moisture incursion. Tape can cause hydraulic pressure under some conditions and it can hold water in as well. To avoid moisture incursion, the big boys use dielectric grease if they aren't entirely confident in the connectors they use.

 

[WB0JFC]

That's it. "The Switch" won't be thrown until May 31.

May 31 was what I was told via letter, e-mail, and several calls. They really want me to get it done. A couple of days ago I got a call that said it could be as soon as April 1. I ordered a 211K today to replace my 508.

Bob

 

[KAB]

May 31 was what I was told via letter, e-mail, and several calls. They really want me to get it done. A couple of days ago I got a call that said it could be as soon as April 1. I ordered a 211K today to replace my 508.

Bob

April 1 for them to come and install? Your area must be busy...or in short supply of techs.

 

[WB0JFC]

I didn't talk to the caller it was on the answering machine. What I understood of the message was the 508 could quit working as early as April 1.

I did the current install so I'm swapping out the 508 for a purchased 211k myself.

Bob

 

[KAB]

But you are still going to have to get a new dish for HD, providing you want HD?

 

[harshness]

But you are still going to have to get a new dish for HD, providing you want HD?

I don't think HD is optional with HD equipment unless you're in an MPEG4 market.