Receiver To Dish Distance Question

"I'd guess" the distances are the same between the two, as the hardware is very close to the same.
When you need to go longer than this, you can use coax with less loss [RG-11], or go with adding a couple of Sonora products, one being an amplifier [for the RF] and the other being a "locker" to boost the voltage to the LNB.

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...e-Ka/Ku-Amplifier-With-Power-Supply-(LA145AT)

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=4satpl-t&d=Sonora-4satpl-t-Polarity-Locker-(4SATPL-T)

perhaps the difference here is that the DirecTV receivers have a "tool" built in the software that tests for the "right" signal strength and if this test fails, the tech would not be able to activate your receivers. and AFAIK, the DN system do not have this. what this means is that the DN system might be able to run with less then perfect signals while DirecTV wants your system to run top notch. solutions provide by VOS, can be used to improve the signal strength over long distances.

veryoldschool said:

"I'd guess" the distances are the same between the two, as the hardware is very close to the same.
When you need to go longer than this, you can use coax with less loss [RG-11], or go with adding a couple of Sonora products, one being an amplifier [for the RF] and the other being a "locker" to boost the voltage to the LNB.

Sonora-LA145A-T-DBS-14-dB-Gain-Quad-Line-Ka%2FKu-Amplifier-With-Power-Supply-%28LA145AT%29

Sonora-4satpl-t-Polarity-Locker-%284SATPL-T%29

Click to expand...

I also have long cable runs from the dish to my structure and in-structure to rack (+300'). In addition, I have one long cable run from the rack to one of the three receivers in the system (+200').

Any thoughts on finding an installer in Nor Cal (Sonoma County) who is familiar with the Sonora gear? I'm having trouble finding someone with knowledge about handling long runs.

bupkes said:

I also have long cable runs from the dish to my structure and in-structure to rack (+300'). In addition, I have one long cable run from the rack to one of the three receivers in the system (+200').

Any thoughts on finding an installer in Nor Cal (Sonoma County) who is familiar with the Sonora gear? I'm having trouble finding someone with knowledge about handling long runs.

Click to expand...

You could try an MDU company. Once you find one, you'll have to use them for servicing. Unfortunately, when your system is non-traditional you may have a hard time getting a service tech to touch it.

A caution: a SWiM LNB would not be ideal on a 500ft run, as the Sonara Amps don't boost the control channel.

dielray said:

A caution: a SWiM LNB would not be ideal on a 500ft run, as the Sonara Amps don't boost the control channel.

Click to expand...

Fortunately the loss at that frequency over 500' is only in the 3 dB range or less.

bupkes said:

I also have long cable runs from the dish to my structure and in-structure to rack (+300'). In addition, I have one long cable run from the rack to one of the three receivers in the system (+200').

Any thoughts on finding an installer in Nor Cal (Sonoma County) who is familiar with the Sonora gear? I'm having trouble finding someone with knowledge about handling long runs.

Click to expand...

Think you might need to look for an independent A/V installer for home theaters.

veryoldschool said:

Fortunately the loss at that frequency over 500' is only in the 3 dB range or less.

Click to expand...

True. Admittedly my experience is rather limited in these situations. I've only twice seen a LA141R in action.

In both the installation was:
Slimline LNB -> ~200ft Unknown Copper Clad Direct Burial RG6 -> PI29 -> Sonora 141r -> 8 Way -> RG6 to Receivers

The furthest run was about -50 dBm on SWM channel 9. On the further receivers they passed all but the LF(2.3) test on the AIM. If I remember correctly they were about -35 to -40 dBm on the 2.3 (without any IRDs connected). They both seem to be installed by the same tech and were on the same street. I was only there on an upgrade, and the customers indicated they were not having any problems.

I checked the connectors, barrels, and Ohmed the lines, and all seemed good. I'm not sure why they were so low.

http://www.sonoradesign.com/tutorials/771_TEST_REPORT.pdf indicates it shouldn't have been.

Dish - 125' - amplifier? - 185' - splitter ? - to rack HD DVR 1
Splitter above - 280' to DVR 2
Splitter Above - 135' to DVR 3

need someone though to put this together

bupkes said:

Dish - 125' - amplifier? - 185' - splitter ? - to rack HD DVR 1
Splitter above - 280' to DVR 2
Splitter Above - 135' to DVR 3

need someone though to put this together

Click to expand...

Dish -> 20+ dB amp -> 4-way splitter ->
A 4-way splitter & 405' of RG6, is about 47 dB loss, and you've only got 30 dB without and amp.

Using RG11 would cut the loss by around 12 dB.

If you have that long a run from the dish, another way to go is to see if you can talk to a system tech from your cable company and buy the lenght of 625 cable with f fittings and run that. That will cut another 12-16 db over the rg11

That will give you more then enough signal.