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sleaziep
join:2016-09-29
Baltimore, MD

sleaziep

Member

[Low Voltage] Coax outlets no signal. Former owner had dish. Troubleshoot?

Hi All,

I just moved into a new house. Electrical, coax, etc was all rewired in 2011. There is evidence that the previous owner had a satellite dish, but I am using Comcast. I have only found one coax outlet in the house that delivers a cable signal and 4 that have no signal. Could this be related to the previous owner that had a dish? I have a theory that the cable was rerouted to receive a signal form the dish, but I have never had satellite so perhaps my understanding of how satellite works is flawed. Does anyone know if this could be the case, and if so, how to diagnose and fix?

Thanks for your help!

Anon5cc16
@bell.ca

1 recommendation

Anon5cc16

Anon

[Low Voltage] Re: Coax outlets no signal. Former owner had dish. Troubleshoot?

if he had satellite dish then there will be coaxes that run to where the dish used to be. see if you see any cut wires or left over dish equiptment like switches, also dont forget to check near your hydro panel for equiptment too

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall to sleaziep

MVM

to sleaziep

Re: [Low Voltage] Coax outlets no signal. Former owner had dish. Troubleshoot?

I don't know about Directv, but with Dish, some of their recent and popular receivers were 'server + client" type setups. That is, one receiver was the "main" one and add'l receivers were fed off of it. If they had this, that could explain why you don't get a signal on a bunch of the feeds.

You may have to pay Comcast to re-wire as needed.

emead
4q2
MVM
join:2000-09-04
Danbury, CT

1 recommendation

emead to sleaziep

MVM

to sleaziep
Did you look for a cable splitter in the basement or utility room that has the line wire missing?
scooper
join:2000-07-11
Kansas City, KS

scooper to sleaziep

Member

to sleaziep
You need a friend familar with Dish Tech to help you sort this out.
My house would freak even them out, as I'm using "supposedly incompatible" levels of receivers , along with OTA distribution.

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

1 edit

Corehhi to sleaziep

Member

to sleaziep
I can't explain what to do on here but you need to go to where ever your cable gets the house and figure out where all the cables are going and where they end close to the new cable service. This set up could have been wired in various ways.

My house original had a simple set up. Cable came to an outside box and then it went to a 5 way splitter to 5 different outlets.

Got DirecTv and the first thing I did was run a single line to my cable modem and the DirecTv reciever ran out to the dish. I only had rooms with a receiver set up. Etc. etc. over the years direct TV is gone, OTA and internet is what I use now but with each TV setup I"ve had to change around what needed to connect to what for it all to work.
sleaziep
join:2016-09-29
Baltimore, MD

sleaziep

Member

Thanks all for your thoughts here. I did a little more investigation (best I could do in the nasty rain we are getting here). There is a line from the pole to a splitter on the outside of my house. There are four coax cables on the side of the house that run to my roof. Two are connected to the splitter, two disconnected. I am guessing these are my lines into the house but can't access the roof easily. Is it common to run these lines into the house via the roof? I live in a row house with a flat roof if that is relevant. Roof is also where the satellite dish is so no investigating that right now. I guess I will start fiddling about with these connections and see if changing the connecting line alters signals into the outlets in my house. Any other insight is welcome. It seems strange that I would have four separate lines into the house. I thought there would be one line and it would be split in the house itself.
sleaziep

sleaziep to emead

Member

to emead
Yes, some possibilities on the exterior. See my other post for more detail. Thanks!

hortnut
Huh?
join:2005-09-25
PDX Metro

hortnut to sleaziep

Member

to sleaziep
I moved to a new location in January. The prior owner had Dish and Dishnet for Internet and they had rewired it 2 years ago or so. I know the prior owner. They had the most up to date Dish equipment and features.

I had found a Comcast Pedestal in the Blackberries behind my house and no one else was connected to it and Comcast showed I could have service. Comcast said their records showed the last time they serviced my address was 1998.

When the installer came out, he ran a line and connected it to the Dish wiring and unhooked the wire going to the unused Dish on the roof. Since every room was wired, we abandoned the wiring and splitters to those rooms I was not going to use. Wiring was in the crawlspace and some on the outside wall in one section.

It helped that the installer had worked for Dish at one time, IMHO. Took him no time to do the complete install. Levels for X1 were great and HSI too. Have had no issues since the install in January 2016. Only outage was from a car that hit a power pole down the road and were without for an hour or so.

Had no issue with the $50 install fee as the installer made sure I got the newest x1 equipment.

Hope this helps in some way.
sleaziep
join:2016-09-29
Baltimore, MD

sleaziep

Member

Thanks Hortnut. If nothing else, it tells me how much it may cost to have a tech come out... Though I fear that they will jack up the rates since this isn't the install.

davidg
Good Bye My Friend
MVM
join:2002-06-15
00000

1 recommendation

davidg to sleaziep

MVM

to sleaziep
satellite does not use a splitter the same way cable tv/internet does, they use a switch. so it is very possible this won't pass the signal and needs to be replaced. The installer can tone or ohm out the cables to see where they go, it really does not take one very long. the cables going onto the roof likely went to the dish. Older dishes used 4 wires to feed, later they swapped down to 1-2 wires so that probably explains the 2 disconnected. Then from there it would go on in the house and feed the switch. When they rewired they may have run only a single cable between the switch inside and the ground block outside, and just left the original 4 wires to the roof.

You need to look in your attic, crawlspace, basement, etc... and see where all these interior cables go. post a picture or two and we can probably figure it out or at least help you to figure it out.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

said by davidg:

satellite does not use a splitter the same way cable tv/internet does, they use a switch.

Well some do use a splitter, while I'm not familiar with Dish I know DTV and with DTV after the SWiM switch (which could be integrated into the LNB) they can use splitters but and they pass power on one port (needed to power the LNB)

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

Yeap, Dish can definitely use regular splitters in systems with a Hopper and multiple Joeys.

davidg
Good Bye My Friend
MVM
join:2002-06-15
00000

2 recommendations

davidg to DarkLogix

MVM

to DarkLogix
thus why they are called switches and not splitters. look similar but not all function the same and many will not pass cable freqs at all. note I did not say it WILL NOT, I said it is VERY POSSIBLE THEY WON'T. it all depends on what is there. Should have clarified though that I am talking about between the RX and the LNB, as Hall See Profile pointed out between the hopper and joeys it may be a regular splitter. DTV feeds everything back to the SWiM last I had it(over a year ago), but Dish feeds to/from the hopper.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

said by davidg:

thus why they are called switches and not splitters

The one's I'm talking about are splitters, they just have added DC blocks in them to avoid sending (whatever voltage they use to power the LNB/SWiM switch) power to the other outputs.

In the DTV case the receivers talk to each other via DECA and the splitters "can" be used for normal use in face if you're doing Power over Coax to power an Amp they're great for that.

Also other than the splitters in the power path the others "can" be plan 3GHz rated splitters.

For the DTV side
here's a link to a SWIM switch
»www.solidsignal.com/pvie ··· t-swm-16

And here's a link to a SWIM splitter. (Note there is a splitter in the pic but the main item being sold in the link isn't the splitter, I just couldn't find the splitter being sold solo.)
»www.solidsignal.com/pvie ··· =swm-840

hortnut
Huh?
join:2005-09-25
PDX Metro

hortnut to sleaziep

Member

to sleaziep
The install fees are negotiable, but I did get my current bill today with the new fees for packages. And what they charge for installs and whatnot. Looks like somethings they jacked up pretty high, especially install, moving jacks and what not. Packages went up about $5 bucks per month. I was one of the first in my area [not far from where I live now] with @Home [recall looking in Network Neighborhood in W95 and there were only 3 of us hooked up], then ATTBI, then Comcast. Think Comcast took over in 2002?

I have found over the years that on a new install, they have a lot of leeway. I usually get the phone at no cost. Comcast has its detractors and rightfully so, but if you work with them and negotiate, they seem to have the ability to adjust prices.

I am on a 2 yr contract, which is no issue, since no one else can provide service here. Prior owner had Dishnet for Internet [she was a light user] but it has very restrictive caps.

Centurylink is here and the wiring is here, but they say they cannot service me? Plus from what others have here in my development and what I have read in the CL forum, it would be the last thing I would try. Before the turn of the Century [1997-2000?] I did ISP support for USwest/Qwest for a couple of years, they were halfway decent then. From what I read, CL, has fallen far short of those entities, even though they are using the same copper.

For about a year, moved way out in the country, but was able to get DSL from a Co-Op. It was only 1.5, but rock solid and support was great. I could watch Netflix and wife could stream her shows off CBS, ABC and NBC at the same time.

But back to current location, since my neighbors are using Dish or DirectTV for TV, I got a real good deal on a TriplePlay. Comcast wishes to get a better foothold here. I can see my cities TV Antennas, so many have gone with OTA too.

My neighbors did not know how many pedestals are here. So I am driving customers to Comcast. And before I got Comcast hooked up, I was getting very good reception with just rabbit ears, though selection of channels was limited for my taste.

When I am out of contract, I may consider "shaving" and go with HSI only and Basic TV and OTA [have a switch I can operate by remote control] - cost was the same as "bare" HSI. Did that back in 2010, until they came back and offered another "deal".
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to sleaziep

Premium Member

to sleaziep
The main thing to be aware of with stuff related to dish installs is make sure any splitters are properly rated for two way communications. cable systems are two way and dishes typically are not unless used for internet.