Need Installation Help

[Baboontyme]

Hello all, new poster here. I was hoping someone could give me a bit of guidance.

I've done Dtv installations on my own in the past probably 5-6 times, but it was always with a single or dual lnb standard dish.

I have just upgraded to the AT9 and some H20 receivers, and I need some help in figuring out how to do this.

I have 8 rooms wired for Dtv (actually only 5 rooms with one room having 4 inputs). I currently have all 8 RG6 cables run into my attic above my garage, where they run into a multiswitch. Then I have 2 RG6's running from my multiswitch to my dual LNB dish about 15 feet away on the roof.

I just ordered an AT9 dish, 3 H20's, and the WB68 multiswitch so I can pull in Dtv High Def in my basement (the 4 receiver room). The plan is to have 1 H20 and my standard def DVR hooked to my Grand Wega. The other two H20's will be hooked to my flanking Viewsonic LCDs. The rest of the televisions that I will be hooking up to the dish are non HD and all have standard old school Dtv receivers.

So........here are my questions:

1. How many lines do I need to run from my dish to the multiswitch for my setup? Still 2? Or is it 4? Honestly, I can't decipher these installation directions.

2. Does it matter which outputs on my multiswitch I use in terms of H20 vs. non H20 (standard def) receiver?

3. Am I going to be able to find the coordinates for the dish on my own, or is it futile even trying with the AT9? Since I don't really have any wiring that will need to be done, I am not averse to paying a local company a small fee to come out and install the dish only. (I REFUSE to deal with Dtv on these issues). But I would rather do it myself if it's not next to impossible.

Anything else anyone could add or clarify is of course greatly appreciated, as are any responses at all.

Thanks! Looking forward to NFL season in a BIG way!

 

[wadethecableguy]

1. You need to run 4 lines from your lnb to your 6x8 switch

2. No

3. Finding the coordinates is easy. Finding the satellites is a different story. Your zip code is all that is needed for the rough coordinates but the allignment of the AT9 is going to require a signal meter. You might want to give someone a call for the install of the dish. Hope that helps.

 

[Baboontyme]

1. You need to run 4 lines from your lnb to your 6x8 switch

2. No

3. Finding the coordinates is easy. Finding the satellites is a different story. Your zip code is all that is needed for the rough coordinates but the allignment of the AT9 is going to require a signal meter. You might want to give someone a call for the install of the dish. Hope that helps.

Ok, thanks for the advice. It does help, greatly.

I am having someone come out and install my dish, hopefully later this week. I have my cabling pretty much all set. My only other question right now is....which 4 (of the 6) inputs on the WB68 do I use, and does it matter where those inputs plug into my AT9? I will need to label them clearly for the installer, if so.

Thanks again!

 

[damaged]

Ok, thanks for the advice. It does help, greatly.

I am having someone come out and install my dish, hopefully later this week. I have my cabling pretty much all set. My only other question right now is....which 4 (of the 6) inputs on the WB68 do I use, and does it matter where those inputs plug into my AT9? I will need to label them clearly for the installer, if so.

Thanks again!

It doesnt matter which 4 of the 6 you use (the ports that ARE for special use in some setups are so marked. i.e. ANT for OTA (excludes AT9 setups, no diplexing) or a Flexport for certain dual dish setups, and only used as indicated), so as long as all four are used, and no, it doesn't matter which goes where, you won't need to mark them.

 

[Baboontyme]

It doesnt matter which 4 of the 6 you use (the ports that ARE for special use in some setups are so marked. i.e. ANT for OTA (excludes AT9 setups, no diplexing) or a Flexport for certain dual dish setups, and only used as indicated), so as long as all four are used, and no, it doesn't matter which goes where, you won't need to mark them.

Thank you for the response. I am surprised by this....the jacks are labeled (from left to right) 18V-13V-18V-13V-FlexPort 1-Flexport 2. Underneath the two left-side jacks (18V and 13V), it says Sat 99/101 degrees. Underneath the middle two jacks (18V and 13V) it says 22 KHz 22 KHz and underneath that Sat 103/110/119 degrees. There is nothing underneath the 2 Flexports on the right.

Obviously it is not my intention to question anyone's knowledge as I am the idiot here ( ), but are you sure that is the case? Just seems unlikely from a novice's perspective.

Again, thanks a ton for your help!

 

[damaged]

The 2 flexports are for multi dish setups, in your case you have one dish, so these will go unused for you.

The markings you speak of on the other four remaining ports, are for when the LNBs are directly connected to this 6x8 multiswitch, BUT, with a AT9 or PhaseIII dish, there is already a multiswitch inside the dish itself (i.e. your new 6x8 is _actually_ connected to the dishes built-in multiswitch, not the LNBs), so the markings do not apply, so it won't matter, the built-in multiswitch will negotiate which LNB is which, all four coax coming from the dish have already been multiplexed (via the built-in switch), thus, the 4 coax from the dish are identical in that all have the ability to control all the LNBs (which is why they can go directly to a receiver). If you were connecting the LNBs directly to the 6x8 (which btw is NOT what you are doing), THEN it matters.

A good (if not simplistic) way to think of it is, that the built-in switch is the 'smart' switch, and the new external 6x8 is relegated to being a little more than a dumb 'port extender' of sorts.

If it makes you feel better, and perhaps might still be a good thing (maybe you'll use them for other things later), or for ease of replacement if one gets damaged, go ahead and mark the coax ends with a color code, but there is no need to mark them 18v/13v or 110/101/119, etc..