Howdy,I am outfitting our rig w/ a Dish Wally receiver and want to attach an external hard drive (EHD) for a DVR. There is a lot of conflicting info on the web as to whether an EHD attached to a Wally needs its own external power source (plugged into the wall outlet in my case) or can simply use the power coming through the USB cable coming from the Wally. The external power source requirement is not currently on the Dish web site so I wonder if that requirement has been done away with w/ newer models of the Wally. For those who have installed this setup fairly recently, what EHD did you use and does it simply use the power coming through the USB cable or does it use external power for the EHD.Thanks,Mike

Great question, sorry I can't answer it. Are you thinking of a solid state external drive?? That should really reduce any power requirements and increase the speeds.

All of my installs (3) the last about 10 months ago just use the power from the Wally no outside source. all with no issues. never had any issues even with the old 211's I've had.Ive never used an outside power. My current ones are cheap Toshiba 1g spinning drives( I think I paid 50 bucks at amazon) but I don't think matters

Confusing for sure but, in general, USB standards and specifications for USB 1.1 through USB 2.0 have a max current of 500 MA or Milliamps (.5A).USB 3.0 has additional expanded current capacity in the specifications provided the port has the additional contacts and the additional current capability of 900 MA or .9A..Typically a USB 3.0 port can be identified with a blue colored plastic insert in the port..USB 1.1-2.0 ports are typically a white or black plastic insert in the port..If USB port is white or black, then most likely best to follow USB 1.1-2.0 power specifications of no more than 500MA (.5A).There are a few other port color variations possible.You can read up on what the port colors are and how to identify what version the port is.. HEREMany of the newer slim external HDs which use a 2.5" Laptop size drive often fall into the 500MA (.5A) or a bit less current draw category. However larger capacity slim drives of 2TB and larger with 2.5" drives can and most likely will exceed the 500MA (.5A) current draw..External slim drives using SSD (Solid State Drive) technology will most likely exceed USB 2.0 current ratings as these drives are power hungry at about 1A-1.2A..I kind of doubt that the receiver has USB 3.0 port..The current rating of the external drive should be on the model number sticker, if it states more than 500MA (.5A) then a external power supply must be used.There are times even if you are staying within the available current of a USB port that an external drive may not work correctly, sometimes these ports supply too low of a voltage to support a external drive but will support a smaller USB stick..If in doubt, add in an external power supply for large storage sizes in external drives or External SSD drives.

YC 1 wrote:Great question, sorry I can't answer it. Are you thinking of a solid state external drive?? That should really reduce any power requirements and increase the speeds.SSD drives actually can draw MORE current than spinning drives.Sort of depends on what you are comparing to, if comparing 2.5" SSD to a 3.5" spinner than yeah the SSD most likely will draw less.However if comparing 2.5" SSD to 2.5" spinning drive then no, spinning drives can draw less than a SSD of similar drive space.Example 1 1TB Samsung EVO SSD can draw as much as 4W which translates to .8A at 5VSAMSUNG 1TB SpecificationsI have seen 1TB SSDs with 1.1A-1.2A at 5V current rating.A 1TB 2.5" spinning drive however has typical read/write wattage of 1.6W-1.7W or about .34A at 5V.. Granted, there is "spinup" current draw on spinners but that is typically much less than the 1A that is listed in the specs and that lasts a few milliseconds. Most 2.5" 1 TB spinners will have a 5V current rating of .7A or so.See HEREAnd yes, I have replaced spinners with SSD drives in laptops and the extra current draw DOES reduce the battery life noticeably.Where SSD excels in is SPEED, not power consumption, the faster things get, the higher the power consumption will be.For the OP, pretty much any drive of 1TB and over is going to be a "hit or miss" type of thing, the larger storage space and the faster the speed the higher chance that the drive will need an external power source to operate 100% correctly.

A 2.5" USB drive should not be a problem, but a 3.5" USB drive definitely needs an external power source. If you purchase a 3.5" drive it will include the power source.

Dish Wally Receiver DVR Hard Drive | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Apr 12, 2021
Confusing for sure but, in general, USB standards and specifications for USB 1.1 through USB 2.0 have a max current of 500 MA or Milliamps (.5A).

USB 3.0 has additional expanded current capacity in the specifications provided the port has the additional contacts and the additional current capability of 900 MA or .9A..

Typically a USB 3.0 port can be identified with a blue colored plastic insert in the port..

USB 1.1-2.0 ports are typically a white or black plastic insert in the port..

If USB port is white or black, then most likely best to follow USB 1.1-2.0 power specifications of no more than 500MA (.5A).

There are a few other port color variations possible.

You can read up on what the port colors are and how to identify what version the port is.. HERE

Many of the newer slim external HDs which use a 2.5" Laptop size drive often fall into the 500MA (.5A) or a bit less current draw category. However larger capacity slim drives of 2TB and larger with 2.5" drives can and most likely will exceed the 500MA (.5A) current draw..

External slim drives using SSD (Solid State Drive) technology will most likely exceed USB 2.0 current ratings as these drives are power hungry at about 1A-1.2A..

I kind of doubt that the receiver has USB 3.0 port..

The current rating of the external drive should be on the model number sticker, if it states more than 500MA (.5A) then a external power supply must be used.

There are times even if you are staying within the available current of a USB port that an external drive may not work correctly, sometimes these ports supply too low of a voltage to support a external drive but will support a smaller USB stick..

If in doubt, add in an external power supply for large storage sizes in external drives or External SSD drives.
jorbill2or
Explorer II
Apr 12, 2021
All of my installs (3) the last about 10 months ago just use the power from the Wally no outside source. all with no issues. never had any issues even with the old 211's I've had.Ive never used an outside power. My current ones are cheap Toshiba 1g spinning drives( I think I paid 50 bucks at amazon) but I don't think matters
YC_1
Nomad
Apr 12, 2021
Great question, sorry I can't answer it. Are you thinking of a solid state external drive?? That should really reduce any power requirements and increase the speeds.

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Dish Wally Receiver DVR Hard Drive

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