Slm5 or Slm3

[redfin92]

First of all, forgive me if I don't use the correct terminoligy or if this has already been answered in another thread. I'm new to this.

A couple of weeks ago, I had an installer come out to install HD to an existing account. He took off the regular old dish and put up the Slimline 5 LNB dish. He said that he couldn't get a signal in the 119 Sat. due to trees in the line of sight and that I should cancel the install order. Not sure that it would see the 110 either.

I did what he said and canceled it. After looking around on different forums, I saw that the HD channels could be gotten from the 99 and the 103.

I called D* CSR and said that is correct. Now I have another install scheduled for Tuesday and I am wondering if they bring out a Slm5, will this work for just picking up the 99, 101 & 103 or will I have to have the Slm3 for this application??

Any help would be much appreciated.

Brian

[LameLefty]

Any of the current dishes will work with the 99, 101, 103 "core" slots. If you don't have visibility to the other two slots, it will have no effect on your signals for the others.

[redfin92]

Thanks LameLefty,

So installing the Slm5 would have no effect on getting HD service even though the 110 and 119 would not be visible?

[LameLefty]

Thanks LameLefty,

So installing the Slm5 would have no effect on getting HD service even though the 110 and 119 would not be visible?

Nope, not a bit. In terms of HD, 110 and 119 only carry the legacy MPEG2 HD content in the Ku band, which is being phased out in favor of the MPEG4 HD content carried by the Ka band satellites at 99 and 103.

[BattleZone]

119 contains SD locals for a few markets, some Latino channels, and the "Jade World" Chinese package. If you don't need any of those, you don't need 110 or 119.

Now, the issue is that SL3 dishes are NOT YET available in most areas. They are exactly the same DISH as the SL5, just the LNB pack is different.

There are two problems installing the SL5 without LOS to 110/119:

- The receiver won't want to activate without signal on all sats due to the "Installation Verification" software that tests it first. This can be gotten around, but it still leaves the installer in a situation where he could be charged back for the job. Techs are required to get signal on ALL sats that the dish picks up, and can lose the entire pay for the job if they fail to do this. So, many techs will automatically refuse to do the job for this reason.

- The multiswitch in the SL5 needs to see 119 in order to get guide data whenever you are tuned to a channel on the 103/110/119 sats, which includes most national HD channels. If there's no 119 signal, the guide data won't come in, and you'll have problems with missed recordings and even lockups. The switch in the SL3 LNB has been modified to look for guide data at 101 always, which solves this problem. There are workarounds for the SL5 (you have to set two simultaneous recordings on a channel from 101 every night to force both tuners to 101, so they can pull in guide data), but it's something of a pain.

The good news is that you can purchase your own SL3 LNB, and the installer can use that instead of the SL5 LNB he will likely bring. You can buy them from Solid Signal or on eBay (I recommend the former).

The chances of DirecTV being able to bring you an SL3 LNB right now is very small, due to them just being released and in low-volume production. Most offices don't have any yet.

So, most of us would recommend getting your own LNB and having it ready for the installer. Otherwise you risk a repeat of the first attempt.

[jimmyv2000]

there using them in the northeast now.
i know afew people that had gotten HD upgrades with them.
theres a thread called "swm install" in this forum.
were discussing it there

[br408408]

IIP has this right. Simply put, even though you may not need the 110 or 119 for any channels, there will be times with the SL5 that your receiver will be looking to the 119 for guide data. People in here will tell you other wise, but IIP's post is right on the money

[texasbrit]

IIP is correct. With the SL5, when you are tuned to a 99/101 transponder the guide data comes from 101. When you are tuned to a 103/110/119 transponder the guide data comes from 119. If you can't see 119, then when you are tuned to one of the new HD channels on 103 you won't get any guide data updates, and if you leave it on 103 for a long time eventually your guide data will disappear. The SL3 dish since it does not see 119 solves that problem by changing the stack plan so that the guide data from 101 is delivered even when you are tuned to 103.

[evan_s]

As someone who lived with a SL5 with out LOS on 119 for a while I will say this. It won't immediately blow up or refuse to work but it definitely will cause you to miss some guide data father and probably cause intermittent issues that aren't obviously linked to the issue. I bought my own SL3 off ebay to get my setup in spec. As others have said getting a tech to install with out los in 119 isn't always easy. In my case the install was during the winter and didn't know I didn't have los on 119 until the leaves came in on a tree.

[redfin92]

Ok. thanks everyone. Looks like I will order the Sl3 asap.

[redfin92]

Well the D* tech came out today for the HD upgrade. I told him that I had a SL3 LNB that he could use since the other Tech said the LOS for 119 was not there. The Tech said the the 99 & 103 were for locals only and would'nt work for HD. (Couldn't convince him otherwise). He said that he saw no reason that the 119 wouldn't come in. After about an hour of searching and moving the dish he did infact get the signal.

He ended up moving the post that was already in the ground where the SL3 would have worked. He then told me that it would cost $75 for him to dig a post hole. I promptly told him that I wouldn't pay him $75 and then he kind of blew it off and said that I could just give him a tip. (for what?) I had to go to the Lumber Yard for a bag of sack-crete (that we wouldn't have needed if he used the SL3 LNB and left the post where it was).

He finally got everything adjusted and dialed in and the receiver registered. All Sats and Transponders showing excellent signal strength. I sent him on his way with a Thank You for a job well done with out any tips or hole digging money. Even though I had to put up with a little B.S. I am overall happy with the outcome.

HD is sweet!

[Grentz]

Glad you have a good outcome, but I sure wish the installers would at least a bit about where things are coming from :rolleyes: