3100s Missing Even Transponders after DP34 Install

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taxtwit

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(Posted to 6100/9200 forum but really a 3100 issue, so reposting here)

Because of a recent move, I'm stuck with a situation where I can really only have two cables coming into the house off the dish, NWS I have four receivers - two 6100s and two 3100s. Learned from various DHC forums that one option to feed four receivers from two cables is a Dishpro Twin/Dishpro 34 set up, so I got both and installed them yesterday. Both 6100s work fine after install, but both 3100s are getting odd transponders signals only. I've "check switched" and hard rebooted both 3100s several times to no avail. I'm pretty confident it's not a cable/connection issue, because I've hooked up a 6100 to all four cables and everything's fine, and I've hooked both 3100s up to all four cables and get the same "odd transponder only" result everytime. I'm also pretty sure its not a "legacy" issue, as I understand 3100s to be DP compliant receivers.

Any thoughts as to what the problem might be?
 
Do the 3100s identify the switch?
Its possible Bell had DishPro support removed from the 3100 software but it was certainly there a year or two ago.
The 3100s have the newest firmware right?
 
I have seen this numerous times. All worked fine before the switch was installed. Assuming all your LNBs are dishpro compliant and your IRDs are all dishpro...which you indicate they all are...

Possible #1
One or both of your cables is giving you a problem. Take a look at the connectors and see if the copper connector has any white on it...if so cut off the ends and crimp on new ones.

Possible #2
The IRD to connection #1 is putting out a week signal. DP34 switches are powered by the voltage coming in from IRD on input #1.

Possible #3
You actually have a dishpro Plus LNB. Many of these LNBs were factory defective.

Possible #4
Beats me!! Never failed to fix this problem by #1 or #2!!!

Good luck and let us know what ends up working.

Vis
 
where the 6100 is working......remove it and connect the 3100. Do a check switch at this point.
 
Are you using a seperator as a splitter in your set-up........it really only works well by providing two inputs from one cable for the 9200.
 
i don't think a separator works with DP equipment. You would need to use just the twin or get a DPP44 switch.
 
Thanks for all the responses - I'm at work now, but I'll try some of the suggestions later at home.

I can confirm the following:

1. The 3100s both seem to be recognizing both the DP Twin LNB and the Switch. I can't recall exactly what shows up on the "info" screen after I run check switch, but there is reference to "DP34" and "DP LNB". In addition, around the middle of the info screen are three boxes with two boxes marked to indicate signal is being received and the third box indicating "NC", which I take to mean "no connection". These boxes seem to me to confirm the 3100 is reading the DP34, which has input cables from the dish at position one and two, but not three.

2. Both 3100s show E540 as the software version, which I understand to be current.

3. I do NOT have RG6 cable from the DP34 to the wall - house is thirty years old and is wired with the RG59. I will try to connect a 3100 to the DP34 with RG6 tonight to see if this solves the problem - if it does, I'm up the proverbial creek because it will be a supreme PITA to try to pull RG6 through the house.

4. As per my initial post, both 6100s work at all locations and neither 3100 works at any. I ran a check switch every time I did a new connection.

5. It is definitely a DP34, not a DPP34.

6. I am not using any separators, just the DP Twin LNB and the DP34.
 
DP equipment will NOT work with RG-59. I think it says so in every dishpro manual, with every piece of dishpro equipment.

What dishpro does, is "stack" the even transponders on top of the odd's.
that puts odds at 950-1450 MHz and evens at 1750 to 2250 MHz. (I think it reverses them too, making it incompatible with directv equipment)

Yes, that's 2.25 GigaHertz. That's why it tells you to use only 'high quality' 'Digital' satelitte cable. Quad sheild RG-6.

Sometimes, you can use the old cable to pull the new cable through walls, if its not nailed down inside the walls. Splice the new cable onto the old, making the junction as small and as smooth as possible. only way to find out is too give it a try.

I ran new cables on the outside of the house, drilling through brick to install new outlets.
 
Not home yet to try to see if the 3100s work with RG6, but I'm thinking the RG59 is the most likely explanation. I'll also check the connectors, but I was pretty careful with the install not to twist or bend anything and the cables worked fine before the install.

Just out of curiousity, if it is the RG59 causing the problem, why doesn't it affect the 6100s?
 
The DP34 will happily accept power off any of the 4 output ports, legacy switches and newer DPP switches do require power on port 1 though.

I agree all cabling should be RG6, seems odd the 6100s work with the RG59 and the 3100s won't. They do use different tuners internally but they should perform pretty much the same.
Perhaps the 3100s need an nvm reset and are confused from the previous switch install still. Something to try is running a checkswitch on the 3100s with no coax connected, this will reset the switch matrix, then try it again connected to the DP34.
 
Update:

I tried the following last night and got the same "odd transponder only" result every time:

1. Switched the two input cable connections to the DP34 as per visiter's second suggestion;

2. Hooked a 3100 up directly to the DP34 using a length of RG6 cable;

3. Tried connecting a 2700 (which I know is a legacy, but I kept the the 6100s connected);

4. Bypassed the DP34 and connected a 3100 directly to one of the cables coming from the DP Twin;

At this juncture, and especially in light of 4 (and because the 6100s still work fine), I've got to conclude the DP34 is fine and I either screwed up a connector when I swapped in the DP Twin LNB or the LNB itself is faulty. I'll try an nvm reset as per TheSteve's suggestion, but climbing the ladder to fiddle with the LNB/connectors will have to wait until it's not -30 :(
 
Thanks for the reply!

I'm still very curious about your problem, but I'll try to buy a DP Plus LNB on ebay anyway(for about 20$) and see if I am lucky!

Yesterday night I had some success with a LEGACY LNB plugged into my DP34 (using both output of the LEGACY LNB into port 1 and 2 of the DP34). What I did was to do a "Check switch" on my 3100 while it was NOT CONNECTED to the switch nor the LNB... after that, I removed the power from the 3100 and i have connected my 3100 to the first OUTPUT of the DP34. When I put the power back to the 3100, it worked perfectly as if I were not using a switch at all...

Tonight I need to test with more than ONE 3100, and see if this still word as well.. If it does, it could be a simple solution for someone who has a DP34 and only want to have more that 2 receiver...
 
Actually, you need a DP Twin LNB, NOT a DPP (i.e. DishPro PLUS). I've been told DP34s don't work with DPP LNBs.



Interesting - I never tried anything like that, since I need to connect the DP34 to both the "91" and "82" outputs of the DP Twin LNB to get HD. I'm assuming what you're talking about here is connecting both "outs" from a single "dual" LNB (i.e. a LNB focused on a single satellite, eg 91 with two "outs) and then connecting your 3100 to the DP34. With this connection, I don't think you're testing the "switch" part of the DP34, i.e. the internal switch that sends the signal from both the 91 and 82 satellite through each output cable. Still, the fact your getting at least one 3100 to receive both odd and even transponders off of the DP34 is cause for optimism - please post what happens when you try to hook up the second 3100.
 
I was wondering if you had any Luck with your setup? I think I am experiencing the same issue here and I wonder If you were able to fix it?

Actually on my side, I tried to use a DP34 with legacy LNB (but using both output of the dual LNB to input 1 and 2 of the DP34)... after a while, I was able to get both, even and odd transponder and everything was working flawlessly until two hours later, when it finally went back to the original problem (seeing only the odd transponders)... I know I am not supposed to use legacy LNB with DP34, but since it kinda work fine for two hours, it's just weird... Anyway, I'm about to buy a DP LNB but would like to know if you were able to make yours work before I proceed with any purchase.

Thanks
 
also, a 2700 receiver will not work with a DP lnb and/ or a DP34 switch unless you have the dishpro adapter for the 2700, which plugs into a power outlet behind where the 2700 is located
 
Nope. Tried pretty much everything suggested in the thread without success.



I am using a "twin" DP LNB (like a quad, but with two outputs instead of four) that I picked up used on ebay. It could be the used DP twin is the problem, but why does it work fine with my 6100s? Again, after trying numerous things (rebooting the 3100s (I have two and neither get even transponders), using RG6 only, connecting/reconnecting/re-reconnecting ad nauseum, I picked up another 6100 (I've got three TVs and they're all HD) and solved the problem that way. If I need to hook up any more TVs and therefore need to use the 3100s, I'll either live with half the channels or try a another twin LNB or DP34 switch - they're both pretty cheap on ebay.
 
as an FYI. DPP44 will work with legacy receivers with no adaptors as long as you have one DP compliant receiver hooked up.
 
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