Help! Can't get 2 of DirecTV's HD channels

[SouthernSky]

Situation: Only channels 79 (HDN) and 88 (HBOHD) won't come in after activating HD package on DirecTV.

This was a 4-receiver new equipment install, one Philips DSHD800R HD and three regular Philips 5500's. Customer has Cox digital cable. (All cabling is RG-6 homeruns.)

I installed a triple LNB dish with two wires coming back to a 3:4 multiswitch. Cox connected to center port and the two from the triple-LNB to their appropriate ports.

At each output, a regular diplexor is placed to split the signal between cable and satellite. All three regular receivers work fine. Only the HD box has difficulty.

Signal strength is between 95 and 98 on 101, 110 & 119 satellites. DirecTV test pattern (logo) comes up on test channel 99 of the Mitsubishi big-screen TV like it is supposed to.

The Philips HD receiver is using only the YPrPb component cable between the receiver and the TV. The Satellite In and In from Antenna ports have a diplexor from the main cable run coming in from outside to the two ports on the HD receiver. (I tried eliminating the diplexor and cable without success as well).

After talking with both DirecTV support and Philips support, neither can figure out why the problem exists. DirecTV wants to send a new access card (huh?) and Philips wants to call me back "in an hour". After 4 hours, I gave up on the latter.

Everything works except those two HD channels on the big screen. I even removed Cox cable entirely during testing. DirecTV has sent "hits" numerous times, and of course they asked me to hard reset (unplug) several times.

I am baffled. Can anyone save my rep here? Thanks in advance!

[PSB]

Are you using the correct switch for a PhaseIII dish? It sends a tone to the LNB's so unless you use the right switch you wont get all the channels!

[SouthernSky]

Are you using the correct switch for a PhaseIII dish? It sends a tone to the LNB's so unless you use the right switch you wont get all the channels!

What kind of a switch are you talking about? Multiswitch? Diplexor? The internal one in the Phase III LNB?

When I used my meter to set the 101 and 119, I used 22khz and got the proper signals. <confused>

I have seen 4:8 and 5:8 multi-switches but only wanted to connect like a normal 3:4 switch, using 2 wires from the dish to the multi-switch. If there is some sort of special switch I need, is there a way to bypass it, like connecting a diplexor where I would normally place the multiswitch so I can have cable share the line? Or maybe a dish network sw21 work instead of a diplexor?
(I can't run a second wire in this wall). The customer has to have his cable since we are in a non-locals area.

Or maybe run a third wire from the LNB, diplex that lone wire with Cox cable coming in, then add a second diplexer before it gets to the HD receiver?

[PSB]

Multiswitch! It has to be a switch that generates a tone up to the PhaseIII dish, as far as I know its four in and four out, or you may need the five in and eight out for the cox cable connection and then a diplexer at each tv to seperate the signal, but again the multi switch MUST be for a Phase III or eliptical dish for the above 22khz tone reasons. There is no other way round this it must be the right swich for the right dish. I have one here its an Aspen # S-4180-GX 5in and 8out.

[boba]

The Phase 3 Dish already has a switch built in unless you are doing more than 4 outputs you don't need another switch, but you have to bring all 4 outputs from the built in switch into the 4 receivers. Or if you are doing more than 4 tuners you must bring all 4 lines into a cascadable multi switch.

[SouthernSky]

The Phase 3 Dish already has a switch built in unless you are doing more than 4 outputs you don't need another switch, but you have to bring all 4 outputs from the built in switch into the 4 receivers. Or if you are doing more than 4 tuners you must bring all 4 lines into a cascadable multi switch.

But if I want to add in cox cable, would diplexing on both ends solve my problem?