One wire, Two Wires, Four Wires.....

[LawnDart]

Me confused. I am going to get a satellite system. D* or E*. I have read lots of posts, and am confused about the best way to pre-wire for a dish. I plan on 4 receivers (two 722's or 4 DTV?)

I have conduit around my house that I put in before the slab so I can get wire in the house without poking any holes. I will have about a 50 ft run to a point where the sets can be distributed from. How many wires do I run from the pole for Dish? For Direct? I plan to have the wire done before the installers come.

I plan to put a 2" pole up. We have no trees in the way and clear view east to west. How tall should I make it, and will there be more than one dish on it?

 

[jayn_j]

Can't really answer for DTV, as your services and receivers give a lot of answers right now.

For dish, the number of receivers is dependent on where you live. In most cases, you will be served by either eastern or western arc, both of which are a 1 dish solution.

If you live in a small market in the west, you may also need a second dish pointing at 148. You used to need a second dish pointing at 61.5 in the east, but that is now being addressed by the new eastern arc installs with only 1 dish. BTW, if you need the second dish, you will likely need a second pole. Also, the mounting bracket size varies, so you might want to check with the installer before committing that pole to concrete.

If you have a single dish solution (likely), you will only need two wires coming in from the dish, one for each 722. You would also need a run of coax from the 722 to the second TV.

 

[Jim5506]

2 722's serving 4 TV's (one HD and one SD per receiver) will require one cable to each receiver and one cable going from the RF output on the receiver to the remote TV.

This assumes you have Dish Pro Plus lnb's of course.

I have heard that Direct has a system that uses one cable from the dish to a central switch then individual cables to each receiver. I'm not sure if Direct has receivers that handle two+ TV's per receiver.

 

[LawnDart]

I am in the Oklahoma City market.

So best to make home runs from the dish to each 722? I may be pushing 80 to 100 feet on those. Any issues there?

Lets hope my central US location will allow a single dish solution.

 

[rcdallas]

Ok City on 119/110 for your locals, so you should be getting a 1000.2 dish, all you need is two lines coming from the dish back to the house. Max length is 200'.

Also instead of 2" pole, I think it's 1 5/8".

 

[jayn_j]

I am in the Oklahoma City market.

So best to make home runs from the dish to each 722? I may be pushing 80 to 100 feet on those. Any issues there?

Lets hope my central US location will allow a single dish solution.

I've run over 150 ft with no problem. Be sure to use good quality RG-6.

As rcdallas mentioned, you are currently safe with a single dish 1000.2. Even if they eventually change to eastern arc, 2 runs will be good.

 

[LawnDart]

Great news on the single dish. So two RG6 it is. I guess that will be pointing easterly? 1 5/8 it is. I think that's the size of chain link posts. 4ft off the ground for the dish seem ok?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[jayn_j]

Great news on the single dish. So two RG6 it is. I guess that will be pointing easterly? 1 5/8 it is. I think that's the size of chain link posts. 4ft off the ground for the dish seem ok?

Thanks for all the help!

4 ft is good. High enough that the dog can't pee on it, but low enough that you don't need a ladder.

I would still check on that 1 5/8. I remember that the dish 1000 reguired a new post when I replaced the older dish 500. I don't remember the diameters, but I do know they vary. If you have a neighbor, you could go measure his post.

 

[jayn_j]

Oh yeah, don't forget that most pipe is measured inner diameter, and you need an outer diameter measurement.

 

[LawnDart]

4 ft is good. High enough that the dog can't pee on it, but low enough that you don't need a ladder.

LOL, no tall dogs around here.

I'll have my tape handy when I stop by Lowes.

Thanks all!

 

[LawnDart]

I see now that 119 and 110 are to my west. No problem, I am thinking of putting the dish on the east side of the house. I'll just make sure to move it an extra few feet away so it clears the house.

Just means I'll be pushing closer to the 150ft distance for one receiver.

 

[rcdallas]

It is the size of a chain link post

 

[Jim5506]

If you are going HD the 129 satellite is further west in the sky and lower than 110 and 119.

You need someone to do a line-of-sight (LOS) evaluation of your proposed location, 129 might be eclipsed by the house.

You can look at Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com to see azimuth and elevation of each satellite from your home.

129 is 37 degrees above the horizon and at 222 degrees magnetic in the Oklahoma City area.

 

[LawnDart]

I see Lowes sells cable fairly cheap. Or Cheap cable. 500 ft for under $50. I see the word foil, so should it be avoided?


UL listed for CL2 indoor/outdoor, in-wall use
Ideal for use with CATV/MATV and satellite television
RG6 18 CCS
100% foil
60AL braid

Can't post a link yet. Guess I need to be posting more.

Thanks

 

[KAB]

I see Lowes sells cable fairly cheap. Or Cheap cable. 500 ft for under $50. I see the word foil, so should it be avoided?


UL listed for CL2 indoor/outdoor, in-wall use
Ideal for use with CATV/MATV and satellite television
RG6 18 CCS
100% foil
60AL braid

Can't post a link yet. Guess I need to be posting more.

Thanks

Make sure it says, Swept to 3.0 GHZ

 

[LawnDart]

Make sure it says, Swept to 3.0 GHZ

Will do.

Still suffering from sticker shock on package prices. With my current OTA recording setup and Netflix costing less than $18 monthly, it might just make sense to plan on watching stuff not available OTA once it's out on DVD.

At any rate, I plan to wire the house. Might just go for the cheapest Dish DVR package to test the water.

 

[Agonizing Fury]

Will do.

Still suffering from sticker shock on package prices. With my current OTA recording setup and Netflix costing less than $18 monthly, it might just make sense to plan on watching stuff not available OTA once it's out on DVD.

At any rate, I plan to wire the house. Might just go for the cheapest Dish DVR package to test the water.

Note that when you call to sign up they will be pushing the 24 month commitment Digital Home Advantage plan. This is not conducive to "testing waters" as 24 months is a long time to deal with something you may or may not like. AFAIK, dish does still offer a non-commitment Digital Home Advantage plan. You will lose all the nice kickbacks, but may still be reasonable for your situation.

 

[LawnDart]

Note that when you call to sign up they will be pushing the 24 month commitment Digital Home Advantage plan. This is not conducive to "testing waters" as 24 months is a long time to deal with something you may or may not like. AFAIK, dish does still offer a non-commitment Digital Home Advantage plan. You will lose all the nice kickbacks, but may still be reasonable for your situation.

Good point on the lack of a 24mo commitment. It seems to only cost an extra $100 up front for a clear concience. Lets say someone drops after 2 months. Do they want the dish and everything back? I would assume yes.

 

[KAB]

Lets say someone drops after 2 months. Do they want the dish and everything back? I would assume yes.

And $10.00 per month remaining.

 

[LawnDart]

And $10.00 per month remaining.

Dish has an option to skip the contract. You just miss on all the free HBO and stuff and also have to pay the full $199 for a 722. Plus side looks like you get to walk away clean if you choose.