721 Multi-Dish Install - 61.5 "good connection:no signal"

[gaparuch]

I have a PVR 721 with a DishPro Quad getting feeds from 119 and 110 and a DishPro Dual getting 61.5...the feeds from the quad connect to the 1st imput of the DishPro DP-21 switches and the 61.5 connects to the 2nd imput, when I first installed the DP-21 switches and ran "check switch" all 3 sattelite signals showed up on both tuners, went to check "details" and lost 61.5, details now show,

Switch Status: Connected to DP-21 with 2 imputs
Port1 DP-QUAD 119
Port2 DP-DUAL Good Connection, No Signal

I am pulling a 93% feed from the 61.5 bird...
I have replaced the dual lnbf but to no avail...
Is there a special transponder configuration for this multi-dish setup, an installation procuedure I'm missing,

Please send you best guess,

Thanks

More details to come.....

[SimpleSimon]

Well, first, please do not refer to your DP-21 switchses as SW-21 - it's confusing as the SW-21 will not work with DishPro.

Now, on to the meat. First thing I would do is bypass the switches and get to basics. Tie the Quad directly to the 721 and run Check Switch to make sure you get both 110 and 119 on BOTH tuner inputs.

Once that is solid, do the same with the 61.5 dish ONLY.

Then and only then, put the DP-21s back in the mix and see what happens.

I suspect you may find your problem before then, bu if not at least we're 100% certain that both dishes are aimed correctly with good LNBF feeds, and both 721 tuners are OK.

[gaparuch]

Okay, bypassed DP-21 switch, straight shot to Dish 500 via Quad - Both 119 and 110 birds show up after check switch

back to point dish, disconnected quad and conncted Dual pointed at 61.5 - set transponders to 25 - 94% Locked 61.5 signal, ran check switch and...

does test #1 of 1 then Shows no sattelites, "Reception Verified" "No switch"
details.....

LNB Status: Direct Connection to DP-Dual
DP-Dual Good Connection, No Signal
LNB Status: Direct Connection to DP-Dual
DP-Dual Good Connection, No Signal

This seems to be the main issue, I will try to use my old DP-Dual...

no difference,

let me switch the cable feeds from the Quad...No luck here either,

Disconnected feeds from receiver, ran check switch, no sattelites, no feeds, unplugged unit, restarted, connected feeds from 61.5 bird, ran check switch, no change, LNB Status: Direct Connection to DP-Dual Good Connection, No Signal

Still baffled, has anyone experienced this error, do I need another Dual LNB,

Any imput here would be great...???

[SimpleSimon]

Man, you've got me stumped.

It really bugs me that you can get a Signal Strength of 94, locked on 61.5 (Green Bar I assume) and then you lose it when you run a Check Switch.

I don't know what you mean by "switch the cable feeds from the Quad", but you have your act together on testing stuff, so I'll buy that you were just eliminating a possible trouble point.

One note - "standard" TPs to use for Signal Sterength and such is 11 & 12 - that's NOT really relevant to your problem, just a sidenote.

We should have some of the other guys reading this thread during daylight hours - maybe one of them will have an idea.

[larrystotler]

Other than clearing the switch matrix by disconnecting the sat in wires and running the switch check, unplugging and the reconnecting, I am stumped as well. What software version are you using? IF this is a new box and you haven't done a download yet, I would take the quad out and put the DP Dual on the 119, run it into the 721, and do the download. 721s have a known issue with the DP Quad out of the box. Actually, mine had problems with the DP Quad period, but...........Good Luck.

[SimpleSimon]

Larry - good point - back to basics, get the current software and try again. If the DP Quad "hurts" the 721, at least he's got a DP Dual that he can use to point at 119 to get the software. Two ways - spin the 61.5 dish around (I wouldn't) or pull the Quad and mount the Dual on the Dish 500 (I would).

[gaparuch]

OK, problem solved, called local dish store, took the DP-Dual to test, works fine, explained problem, he let me have a DP-34 switch to see if that would bring all 3 birds in, it did, removed old DP-21's, Quad and Dual working great.

Thanks for all your help.

[SimpleSimon]

So it seems that you have 2 bad DP-21's, or the 721 can't handle a Quad/Dual/DP-21.

Strange.

[JohnH]

I think the 721 has problems with cascades in general. I currently have a legacy SW 21 4-sat configuration hooked to my 721 and it says it is an SW64, completely ignoring the SW21 and it does 3 of the sats correctly and ignores the SW21 completely. When I first got the 721 it recognized the configuration correctly. My replacement 301 does not recognize the 4 sat correctly. It says SW21 with only one sat. Old 301 worked fine until it died. Maybe some problem with SW21s or these new receivers have a hardware issue with Legacy cascades. I am about to do a cable connection refresh to see if there is an issue with that. Must be a problem somewhere as my 6000 lost 148 on the 4 sat configuration when I did a switch check. Had to remove the SW21 and go with the SW64 direct there.

Personally, I think they are trying to force us to upgrade to DISH Pro by abandoning switch configurations previously working. You get new software and eventually(maybe a couple of months later) you do a switch test and the configuration don't work anymore.

Apparently they do not have a separate DISH Pro Ku-FSS LNBF yet. They need to get this out for some who like to do the larger dish thingy. :)

[SimpleSimon]

Can you give us more specific details of your configuration?

On the 301, it sounds like your SW-21 has the SW64 on port 2. I think that's a problem.

You may have a point about the software - there's a limited amount of space for allowable configurations, so as new ones come along, old ones might have to be dropped.

[Unthinkable]

I think the 721 has problems with cascades in general. I currently have a legacy SW 21 4-sat configuration hooked to my 721 and it says it is an SW64, completely ignoring the SW21 and it does 3 of the sats correctly and ignores the SW21 completely. When I first got the 721 it recognized the configuration correctly. My replacement 301 does not recognize the 4 sat correctly. It says SW21 with only one sat. Old 301 worked fine until it died. Maybe some problem with SW21s or these new receivers have a hardware issue with Legacy cascades. I am about to do a cable connection refresh to see if there is an issue with that. Must be a problem somewhere as my 6000 lost 148 on the 4 sat configuration when I did a switch check. Had to remove the SW21 and go with the SW64 direct there.

Personally, I think they are trying to force us to upgrade to DISH Pro by abandoning switch configurations previously working. You get new software and eventually(maybe a couple of months later) you do a switch test and the configuration don't work anymore.

Apparently they do not have a separate DISH Pro Ku-FSS LNBF yet. They need to get this out for some who like to do the larger dish thingy. :)

I had the same experience you did with two SW21's and the 721. Worked perfectly fine for the first month I had it, but things changed the moment a new software rev was spooled. I had 110, 119, and 61.5 all working perfectly fine with the 501 the moment I swapped receivers though so I knew it wasn't bad lnb's or bad switches. Changed the 501 out with the 721 and the checkswitch reports the wrong switch (SW64) along with the inability to see one satellite properly. Think it was 119 or 110 that it could no longer detect.
Had to be the software in the 721. Dish sent me several replacement 721's and the problems still remained. Had the switches and LNB's upgraded to DP34 and everything works very well now. Spent a lot of hours on the phone talking with tech support and advanced techs who all claimed it must be a bad receiver everytime.