Dish picture slightly wavy in the front bedroom...

[cannesdo]

A few weeks ago my living room tv died. It took me a while to find the same model to replace it with and in the meantime I got and old CRT 19" tv from Craigslist. It worked great. When I intalled the replacement tv in the living room I decided to use the smaller tv to troubleshoot the Dish connection in the bedroom as I was going to install a flat-screen on the long thigh-high shelf soon.

Turns out I like the location of the smaller tv up high and thought I'd keep it for a while. I figured out which connection in the cupboard in the bedroom was for the digital antenna and which was connected to the tv in the living room. I have been running the 2nd bedroom tv on antenna all week and the picture is perfect. Once I got the 2nd dish remote programmed I was able to pull up the programming, guide etc...but the picture is -- it's like a tremor, very subtle, the horizontal lines are a bit wavy, like 1/8 to 1/4 inch which is minor but pretty annoying.

I bought a new cables for the connections that aren't in the wall. The good kind of coax -- RG-6? That didn't help. (These run 1.) from the connection to the right of the sat. inputs 1 and 2 behind the receiver to the wall connection (that leads to the bedroom auxiliary connection, i.e. 2nd tv) and 2.)from that bedroom wall connection (coming from the living room) to the 2nd tv.

I pulled the plates off the wall where the undseen coax exits the living room and enters the bedroom and made sure the connections were tight. They were. So...what's next? Replace the connectors? Don't know if I can access these cables from the basement. I sort of doubt it. It's hard to believe they've gone bad down there where nothing gets disturbed. Could the problem be that it's a CRT? Is it harder for the signal to travel on to another tv? Is it like a power cord? Does distance matter? Might it be better with a newer, say...LCD tv?

Thanks much....

[cannesdo]

Ok, problem solved. Salti and Wa8yxm were on the right track. I did leave out one important step. I thought I was doing it by tuning to channel 60 but I needed to go into the channel search somehow and select it I guess. Dish rep told me thought it was the tv's coax connection and we went back and forth on that as I was pretty sure it wasn't. Then in the process of proving it to me he stumbled on the channel 60 thing and got the picture to come in clear. Kind of amazing that after 15 years (and one winter up north) the connections are still good. They even found the remote code for the tv. I spent hours trying to find one that worked and they had it sorted out in about 3 minutes. So I am good...to...go. Thanks for all the time and imput. Sorry I wasn't cluing in.

So, for anyone finding this in the future -- it was an old black cube tv. I had it on 72 cable and it needed to be on 60 air. Initially when I did that ll I got was snow, but that was because, as Salti noted, I had to go into the channel search on tv 2 and change the setting there as well (switch from cable to air for one, not sure what else he did in there)

[TechWriter]

I didn't follow all of your testing, so I might be repeating what you've already done.

Anyway, I would try troubleshooting by process of elimination. For example, buy a 50' length of RG6 cable and use it to connect the 2 TVs directly, completely bypassing the cable that is currently used. If the problem goes away, then it's probably the cable.

You might also try running an AC extension power cord from your 522 receiver into your house so it runs on house current. See if that makes a diff.

[SaltiDawg]

cannesdo,

Let's say out in your ara there are three TV stations, all digital, and named ABC, CBS, and NBC. They broadcast on Channels 20, 40, and 60 respectively. When you set up your 522 you would scan the local channels and your receiver would list CH 20, CH 40, and CH60 as being seen on the TV antenna you have connected to the back of your 522. You could tell your 522 to include those three stations on your Guide and you could view them when you wanted.

TOTALLY UNRELATED. You could take the TV you have and do the same thing - hooking an antenna up to the back, you would scan for channels and see the same three channels. BUT, you don't plan to use that TV to view channels from an antenna, but rather you intend to view entertainment sent to the TV from your 522 receiver.

SO, you disconnect the antenna from the back of your TV and instead connect an RG-6 Coax to the antenna connection on the TV and to the TV2 outlet coax connection on the back of the 522 receiver.

Now if thru the magic of electronics, we could send a picture on CH 45 from the 522, all we would have to do is tune to channel 45 on the TV and voila, we have a picture.

Note that because we disconnected the antenna from the back of the TV we would no longer see NBC, ABC, or CBS by tuning to channel 20, 40, or 60. BUT, we would see all of the 522 offerings on CH 45 and those offerings would include those channels along with all the satellite channels - all with the TV tuned to CH 45.

To do that, see above.

[cannesdo]

Ok, that's what I was wondering - if they were different. Is an OTA tuner the same as the channel search?

In other news I found the cable running between the two tvs under the rig. It was hanging right over/inside the main hatch to the basement. Guy at the hardware store said no way would it be RG-6 in an 2001 rig. But it is. So that bodes well. Now I'm thinking it's either the connections or some kind of interference.

[SaltiDawg]

If your TV has an OTA Tuner, read not ancient, it can be tuned to the same channel as you set the Dish 522 to output and you will have a picture and monaural sound. If you do not change BOTH then you will get "snow."

But in any event, I'll leave you be. Hope someone is able to help.

[cannesdo]

Salti, I appeciate your input and the manual link but as noted before, I am only able to get the pic in the bedroom on 73. I have tried the air setting, tried 60, tried 22. Dish reps have helped me try to get any other setting to work and it doesn't work. I get nothing but snow.

[SaltiDawg]

The System Info window is a summary of your receiver's info, including Receiver Serial #, Smart Card #, etc.

In my post last night I gave you a Step by Step procedure for your model 522 receiver to change the Channel from 73 to something in the TV UHF range of channels 21 thru 69. I also linked to your receiver's Manual on-line.

You may try a higher cable channel.

What I was suggesting is to switch from the cable channels to the OTA channels and as they only go up to Channel 69, try a lower channel - one not being used locally nor adjacent to one in use locally already.

Then change your TV2 to match.

[cannesdo]

Current settings right now on "System Info" are:

For TV1: Rem Addr: 9 TV Ch. Out: 3
For TV2: Rem Addr: 2 TV Ch Out: 73

What exactly am I trying to change to a lower number?

[cannesdo]

I tried those "choke" things today -- the magnets that sit on either side of the 2nd tv's power cord, to help ground/protect against interference. That had no affect. I tried and amplifier. No effect.

[cannesdo]

wa8yxm wrote:
Ignore Hopper since you do not use it (and joey)

Yes, Dish uses UHF (and you should get it on Chan 73 OTA Analog) for TV 2, As I said Wish I could change that, on the 522 receiver...

Side note: I know that box, used to have one, This makes it easier for me.

Try lower channels, set it (in the DISH menus) as low as possible, this will reduce loss, you may also need to move up if it's RFI issue. If you can upgrade the coax to RG-6 that will help too.. El-Cheapo lowester bidder RG-59 kind of starts to show how bad it is even in the UHF band..

This is why I do not like using the park-cable line for Sat LNBs It really is bad cable.

Thanks for this. So The channel changing you suggest -- am I changing it in the modulator setup? from Channel 73? Because I can't get that any lower than 73. Cable setting.

The air setting just gets me snow, whatever the channel. Some of the coax in my rig is unreachable, and my rig is a 2001 so I'm guessing that coax is RG-59. 😞 Is there any way to know? I can pull the plate off and view a few inches of it behind it.

[SaltiDawg]

Minor tweek. That would be Channel 73 Cable Digital.

UHF is also available on Channels 21 - 69 OTA.

[wa8yxm]

Ignore Hopper since you do not use it (and joey)

Yes, Dish uses UHF (and you should get it on Chan 73 OTA Analog) for TV 2, As I said Wish I could change that, on the 522 receiver...

Side note: I know that box, used to have one, This makes it easier for me.

Try lower channels, set it (in the DISH menus) as low as possible, this will reduce loss, you may also need to move up if it's RFI issue. If you can upgrade the coax to RG-6 that will help too.. El-Cheapo lowester bidder RG-59 kind of starts to show how bad it is even in the UHF band..

This is why I do not like using the park-cable line for Sat LNBs It really is bad cable.

AND MY LED LIGHTS ARE HERE per the package tracker (Well at the Landlord's house in any case) He will likely deliver tonight, tomorrow or Thursday (Since I told him no rush)

[SaltiDawg]

My menus are a little different than yours, but I found your manual on-line. The instructions are found on page 37-39.

Assuming you don't have your manual with you, the Menu Item you are looking for is "Modulator Setup." I suspect it is Menu => Installation => Setup => Modulator Setup.

If it were me, I'd select a channel on UHF that is not being used nor the channel either side in use.

Say 60 is it. After selecting 60 and closing out the menu, go to the TV2 and tune it to 60. See if that helped. My further advice would be if that does not help, go back to your previous Ch 73 (Cable) and tune the TV2 back to 73... if it it used to work I wouldn't mess with it.

Your manuals are available on-line atDish Manuals

[cannesdo]

Thanks...Do I do this somewhere in the receiver itself or via remote?