Do all Directv 3 LNB Dishes Have the 4 Outputs?

[elkinsl]

I have a 3 LNB dish, used for two SD receivers and an HD receiver. I see all the comments about the Phase III 3 LNB dish having four outputs. A friend of mine that moved and reconnected cabling on my dish swears there are only 3 output with my dish. Are all the 3 LNB dishes the Phase III? Are there any 3 LNB dishes, provided by directv in the past, that had only *3* outputs? This dish is 3-4 years old, provided by directv. Can't get to it right now to provide any more info.

I will be able to check myself on Saturday when I have a little time. I want to hook up a DVR and need that 4th output for the second input. If I already knew for sure that there are only 3 outputs I can go ahead and pick up a mutliswitch on Friday.


Thanks,

Larry

[Tom Robertson]

Welcome to the forums, elkinsl! :welcome_s

All phase 2 (2 LNBs), phase 3 (3 LNBs), and 5 LNB dishes have 4 outputs. If you have 4 or fewer tuners, the outputs can connect directly to the receivers. If you have more than 4 tuners in the house, the 4 outputs are needed to connect to a multi-switch. There are 4 different outputs from these dishes: 1) 13v nosignal, 2) 18v nosignal, 3) 13v 22khz signal, and 4) 18v 22khz signal. So the switch forces each line to one output so it can give any receiver any one of the 4 possibles at any time.

Cheers,
Tom

[elkinsl]

Thanks for the reply. Everything I had been reading and researching said 4 outputs but my buddy was swearing that last time he dealt with it there were only 3. Has backtracked on that and says now that he thinks about it .... ;-) Anyway, I will be able to get to it on Saturday. 4 outputs will be enough. Currently feeds 3 receivers. Swapping out one of them with a DVR, so I need that 4th output to watch and record on different channels. Once again, thanks for the response.

[lwilli201]

This link is to the installation manuel for your dish. If you have to add another cable it should helpful.

http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/12429_00_AntennaManual_1D.pdf

If you do be real careful not to move the dish out of alignment.

[captain_video]

Actually, the original phase III dishes only had two outputs. It had a built-in 4x2 multi-switch that allowed you to connect only two receivers. Fortunately, the multi-switch was mounted on the back of the dish and could easily be removed so you could connect your coax lines directly to the LNBs. This also required the use of the SAT-C kit in order to get the 110 sat signals. This included the 110 LNB and a combiner for the 110 LNB output and one of the 101 feeds (the 18-volt side), IIRC. I know because I still have one mounted on my roof that I installed years ago.

[CCarncross]

I could be wrong, but technically, I dont think those were considered Phase III dishes. Havent they used basically 4 types of dishes now?

Single LNB, single output
Single LNB, dual-outputs

The hybrid model you are referring to..that you could add the SAT C kit to

Phase III triple LNB, quad output built-in MS

AT-9, AU-9, 5 LNB quad outputs built-in MS

[Racer88]

Actually, the original phase III dishes only had two outputs. It had a built-in 4x2 multi-switch that allowed you to connect only two receivers. Fortunately, the multi-switch was mounted on the back of the dish and could easily be removed so you could connect your coax lines directly to the LNBs. This also required the use of the SAT-C kit in order to get the 110 sat signals. This included the 110 LNB and a combiner for the 110 LNB output and one of the 101 feeds (the 18-volt side), IIRC. I know because I still have one mounted on my roof that I installed years ago.

All phase III dishes have the integrated 4 output switch/LNB assembly.

Phase II and Phase II plus dishes have all of the discreet componets as you describe.

[Tom Robertson]

Actually, the original phase III dishes only had two outputs. It had a built-in 4x2 multi-switch that allowed you to connect only two receivers. Fortunately, the multi-switch was mounted on the back of the dish and could easily be removed so you could connect your coax lines directly to the LNBs. This also required the use of the SAT-C kit in order to get the 110 sat signals. This included the 110 LNB and a combiner for the 110 LNB output and one of the 101 feeds (the 18-volt side), IIRC. I know because I still have one mounted on my roof that I installed years ago.

That sounds more like my phase II dish, but it had a 4x4 switch on the back.

One thing to remember, phase II and phase III were our terms, AFAIK. And over the years, many manufacturers had slightly different combinations, but to the OP's question, I'm fairly certain all phase II and III dishes had 4 outputs to be able to feed downstream switches.

Cheers,
Tom