Newbie help request/clarification

[agent9]

Hopefully someone can shed some light on this as I received 4 different answers from Dish about this.

The original setup:
Dish 500 with a legacy quad lnb. All 4 lines run to simple "couplers" inside the house.
One 522 and one 301 using 3 of the 4 cables connected at the couplers.

The new setup:
I picked up another 522, replacing the 301 so we now have two 522s with two lines run to each 522 as expected.

The problem:
Only 3 of the 4 lines from the quad lnb are working.
This was simple to test since I easily swapped the cables(at the couplers as I call them) from the working 522 to the newly added 522 and did a switch test on the DVR.
Then, to find which line wasn't working, I reversed cables and did a Switch test again. Easy enough, right?

Dish "support":
The first call lead to a drone simply stated that I needed a seperator at the new 522. Ummmm... I have two cables already.
The second call led to a zombie who couldn't answer with anything other than "you need to make an appointment to have a tech look at it".
I had her put her "supervisor" on the line , explained the situation, and he proceeded to tell me that with the 500 series and quad legacy lnb, you can't run two 522 DVRs with buying a DPP44 switch. I asked why that was, since I thought the quad legacy lnb has a builtt in switch and Im only using the four outputs to to DVRs. He insisted I needed the switch.
The last call I made I finally get a helpful person who simply told me the legacy quad lnb WILL support two 522 DVRs and the last "manager" shouldn't have told me I needed a switch. He also, agreed it sounded like I should try a different quad lnb.



Whew! long winded I know but I just want to make sure I don't spend any more money than I have to.
So, should it work as is? Should I simply get a different quad lnb to try?

Thanks

 

[harshness]

People with DishPro Plus receivers need to get over using quads. They aren't the way to go. The DishPro Plus Twin will do everything you need and only requires one cable for each receiver.

It isn't surprising that the CSRs don't understand quads. Conscientious installers pretty much stopped using them some time ago in favor of the DP34.

 

[agent9]

I'd love to get over using quads but this was installed some time ago and Im just looking for calarification on the existing setup. Its not my house so If all I need to do is replace the quad lnb, thats all Im going to do. There will never be more than the two receivers anyway since its a very small house.
Hell, if I had the money I'd get the top of the line setup.

 

[chainblu]

The Quad should work. The 'couplers' you refer to are actually called barrels... just so you know. Did you try swapping the lines at the LNB? The "dead' cable may not even be hooked to a port on the Quad.

 

[agent9]

Thanks. Thats all I needed was a confirmation that this setup should work.


Yes, I checked the lnb to make sure all four cable were connected. Just to be double sure, I swapped the cables at the LNB and still only had 3 of 4 working, telling me at least the cables are all ok.
I'll just try to find an inexpensive quad somewhere.
I had a line on a DP34 and pro plus lnb this morning on Craigslist for $20, but somebody beat me to it.

 

[daboogas94e]

well i would pick up a quad off Ebay. I have a Quad running a 522 and a 311 and it works perfectly fine. I wouldn't use a legacy quad but a Dish Pro quad and that will make it last

 

[harshness]

The other benefit to using a DPP Twin is that they are often cheaper than a DP Quad. If you have three or four receivers and you don't need a wing dish, a quad may be the cheapest solution.