Dish TV remote question

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Gavin Allan

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My UHF remotes do not work unless I am within 5-10 feet from my Dish DVR. I put a coax between the antenna and can get it to work a little better by raising the reciever antenna up a bit, but I cannot find the sweet spot to get both remotes to work like they used to do. My setup worked fine for about a year, but the last few months I am going crazy to try to get it all to work. Dish wants $29 to send out a clueless tech. Got any ideas for improving the range of the UHF remotes?
 
I know this may sound strange, but did you install florescent bulbs in any of the lights near the receiver. I had this problem several years ago and it wasn't until I changed the light that I figured it out.
 
Already got new batteries. No help.



I'm thinking of getting a directional UHF antenna and hooking it up to the little arial antenna the dish box has and see if that helps.
 
I used to have Dish Network.

I was under the impression (from reading the manual) that the remotes worked on RF (radio freqency) signals (as opposed to the IR, infared).



Many things can affect radio frequency signals. I was always amazed by the strength of the RF remotes. I could change channels from the other end of my house or even out in the yard. If you have two remotes (which to me is strange in and of itself) that aren't working correctly, that would be odd indeed.



If you go into the menu, there is a place where you can "dedicate" the remote to the receiver. You might try that. They should be able to help you with that on the phone, if you can get someone who speaks English!! :rolleyes:
 
Les, my Logitech Harmony 880 remote has been losing much of its distance capability in the last few months. It used to be able to control devices from across the room, now I need to be within a few feet. I had been assuming it was simply from my kids dropping it enough times that it was losing its mojo. But now that you mentioned that, I'm thinking that I may have started noticing it about the same time that I started replacing the recessed light bulbs in the room with fluorescents. (Did it one at a time, as the incandescents burned out, not all at once.)



So now I'm suspicious--I'm going to have to do some investigation and testing, and see if I can get some of the remote capabilities back simply by changing the bulbs back! Thanks for the lead!
 
I had similar problem. Dish Net receiver is in basement where we use the IR remote for TV1. We use the UHF remote for TV2 in our bedroom on main floor. At times, the remote would not work. The problem was intermittent; no pattern it seemed. Then one time, I noted that the DVD player in another room was "On" in standby mode. I shut if off and voila! the UHF remote worked just fine. Seems the DVD player emits some weak RF noise when in standby mode that jams the UHF remote signal. Now when the remote doesn't work, the first thing I check is the DVD player, then I turn it off. So, check to see if other electronics devices affect your remote.
 
Everything electronic emits some level of RF. CFL's are NOTORIOUS for this as well as standard floresent lights and new a new phenomina that I have to deal with at work, T5HO florescent lights.



T5HO's are HORRIBLE in the RF spectrum. They are primarily found in warehouses and distribution centers but have been moving into more residential uses. They are energy efficent, but the ballast on the fixture bounces RF all over based on power condition, ambient temperature, tube temperature, etc.



Cheap DVD players and some of the new, high-fangled, cheap LCD and PLASMA TV's have poor RF shielding (you have to cut costs somewhere), especially around transformers, inductors and high-frequency power transistors.



Do you have a new stove with an Infra-Red heating element?



Try turning off all unnecessary lights and electronic equipment that you can and add them back one at a time to see if you can trace back what's happening.
 
R Shek, this may sound like a stupid question, but...



With the CFLs, does the ballast only emit RF when the light is on? Or can it have "latent" RF after-the-fact?
 
I would guess that there would be some latency, but only for a second or two. When you flip the light switch off, all power is cut to the socket (well, typically, the "hot" leg is cut). The ballast has a transformer of some sort and an inductor of some sort typically.



Unless you have something that is switching the "neutral" leg and you're getting leakage to ground, or an improperly wired socket that there is "power" on the neutral, I would say that no, you should not have at least any SIGNIFICANT RF on the CFL when the switch is off. You could always pull the bulb and leave the socket empty to be sure.
 

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