Hopper 3 and Tripod Dish

[Low_Timer]

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

[az99]

Low Timer wrote:
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Do Not get the $289 Sat Lite from solid signal. They will tell you it works but it will not work for Dish EA.

I also found that with the 2 head LNB you have to build a little fudge factor into your aiming.

[drumming102]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Simply connecting a hard drive to the 211 will not give you a DVR. There will be no recording ability until activated by Dish and that costs a one time $40 fee and applies to all receivers on the account.
You cannot view recorded programming from any receiver on any other receiver be it Hopper or 211. You can't even move a HD from one 211 to another.

Well that stinks. If I have a hopper in my house on our monthly does that mean we have paid the $40 since you said it apples to all receivers or is it a separate $40 from just having a hopper.

[Bill_Satellite]

Simply connecting a hard drive to the 211 will not give you a DVR. There will be no recording ability until activated by Dish and that costs a one time $40 fee and applies to all receivers on the account.
You cannot view recorded programming from any receiver on any other receiver be it Hopper or 211. You can't even move a HD from one 211 to another.

[Low_Timer]

TechWriter wrote:

Low Timer wrote:
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?

Peak on 72.7.

Thanks

[drumming102]

You can pay a 1 time fee of $40 to unlock your dvr function on a Z or a wally.

[Big_Katuna]

drumming102 wrote:

Big Katuna wrote:
No it does not. Forgot to mention that.

I record a lot and taking the Hopper and Joey with us every time disrupted recording when the system wasn't set up so I leave it home now.

I bit the bullet and bought the 211Z and a USB hard drive and will fill it with content. Plus it will work with the X2 when I get it.

Will the 211Z or the Wally just play content from the external drive that the Hopped has recorded on it or do you have to do the $40 DVR upgrade for the 211Z/Wally?

I dont think you can connect a drive to the Wally but dont take my word for it. I dont know about anyt $40 DVR upgrade; I just bought a TB hard drive and will record with the 211Z.

I'm gonna guess content recorded on a Hopper or Joey will not play on a 211. I might try it sometime.

[TechWriter]

Low Timer wrote:
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?

Peak on 72.7.

[drumming102]

Big Katuna wrote:
No it does not. Forgot to mention that.

I record a lot and taking the Hopper and Joey with us every time disrupted recording when the system wasn't set up so I leave it home now.

I bit the bullet and bought the 211Z and a USB hard drive and will fill it with content. Plus it will work with the X2 when I get it.

Will the 211Z or the Wally just play content from the external drive that the Hopped has recorded on it or do you have to do the $40 DVR upgrade for the 211Z/Wally?

[Big_Katuna]

No it does not. Forgot to mention that.

I record a lot and taking the Hopper and Joey with us every time disrupted recording when the system wasn't set up so I leave it home now.

I bit the bullet and bought the 211Z and a USB hard drive and will fill it with content. Plus it will work with the X2 when I get it.

[cooperwl]

Will the Pathway 2 work with the Hopper? Seems I read somewhere it would only work with the VIP211.

[Low_Timer]

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]

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]

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]

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!