Problem with Receiver or Switch??

[tomes]

Hi,

I live in the Chicago area and subscribe to the HD/Locals etc. I have 2 (two) 211 receivers. Recently, one of them gave an error message of possible switch issue. After running the point dish test and restarting it now only finds the 119 satellite. My other 211 receiver finds 110,119 and 129. At this point I gather there are three possible reasons:
a) Receiver is having problems?
b) Switch works only with the one receiver? (faulty switch that still works partially??)
c) some way to set up the receiver to work (service menu?)

To give some more info, when trying to run pointdish - 119 is successful (obviously), 110 will fail with "wrong named sat 119", and 129 will fail alltoghether (not found).

My working receiver lables the various sats as Twin Twin Dual, while the 'broken' receiver lablels it 'Feed'

In the program guide, I only see (mostly) channels above 100, no locals, no HD (makes sense if two out of three satellites are not recognized I suppose...)

Any input would be appreciated!!

 

[MikeD-C05]

Try running a check switch without any sat cables connected to clear out the matrix. Then plug back the cable and rerun the check switch. That should fix your problem .

You could also unplug the 211 and wait a minute and replub it back in and do a hard reboot. IF you still get the problem, then switch the 211 showing the problem with the one that doesn't show the problem and rerun a check switch. If it moves the problem off of that 211 to the other one you swapped it with , then you have a problem with your cable running to that room with the 211 showing the problem.

IF the problem stays on the same 211, regardless where you move it ,then you have a receiver problem. Call Dish and get a replacement receiver sent to you. Add the dish home protection plan first so you can get it without paying shipping and handeling fees. IT only cost $5.99 and you can drop it once you get your new receiver and the old one sent back.

 

[tomes]

MikeD, thanks for the suggestions! I did as you said (unplugged the sat cable from the receiver - ran the switch test, coming up with 'x', then I unplugged power, put the cable back in and started it up. started scanning for 'x' (which won't work of course) - then I reran switch test). Still only one sat (119) found as "feed".

I also went to the actual switch and moved cables between the working and non working receiver. It did not have any effect whatsoever, so I guess the switch is ok.

Looks like it must be the receiver, unless someone else knows a way to really reset the thing as a last ditch effort. (what is the risk by doing 'reset to factory defaults'????)

 

[MikeD-C05]

No risk,lose your favorites list and preferences. What kind of Dish and switch do you have? I have a dish 1000.2 with an internal dpp44 switch in the lnb. I get 110/119/129/61.5. IF you are using something external that can be replaced , then call Dish and add the dish home protection plan and get them to send you a replacement for that switch. DId you rerun a check switch once you switched the cables at the switch? This too would help you determine if the problem stays with that receiver or moves to the other one.

 

[tomes]

Mike,

Thanks for sticking with me I'll give the factory reset a shot then. Also, I did NOT rerun the switch test after switching the cables, I guess it could be good to do that to absolutely rule out the switch as a problem.

Don't remember exactly the equipment I have (I'm at work), but it is a switch located in my basement that has several inputs/outputs and possibilitity to add another switch. I'm thinking DP44 sound about right but not sure. Just for the record, in addition to the two hd receivers, I have a dualtuner sdtv receiver w/dvr. (don't remember the model right now..)

I'll post an update later.

Thanks again!

-Tom

 

[BillCrates]

I had this happen to 2 receivers 508 , but not the 211 and 622. Then the 622 has a issue. I called DISH and the tech said I had an electrical issue. I have seen this in several like this one and I wonder if this could be a DISH issue... Any thoughts

 

[mdwatt]

I've seen this problem many times, and it 99% of the time it acutally turns out to be a cable problem. Best way to test it is to take the receiver you're having a problem with and move it to the location that works and run a check switch. If it works, then you know for sure it's the cable. If not, then the DiSEqC is prolly screwed up in the box. You could also take a new piece of cable and run it directly from the receiver thru a window or door or whatever to the dish and check it again. If it turns out that you have a cable problem, check all of your connections, especially outside, since they can tend to get corroded from weather conditions, and replace if necessary.