Instructions for Adding the 61.5 - revised 05/04

[dave7424]

You need to read the beginning of the thread. Larry's getting touchy on the topic.

 

[larrystotler]

You need to read the beginning of the thread. Larry's getting touchy on the topic.

Sorry. The idea was to try to limit the same questions over and over again. Unfortunately, a lot of people are either skimming thru it or not bothering to do the legwork they need to do. I don't know how many times between here and DBSTalk.com that I have said that the V* dish will NOT work with a DP installation. I am working on a new FAQ for using a D500 and also a Twin with the 61.5 since there have been many requests for it even tho I have stressed that you should avoid using the Twin if possible. I'll try to have it out by tomorrow.

 

[larrystotler]

Simple and should work.

Yup.

My question pertains to a situation that would arise if I were to add a 921 or 942 in the future and drop say the 4900. It seems that I would have to replace the single lnb with dual looking at 61.5. It would also seem reasonable to use a multiswitch, or potentially upgrade to dishpro products. The 942 would need 2 feeds with the 61.5 and the 811 would need to see the 61.5. I would also need a total of 5 sat feeds, 2 for the 921, 1 ea for the 811, 501, and 301. Any ideas on a set up ?

Unfortunately, other than replaceing your legacy system with DP, you are looking at a great deal of work to do 5 tuners on legacy. I have gone so far as to install an additional dish to support more than 4 tuners ona legacy system. I guess I will start working on a faq for this as well.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I guess one of us is going to have to post an instruction manual for using a D500 on the 61.5(against my recommendations), and how to hack the V* and D* dishes to use the DP LNBs.

Yeah - you've done a good job, but I disagree with your saying modifications to D* or V* dishes aren't worth the effort. I think it's gonna be pretty easy (10 minutes) - as soon as we know the correct measurement.

I've got a thread going over on Claude's board. I don't have an I-adapter handy, so I can't give a final answer, but my initial estimate points toward something like shortening the LNB arm by 5" - DO NOT JUST GO AND DO THIS FOLKS - we gotta wait until somebody that understands the issue grabs an I-beam and checks it.

dave7424: Larry's right - trying to go over 4 tuners with a ingle Dish500 using Legacy gear gets difficult - real difficult.

Connor: You're best to aim the 61.5 BEFORE hooking it through switches.

 

[Conner Dain]

Thanks!

Thanks for the help!

CD

 

[DoyleS]

I really appreciate the help Larry is offering and am sure it is frustrating to have to keep repeating the same info. I would be more than happy to use a DP Dual on my dish to get 61.5 but am having trouble finding one. Ebay seems to be loaded with Twins at about $15 including shipping which is very reasonable. The lone Dual has got 7 guys bidding on it and the price keeps climbing. Are there any other sources for getting an inexpensive DP Dual? I have even been watching for Dish trucks driving in the neighborhood to see if I can buy one or trade in a Legacy for the DP Dual.

..Doyle

 

[Devil24]

larrystotler,

Hey pal, thanks a lot for this... it's really appreciated.

I've read all this thread, but I'm still a little confused about which way to go.

Right now I have 1 Dish 500 dish with a DP Quad LNBF, fully functional and connected to both a 311 and a 811 (both 'parked' for the past 4.5 months since I put my account on hold with E* for $5 a month when I moved to Voom).

Now that E* has the Voom package, I'm thinking about reactivating my account and requesting it (Voom's) to be added to my previous programming selection, but I don't want to pay the $100 for the extra dish.

I have quite a bit of extra E* hardware laying around in my storage unit. This is a list of it:

- 1 Dish 500 dish
- 2 DP Twin LNBFs
- 2 Legacy Dual LNBFs
- 1 DP34 switch
- 2 SW21 switches
- 2 Dish 500 Y brackets

Also, I have:

- 1 Voom dish
- 1 Voom LNBF (which I'm guessing is like a legacy one from Dish, right?)

What I want is the ability to have 3 sats (110, 119 and 61.5) feeding a 311 (kid's room), a 811 and a 942 (or any other future HD-DVR that I decide to get from E*).

What's the best advice you can offer me on how to achieve this? remember that I already have a fully functional Dish 500 + DP Quad LNBF feeding a 311 and a 811.

Can I use that Dish 500 + a DP twin LNBF to get it? or should I try to use Voom's dish + a legacy dual LNBF? or what? I'm really puzzled with all this.

Help me Obi Wan Stotler, you're my only hope (hehehe, had to do it with EPIII so close now).

Buying any extra item I may need is OK (that's what eBay's for).

Mounting/installation of the extra dish will not be a problem... I've done it before and I have all the tools and gadgets (compass, signal finder) required to do it.

TIA for you time, help and for having to put up with us,
The H

 

[Devil24]

Hey Larry, thanks a lot for doing this... it's really appreciated.

I've read all this thread, but I'm still a little confused about which way to go.

Right now I have 1 Dish 500 dish with a DP Quad LNBF, fully functional and connected to both a 311 and a 811 (both 'parked' for the past 4.5 months since I put my account on hold with E* for $5 a month when I moved to Voom).

Now that E* has the Voom package, I'm thinking about reactivating my account and requesting it (Voom's) to be added to my previous programming selection, but I don't want to pay the $100 for the extra dish.

I have quite a bit of extra E* hardware laying around in my storage unit. This is a list of it:

- 1 Dish 500 dish
- 2 DP Twin LNBFs
- 2 Legacy Dual LNBFs
- 1 DP34 switch
- 2 SW21 switches
- 2 Dish 500 Y brackets

Also, I have:

- 1 Voom dish
- 1 Voom LNBF (which I'm guessing is like a legacy one from Dish, right?)

What I want is the ability to have 3 sats (110, 119 and 61.5) feeding a 311 (kid's room), a 811 and a 942 (or any other future HD-DVR that I decide to get from E*).

What's the best advice you can offer me on how to achieve this? remember, I already have a fully functional Dish 500 + DP Quad LNBF feeding a 311 and a 811.

Can I use that Dish 500 + a DP twin LNBF to get it? or should I try to use Voom's dish + a legacy dual LNBF? or what? I'm really puzzled with all this.

Help me Obi Wan Stotler, you're my only hope (hehehe, had to do it with EPIII being so close now).

Buying any extra item I may need is OK (that's what eBay's for).

Mounting/installation of the extra dish will not be a problem... I've done it before and I have all the tools and gadgets (compass, signal finder) required to do it.

Again, thanks for you time, willingness to help and for having to put up with us,

The H

 

[bcshields]

Use your DP34 in your shed with your existing DPQuad.. and trade some of your other equipment for a DPDual for your 61.5 dish.

 

[Devil24]

bcshields,

Thanks for your reply. As per trading it, what do you mean? asking for a trade to one of the Dish guys? any other way to do it?

 

[sbartosch]

Does this method stick the DP LNBF out past the intended focal point?...

"1. You can modify the voom dish to work. You need to purchase a Dual DP LNB (this is a single DP LNB with two coax connectors. Don't confuse it with a Twin DP LNB which has two lnb's and 4 coax connectors). You can by the Dual DP LNB for $30 new and about $10 bucks on ebay.

2. You will need to buy a DP500 I bracket ($8 new). This will allow you to connect the D shaped DP LNB to the square shaped Voom dish's LNB arm.

 

[dave7424]

Thanks again Larry, on hold with dish now. Thanks to Simon as well, I don't think I would have ever seen the bird without disconnecting the D500 from the switch, then aiming the 61.5. Reran the switch test and there she is. Thanks guys.

 

[larrystotler]

Yeah - you've done a good job, but I disagree with your saying modifications to D* or V* dishes aren't worth the effort. I think it's gonna be pretty easy (10 minutes) - as soon as we know the correct measurement.

I've got a thread going over on Claude's board.

Which board is that? As for modifying the V* dish, why not just measure the arm on the D500 dish? That should get you close enough for it to work. I do TOTALLY agree that putting the I-arm on the V* dish is a problem because it will cause the focus to be way off and the signal will more than likely suffer. If nothing else, using a D500 would be just as easy so long as people understand that you need to leave the skew at 90.

 

[larrystotler]

I've read all this thread, but I'm still a little confused about which way to go.

Right now I have 1 Dish 500 dish with a DP Quad LNBF,
- 1 Dish 500 dish
- 2 DP Twin LNBFs
- 1 DP34 switch

What I want is the ability to have 3 sats (110, 119 and 61.5) feeding a 311 (kid's room), a 811 and a 942 (or any other future HD-DVR that I decide to get from E*).

Can I use that Dish 500 + a DP twin LNBF to get it? or should I try to use Voom's dish + a legacy dual LNBF?

Pull the Quad. Sell it. Replace the Quad with one of the Twins. Use the other Twin on the Other D500. Run 2 lines from the D500 with the 110/119 to the DP34. Run 1 line from the 2nd D500 into the DP34. Ready to go.....DO NOT USE THE V* Equipment.

Ok, here we go:

Using a DPTwin on a D500 to get the 61.5:

1. Set the skew of the D500 at 90 degress so that the arm is not tilted.
2. Connect the Twin DIRECTLY to a receiver.
3. Cover the 110 side of the LNB with a peice of tin foil or thick cloth.
4. Set the elavation. Tune the dish.
5. Once you have the signal locked, connect the dish to your equipment. Remove the cover.
6. Run the check switch. It SHOULD show 4 locations with 1 as an X for signal and NC for sat(assuming you are connecting to a DP34. A DP21 should only "see" the 119 side to begin with).

When using the DPTwin with a DP21, you may have problems when using a DPTwin on the 110/119 since the DP21 only "sees" 1 switch. You may have to re-run the switch check a few times. The DP34 should not have any problems.

I would NOT try using a 500 Twin since the SW21 may not see the second 500Twin. If need be I will try it in the next few days and see what happens.

Good Luck.

PS I will add this to the original Post.

 

[rrolsbe]

Can anyone explain why DP Twin would cause problems?

The reason I would like to use a DishPro Twin is price. There are many DP twins for sale on Ebay at a fair delivered price; however, this is not true for the DP singles. If I decide to purchase a Dish 500 dish, then using only one side of the twin LNBF DishPro for 61.5 should not be, correct; however, I currently own a 18in Dishnet dish and would like to use the less expensive DishPro twin on this Dish 300 pizza pan.

Thanks much for any advise in advance
Regards
Ron

If you use the DP Twin, you will need the DP21. This can work, but it can create problems. Make sure that you seal the ports hanging off the dish with silicone to protect them. Also, cover the unused side with aluminum foil to tune in the dish. I would not try this with a legacy system. Good luck.

 

[Devil24]

Hey Larry, thanks a lot for your reply!

Anyway, since posting this earlier today, I was able to get a DP Dual LNBF + DP21, both NIB and for only $20. I got them from my brother's neighbor, a guy who was a E* retailer just one month ago but decided to close down his shop. He overheard a conversation I was having with my bro while visiting his place tonight and he told me he had some parts left and well, low and behold, he had what I was looking for .

I guess I will follow your advice of pulling the DPQ from my Dish 500 #1 and replacing it with one of my DPT. And for my Dish 500 # 2, now that I have the DPD, I'm guessing it's going to be much, much easier, since I'll only have to use that one and then connect all cables directly to my DP34.

One final question, though... what should I do with my V* dish? I had the crazy idea of using it (after doing a few mods to its bracket, of course) as my main dish since it is a 24" one instead of the old one, which has the same size of the Dish 500 one. Why use it? I was thinking that it could improve my signal reception quite bit and pretty much erradicate all rain fade problems from my setup. Do you think it is worth it or not? if not, what should I do with it? is it useful for other services (so maybe I could sell it on eBay) or should I just put it in my storage/throw it away?

Thanks again for your help and your patience.

Regards,

The H

 

[larrystotler]

The reason I would like to use a DishPro Twin is price. Dish 500 dish, then using only one side of the twin LNBF DishPro for 61.5 should not be, correct; however, I currently own a 18in Dishnet dish and would like to use the less expensive DishPro twin on this Dish 300 pizza pan.

You only use 1 side of the DPTwin on a D500 on the 61.5. What is it that confuses you about that? If you skew it, you'll either get the 72.5, which D* is using and unavailable to E* subs, or another equally useless sat in the 50s. As for using the DPTwin on an 18" dish, it CAN be done, but it WILL create stress on the dish since it will have weight haging off of it and could cause it to loosen eventually. Not to mention it will look like crap.

 

[larrystotler]

One final question, though... what should I do with my V* dish? I had the crazy idea of using it (after doing a few mods to its bracket, of course) as my main dish since it is a 24" one instead of the old one, which has the same size of the Dish 500 one. Why use it? I was thinking that it could improve my signal reception quite bit and pretty much erradicate all rain fade problems from my setup. Do you think it is worth it or not? if not, what should I do with it? is it useful for other services (so maybe I could sell it on eBay) or should I just put it in my storage/throw it away?

I was using 2 30" commercial dishes for a while, 1 for the 110 and 1 for the 119. Guess what? It still went out. So, it won't really help that much. Also, since it doesn't have a skew, it really isn't usable for the D500 without serious mods. However, it you have a low signal on the 61.5, then modifying it for the DPDual could help it some. Otherwise, either ebay it or pitch it. Whatever you wanna do.

 

[Devil24]

OK, thanks a lot!

If only all forums had members as nice and polite as some people around here... I'm definitely glad I'm a SatelliteGuy .

 

[DaveN]

I've been doing a of reading here, but still not positive what I need to do to make this happen. :\

I've currently got 2 dishes with dual lnbs - one for locals, and my primary. They're hooked up with two SW-21s, and attached to two 811s. Obviously I already have HD and Locals service. So what additional gear am I going to want to make this happen? Since I already have the locals dish, am I no longer eligible for any of the freebie installs (Southern Minnesota)?

Thanks for all your hard work and help!