Help please - 3LNB dish w/multiple feeds

[Barmats]

I'm new here, and hope you can help. I have an 18x20 oval 3-head DTV dish, and just bought a TIVO. I'm using all 3 feeds from the dish (3 TVs), but need a 4th as a second input for the TIVO. I've heard that this dish has a built-in multiswitch and actually has 4 outputs, but without taking it apart, I only see 3. Is there really a 4th one lurking inside somewhere, or do I need to buy a multiswitch?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ramcm7]

If all 3 LNB's are in one unit, you probably have a Phase III dish. Assuming your dish is mounted snugly, you should be able to unscrew the screw holding the LNB to the sat dish arm without impacting your alignment. Pull it back slowly and you should be an unused fourth connection on the LNB unit. Thread another RG6 coax with a good connection for outdoor use through the sat arm and connect to the open port on the LNB unit and you will be in business, once you hook the LNB unit back to the arm.

 

[Barmats]

Thanks for the quick reply. So there really is a 4th connector hidden inside the arm? Just to be sure, here's a picture of the dish I have: http://home.mchsi.com/~barmats/SatDish.jpg

If I want to hook up a second feed to my TIVO unit, all I have to do is connect a cable to the 4th feed and run it into the back of the unit, right? Unless I want to add another receiver, I don't need to use a separate multiswitch? Thanks for helping out a newbie.

 

[Neutron]

Welcome to Satelliteguys!!

The Phase-III dish has a built in 4 port multiswitch so you should have an available port. If not you can get a 4X8 multiswitch.

 

[sksatellite]

If your TIVO is replacing one of the current receiver, then yes, run another cable from the last port from the LNBs. TIVO required two cables to attach to Dish 1 and 2.

 

[Barmats]

Thanks for the welcome, and for the help! I'm new to this stuff, and I appreciate your advice and guidance.

In order to access the multiswitch's 4th output, I guess I'll have to disassemble part of the assembly, feed the existing cables through to get some slack, and then be able to attach a 4th RG6 cable to the output. Is that correct? I didn't know there was a built-in multiswitch, it must be pretty small -- is it near the 3 LNB's, or further down the line inside the arm?

The installer didn't say anything about a 4th feed (I didn't ask him if there was a 4th), but he did say that this was a 3-room dish only, and I would have to buy a different style of dish to add a 4th receiver and TV. All I want to use the 4th feed for is for the 2nd input on the TIVO. But I could also use it for a 4th receiver and TV as well?

 

[Neutron]

Yes, you could use it for either the dual tuner setup of the DTivo or a 4th receiver.


All you need to do is take the LNB assembly off of your dish. There's a small screw underneath that holds it in place on the dish arm. You should see the 4 coax jacks on the LNB.

Here's a picture I got off of Ebay that shows the 4 coax jacks: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32840&item=5742663828&rd=1

You would just run a 4th coax line up through the dish arm and out to where the LNB stack attaches to the dish.

Hope this helps!!

 

[Newshawk]

For all you need to know about the Phase III dish and installation, just go to the D* website and get the PDF of the dish installation guide. Here's the direct URL:
http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/12429_00_AntennaManual_1D.pdf

 

[Barmats]

The diagram and pdf is a great help, thank you very much! All I need to do now is run some cable. Thanks!!!