Dish Network Switch Problem, Please help!

[nightwing82]

Ok this problem has been going on for three weeks.

Here is what happened. I noticed I wasn't getting my locals and MTV (acquiring sat signal notice on those channels). So I did a switch test and it said I was getting 119 and 110 odds but not the evens.

So I hard rebooted the receiver and did another test and I then got 119 and 100 even and odds.

That lasts for most of the week and then it happens again with the whole not getting a signal for locals and MTV (and Im sure other channels).

I do the switch test and I am back to just 119 and 110 odds and no evens.

So I went outside and tweaked the Dish setup outside and I got even stronger signals on the odds.

I went back inside and I hardrebooted the machine, did the switch test, and I got everything back.

That lasted about a week and now I don't have those channels, again. Hardreboot didn't work. I checked outside, everything was fine. Did more switch tests and hardreboots. Pulled out the smart card and put it back in. I even tweaked the Dish outside a little more just in case. Nada.

Any idea what my problem is and how I can fix it? On all the odd transponders I am getting like 115 - 121 signal strength.

The installed switch is a "500 Twin"... I have the Dish 500 with the DishPVR 501 or such as a receiver, and I only have one receiver.

[K&AJones]

Hey

We had a "switch" problem about a month ago. we would lose the picture out of the blue. It would go in that "Aquiring Signal" mode and just sit there. I go into setup and it was seeing only one sat. The other no signal period. I do the switch ttest and it stayed on that forever. I swapped switch's and still nothing. The picture would come back on in about 1 1/2 hours just as fast as it went off. This happened about three times in two months. The last time it only happened to the older 4900 unit while the new 811 still worked.

The one thing you can check and I found it when I got the 811 installed is your connections. We found some bad and some loose connections at the transponder. They were changed out with new and better weather resistant connecters.

You might what to visit the www.dbstalkcom forum for advice and if others have had the same problem.


Kenny J

[Mr. Salty]

I second the recommendation that you post your question at DBS Talk, in the Dish area of the forum. The "or such" makes it sound like you aren't certain about your receiver's model number. You probably should double-check that.

You also might want to call Dish's tech support phone number (800) 333-DISH. They've been pretty helpful for me in the past.

I seem to remember a specific cause for losing only odd or even numbered channels. I'm sure tech support can help you (and thankfully Dish doesn't outsource its tech support to rural Nepal or somewhere like that --- they're actual Dish employees).

[Frank S]

Usually when you have even or odds only lose it is a LNB, cable or connector issue. Don't jump right to a switch is bad decision until you have checked out all other possibilites. Do you have more then one receiver? If so do they all have the same problem. If you have a single receiver setup try bypassing the entire cable run from the dish to the receiver with a new run of wire/connectors and see what happens.

Another common casue for this is people using RG59 cable for the run from the dish to the receiver. This type cable will work for a little while but the higher voltage that requires a RG6 cable will degrade a RG59 cable over time (especially if you are using Dish Pro LNB's that use much higher voltage).

[AGuyNamedMike]

Another common casue for this is people using RG59 cable for the run from the dish to the receiver. This type cable will work for a little while but the higher voltage that requires a RG6 cable will degrade a RG59 cable over time (especially if you are using Dish Pro LNB's that use much higher voltage).

Good call (though I don't know about the degradation over time). At 1000MHz RG6 loses 7dB per 100 feet, while RG59 looses 11dB. Combine that with spotty connections at various points between LNB and switch, and you have a recipe for intermittent unhappiness.