Need 721 install tips

[UpOnTheMountain]

:hi:

Merry Christmas to me !

After watching with envy as all of you 721 owners talked about your wonderful new toy, I finally caved in and placed my order with Dish Depot.

So ...

Can any of you give me installation pointer's and or warnings before the blessed event? :confused:

I currently am using the outdated tech 501 on an old beta gilat dish (service long since terminated - anyone need a transceiver? :p ). So I'm thinking about using the coax that is current attached to the transceiver (double coax like was used on primestar) - just moving it/them from the transceiver to the sw21's sitting there. The coax's are already running from the dish to my entertainment center (the computer is hidden under the tv - using ati radeon and ISDN router to get that better than DishPlayer thing happening :D )

anyways ... any help would be appreciated!

[UpOnTheMountain]

I'm getting so excited. Dish Depot and UPS sent out my tracking info, and I have watched it update from florida to SC ... so just two more states to go (should be here Monday).

I'm still hoping to get some pointers on installation.

Will it be as simple as plug and play?

thanks again for any feedback!

[boba]

Enjoy yourself the 501 will be a dream compared to installing the PVR-721

[UpOnTheMountain]

boba,
does that mean it will be difficult?
If so, what should i look out for?
tia

[Jacob S]

You can use both of those cables just as you did on the 501 but you will need two inputs into the 721 though. If you have a twin lnbf then it will have the switch built in, if not then you will have to run an additional two wires and make sure that you have two outputs on each lnbf on the dish and another sw-21 switch, just as if you were connecting two receivers.

[UpOnTheMountain]

Jacob,
thanks for the reply!!!

I have two lnbfs.
Each lnbf feeds a sw21.
One of those sw21s was feeding my 501, the other was feeding a spare bedroom.
I won't be using the spare bedroom connection anymore (old 2000 unit)
The two other cables are coming from the old gilat horn, and go to the same location as my 501 sets - but they are not being used yet.

One of my big questions is ... will it be ok to use those cables (I think hey were the same type of cable that used to be used on primestar installations - 2 stiff coax cables running parrallel) ?

The next big question is ... Is there anything to look out for during the install, like do I need to hook up one tuner at a time?

Finally, do I need to worry about the quality of the connection ... since I'm using this old StarBAD dish/lnbf/coax setup?

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

P.S. I'm serious about the starband horn/transceiver ... any body need one? I've already sold the dell and rx/tx cards, but still have the transmitter attached to the dish.

[Jacob S]

Use the spare bedroom (0ld 2000) connection for your second wire to the 721, but it must be on the same dish, and you must have side one (left on the lnbf) connected to input one on the 721 and then the right side on the lnbf connected to input two on the 721 for it to work properly. Both wires must have an sw-21 switch attached.

You can use the same cables that you used for Primestar, as long as legacy switches and lnbf's are to be used. If you are using dishpro lnbf's and switches then you will need 2200 MHZ wire.

As long as the connection has a good solid connection then there should be no problems. Use the Primestar double wire to go into your room where the 721 is, that would be both of your feeds you need with a sw-21 switch on each one of them, that would be the best solution, and keeps the two wires together for that receiver.

[UpOnTheMountain]

Jacob,
Thanks again for the extra info!

Does that mean that there is a difference between the left and the right side of the lnbf? Or are you just stressing to be sure to get 110 and 119 both through the sw21s, so that each input on the 721 has both sats cleanly switched?

The cable is already in place, but it's not marked.

How important is it going to be to make sure that the left of each lnbf goes to the input one and the right of each lnbf goes to input two?

thanks again.
Keith

[Jacob S]

Very important because the receiver has to recognize each side of the lnbf. I think at first it has to recognize the left as 119 and the right as 110. I do not know why it has to be connected that way after install to tell you the truth, it must have just been the way the receiver was setup.

[scooper]

UpOnTheMountain - are you going to keep your 501 going as well as your new 721 ? If you are, you will need to replace your 2 SW21's with either a SW64 or a SW44, or replace your 2 Dual LNB's with a Legacy QUAD.

I got the impression that you were just de-activating the 2000, but you said nothing about your 501 ...

[UpOnTheMountain]

Thanks to everyone for their help!

It's installed and working perfectly!

It absolutely blows the 501 away in features, speed, and user interface. If you are on the fence and can spare the bucks ... I would highly recommend it !

To recap my installation ...

It was plug and play easy!

My connection was functionally equivalent to :

A dish 500 with two dual lnbs connected to two sw21s

So if you are already set up for two receivers, then you have everything you need for connection.

I plugged both of my cables directly into the 721 and turned it on.

It warned me that I was not authorized yet , but no big deal ...

So I went into the point dish and did a switch check.

It then downloaded the updates

I then called DISH to authorize.

Total install time ... 2 hours
10 minutes to hook up
1 hour for updates (just to be sure)
20 minutes on phone with dish
30 minutes for guide to clear up
(was able to begin watching non-101 channels while still on phone)

Warning, as noted by others ... be patient and allow the 721 to do it's thing. It turned itself "off" several times and did that blinking light thing quite a bit.

Joy Joy !
Keith