switch question

[hitecsat]

Thank you to everyone who replipes to this. I've been battling with this issue off and on for a few months now and I really wanna watch some tv. I have a dish 500 system with a 311 series IRD. Was originally using two seperate LNB's with a switch 21 to run the wire into the house. We had a bad wind storm and the dish blew over. I've been trying everything to get it back online. Someone said that the lnb or switch might have been damaged when it was knocked over so someone have me one that had 110 and 119 lnbs with a built in switch. I hooked that up and am still unable to find a signal. Will that lnb set work with my receiver? I checked the cables and they are working. i made sure the mount mast was at 90 degrees and had the following for my requirements.
Elevation- 37.1
Azimuth- 224.8
Skew 121.2

 

[Tyralak]

Thank you to everyone who replipes to this. I've been battling with this issue off and on for a few months now and I really wanna watch some tv. I have a dish 500 system with a 311 series IRD. Was originally using two seperate LNB's with a switch 21 to run the wire into the house. We had a bad wind storm and the dish blew over. I've been trying everything to get it back online. Someone said that the lnb or switch might have been damaged when it was knocked over so someone have me one that had 110 and 119 lnbs with a built in switch. I hooked that up and am still unable to find a signal. Will that lnb set work with my receiver? I checked the cables and they are working. i made sure the mount mast was at 90 degrees and had the following for my requirements.
Elevation- 37.1
Azimuth- 224.8
Skew 121.2

First, make sure your dish isn't bent at all. You said the wind blew it over. Second, if you now have a single piece LNB (Twin) make sure it's not going into the old sw21 switch. What kind of LNB did you get? On the front of it you should be able to see some lettering. It will either say "Dish Network" or "DP" or "DP Plus". What does it say?

 

[hitecsat]

I have the cable running straight from the LNB to the receiver. The markings on the LNB say DP Plus

 

[Tyralak]

I have the cable running straight from the LNB to the receiver. The markings on the LNB say DP Plus

Ok. Good. Assuming there's no damage to the dish from the wind, make sure your mast is completely level in all directions. Then point your dish to the correct spot, and run a check switch. You may or may not get anything, but it will configure itself to the new LNB. The check switch test should show 1 of 3. If it says 1 of 38 you have a short somewhere or a bad connector.

 

[hitecsat]

and it should be in the southeast direction right?

 

[Tyralak]

and it should be in the southeast direction right?

Yes, but it's extremely specific. You posted the azimuth as 224.8. Get your compass out and stand behind the dish as you point it, making sure it's exactly where the compass is pointing. Or if you remember where it was pointing before, you can fine tune it.

 

[hitecsat]

just to make sure I have everything correct, azimuth is the direction the dish is pointing, elevation is the up and down and skew is the setting on the back of this dish correct?

 

[Tyralak]

just to make sure I have everything correct, azimuth is the direction the dish is pointing, elevation is the up and down and skew is the setting on the back of this dish correct?

Yep. That's correct.

 

[hitecsat]

still not getting signal

 

[Tyralak]

still not getting signal

What result did you get from your check switch test?

 

[hitecsat]

after running the switch test it says that one isn't installed. on the LNB it has three coax ports. Two on the left and one on the right. I'm plugging the cable into the one on the far left. i also got a new switch 21 and tried it on the old LNB and I only XXXX. Someone said you had to have a signal before you could run a switch test. i never could locate a signal.

 

[Tyralak]

after running the switch test it says that one isn't installed. on the LNB it has three coax ports. Two on the left and one on the right. I'm plugging the cable into the one on the far left. i also got a new switch 21 and tried it on the old LNB and I only XXXX. Someone said you had to have a signal before you could run a switch test. i never could locate a signal.

Ok, if it says "no switch box detected" then you have a bad connection somewhere. You were correct to put the cable into the far left port. When you ran your scheck switch test did the count say "1 of 3" or "1 of 38"?

 

[chainblu]

An azimuth of 224 would be southwest, not southeast.

 

[hitecsat]

i will try that this afternoon but I think it ran through 38. Is there any special setup for the LNB with the built-in switch? I have a cable running from the first port on the LNB going straight to the IRD.

 

[hitecsat]

also there isn't a difference between the brace and the arm for dishnetwork and direct tv are there?

 

[Tyralak]

also there isn't a difference between the brace and the arm for dishnetwork and direct tv are there?

If you're talking about the mast (The thing that is bolted to the roof or fascia, and has a pole sticking up) no, the differences are minimal and not significant. If you're talking about part of the actual dish, yes.

 

[hitecsat]

no i was just talking about the piece that mounts to the house and the pole. any coax cable will work right? im just trying to get all the different possibilies out the way. i so badly want to get this working again but i just keep getting frustrated.

 

[Tyralak]

i will try that this afternoon but I think it ran through 38. Is there any special setup for the LNB with the built-in switch? I have a cable running from the first port on the LNB going straight to the IRD.

A straight cable run is fine. There isn't any special setup. The check switch test configures the system to whatever LNB and switch you have. If you have a DP Plus LNBF and you get a 38 count, you have a connection problem somewhere. I'd check every connection. Did you put new connectors on the cable or are these the connectors that have always been on them? The reason I'm asking, is that if you aren't careful, it's very easy to get a piece of metal braiding wrapped around the center conductor when putting on a fitting. This causes a short. Do you have any splices or anything else between the dish and receiver?

 

[hitecsat]

i tested the cable by switching the one hooked up to the LNBs and used it as the one that goes to the tv. i get the dish network logo fine and am able to navigate through to get the switch test screen so I guess the cable is fine. I have no other splices on that cable, just straight connection from LNBs to IRD. I will perform the switch test when I get home and let you know for sure how many cycles it somes up with.

 

[hitecsat]

i wanna make sure I'm doing the elevation correctly. What do I line the number up with on the left hand side? I need the numbers of the elevation but do not see any markings to line it up with. Some say to use the nut, some say to use the bracket edge. Just want to clarify.