RT8000S with Dish

[SunnyD]

Hi all, Newbie Question.

I installed a RT8000S with a Dish 510 receiver and have a question.
When changing channels and the antenna changes satellite, then I get a fault from the receiver saying I have lost a satellite and I then have to hit ok. It works, but this happens every time when changing channels.
My question is, if I upgrade to a VIP 211K receiver, will this still happen, or is there a work around my old receiver?

Thanks

[Winegard Tech Help]

SunnyD,

Is the receiver configured for SW64 with all three satellites showing? If it is not, you would want to follow this configuration to set it correctly:

1. Power up the receiver (not the satellite antenna)
2. Press menu, 6-1-1 to access the point dish screen
3. Highlight the checkswitch option on the right hand side
4. Disconnect the coaxial cable connected to “satellite in” on the back of the receiver
5. Highlight and select the “test” option on the screen
6. Let it run through 38 tests. At the end, when prompted by the screen, select the “save” option.
7. Reconnect the coaxial cable.
8. Select the cancel or done option on the bottom of the screen
9. On the screen titled “Point Dish”, configure it to show satellite 119 and transponder 11
10. Power up the antenna
11. Wait for the antenna to lock on and display a green signal on the screen with the message “Locked – Echostar 119 West”
12. If it is an in-motion roof-mounted unit, allow the unit 6-8 minutes to finish the conical search (washing machine noise) and proceed when the unit is completely quiet. If it is a stationary unit or a Carryout, proceed immediately.
13. Highlight and select check switch on the right hand side
14. On the installation summary screen, there will be two options labled “Superdish” and “Alternate”. Highlight both of these and press select, thus inputting a checkmark in the box next to each.
15. Highlight and select test again. This time it will run through 50 tests.

After finishing the tests, you should see six boxes with satellite 119 (odd/even), satellite 110 (odd/even) and satellite 129 (odd/even) and a switch that reads SW64.

If you get this, you are up and running. Cancel out of every screen you see and give the receiver time to acquire the satellites and download the program guide.

If you do have SW64 and the receiver is still showing that message, I would say it's something on the receiver end as the satellite should be toggling fine. It's not a common error, and I can't recall seeing a 211k ever do that.

[SunnyD]

Thanks for the reply.
I am following your instructions right now, but I notice that I can not get a good signal on 119.
It gets to 25 and locks on for a split second, but then drops it. I am in central California
and have no obstructions in front of the antenna. With my previous roof antenna,
I had a good signal in the same spot. Do you know what could be causing this.
Is it possible that if the MH is not perfectly level, it is affecting the signal strenght?

Thanks.

[Winegard Tech Help]

SunnyD,

Make sure the dipswitches are set for DISH by removing the dome and looking on the electronics. Switches 4, 7 and 8 should be down and the rest should be up.