Dish 300- The Very First
The Dish 300 satellite dish was the very first satellite dish used by Dish Network.
It was not named the "Dish 300" dish until Dish came out with the Dish 500 (see below).
It was simply called the "Dish Network Satellite Dish".
It measured 18" Wide, and featured a single low noise block (LNB).
It pointed at 119 degrees west, at Dish Network's first satellite, Echostar 1.
In some cases, the Dish 300 is still used today where a single satellite location is required.
It was not named the "Dish 300" dish until Dish came out with the Dish 500 (see below).
It was simply called the "Dish Network Satellite Dish".
It measured 18" Wide, and featured a single low noise block (LNB).
It pointed at 119 degrees west, at Dish Network's first satellite, Echostar 1.
In some cases, the Dish 300 is still used today where a single satellite location is required.
Dish 500- 500 Channels
The second satellite dish that Dish Network used was called the Dish 500.
The Dish 500 was named so, because it had a theoretical capacity of 500 channels. When the Dish 500 came out, the earlier dish was renamed the Dish 300, with a theoretical capacity of 300 channels.
The Dish 500 came out around October of 1999. The first satellite to serve the new 110 location was Echostar 5, launched 23rd September, 1999.
Originally costing X, around the year 2000 it came as free upgrade with a 12 month commitment.
The Dish 500 pointed at two satellites, the original 119, and the new 110 west satellite location.
There are 3 versions of the Dish 500. The first one used two separate low noise blocks (LNB) mounted in a special bracket. These connected to a switch (see the switch page) to provide the signal from both satellites to the receiver.
The second version combined both LNB's together into one unit, but still needed a switch. This was offered in a Twin and later on a Quad version to allow up to 4 receivers to connect to one dish.
The Second Version came out around 2000-2001. The first version was not used very long.
The first and second version are often called "legacy systems".
The third and final systems are the "dish pro" 500's. This system combined the switch in the LNB unit, simplifying installation. The 1st kind is the Dish Pro twin, allowing connections for two receivers, and the Dish Pro Quad, allowing connections to 4 receivers. The second kind is the "dish pro plus", which can feed two receivers, and has a special "LNB in" port for obtaining a 3rd satellite location from a Dish 300. See the lnb and switch pages for more information.
The Dish 500 was named so, because it had a theoretical capacity of 500 channels. When the Dish 500 came out, the earlier dish was renamed the Dish 300, with a theoretical capacity of 300 channels.
The Dish 500 came out around October of 1999. The first satellite to serve the new 110 location was Echostar 5, launched 23rd September, 1999.
Originally costing X, around the year 2000 it came as free upgrade with a 12 month commitment.
The Dish 500 pointed at two satellites, the original 119, and the new 110 west satellite location.
There are 3 versions of the Dish 500. The first one used two separate low noise blocks (LNB) mounted in a special bracket. These connected to a switch (see the switch page) to provide the signal from both satellites to the receiver.
The second version combined both LNB's together into one unit, but still needed a switch. This was offered in a Twin and later on a Quad version to allow up to 4 receivers to connect to one dish.
The Second Version came out around 2000-2001. The first version was not used very long.
The first and second version are often called "legacy systems".
The third and final systems are the "dish pro" 500's. This system combined the switch in the LNB unit, simplifying installation. The 1st kind is the Dish Pro twin, allowing connections for two receivers, and the Dish Pro Quad, allowing connections to 4 receivers. The second kind is the "dish pro plus", which can feed two receivers, and has a special "LNB in" port for obtaining a 3rd satellite location from a Dish 300. See the lnb and switch pages for more information.