Forum Discussion

Low_Timer's avatar
Low_Timer
Explorer
Aug 03, 2016

Hopper 3 and Tripod Dish

Good afternoon. I have been traveling with my Dish Network satellite for years with a tripod manual dish. I carry a 1000.2 & 1000.4 in case I'm in an area with blockage. Usually, from the time I pull out one of the dishes to having tv working is 10 to 15 minutes and can hit the arc within a couple of minutes until this week.

I recently upgraded to the Hopper 3 from 722k receivers. When we left on our recent trip, I grabbed my Hopper 3 and wireless Joey from the house along with my new Hybrid LNB to swap on my 1000.2 dish. Since this was the first trip with the newly purchased hybrid LNB, I took the hybrid LNB from home as well. We arrive at the campground, changed the LNB on the 1000.2 dish to the new hybrid LNB, but was unable to acquire a signal on the Eastern arc. Thinking my purchased LNB may be bad, I switched to the hybrid LNB from home without success. I have one of those cheap satellite finder meters I rarely use and seems to be useless with the hybrid LNB and/or Hopper3. Thinking maybe I was having a bad day finding the arc, I pull out the old 722k and 1000.4 I still had in the RV. Within a couple of minutes, I'm locked onto the Eastern arc. I note the settings on the 1000.4 dish to verify on the 1000.2 dish which are identical. I remove the 1000.4 dish, slide on the 1000.2 and connect the Hopper 3. For the life of me, I cannot get a hint of signal on the Hopper 3.

Does anyone travel with my current setup, Hopper 3 and tripod mount 1000.2 hybrid? Anyone use a cheaper meter with the Hopper 3 and hybrid LNB? I would appreciate any tips anyone may have locking onto the arc with the Hopper 3. Up until this trip, I felt pretty good about hitting the arc and would often help fellow campers when they were having trouble. This trip, I'm the one that cannot find the signal with the Hopper 3.

Thanks
  • Low_Timer's avatar
    Low_Timer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2016
    Big Katuna wrote:
    I have looked on Amazon and read reviews. The cheap ones are scary and a Birdog like the pros use is $400.

    For $400 I can buy a Pathway X 2 carryout unit and be done with it which is my plan.


    Thank you for the suggestion. I will take a look at the Pathway as well.

    Thanks
  • Big_Katuna's avatar
    Big_Katuna
    Explorer II
    Aug 04, 2016
    I have looked on Amazon and read reviews. The cheap ones are scary and a Birdog like the pros use is $400.

    For $400 I can buy a Pathway X 2 carryout unit and be done with it which is my plan.
  • Low_Timer's avatar
    Low_Timer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2016
    Good morning, I wanted to say thank you to everyone for the help. This morning, I had success and have the Hopper 3 and wireless Joey working as they should. With the above message of the Hopper 3 signal meter being slow, I done something that may sound odd, but it worked. I should have thought of this the other night when I pulled out the 1000.4 dish to verify I could find the arc. This morning, I made a plumb bob to mark the arm of the 1000.4 at the LNB on the ground, done the same when I swapped to the 1000.2 dish. It took the Hopper 3 around 15 to 20 seconds to show the signal, but I was peaked on the eastern arc.

    Now, I need to find a cheaper meter since the Hopper 3 is slow to show the signal and my cheap satellite finder meter doesn't seem to work well with the hybrid LNB. Does anyone have any suggestions?

    Thanks again for the help!
  • Low_Timer's avatar
    Low_Timer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2016
    Thank you everyone for continuing to help me work through my learning curve. This one has me scratching my head a bit since I usually hit the arcs within a couple minutes with the other setups.

    Thanks again!
  • Low_Timer's avatar
    Low_Timer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2016
    TechWriter wrote:
    Low Timer wrote:
    . . . my new Hybrid LNB to swap on my 1000.2 dish. Since this was the first trip with the newly purchased hybrid LNB, I took the hybrid LNB from home as well.

    Is this the LNBF you're trying to use?


    Low Timer wrote:

    Does anyone travel with my current setup, Hopper 3 and tripod mount 1000.2 hybrid? Anyone use a cheaper meter with the Hopper 3 and hybrid LNB? I would appreciate any tips anyone may have locking onto the arc with the Hopper 3.

    I upgraded my Winegard Travler to a Hybrid LNBF, plus I carry a 1000.2 tripod with Western and Eastern Arc Hybrid LNBFs. These are the 1000.2 Eastern and Western Arc Settings.

    Here's a Hopper 3 wiring example.

    Finally, I use a very good sat meter.


    Yes, that is the exact LNB I'm using for the eastern arc on my older 1000.2 dish.

    Thank you for the manual. Something I did notice, I was attempting to locate the arc using 61.5. When you are using your tripod, do you use 72.7 to locate the arc? Maybe scanning back and forth a little from where I located the arc with 1000.4 on 61.5 is my problem.

    Thank you for the wiring, I have considered the Winegard in the future and this wiring will be helpful.

    I don't have a good satellite meter, just one of those $10 satellite finder meters. It usually worked well enough when needed. Not sure these cheap meter work any longer with the hybrid lnb since mine didn't seem to react much.

    Thanks
  • Low_Timer's avatar
    Low_Timer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2016
    Dutch_12078 wrote:
    Are you sure you have the coax connected to Port 1 on the Hybrid LNB?


    Yes, I'm connected to port 1. When I started searching on my problems, I came across a message where an installer was having the same issue and he was on the wrong port, but I wasn't lucky. :)

    Thank you very much.
  • Low_Timer's avatar
    Low_Timer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2016
    Big Katuna wrote:
    I do. I switched to DISH a few months ago from DTV.

    I got a 2nd dish from the installer and take the Hopper 3, Joey and wifi with me.

    One thing I will say about the Hopper is that the signal meter is slow to lock in; many seconds. I had a hard time at first until I started going very slowly.

    You didn't mention a combiner/splitter. Two LNB coax cables combine to give you one wire to your Hopper.

    I recently bought a 211Z to leave in the RV and leave the Hopper at home recording stuff.

    I also see a Pathway X2 in my future.


    I only ran a single cable from the LNB directly to the Hopper 3 and not using a solo hub. The Joey from home is wireless. Am I correct in my understanding that a solo node is not needed when using the Hopper 3 and a wireless Joey? At home, my setup does have a solo hub installed, but I have two wired Joey's and the wireless Joey. I completed a "test installation" to see if the LNB was being shown correctly as EA Hybrid same as home. The test completed, but had red "X" on all the tuners since I didn't have a signal. Don't know, maybe this was a mistake and prevents the signal meter from indicating a signal when I hit the satellite. Is my satellite finder meter pretty much useless with the hybrid LNB, the meter only moved ever so slightly when moving the dish? Once I had trouble finding the arc, I switched to the 1000.4 and 722k insuring my tripod was plumb and able to find the arc. Thought the switch back to the 1000.2 would finally locate the arc using the same skew and elevation on both dishes.

    I appreciate all the help as I learn or find my problem hitting the arc with the Hopper 3. Maybe something happened to the Hopper 3 while in transit while riding in the back seat of my truck. The Hopper appears to be functioning correctly minus the signal.

    Thanks again!

    Thanks
  • TechWriter's avatar
    TechWriter
    Explorer
    Aug 03, 2016
    Low Timer wrote:
    . . . my new Hybrid LNB to swap on my 1000.2 dish. Since this was the first trip with the newly purchased hybrid LNB, I took the hybrid LNB from home as well.

    Is this the LNBF you're trying to use?


    Low Timer wrote:

    Does anyone travel with my current setup, Hopper 3 and tripod mount 1000.2 hybrid? Anyone use a cheaper meter with the Hopper 3 and hybrid LNB? I would appreciate any tips anyone may have locking onto the arc with the Hopper 3.

    I upgraded my Winegard Travler to a Hybrid LNBF, plus I carry a 1000.2 tripod with Western and Eastern Arc Hybrid LNBFs. These are the 1000.2 Eastern and Western Arc Settings.

    Here's a Hopper 3 wiring example.

    Finally, I use a very good sat meter.
  • Big_Katuna's avatar
    Big_Katuna
    Explorer II
    Aug 03, 2016
    I do. I switched to DISH a few months ago from DTV.

    I got a 2nd dish from the installer and take the Hopper 3, Joey and wifi with me.

    One thing I will say about the Hopper is that the signal meter is slow to lock in; many seconds. I had a hard time at first until I started going very slowly.

    You didn't mention a combiner/splitter. Two LNB coax cables combine to give you one wire to your Hopper.

    I recently bought a 211Z to leave in the RV and leave the Hopper at home recording stuff.

    I also see a Pathway X2 in my future.

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