Convert DirecTV to Dish TV

[BillJinOR]

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

Longtime DirecTV viewer here, ignorant about Dish. What's the deal with the western arc vs eastern arc with Dish. Do they have the same or different programming? Do you need to see one or both? Does the Winegard Travler stay on one, or switch between them? Can you receive the western arc in New England or the Eastern arc on the west coast?

DirecTV has no western or eastern, just one set of satellites that is used all over the U.S.

The traveler doesn't move between west and east at the same time while in use and also can't do the entire eastern satellites, Just one manually 61.5 , but it has almost all the channels on it. To answer one question The Eastern is a repeat of the western with the exception of locals. Many of the eastern markets high def locals are on the eastern (61.5) but they still have a std def version on the Western 3. There are a couple markets in the East That have no Western feed at all but its not common.
The Dish westerns are lower in the sky than Direct so Dish has a duplicate set for Far east locations. A few years ago they moved more locals (HD) on many eastern cities to the eastern.
The ideal set up in my mind is a Traveler or Eagle on western with a small portable that can do west and one or all eastern, stored for Tree access or in extreme eastern use.Forget that with a Hopper though the portables have limits and wont work with a hopper ..just the Wally down.

[DavidH2]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

The western and eastern arcs had different "definitions". Years ago I needed two dishes aimed different directions to get all high DEF channels at the S&B ..Now I (at home) only have one dish aimed west and it gets anything High DEF or regular. If you're not located in Nova Scotia all the time (where the dish is almost horizontal) it does not matter.



And it is a company that appears to care about mobile customers..... we shall see..... DirecTV sure as hell doesn't.....Good riddance!!!!



Gary

Gary are you converting an in motion wineguard? I too am fed up with DTV and ready to switch. My 16 CS has the in motion and I was previously told it was just a dip switch setting change. Sounds too good to be true!

[Gary.Jones]

David.

No I am transferring a Trav’ler antenna from Direct to Dish. I do not have an in-motion antenna.

This may be wrong, but it seems to me that you might not get High definition television on Dish with the in-motion.

The Ttrav’ler is a much better antenna... better reception in rain and inclement weather. About $1500 new plus install. SK-1000 I think. Install is easy to do yourself.

Gary

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by DavidH2

Gary are you converting an in motion wineguard? I too am fed up with DTV and ready to switch. My 16 CS has the in motion and I was previously told it was just a dip switch setting change. Sounds too good to be true!

Yes it is a dip switch setting. Yes you can get HD from DISH on the dome. The difference between the dome unit and Travler (or RF Mogul) is:

- the in motion can only receive one satellite at a time so with multiple receivers you couldn't watch programming from different satellites at the same time.
- as Gary said the reception is not as robust due to the tiny reflector under that dome. My Traveler sometimes pulls in a usable signal when pointed at light tree cover, the dome usually won't.
- the dome is limited to a basic receiver which has very limited DVR capabilities but only IF you add a hard drive to it. With the Travler you can use a Hopper 3 which has 16 tuners, full DVR, prime time anytime and a very large storage capacity.

That said, if you stay with the dome, when you travel from TX to any points eastward, suggest you use the DISH "hybrid" dip switch setting available on the dome units. That will give you the same programming as the standard Western Arc setting (110, 119, 129) but swap 129 with 61.5 in the Eastern Arc. 61.5 is higher in the sky then 129 and easier to "see" in the east, but just as importantly many markets in the east have HD locals on 61.5 only. You will usually, but not always, get locals on 129 but in the east, in most markets they will be in SD.

In my experience 129 is for all practical intents not "seeable" in the New England area.

FYI also, with a DISH "outdoors" account you can easily switch the spot beamed locals yourself using the MyDish app on your GPS enabled smartphone. No calling in needed to change your service address.

[Gary.Jones]

As usual .... nice explanation Rob !!

Gary

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by brobox

Here was Rob's excellent how do but the photos are now gone. Might try his website to find the instructions http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/dish...ml#post3299228

Thanks Chuck, I can't fix the broken photos in my original post but here is an updated version located on my blog site. Let me know if the photos don't load.

https://myquantumdiscovery.com/conve...a-2017-entegra

Also note a lot has changed since I did that post and your DISH receiver choice (basic Wally/211z or high end Hopper 3) will dictate the full extent of the changes required. The blog post linked above outlines that, but it gets complicated so let me know if you have any questions.

[jdmain]

Eastern arc and Western arc are different groups of satellites. Western arc will get most of the country but you will lose channels in some areas. We are still waiting on parts to change some over to Dish. I have also wired many coaches with both in motion and the Traveler. But with Dish it requires you to run a chk sw when you switch them.

[Gary.Jones]

I just finished the transfer this morning from DirecTV (POS company!!!) to DISH.... and I hope that I have 4 or 5 years of no problems just like I did with Direct until the company went to hell in a handbasket with AT&T.... Sad.

Anyhow, bought all the parts on Amazon, the arm and LMBs in one purchase and the reflector dish in a second purchase. Used the OEM instructions to remove the old DirecTV dish and arm and add the DISH LMBs (3) and Dish reflector. Piece of cake. I am going to put a second set of instructions up here with my own notes and observations added while doing the work. Today I had to move the Cornerstone to a local WalMart since I have a bunch of trees that block the path to the sats where the coach sits in the driveway. Followed the step-by-step instructions on how to modify the software in the control box... followed the Winegard instructions exactly and had no problems. Went to the Walmart after reprogramming the control box to see if it would find and lock-on to the sats...... it did and it did it perfectly. It locks onto 110 - 119 - 129 western arc quickly. Now I need to get in touch with Dish and get an installer out here for the Hopper and wireless Joey installs..

The install was easy. Have a ground crew there who can get tools that you forgot in a bucket on a rope and don't go up just before it starts to pour.

Here is a little thing. This is my first time up on this Cornerstone roof. I learned a couple of things. I have a 17' Harbor Freight Little Giant version ladder. It was just tall enough for the Cornerstone. I climb on the passenger side since there is grass on that side and I figure a fall there is easier to survive than on good-old-solid-concrete on the driver side. So, I found that the ladder gets to only 18 to 24 inches above the Girard awnings. My only fear getting up on the roof is the process of getting from the roof to the ladder. A 17' ladder just had enough extra ladder above the Girards to give you something to hang onto with your hands as you make that roof/ladder transition. I would have been scared to death to do it with anything smaller. Dee stands at the bottom of the ladder to call the EMS to haul me away but luckily it wasn't needed this time. Think of the length of the ladder. If you have less ladder than that, you have more hair on your chest than I do......


Gary

[Hayman]

Gary ( and others ) just a FYI: Last week we converted to DISH:
LNB's & Arm, Reflector $300
A Box connected to Hopper that connects to OTA and $ 30
allows OTA channels to be viewed & chosen if there's
no agreement in your area.
Change connections in basement from DirecTV to DISH
Install Hopper 3 & wireless Joey in coach, wireless Joey
in Casita, activate system, Confirm all working & a
tutorial on system operation. $120

Total Cost. $450

We are in the Port Charlotte, Fl. area and used SAS Satellite, Scott Skala an authorized DISH Installer. He set up our account , ordered all our equipment and showed up on time as scheduled. Total time about 2 hours.

Anyone in this area needing satellite service or conversion to DISH I would highly recommend SAS Satellite LLC


Scott Skala
239-272-4218
Welcome

[Gary.Jones]

Scott

Thanks for the information. Your costs are similar to mine.

Is this your only Dish account? Did you get wireless Joeys or use the cabling in the coach... I think I am going with wireless. ?

Dish supposedly has a policy that limits one receiver to an account. You could open a second account in someone else's name (DW's maiden name for example) but then you pay for all equipment. I already have Dish in the S&B and I have heard that there is a way around this limitation. I may talk to your guy just to get some information because he sounds like a knowledgeable guy. I have a plan but I am open to ideas.

And as an aside, I now have all the unique DirecTV stuff removed sitting in my garage.

Gary

[brobox]

Gary, DISH installed one wired and one wireless Joey in the S&B. The wired is an antique. I keep looking for a hand crank to use it. They used that hookup as that is what Direct already had in the kitchen, so they took the easy route, but I wouldn't install one.