Hopper 3 & Dish OTA Dongle Problem

[khearrean]

We were recently displaced due to a home fire, so all my equip. had been packed away & in storage for about 4 months. In re-hooking everything, I've run into an issue being able to get my OTA locals via the Dish OTA Dongle attached to my Hopper 3. I'm sure this is likely a minor glitch with the manner I've hooked that section up (cables going to the wrong inputs, etc). My set-up is basic; I have the Hopper 3 with OTA Dongle, 4K AVR, 4K BD Player, Roku & my 4K Display. I have all components going into the AVR & (1) HDMI out of the Denon into the display. I believe my problem though has to do with the proper connections in & around the Hopper & OTA Dongle. The problem is that I get SAT just fine, but no OTA channels. The way I have it hooked up is the OTA antenna lead & the SAT lead go into a switcher (or whatever that's actually called) in the attic & then (1) lead coming down the wall to the back of the units. From there what should be the proper connection for my Dish OTA Dongle, a small white plastic splitter & the Hopper itself? I feel like it's something in the connections of these (3) components. So when I go to any of my pre-scanned locals in the EPG, I just get the error message that says "OTA signals have been lost, please check antenna, etc.," but all SAT channels are fine. Prior to having to unhook everything when we left, it all worked beautifully & normally I have all my interconnects labeled, but this time, most had fallen off. Any advice would certainly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[n0qcu]

You need to use separate cables for the Satellite signals, you cannot combine them into a single cable with a Hopper.

 

[david_jr]

We were recently displaced due to a home fire, so all my equip. had been packed away & in storage for about 4 months. In re-hooking everything, I've run into an issue being able to get my OTA locals via the Dish OTA Dongle attached to my Hopper 3. I'm sure this is likely a minor glitch with the manner I've hooked that section up (cables going to the wrong inputs, etc). My set-up is basic; I have the Hopper 3 with OTA Dongle, 4K AVR, 4K BD Player, Roku & my 4K Display. I have all components going into the AVR & (1) HDMI out of the Denon into the display. I believe my problem though has to do with the proper connections in & around the Hopper & OTA Dongle. The problem is that I get SAT just fine, but no OTA channels. The way I have it hooked up is the OTA antenna lead & the SAT lead go into a switcher (or whatever that's actually called) in the attic & then (1) lead coming down the wall to the back of the units. From there what should be the proper connection for my Dish OTA Dongle, a small white plastic splitter & the Hopper itself? I feel like it's something in the connections of these (3) components. So when I go to any of my pre-scanned locals in the EPG, I just get the error message that says "OTA signals have been lost, please check antenna, etc.," but all SAT channels are fine. Prior to having to unhook everything when we left, it all worked beautifully & normally I have all my interconnects labeled, but this time, most had fallen off. Any advice would certainly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken

Do you have all of the same equipment from before the fire or did you get new equipment? You have 1 H3 and no Joeys? Can you post a picture of the "switcher (or whatever that's actually called) in the attic?" If all the same equipment and connections if it worked before it should work now. Unless something got damaged in the fire of course.

 

[khearrean]

Dave:
Thanks for your reply; I really think the problem is as simple as having the interconnects to my Hopper, OTA Dongle & Amp. connected wrong. The "little white box" I mentioned in my OP is actually a Winegard Amp called a LNA-100 Boost. I believe I have the connections wrong somehow between these (3) devices. That's why I was hoping someone who read this might have a similar set-up & would know exactly how these properly connect to one another.

Semper Fi,
Ken

 

[khearrean]

You need to use separate cables for the Satellite signals, you cannot combine them into a single cable with a Hopper.

That part of the hook-up is still the same; both the antenna lead from the Dish & the OTA antenna were run to the switcher (or whatever that's called) in the attic & from there, just one RG-6 down the wall & out. I didn't change that part & it worked before. I believe the problem lies in the connections I have between the Dish Hopper, the OTA Dongle & the Amp (which I previously called the little white box). That's why I was hoping someone might have this same hook-up & could tell me the proper hook-ups of those (3) devices?

 

[TheKrell]

The way I have it hooked up is the OTA antenna lead & the SAT lead go into a switcher (or whatever that's actually called) in the attic & then (1) lead coming down the wall to the back of the units.

You can't do that; sorry. You must run separate coaxes to the OTA dongle and the Hopper.

You need to use separate cables for the Satellite signals, you cannot combine them into a single cable with a Hopper.

just one RG-6 down the wall & out. I didn't change that part & it worked before.

If this ever worked, I don't know why it did. Possibly your local channels are not within the MoCA range...

Is your amp powered somehow?

 

[Sea Beagle]

Here is something weird. A near perfect and I see this.

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[david_jr]

khearrean can you post pictures of the items your describing and the wiring connections? That might help us give you suggestions.

 

[khearrean]

If this ever worked, I don't know why it did. Possibly your local channels are not within the MoCA range...

Is your amp powered somehow?

I do apologize but the "small white plastic splitter" I stated in my OP was wrong! That piece is actually a Winegard LNA-100 amplifier, not a splitter, if that's what you're referring to. Although I wouldn't understand why, could that have to do with why I've been able to get by with just the one (1) RG-6 cable down the wall & out? Because again, it's been like this for several years. And if so, I still have something hooked up incorrectly.

 

[TheKrell]

That piece is actually a Winegard LNA-100 amplifier, not a splitter, if that's what you're referring to.

Yes, I meant that amp. The LNA100 appears to be powered by USB. Is that still plugged in? I've had a number of wall wart transformers go bad...

 

[Sea Beagle]

khearrean can you post pictures of the items your describing and the wiring connections? That might help us give you suggestions.

Sure


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[khearrean]

Sure
Sure will; I'll need to maneuver things around so you can see what I have. Be patient & I'll post a pic. BTW, the USB from the Dongle is plugged in. I'll also spell out how my interconnects are now so it'll be easier to follow. Thanks for trying to help...

Ken

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[khearrean]

Well, turns out I was absolutely wrong about my hook-up! The area behind the components is just too dark & cramped to get pics that show anything sensible, but I'll lay out what I've got, which is different that what I originally said & I do apologize. First of all there are (2) RG-6 leads coming from the attic, one being the OTA antenna lead & the other the SAT. Both leads are white so I can't quite distinguish the OTA & SAT leads once they come out of the wall, but one of those leads goes direct to the Hopper & the other lead goes to the end of the Winegard AMP labeled "ANT/AMP." From the other end of the Winegard Amp labeled "TV/Tuner" is a RG-6 jumper about 8" long that goes to the OTA Dongle. Of course the other end of the OTA Dongle is the power for the Dongle going to a USB port on the Hopper. With this hook-up, I get SAT, but no OTA locals. Since I'm not sure which leads coming down & out the wall is the OTA & SAT, I tried reversing those leads taking the one going to the Hopper & the one going to the AMP & swapping them. With this hook-up. I get nothing, no OTA or SAT. I don't know of another way to try the leads, so any suggestions on what I may be overlooking?

 

[TheKrell]

I don't know of another way to try the leads, so any suggestions on what I may be overlooking?

Leave the sat lead like it was and concentrate on the OTA antenna lead. The first thing I would try is to take that amp out and see if you get some stronger stations.

 

[Bobby]

Be certain the amp is plugged into ac power, if you are using the wall wart, and actually is sending voltage toward the amp. If you are using a USB source for the power try a different USB source. Because the amp is totally located at the TV location, not at the outdoor antenna location, I would try take the amp out of the equation as Krell suggested first. You may well have an amp that has gone defective.

 

[khearrean]

I’ll definitely try removing the amp from the loop, but would also like to understand why? Is it just because it might be faulty? On a side note, it was installed by a HT tech when they initially set up my system & I’ve just always left it installed when we moved, etc, but I’ve never really understood its purpose since my OTA antenna (Winegard Sensar III) is an amplified antenna once it’s installed with the Hopper.

 

[TheKrell]

I’ll definitely try removing the amp from the loop, but would also like to understand why? Is it just because it might be faulty? On a side note, it was installed by a HT tech when they initially set up my system & I’ve just always left it installed when we moved, etc, but I’ve never really understood its purpose since my OTA antenna (Winegard Sensar III) is an amplified antenna once it’s installed with the Hopper.

Yes, it might be faulty. It may also not be able to do it's job if your Hopper can no longer source enough current. If you have two OTA antenna amps in series, then you might even overload the dongle or the amp itself. And why is it there at all if your Sensor III is already amplified?

And yes, I have seen a nearby station (MHz Networks 1.8 miles away) overload my VIP receivers. I oriented my antenna to null out that signal, and added a frequency trap for it as well, before I could watch it. Now that MHz Networks has gone streaming and that channel is off the air, I was able to remove my amps and I can receive even Baltimore and Annapolis stations perfectly (in addition to my Washington DC stations). I can even see Harrisonburg for the first time, though those channels are unwatchable due to frequent breakups. I live in northern VA just southwest of DC.

 

[khearrean]

Well guys, the absolute weirdest thing happened. I switched over to start troubleshooting my locals & bam! There they were & I did nothing! There's only one that I can't get that I used to get & that's our local ABC (12-1) Beaumont. So figure all that out! I have no idea why I've been struggling with these for over a week & then out of the blue, they come in; very, very strange......

 

[TheKrell]

Well guys, the absolute weirdest thing happened. I switched over to start troubleshooting my locals & bam! There they were & I did nothing! There's only one that I can't get that I used to get & that's our local ABC (12-1) Beaumont. So figure all that out! I have no idea why I've been struggling with these for over a week & then out of the blue, they come in; very, very strange......

I still think you should pull that amp behind your Hopper.

 

[khearrean]

I'll do that. Maybe that's the answer & I'll let you know.

Thanks,
Ken