Losing satellites - Legacy Help Needed

[TFLeonard]

I have a problem with one of my receivers where it seems to loose contact with one or more satellites. I have two receivers: Model 6000 (works fine) and a 301 (this has the problem). I have a 3 dish system, 119,110, 61.5, with SW42 and SW21 switches in a cascading setup. Therefore each receiver gets plugged into a SW21 which then gets plugged into the SW42.

Everything worked fine for four years then recently the 301 location (bedroom) started acting up.

Usually, after a succesful Check Switch, the screen is titled 3-SAT SW21 with the 119, 110, and 61.5 odd/even displayed.

I had an installer replace and redo all the cable connections thinking that rain water had made one of them bad. At first we had both receivers working fine. Then when I came back at night, I did a check switch, and only got 119 even, and 61.5 even/odd. 110 didn't show up.

This morning I tried the check switch and got even/odd on 119 and 61.5 but only x's in the 110 slot. It did recognize that it was a 3 sat configuration though.

When I bring the 301 down to where the 6000 is, the switch test is fine.

I tried reseting the 301 by holding the power button down, but no luck.

The installer is out of ideas and is thinking I need new switches. I hesitate since the model 6000 is working and the 301 in that location works.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to remedy the situation?

[BobaBird]

But what does the 6000 do when you move it to the 301's connection? Could be a bad SW21.

[in0cul4t1on]

I dont see how either rcvr is working. Generally when you cascade you have a twin and an sw21, not a sw21 into a sw42.

Sometimes when rcvrs arent talking to the sw21 on the 1450-1650 Mhz band then the check switch will read sw42/sw21 erroneously.

If its turns out that you have a twin and an sw21 then follow there steps.

You should have 2 -sw21's connected the 2 dishes that u have installed. You could swap "To Satellite Receiver In" ports on the sw21's, you'll need to run the check switch on both rcvrs when you do this. If the problem changes to the model 6000 then the problem is from the switch to the sw21. If the problem stays in the 301's room then it is another problem with the cable from the switch to the rcvr.

Now if the problem changes location, you could take your troubleshooting one step further to determine wether the switch is bad or the cable form the switch to the lnb (the dish feed horn.)
Based of your post the 119/110 is hooked into port 1 (is marked with a white dish w/ a #1) You could swap the port 1 and port 2 and see where the problem goes.
Be sure to run the ck/sw when ever swapping.
If the problem stays on port 1, then its a faulty sw21.
If the problems follows to port 2 then its a cable/lnb issue.

[n0qcu]

SW42 were known to have problems so its very possible that yours has gone bad.

[JohnH]

Should swap the cables at the outputs of the SW42 and see if the problem is still with the same receivers.

[JohnH]

I dont see how either rcvr is working. Generally when you cascade you have a twin and an sw21, not a sw21 into a sw42.
.

The SW42/SW21 cascade has worked for years. Perhaps before your time.

In these situations the SW42 with Dual LNBFs works just like a Twin.

[TFLeonard]

I'm still having problem with my 301 location but I wanted to try and clarify the equipment that is installed:

I have a 3-sat SW21 setup. There are two SW21's going into a SW44 (I had mentioned SW42 by mistake).

When I do the switch test now I sometimes get 119 odd, 61.5 odd/even. Then I run it again and I sometimes get 119 odd/even,61.5 odd/even. The only thing that seems consistent is NOT getting 110 and GETTING 61.5. Even after the switch test is displaying that it gets 119 and 61.5, I can't get a picture. It just keeps flashing a "Lost satellite signal" message and alternates between that and a black screen (It does seem to show the program banner however, but that may just be old guide data).

I tried moving my model 6000 to the location the 301 is in and its switch test shows all three sats correctly.

My conclusion is that I have some sort of flaky problem with the 301 in only that location (the 301 finds all three sats in the Model 6000 location).

Here I'm at a crossroad (unless some kind soul has another idea), my installer is thinking that I might have a intermittent switch problem, therefore if I've got a bad switch should I bite the bullet a replace all the switches with a DP44+ with seperator?

Can I assume I will be able to use the DP44+ and seperator with my current equipment? I believe I have twin LNB's on each dish (dual coax connectors coming out of each LNB). We had to remove the Dish 500's (pointed at 61.5) Stock LNB and replace it with the twin LNB to get the setup to work.

I might go a step further and buy a 942 and put the model 6000 in the 301 location since I know it works fine there. If I get the 942 will I need any additional equipment or be aware of any caveats? TIA

[BobaBird]

if I've got a bad switch should I bite the bullet a replace all the switches with a DP44+ with seperator?You're also looking at replacing the LNBs with DishPro models. The DPP44 would be overkill for your situation. If you're not going to have more than 3 satellites or 2 receivers, the DPP Twin with DP Dual will work for your existing receivers.Can I assume I will be able to use the DP44+ and seperator with my current equipment?The DPP Separator can only be used with dual tuner receivers. Both your 301 and legacy 6000 can be run off a DP Plus switch.I believe I have twin LNB's on each dish (dual coax connectors coming out of each LNB). We had to remove the Dish 500's (pointed at 61.5) Stock LNB and replace it with the twin LNB to get the setup to work.Your current setup has legacy dual LNBs - click "here's why" in my sig. Only 1 Twin will fit on the dish.I might go a step further and buy a 942 and put the model 6000 in the 301 location since I know it works fine there. If I get the 942 will I need any additional equipment or be aware of any caveats?You will then have a 3rd tuner to feed, and I'm assuming you will want 61.5's HD content on both receivers. You could replace the SW44 and SW21s with an SW64 or replace the LNBs with a DPP Twin and DP Dual, eliminating the need for an external switch.

[TFLeonard]

So if I understand you correctly there is no point in going to a DP44+ since it is overkill for my current setup model 301 & 6000.

If I go with a SW64 then I can leave my dishes and LNB's alone, remove the sw44 and sw21's and hopefully solve my immediate problem, right?

What happens if I go with a 942 and become a 3-sat 3 tuner setup? Will I only need the SW64 and an addtional cable run for the 942 2nd tuner or do I need to upgrade my LNB's to Quads? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

What happens if dish introduces a new satellite, making me have 4 -sat 3 tuner setup? Can I simply add another dish and plug it into the SW64? I just don't want to invest in a switch that I'll need to replace in a year or two.

[larrystotler]

The SW64 will work just fine with your current dual LNBs on the SW44. You would run 2 lines from each LNB into the SW64. The legacy system includes support for an SW21-4sat setup. You would connect the SW21s just like you have them now on the SW44. Since you are on the east coast, I don't forsee E* using a 4th sat in this are. The 129 is really too low to be used out this way.

Which ports are your receivers connected to. You realize that if the SW21 is used on Port 1, that port won't work right and you will fry it if the SW21 is installed between the SW44 and the power inserter on Port #1?

[TFLeonard]

So the 942 won't have problem working with legacy switches & LNB's?

I have each receiver plugged into a SW21. I cannot be absolutely sure which ports on the SW44 the SW21's are plugged into since the switches are on the roof. I'm quite sure that its not port 1 since by now I would have realized that a SW21 was fried since the model 6000 would have shown a problem. Aside from port1, does it matter which of their ports the SW21's are plugged into?

I performed another test yesterday by moving the 301 down to the 6000's location. As stated in my previous posts, the 301 used to pass the test perfectly. However now, the display shows x's under the 110 slot! I then verified that the 6000 could get all 3 sats on the same connection -it did - and then I used the spare connection plugged into the power inserter and the 301 found 119 and 110.

Is the 301 somehow overly picky that it won't find 110, when the 6000 will?

So what's the bet? Maybe I should post a poll:

1. Switches bad, replace with SW64
2. Dump 301, get 942 and SW64