# What do I need for a dish to use 921



## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

I have a Dish 500, do I need another dish to use a 921? Don't care about locals as I can them ota


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Welcome aboard! 

You have provided insufficient data to answer your question.

The dish reflector itself is of course usable. But without knowing your COMPLETE existing setup: LNBFs, Switches, Legacy vs. DishPro, including what receiver(s) you currently have, and how many of them you're going to keep actve.


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

SimpleSimon said:


> Welcome aboard!
> 
> You have provided insufficient data to answer your question.
> 
> The dish reflector itself is of course usable. But without knowing your COMPLETE existing setup: LNBFs, Switches, Legacy vs. DishPro, including what receiver(s) you currently have, and how many of them you're going to keep actve.


I have to know all that. Not sure what Legacy vs Dish pro is?? I only have one receiver, model 5000. The dish has a twin lnbf? 110,119. I'm thinking of upgrading as I want HDtv to go with my new HDTV. Not sure what I have for a switch? but I have one 

Thanks for your response


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

The nice thing is sometimes based on a partial answer, the rest can be inferred.

A Twin is a 2-eyed unit - wide. One housing sitting on the dish instead of 2 separate ones. Because you have an old 4-digit model receiver, it's Legacy by definition. That tells me you have an old installation, therefore it's Legacy. Confirm two ways: No "DP" logo on the LNBF, and no 'gizmo' attached to the satellite feed cable coming out of the receiver. If this is all original install, I'll bet a donut that's what we've got.

Anyway, if I ask for the whole story, I usually get enough. 

So, bottom line, a Legacy Twin will run the 921 just fine. I use one myself for mine. You WILL have to retire the 5000 - same as I retired my 501. The Twin has 2 feeds, and the 921 needs both of them. Keep the 5000 handy in case your 921 barfs on you. The same phone call to E* to throw the 921 back can also re-activate your 5000 - and they better not charge you! They won't. 

My only concern is that if that Twin has been sitting out there with no cable on it's 2nd output port, that if it wasn't capped off, it could be corroded and need some TLC.

I assume you're gonna do this all yourself. The cabling should be done with great care. Pay big attention to connectors and grounding.


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## larrystotler (Jun 6, 2004)

Expanding on SImon - Hit Menu/6/1/1, and you should see a box that sway switch. highlight that and hit select, and it should give you an installation summary screen. It will probably say either SW21 or 500 Twin. If it says SW21, you may have to upgrade to a twin since some systems had single LNBs, and you will need duals & an extra SW21 if that is what you have.


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

larrystotler said:


> Expanding on SImon - Hit Menu/6/1/1, and you should see a box that sway switch. highlight that and hit select, and it should give you an installation summary screen. It will probably say either SW21 or 500 Twin. If it says SW21, you may have to upgrade to a twin since some systems had single LNBs, and you will need duals & an extra SW21 if that is what you have.


Thanks guys

I believe I have sw21, square box, 2 ins 1 out. Right now I only have 1 cable into house but I assume I need 2?? which would be easy to do. I do have the big housing on dish with 2 LNBs in one box. Each LNB has 2 outs but right now only one is used. I would need to run cables form the unused lnbs to another switch, run another cable into the building just for the 921? 
What do I need to do in order to keep the 5000 going along with the 921. New dish?, New Lnbs. I need 2 receivers to keep peace in the house :lol:

Oh yeah, my switch is in a PVC box outside, so corrison isn't a problem. 

The hard part is deciding to switch to Direct or stay with Dish. I'd rather stay with Dish but reading all the problems with 921 isn't helping me make up my mind. I've been a Dish customer for 6 or 7 years so.....

Again Thanks

Jon


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## larrystotler (Jun 6, 2004)

To use the 921 by itself, you would need another SW21, which aren't too expensive. To use the 921 with the 5000, you will need to either get an SW44 switch or a Legacy Quad. The SW44 uses all 4 ports from the LNBs and runs them to 4 different tuners. The biggest downside to it is that it requires power insertion, so if it gets unplugged, you will loose signal. A quad would merely require running 2 new lines and nixing the SW21. Keep in mind that a DP Quad will not work with the 5000 without a DP Adapter, go for a legacy if at all possible. 

I cannot vouch for the 921s. A l,ot of people seem hapy, and a lot of others are complaining. It seems that the sat tuner part works well, but the OTA stuff is kinda flakey.


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

Thanks Larry
I guess the quad legacy has the switch built in?? That means 3 runs of RG6 into the house.?
I plan on using the OTA tuner so that makes the 921 a big question mark. My understanding is it seems to work ok as a tuner but recording OTA sends it into fits??

Flipping a coin might be my best bet?? :hurah: 

Anyone know if CSTV is ever going to get picked up by Dish??


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## larrystotler (Jun 6, 2004)

Correct. All Twins and Quad have a built in 2 sat switch. 

As for the OTA, The D* HD DVR w/ TiVo has 2 OTA tuners instead of one, and it would sem that it has less problems recording OTA. However, there are updates in the works for the 921, so it may be fixed soon. For someone like me who doesn't care for TiVo, I woudl stick with E*. I really like my 721, except for the hard drive crash a while back.............


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## badkclark (Aug 12, 2004)

Supposedly, that is being tested on channel 152. I've been waiting with baited breath for this channel to become available (Though I watched the Stanford BYU game at a friend's house, and the commentary left much to be desired)



IamtheEggman said:


> Thanks Larry
> I guess the quad legacy has the switch built in?? That means 3 runs of RG6 into the house.?
> I plan on using the OTA tuner so that makes the 921 a big question mark. My understanding is it seems to work ok as a tuner but recording OTA sends it into fits??
> 
> ...


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

IamtheEggman said:


> I do have the big housing on dish with 2 LNBs in one box. Each LNB has 2 outs but right now only one is used.


I've never heard this description before. 2 LNBs *in one housing* on a Dish 500 with 4 outputs in a Quad. 

How about going here: http://www.switchinfo.info/lnbs.html and maybe telling us what's closest? Note the first pic of a Twin - a Quad is the same except the 2 "holes" next to the connectors are filled with 2 more connectors.


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

SimpleSimon said:


> I've never heard this description before. 2 LNBs *in one housing* on a Dish 500 with 4 outputs in a Quad.


Thats what I remember but its been awhile since I actually saw it. The pic you linked looks like but I thought it had 4 outs instead of the 2 the pic shows. I would have to take it off to be sure and by the sound of it I don't remember correctly. If I order the 921 I'm going to get a Quad Legacy to go with it. I'll have a spare LNB that will at least run one receiver if the Quad goes south.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

There should be no need to climb up to your dish - LOOK in the Point Dish / Check Switch menu.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Let's try again. Here's the third sentence from my previous post:


> Note the first pic of a Twin - a Quad is the same except the 2 "holes" next to the connectors are filled with 2 more connectors.


But scooper is right, a Twin and a Quad will say so in Check Switch.


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

SimpleSimon said:


> Let's try again. Here's the third sentence from my previous post:
> But scooper is right, a Twin and a Quad will say so in Check Switch.


I went to Point/Dish and to check switch but I don't see where it says anything except that I have a SW21.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Ah! Sorry - you'd have to hook directly to the LNBF without the SW-21.


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## larrystotler (Jun 6, 2004)

If he has an SW21 and only the 110 & 119, then he has 2 legacy LNBs(duals it would seem). If it said that he has an SW21 3-Sat, then he would have a Twin w/ an SW21 to another dual. Sounds like he only has the 110/119 tho...........


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Yeah Larry - this is getting way too confusing. He did NOT say "SW-21 3-SAT" but because he said he's got a Twin/Quad type housing (not in those words), I'm thinking he's got an SW-21 where he doesn't need it, or he's got a wing dish 300. Or whatever.

I'm going to wait until he does his own legwork.


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

SimpleSimon said:


> Yeah Larry - this is getting way too confusing. He did NOT say "SW-21 3-SAT" but because he said he's got a Twin/Quad type housing (not in those words), I'm thinking he's got an SW-21 where he doesn't need it, or he's got a wing dish 300. Or whatever.
> 
> I'm going to wait until he does his own legwork.


It seems we are all confused here  . I definetely only have 110 119(says Dish 500 right on the dish). There are two pieces of RG6 from LNBs down to a switch 21, one rg6 into the house to my receiver. The only thing we seem to be confused on is how many F connectors are on the LNBs. The pic you showed of the twin was similar but I believe mine has 2 F connectors on each lnb(110,119) total of 4 F connectors.
It seems to be a moot point anyway as I need 3 runs into my house to run the 921 and my original 5000. My present setup will only allow(assuming I don't want another type of switch anyway) 2 runs. So it seems the Quad Legacy is the way to go?. It has the sw21 built in, right? so my 3 runs of coax in, contain the signals from 110,119. Does this sound correct?.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

You can use the legacy QUAD, or you can get an SW44 or an SW64 to use your existing LNBs . Any of these options will work.


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## larrystotler (Jun 6, 2004)

Yes, you have 2 legacy 1 sat LNBs....that's why there are 2 different peices. A Twin or Quad would be smooth all the way across. Personally, I would make them replace the 5000 with an 811 or 6000U since it is unable to even get HD, which is why most people bought it originally. Buying something that will no longer work as advertised is BS and E* should replace them since it is their fault it won't work as advertised anymore.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

In referring back to post #12, it sure sounded to me like you had ONE housing. I emphasized that concept in the post you replied to.

If you have a SW-21 hooked to a Twin or Quad, that's just frelled.

So. EXPLICIT QUESTION: Are there 2 separate housings on the dish or just one?


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

SimpleSimon said:


> In referring back to post #12, it sure sounded to me like you had ONE housing. I emphasized that concept in the post you replied to.
> 
> If you have a SW-21 hooked to a Twin or Quad, that's just frelled.
> 
> So. EXPLICIT QUESTION: Are there 2 separate housings on the dish or just one?


Sorry for the confusion. At the time I thought there was 1 but you are correct there is 2 seperate housings hooked together by a plastic Y. My dish is 200 ft from my house, I can't see it from the house but today I moved it onto the house to actually see if trees were an issue  and yes they are. I looked at the LNBs and went, wow I guess I was wrong on the one housing.
Maybe I should have gotten off my lazy butt before I spoke. 

Now I have to make 3 runs of coax 200 ft, probably should put them in conduit. Way more work then just running them across the house.


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## larrystotler (Jun 6, 2004)

Actually, I would go ahead and have 4 total runs from the dish since you may want to add another receiver eventually. Always a good idea to plan for the future. And, since you are running 200 feet, solid copper would probably be the best choice over copper clad steel RG6. It's only a few dollars more and well worth the investment. If you go with the SW44, you can add another one eventually if you want to have more than 4 tuners, instead of a legacy quad. Plus, you can have the switch at the house, so upgrading will be easy. But I would definately run 4 lines....


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## IamtheEggman (Sep 21, 2004)

So I received my 921 and quad legacy. installed a new pipe and supports for the dish, ran a conduit, pulled in new cables and fired that puppy up. Called E*, they sent a download and programming came on,yea. Tried to get OTA channels programmed in, no problem analog but Digital is another story  . I've been to Antenna.org and already had a reccommended antenna for my location to receive Digital OTA. My NBC and CBS affliate get absolutely no signal when scanned for(both UHF) but my local PBS(vhf) comes in beautifully. Awesome picture. According to Antenna.org I'm only 10 miles from NBC and 16 miles from CBS. I have a Channel MAster antenna with rotator. Moved it around and no help. What am I missing??


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