installing direct TV with two dishes

brucemeisinger · #1 (**permalink**) 01-21-2005, 05:42 PM

I am a first time direct tv user /installer. I purchased a SIR-TS360 HD reciever and a DSA-20ma phase lll ( 3 LNBs,4 reciever switch ) able to point to 101,110,and 119. because of trees I can only get 110 & 119 or 101.
Can I use the above dish for 110 & 119, and buy a second dish, maybe a KTI 18" with a dual LNB??? and some sort of switch? or can I plug the second dish into the first? a diagram would help. Thanks

kturcotte · #2 (**permalink**) 01-25-2005, 12:22 PM

What you want to do is fine. I have seperate dishes aas well. You'll need a 4(5) x 8 multiswitch. Make sure it's cascadable and can handle the 22khz signal sent from the receiver to switch between the 119 and 110 satellites. Also, if you're going to use a seperate, single dish for 101, I'd recommend upgrading to a larger dish (24" or 30") that will GREATLY reduce rain fade!

brucemeisinger · #3 (**permalink**) 01-26-2005, 11:27 PM

I have a 3 horn dish with a built in 4x4 switch how do i disable the lnb pointed at what was supposed to point at 101 ( on the triple horn ver3 dish)so the receiver doesn't get confused. One person has told me to get an old 2 horn, upgradable to 3 horns using a sat-c kit the kit is a single lnb with a sat combiner that hooks the middle lnb, for sat 110, to one side of the dual lnb pointed at 119 then run the two rg6 cables from the sat dish pointed at 101 to the place where the 101 lnb was hooked up on the switch in the old stle multi dish.
No, I don't know why I have to go through all of this. What ever I do will take a lot of time and effort, for something that may not work!!

how do I know if i can cascade my built in switch??

kturcotte · #4 (**permalink**) 01-27-2005, 05:50 AM

The built in switch is cascadable, and can be used. Just run 2 lines from it (Any 2 lines, doesn't matter) into a 4(5)x8 switch. Then run 2 lines from your round dish pointed at 101 into the switch. I won't swear, but from my understanding (Very credible sources), all that would work fine, even if you were getting a signal from 101 on the triple sat, but since you're not even doing that there won't be a problem. Just make sure the switch you buy either says cascadable and/or 22khz tone.
If you need some more help (Not that I'm not having fun helping you out

), you might want to check out the dbsforums over at dbsforums.com It's where I get most of my info and help from.

brucemeisinger · #5 (**permalink**) 01-27-2005, 11:11 PM

Thanks a lot I will try the other sight. I would like to know how the one switch comunicates with the other switch, how they cascade, etc..

Again thanks a lot. going through all that installation and not having it work, and no way of testing to see if the IRD will talk through everything until it is all installed is very scary!