Which LNB with a Dish 500 reflector?

[Bill Jeff]

I looked for the answer to this question, with no luck. Forgive me if I have missed it.

I have a Dish 500 reflector, mounted high up. It has a DishProPlus LNB, which has been damaged. I have at least two spare DishProPlus LNBs, but they don't physically look like the one that is in there now. They don't even look like each other. Some have round windows, some have slightly oval windows, some have very oval windows. On some, the windows are 3-7/8" apart center-to-center, on others it's 4-1/8". I would think this would affect beam separation angle. And they all have different part numbers on the label. Most of the web references I find use a number beginning with letter E, but my spares have numbers beginning with A. So for example, what is A42909-1600FWS, and what is A414025L14000ND. Is there a translation table or cross-reference somewhere that will help straighten these out?

If it matters, I am looking at 110 and 119.

Thanks

Bill

 

[dvrexpander]

As long as its a DPP Twin LNB it should be fine to work. Do you have pictures of them?

 

[NYDutch]

The A42909 is an eastern arc (61.5 & 72.7) LNBF typically used on a 1000.2 dish. I'm not finding a match for the other number in my reference sources. The 110/119 DPP LNBF for the 500 dish is pictured below, although there are other setups for the 500 that use two DP single LNBF's and an SW-21 external switch.

 

[TheKrell]

there are other setups for the 500 that use two DP single LNBF's and an SW-21 external switch.

An SW21 is a legacy switch and won't work with a DP anything. There were legacy twin LNBs for 110/119 with a built-in SW21. I used one with another 500 and a legacy dual (single LNBF) pointed at 61.5 and two outboard SW21's to feed any of those sats to my legacy receivers. Took forever to do a check switch!

 

[NYDutch]

An SW21 is a legacy switch and won't work with a DP anything. There were legacy twin LNBs for 110/119 with a built-in SW21. I used one with another 500 and a legacy dual (single LNBF) pointed at 61.5 and two outboard SW21's to feed any of those sats to my legacy receivers. Took forever to do a check switch!

I'm sure you've got it right Krell, and my old brain has lost a few more memory chips. Thanks for the catch...

 

[TheKrell]

...my old brain has lost a few more memory chips

Believe me, I know the feeling. I think we can wait until we forget what just happened before we start worrying.

 

[Bobby]

As long as you are already at the dish, why not just replace the entire thing with a 1000.2 western arc dish complete with the triple WA LNB so that you can see the entire western arc, 110, 119, 129. Most of the HD channels are on 129 and you are missing all of those.

 

[Bill Jeff]

NYDutch -
"The A42909 is an eastern arc (61.5 & 72.7) LNBF" - that might account for the slightly different spacing of the feeds, the Eastern arc satellites being spaced differently from the western arc birds

Your picture looks like what is up there now.

So there really is no cross-reference document? From what I have seen, Dish puts these A-numbers on lots of items, and they seldom correspond to any other item descriptions I have seen.

DVRExpander -

Here are pics of the two LNBs I mentioned in the first post.

 

[Bill Jeff]

As long as you are already at the dish, why not just replace the entire thing with a 1000.2 western arc dish complete with the triple WA LNB so that you can see the entire western arc, 110, 119, 129. Most of the HD channels are on 129 and you are missing all of those.

Bobby -
Not a bad thought, but -
I am not "already at the Dish" - it is high up in a tree, and I don't want to play around up there any more than I have to.
I already have the 500 reflector, mounted and aimed - I do not have a 1000.2 reflector.
I already have the LNBs I think I need, so why buy another.
From my location, I can't see 129, so there is no point in buying a triple.

Not a bad thought, though.

Bill

 

[JSheridan]

NYDutch -
"The A42909 is an eastern arc (61.5 & 72.7) LNBF" - that might account for the slightly different spacing of the feeds, the Eastern arc satellites being spaced differently from the western arc birds

Your picture looks like what is up there now.

So there really is no cross-reference document? From what I have seen, Dish puts these A-numbers on lots of items, and they seldom correspond with any other item descriptions I have seen.

DVRExpander -

Here are pics of the two LNBs I mentioned in the first post.
View attachment 141395 View attachment 141396 View attachment 141397 View attachment 141398

Neither of those look like Dish 500 LNB's.

 

[Bill Jeff]

Neither of those look like Dish 500 LNB's.

Nuts. I was afraid of that. So what are they? Apparently "Dish Pro Plus" refers to a wide range of LNBs.

 

[HipKat]

Nuts. I was afraid of that. So what are they? Apparently "Dish Pro Plus" refers to a wide range of LNBs.

The first LNBF is a DPP500+ International LNBF. It will only work with a Dish 1000 kit and you'll need to add a sidecar, DP Single or Dual for the 129. But, not needed if the 129 is obscured.
The other is a 1000.2 Eastern Arc LNBF for use with a 1000.2 Dish Kit

 

[JSheridan]

Nuts. I was afraid of that. So what are they? Apparently "Dish Pro Plus" refers to a wide range of LNBs.

DishProPlus is the name of the technology that uses one wire for dual tuner receivers.

 

[NYDutch]

129 is at a pretty steep ~47 degree elevation in AZ. Are you sure there's no where on the property with a clear view to the southwest at that elevation?

 

[Bill Jeff]

129 is at a pretty steep ~47 degree elevation in AZ. Are you sure there's no where on the property with a clear view to the southwest at that elevation?

My bad, Dutch, and I apologize. Although my home is in Arizona, as my profile shows, the location I am trying to fix is central Maine. I wonder if the A42909 LNB mentioned in post #8 above would receive the Eastern Arc (61.5 and 71.7) on a 500 reflector? From Maine, the EA is actually much higher in the sky than the WA, and when I pointed the damaged DPP500 LNB at 62.5, the signal was very strong. If I had a working DPP500 (one in which the switch works!), it might receive the EA just fine.

Maybe that is answer - just buy another DPP500 (WA) and point it at the EA. Or buy an LNB that is intended to work the EA on a 500 reflector.

I have learned the hard way not to trust the cheapie LNBs on EBay.

Funny thing - I used to see Dish equipment by the side of the road quite often. But now that I need one - nothing!

Thanks for hanging with me.

Bill

 

[JSheridan]

My bad, Dutch, and I apologize. Although my home is in Arizona, as my profile shows, the location I am trying to fix is central Maine. I wonder if the A42909 LNB mentioned in post #8 above would receive the Eastern Arc (61.5 and 71.7) on a 500 reflector? From Maine, the EA is actually much higher in the sky than the WA, and when I pointed the damaged DPP500 LNB at 62.5, the signal was very strong. If I had a working DPP500 (one in which the switch works!), it might receive the EA just fine.

Maybe that is answer - just buy another DPP500 (WA) and point it at the EA. Or buy an LNB that is intended to work the EA on a 500 reflector.

I have learned the hard way not to trust the cheapie LNBs on EBay.

Funny thing - I used to see Dish equipment by the side of the road quite often. But now that I need one - nothing!

Thanks for hanging with me.

Bill

You might be able to get a Dish500 working with partial signal on the eastern arc if you have a good meter and a lot of patience. It's not designed for the eastern arc and they don't work very good for that purpose.

To get the eastern arc you will need a 1000.2 dish with the matching LNB.

 

[NYDutch]

My bad, Dutch, and I apologize. Although my home is in Arizona, as my profile shows, the location I am trying to fix is central Maine. I wonder if the A42909 LNB mentioned in post #8 above would receive the Eastern Arc (61.5 and 71.7) on a 500 reflector? From Maine, the EA is actually much higher in the sky than the WA, and when I pointed the damaged DPP500 LNB at 62.5, the signal was very strong. If I had a working DPP500 (one in which the switch works!), it might receive the EA just fine.

Maybe that is answer - just buy another DPP500 (WA) and point it at the EA. Or buy an LNB that is intended to work the EA on a 500 reflector.

I have learned the hard way not to trust the cheapie LNBs on EBay.

Funny thing - I used to see Dish equipment by the side of the road quite often. But now that I need one - nothing!

Thanks for hanging with me.

Bill

Ok, and yes, in much of Maine 129 is pretty much a non-starter. I agree with JS that a 1000.2 with an EA LNB would be the better solution.

 

[Billy J]

Ok, and yes, in much of Maine 129 is pretty much a non-starter. I agree with JS that a 1000.2 with an EA LNB would be the better solution.

I finally got my Eastern Arc setup in the woods of central Maine working on 61.5 / 72.7. Dish 500 reflector, DPP LNB (Check Switch says DPP Twin), Hopper Duo. The hardest part was finding a spot where the sats were visible through the forest, then getting the thing mounted on a tree. Once I got that done, finding and aligning wasn't too bad. I have to admit, I envy the Direct TV guys who have actual screw-type alignment adjustments, rather than the Dish assembly that seems to be made old cat food cans, but that was my choice.

Anyway, thanks to HipKat and DrDroo for help and occasional encouragement. I'll save my pennies for a "real" 1000.2 installation , but in the meantime I am happy.

Bill

 

[NYDutch]

Thanks for the update, Bill. For future reference, you might want to look into a Dish 1000.4 dish that has fine tuning controls for elevation and azimuth. As a very mobile RV'er, I set up my portable tripod mounted dish as often as daily, and the 1000.4 makes the job a lot quicker and easier.