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4.0 Satellite

No, there are no satellite receivers that fail to function when a phone is not connected.

You can even order pay-per-view movies without a phone line connected though the receiver will "fill up" with PPV purchases eventually and no longer allow you to order more until it dials out and reports your PPV purchases.

Some DirecTiVos are said to require a phone line to receive software updates.
( ** need confirmation on this ** )

Dish Network advertises that they will charge an additional $4.95/month for each receiver after the first one. It is waived though if you connect it to a phone line.

by Hall See Profile edited by nozero See Profile
last modified: 2004-12-27 09:08:56


You have 3 options depending on how much money and time you have and what provider you subscribe to.

For any subscriber, the obvious solution is that you run a second line. Just run a new piece of coax from the multiswitch to the receiver. Sounds easy right? Many installations just have the cable ran on the outside of the house. If this is the case you likely can just run the second line parallel to it. Use zip ties to secure the two lines together.

However, this isn't always the cleanest looking job. If your current lines utilize in-wall wiring or for whatever reason you can't run a 2nd line, this obviously won't work.

The second option is only available if you subscribe to Dish Network. Dish Network has the DP+44 (or DPP44) switch. This switch will "stack" two different polarities onto the same piece of coax by frequency shifting one polarity up compared to the other. At the other end of the coax, you will use a separator that will un-shift the polarity back to the normal frequency. This will only work with dual tuner DishPro receivers; it will not work with 2 single tuners or non-DishPro (legacy) receivers.

The third option is similar to the second but only works for a single satellite with a dual lnb. DirecTV has the majority of it's programming available via a single satellite, so this is primarily for DirecTV users that don't use a Phase II/III dish. Dish has most of the "basic" channels on a single satellite as well, but all packages use at least a Dish500 for all channels so this option is not available if you want to receive all channels that you are entitled to. Locals/Internationals on a 2nd dish fall also into the same category as Dish users. This method also is significantly more expensive and is not technically supported by any of the major networks. There are aftermarket stackers available but they will cost a minimum of $350 just for a single dual-tuner receiver. You can read more about them here.

by cdru See Profile edited by nozero See Profile
last modified: 2004-06-16 23:25:42

Broadcasting a signal by bouncing it off of a satellite is expensive. Satellite providers try to squeeze every ounce of usable bandwidth from a satellite by polarizing the signal. By polarizing it, they can reuse a frequency a 2nd time.

Older satellites, such as the one Primestar use to use and the 2 Dish network currently use at 105° and 121° use orthogonal polarity, typically referred as horizontal and vertical polarity. Newer DBS satellites use a circular polarity, commonly referred to as left hand (clockwise) and right hand (counterclockwise) polarity.

All even transponders on a satellite correspond to a given polarity while all odd transponders correspond to the opposite polarity.

**Additional input for this FAQ was provided by drjim See Profile

by cdru See Profile edited by nozero See Profile
last modified: 2004-10-05 21:36:08

A single LNB can only see a single polarity at a time. This is fine as long as you only have a single tuner receiver. It has full control as to what polarity it tunes. However, once you have two tuners or multiple satellites, you need a multiswitch and a dual lnb(s).

Each dual lnb has two outputs, one for each polarity. These lines connect into the multiswitch's satellite inputs while each receiver connects into the multiswitch's receiver outputs. A multiswitch acts like an old fashion telephone switchboard. The receiver requests to be connected to a certain satellite/polarity combination. Either through relays or solid-state switches, the correct satellite's signal is routed to the receiver based on how the receiver signals the multiswitch.

By having each satellite/polarity combination available at the multiswitch, any receiver can receive any satellite polarity. Multiple receivers can use the same satellite/polarity, or they can use different ones as needed.

by cdru See Profile edited by nozero See Profile
last modified: 2004-06-16 23:24:18

Seems like standard practice is to use the existing in-house cable TV distribution network. Dish's receivers have an output for the 2nd TV called "agile modulated output". What this means is that you can choose the channel frequency the TV output goes out on over coaxial cable. Push this over the existing cable TV cable back down to where you have your main cable TV splitter, plug the output from that piece of coax where you used to connect the 'drop' from the cable TV co, and then any TV in the house connected to the cable TV network can tune the channel you chose - say channel 21 - and receive the output from the 2nd tuner on the digital receiver box.

The remote that works with the 2nd tuner operates via radio frequency (RF - 200 foot range) rather than infra-red (IR - line-of-sight only) as the first tuner remote control uses. Eventually you may even learn that you no longer need to aim the remote at the TV for digital satellite functions - what it is controlling is the receiver box out of sight in another room.

Then if you have a second dual-tuner box, choose a different output channel (say 41) for the 2nd TV output and use a 2:1 cable splitter to join the coax from box 1 with the coax from box 2 into a single feed, plug that in place of the cable from the pole, and any TV in the house connected to the cable distribution network can then tune the 2nd output from box one (cable channel 21) or the 2nd output from box 2 (cable channel 41). If you can identify the correct remote control ;) you should be able to control those two "second" channels from anywhere in the house.

Here's a pdf of the dish 522 receiver: »www.dishnetwork.com/down ··· _522.pdf
Here's a pdf of the dish 322 receiver: »www.dishnetwork.com/down ··· _322.pdf

This is probably why they all offer "free" professional installation. ;) Probably WAAAAY cheaper than trying explain the above via a phone support staff. Not to mention the minor matter of trying to successfully lock on to a satellite.

by oOOOo See Profile edited by nozero See Profile
last modified: 2005-01-27 11:26:19