Will a VIP 211k work?

[fmj77]

I'm thinking of getting rid of my Hopper 3 and going with a 211k that I own in order to save on the $15 a month DVR fee. I really don't record much and wouldn't miss the DVR that much anyway. Would the 211k work with my current set up or would I need a technician to come to my home?

 

[ethanlerma]

If all you have is the H3 then that should work fine. I would recommend removing the Hub (If you have one installed) and replacing that for a ground block, but even that is not required (My 211z works connected to the same duo Hub in place of either of my H3's just fine). There is a small possibility that the 211k is not compatible with the Hybrid LNB the Hoppers use (I know for a fact its not a problem with my 211z), but you could attempt to just connect the 211k and run a switch test before you pull the trigger just to make sure.

 

[fmj77]

I hooked up the 211k and after it downloaded the program guide it gave a "complete loss of signal error".

 

[mwdxer1]

I hooked up the 211k and after it downloaded the program guide it gave a "complete loss of signal error".

That is odd, as today my old Vip211k I purchased back 2008 died. Well it found one position, but lost the other two. I had a spare, hooked it and easily authorized it. I had to unplug and plug back in the outboard HDD to get the new receiver to recognize the HDD. So I got all of the material I had recorded. The receiver was off line for several years too. The 211k is one nifty receiver, as you can use a outboard HDD, up to 2tb I believe (I have a 1tb) to make it a DVR. To authorize the the HDD, there is a $40 one time fee, but no monthly fees and the 211k also has the OTA tuner, so connecting an antenna, the receiver becomes 2 tunes and you can record one OTA and one Dish program at the same time. A real bargain for an older person that doesn't need a lot. I only pay for programming. For Dish Anywhere I have a Fire Cube for that, so I get all of Dish's on demand for no extra cost.

 

[fmj77]

My 2 year contract after upgrading to the Hopper isn't up until February, so I'll wait until then to contact Dish to figure what I need to do in order to get the 211k working. It may be that I just need to deactivate the Hopper and then activate the 211k.

 

[TheKrell]

It may be that I just need to deactivate the Hopper and then activate the 211k.

You can have a 211 on the same account as a Hopper. So you could unhook the hopper, connect up the 211k, and get it authorized and see if it works before turning off the Hopper.

Another capability to think about is buying a Wally. If you turn it into a DVR, you will be able to use trick play even if you don't record anything, not to mention iVOD. And you would get another sat tuner (for a total of 2), and you can buy a 2-tuner OTA dongle ($30) for 2 more terrestrial tuners.

 

[ethanlerma]

I hooked up the 211k and after it downloaded the program guide it gave a "complete loss of signal error".

Did you make sure to run a check switch test (Menu > 6 > 1 > 1 > Check Switch > Test) after hooking it up? If so, did it identify the hybrid switch and your satellites? Just hooking it up should not work, and even if the receiver is not activated it should detect the satellites and at the very least let you watch the dish 101/103 channels.

 

[fmj77]

Did you make sure to run a check switch test (Menu > 6 > 1 > 1 > Check Switch > Test) after hooking it up? If so, did it identify the hybrid switch and your satellites? Just hooking it up should not work, and even if the receiver is not activated it should detect the satellites and at the very least let you watch the dish 101/103 channels.

Yes. I ran check switch and it did not detect the satellites. Whenever I tried to go to any of the channels I got the "complete loss of signal message".

 

[ethanlerma]

Yes. I ran check switch and it did not detect the satellites. Whenever I tried to go to any of the channels I got the "complete loss of signal message".

That’s… interesting. I don’t see why the 211k wouldn’t work with the Hybrid LNBs, but if anyone else has a 211k specifically and they can test it to make sure that would be great. Does it detect the switch (should show up as “Hybrid 1K.2 WA/EA), and while running the test, does it run through 0 out of 3/4 tests or a big number like 38-50?

 

[ethanlerma]

what my 211z displays for reference

 

[Bobby]

Yes. I ran check switch and it did not detect the satellites. Whenever I tried to go to any of the channels I got the "complete loss of signal message".

Did you remove the coax from the LNB to the hub and connect it to the coax going to the 211? You can do this with a ground block as posted or a simple barrel connector.

 

[fmj77]

Did you remove the coax from the LNB to the hub and connect it to the coax going to the 211? You can do this with a ground block as posted or a simple barrel connector.

All I did was connect the same coax cable to the 211k that was also connected to the Hopper.

 

[Bobby]

I think you need to get that hub out of the mix.

 

[AkaDoubleG]

I am hoping to get some clarification as a new member here. I called Dish today and spoke with the Loyalty Department and asked if I can run a 211K or Z on my existing account. I have the DHP42 with line 1 running to my Hopper and Line 2 runs to a Holland Splitter which feeds 2 Wally's. Loyalty said if I purchased a 211K or Z I could take the coax out of 1 of my Wally's and do a self-guided set up on my purchased 211. I was happy to hear that but I wanted to talk to Dr. Dish to confirm and he then said I can't because of the Satellite Dish that feeds the Hopper system is not compatible with 211's. Before I purchase can anyone confirm if it will work or not? I have been a Dish customer for almost 20 years and like the idea of being able to run a legacy receiver. I have legacy TIVO boxes I use for OTA in my house.

 

[ethanlerma]

I am hoping to get some clarification as a new member here. I called Dish today and spoke with the Loyalty Department and asked if I can run a 211K or Z on my existing account. I have the DHP42 with line 1 running to my Hopper and Line 2 runs to a Holland Splitter which feeds 2 Wally's. Loyalty said if I purchased a 211K or Z I could take the coax out of 1 of my Wally's and do a self-guided set up on my purchased 211. I was happy to hear that but I wanted to talk to Dr. Dish to confirm and he then said I can't because of the Satellite Dish that feeds the Hopper system is not compatible with 211's. Before I purchase can anyone confirm if it will work or not? I have been a Dish customer for almost 20 years and like the idea of being able to run a legacy receiver. I have legacy TIVO boxes I use for OTA in my house.

Either of the two lines can provide service to the 211/Z/K, but the 211's do not support channel stacking, aka the ability to use a splitter and have multiple boxes on one DPH feed. Only Wally's and Hopper Duo's are capable of this. So while the first agent was technically the correct one (the second one seems to not understand or didn't hear you had a DPH42) you are limited to only one 211 instead of the 2 Wally's. The Hopper on the other feed with work independently of what you decide to do here.

 

[ethanlerma]

If you would like to add the 211 and have the Wally's still ran off of the same DPH42, you could add a DPP44 to the mix. This would take the same satellite dish feeds, provide 4 DPP connections (that either the Wally or 211's can use), and has another 4 outputs to connect another switch like the DPH42 in series.

Found this picture on Google (from this forum nonetheless) to sort of give you an idea what that would look like.

 

[llokey]

I wanted to talk to Dr. Dish

I would be very leery of Dr. Dish. They told me (twice) that the 4K Joey would work with my Toshiba 4K HDR tv. They even insisted that the problem was my cable and that I had to buy a 4K cable. It was only after reading at Sat Guys that I determined that Dr. Dish was reading from the wrong script. I don't even see any 4K channels on my 4K Joey.

 

[AkaDoubleG]

If you would like to add the 211 and have the Wally's still ran off of the same DPH42, you could add a DPP44 to the mix. This would take the same satellite dish feeds, provide 4 DPP connections (that either the Wally or 211's can use), and has another 4 outputs to connect another switch like the DPH42 in series.

Found this picture on Google (from this forum nonetheless) to sort of give you an idea what that would look like.

Thank you very much for your detailed responses back to me.

 

[AkaDoubleG]

Either of the two lines can provide service to the 211/Z/K, but the 211's do not support channel stacking, aka the ability to use a splitter and have multiple boxes on one DPH feed. Only Wally's and Hopper Duo's are capable of this. So while the first agent was technically the correct one (the second one seems to not understand or didn't hear you had a DPH42) you are limited to only one 211 instead of the 2 Wally's. The Hopper on the other feed with work independently of what you decide to do here.

One other question on my Main Wally I have an External Hard drive that I paid the $40 fee with Dish to have it activated as a DVR. If I was going to turn off both Wally's and purchase my VIP211K and connect the EHD would Dish charge me another $40 or is it a one time fee with the same hard drive being moved from reciever to receiver?

 

[Bobby]

One other question on my Main Wally I have an External Hard drive that I paid the $40 fee with Dish to have it activated as a DVR. If I was going to turn off both Wally's and purchase my VIP211K and connect the EHD would Dish charge me another $40 or is it a one time fee with the same hard drive being moved from reciever to receiver?

I don't think it would cost you another $40 but the EHD plugged into your Wally is not compatible to work with a 211. The 211 would ask to reformat the drive and that would erase everything on the drive. Same thing if you were to replug it back into the Wally after formatting it for the 211.