Dish and Switch Q's

[GaryPen]

I'm thinking of dropping my commercial Dish Network account, and going with D*. I am hoping this can be done using existing wiring. Perhaps some folks with D* dish/LNB/switch knowledge can help answer a few questions.

First, my current situation: Two cables coming into the building from a D500, which feeds into two cascaded DP34 switches, and then out to eight single-tuner DP311 receivers.

What I would like to do: Replace the D500 with a D* 3-LNB dish, and feed 8 D12 single-tuner receivers.

My questions:
1. Will I need to run a third cable into the building from the dish? (I would like to avoid this, if possible.)
2. What switch would I need to take the dish feed(s) and distribute it to the 8 receivers?

Also:
3. What if I wanted HD and/or DVR at some of the locations? Would I have to run 5 lines into the building from the 5-lnb dish?
4. Would I need to run two lines to any dual-tuner locations? Or, does D* have a single-line solution like Dish?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jdspencer]

Forget about the Dish switches. For DirecTV you'll need the 5LNB dish with all four lines run into the house. Then connect it to either the WB68 or WB616 multiswitch for connection to your receivers. You'll need two lines to each dual tuner DVR. If the SWM (single wire multiswitch) is available then this changes it a bit.

 

[GaryPen]

Thanks for the HD/DVR wiring info. It may come in handy in the future.

However, I am more interested in the 3-lnb/single-tuner non-DVR setup that I mentioned in items 1 and 2 of my original post. How many lines will I need to run into the building with that dish? What switches will be necessary for 8 single-tuner receivers?

What is this SWM you speak of?

Thanks.

 

[iwc5893]

At this time, and even after the SWM comes out, you will need to run 4 cables from the dish to a multiswitch like the Zinwell 4x8 or to the SWM. You would probably be able to reuse the cabling going to your existing receiver locations.

HD or SD, it doesn't matter...you will still need 4 cables to the switch.

 

[GaryPen]

Why would I need 4 cables from a 3-lnb dish?

 

[iwc5893]

Why would I need 4 cables from a 3-lnb dish?

Because of the way D* processes the signal from the receivers to the LNB's to select what satellite and then what transponders you need to watch your channel.

D* uses two different voltages (13VDC and 18VDC) and then adds a 22kHz control tone to each voltage. The break down is as follows:

13VDC, no control tone = Sat 101, odd transponders
18VDC, no control tone = Sat 101, even transponders
13VDC, 22kHz control tone = Sats 110/119, odd transponders
18VDC, 22kHz control tone = Sats 110/119, even transponders

If you are using 4 tuners or less, the built in multiswitch in the LNB can handle this function, so you can run a cable from the LNB to the receiver. With more than 4 tuners in play, the 4 outputs from the LNB need to feed a multiswitch that can send the signals out to 5+ tuners.

 

[GaryPen]

So, both the 3-lnb and 5-lnb dishs have 4 feeds?

That sucks.

Is there a good source for D* antenna/switch wiring diagrams?

 

[joed32]

So, both the 3-lnb and 5-lnb dishs have 4 feeds?

That sucks.

Is there a good source for D* antenna/switch wiring diagrams?

3 Lnb dishes will not get any HD in the near future and get very little now,

 

[GaryPen]

Duh.

I thought I made it pretty clear in my original post what I was trying to accomplish, including a reference to HD that makes clear my understanding of what I will receive with which antenna.

But, thanks for playing.