Dish & cable hookup

[greglandon]

I want to modify my cable package & add satellite via DISH NETWORK.
What I want to do is add satellite (Dish network) to 2 or 4 TV’s using their receiver that will control 2 TV’s. Ideally, I want to use my existing coaxial cable (RG6 AWG 18 solid bare copper shielded alum braided jacket NEC type CATV) to distribute cable to all locations and “double up” to 4 locations with the satellite. All my coaxial cables run down to terminate at one location in my basement (about 10-12 TV cables). One location in my 1st floor family room has 2 coaxial cables terminating at the basement location. I also have cad-5 (2 cables each room) run through out my house terminating at the same basement location one used for phone one for data (computer).
I’ve said 2 or 4 locations because one satellite box would be occasionally disconnected and taken to my second home 3 or 4 times a month or left there until I needed it (maybe never) at the main house. This leads to my second question: I have a Super Dish Network Disk (36”X24”) with a Video Path Multi Dish Switch model DP34, its mounted with 2 “main” LNB’s and another mounted to the "mains" side. After I have Dish Network installed at my main house (where I have cable) I want to install the above dish at my second house and transport one of the receivers for satellite reception.
Will this dish work with what will be installed at the main house?
Should I ask for any special equipment to be installed so it will work at the second house?
Does the dish need to be modified to work with the main house receiver? When satellite is installed at my main home will it matter which receiver I relocate?
Can the installation be made so one receiver will lend itself to being moved and not messing up the home set-up? I would want to be able to take the receiver in the “spare” bedrooms, and leave the one serving my Family room and Master Bedroom.
I use VONAGE for telephone service and was wondering if I should NOT have the phone line connected to satellite especially since I will be using one receiver at a 2nd location.
Do you have any thoughts how YOU would ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THIS?
How do you use both cable & satellite on your TV's thought the house? How many TV's are hooked to both? How are they connected?(A/B switch?, video dist.panel?, modulator? or a diplexer???)
Or an I better off letting the satellite installer just wire for the 4 TV’s & use an A/B switch or on my main TV using the different antenna in-puts?
Thanks,
GREG!

[Jon Ellis]

In order to combine the satellite output with a cable signal on one coax run in your house, you need a modulator capable of putting out a signal on an empty channel on your cable. A standard modulator that puts out a signal on channel 3 or 4 won't work, since they're likely already on cable. Radio Shack used to sell a modulator that can put out a signal on almost any cable or UHF channel (I have two of them for my in-house system), but I don't think they sell it anymore. You can find some online by searching for "cable modulators" or something like that. But they're a lot pricier than Radio Shack was.

Otherwise you could just make a second coax run and put an A/B switch on all the TV's. This is probably a lot easier. Or you could use one of those wireless transmitters (if they still make them) and hook the receivers into the A/V input on the other TV.

I just like having it all combined because I'm kind of a geek like that...

[nismo]

There is one readily available called a VCR. Set the Modulator on the recevier to a unique channel that is open on CATV, then output to VCR IN, then split the VCR OUT into 2. One side would obviously go to the local TV, and the other would get combined into the Cable system via a diplexer.