Super Joey woes in new home

[werdcrime]

Please excuse the long post, but I’m somewhat confused by this issue and want to give the most information possible to see if anyone has any ideas.

We recently moved into a new home that I had pre-wired with RG6 to all the rooms. I had two RG6 going to my wiring panel from outside, one of which was already in use by Comcast for internet. The original Dish installer used the other pre-wire to connect up my HWS and then ran more coax to the wiring panel for the Super Joey (these are the only two receivers).

Everything seemed to go just fine and was working well after the install. We didn’t have the basement set up yet, so I only watched the super joey for 5-10 minutes while the installer was there. Cut to a few days later when I’m unpacking things in the basement where the SJ is installed. I notice that it works fine for about 10-20 minutes then I get a 1303 error popping up followed by a 1305 error. The messages would go away and I would get my picture back in another 5-10 minutes.

I call Dish and go through the regular troubleshooting (whole home reset, check cables, etc) and they schedule a tech visit.

The Dish tech comes out and starts checking cables, connectors, barrels, etc; replaces the solo node and the SJ node (forgive me, I don’t actually know what its called). He even tries another SJ and even another HWS to see where the issue is, to no avail.

I then had him help me move the TV and SJ next to the wiring panel and we plugged the installers cable from outside directly into the SJ bypassing the home wiring. This actually seemed to work, the SJ stayed up and we didn’t see any issues. So the issue looks to be with the home wiring. We then move the TV and SJ to another outlet and hook it up, this one has the same issue as the original one. At this point I let the installer go as it seems the issue is only with the home wiring.

I then went around the house and plugged the SJ into the other RG6 outlets and it has the same issue in every one. It may work for a few minutes but will always disconnect from the HWS. I verified that the coax is 3ghz RG6 and the connections/barrels all look good. Finally I move the HWS to the other outlets and it has no issues on any of them; the SJ has the same issue even plugged into the outlet the HWS was originally using.

So after all that, it still looks like it’s my home wiring but I don’t have a good explanation on why it only seems to affect the SJ and not the Hopper. Is it just more sensitive to poor cabling? Or is the connection to the HWS having problems as it is using more of the RG6 capacity communicating to the SJ which is then causing the SJ link to fail?

I do have an appointment with the home builder next week, but I’m still just confused as to why only the SJ seems to have the issue. Any ideas you guys might have would be appreciated.

Thank you again for your time!

 

[ChadT41]

You said that when you hooked it up directly to the node line, no issues at all? If so, then it may just be a sensitivity thing. The hopper is a whole functioning DVR, while the SJ is still a client that is running two remote tuners. I imagine the SJ to be more prone to screw up, even over a regular Joey. I have never had a SJ in my hands, so I am not sure, jsut read about them and hear people say stuff about them. So take what I say with a grain of salt, just offering possibilities.

 

[boba]

It might be helpful if you could provide pictures of your wiring or at least a description of fittings and connections.

 

[werdcrime]

Thanks for the replies, I'll see if I can get some pictures and/or a diagram up.

I have done a little more digging and was able to get the SJ working in the room closest to the patch panel when I bypass the barrel connector. I thought it was maybe the barrel connector, but the other outlets don't work when I bypass it.

I took a closer look at the cabling and it looks like the builder used CCS RG6 for all the in-home wiring. I'm wondering if there is maybe just too much distance/too many connections for the CCS between the SJ and the Hopper. I don't have good measurements yet, but The Hopper is connected with CCS back to the patch panel (~85ft), then uses a barrel connector to go to another run of CCS out to the solo node (~60-70ft), the cabling from that point is all dish installed CCS back to the patch panel (~75 ft), then goes through another run of CCS to where the SJ is hooked up (this varies in length by room location).

 

[TimberWolf]

Sounds like cable length issue between hopper and sj.
You can have the node and integrator inside by the patch panel, but it will need another line coming in.

 

[KAB]

Well, since your wiring apparently cannot handle a super Joey, either stick with regular, or, if you need more tuners, belly up two more dollars a month for another Hopper.

 

[charlesrshell]

Well, since your wiring apparently cannot handle a super Joey, either stick with regular, or, if you need more tuners, belly up two more dollars a month for another Hopper.

And nice to have a backup Hopper.

 

[werdcrime]

I did consider going back to a regular Joey, but I really hate the slow guide. It would be nice to have a backup Hopper, but I do like the seamless setup of the SJ (when it's working). A couple questions on the dual hopper setup:

1. If I have an external HDD on one Hopper can the other Hopper play that content? I would assume not.
2. In order to switch viewing rooms I would have to start recording the program on one hopper and then resume playing it on the other, correct?

I'm also considering having them run more wires and just move the node inside by the patch panel, I think my distances would be fine then.

Would a signal amplifier also work in this situation? I've seen them but I'm honestly completely clueless as whether or not they would work in this scenario.

Again, thank you for your thoughts and ideas.