N-Adapter and Directv2pc

[wyattspoppa]

Hi Folks,
Can you please tell me if I can run 2 N wireless adapters in my house to handle 2 separate Directv Satt boxes?
When I tried at first, it seemed like it randomly chose one or the other at will. I unplugged the second one (we'll call that my wife's TV downstairs) and I am able to watch my Directv2pc on the upstairs box (w/N adapter) but when I plug hers back in, it grabs hers instead. Now I imagine if I configured it properly, I would be able to have my PC recognize one or the other at my choice.
Maybe give each it's own IP address? It's set as 19.2168.2.14 (fake numbers) on both, perhaps I could name the other 192.168.2.15? Thing is, I think the IP address is supposed to be the same as the PC I'm running the Directv2pc program on.
Perhaps give the N adapters themselves their own addresses that don't match?
Please don't tell me to call Directv, I practically know their staff's second-level support by name, they are as in the dark about troubleshooting Directv2pc today as 3 yrs ago when they Beta'd it. My kid knows more..Thanks much

 

[RealBeast]

Call DirectTV -- no never. lol

Yes, you can use two distinct wireless networks.

They each need to have their own router with a distinct SSID (name), use different radio channels (which you can select in the routers), and have different network internal addresses (for example one gateway could be 192.168.0.1 and the other 192.168.1.1). Any devices in the area would be configured to select the preferred gateway address.

 

[wyattspoppa]

Hey,
Thanks so much for your valuable time. I hope I'm not a bother but considering I used to repair the Inertial Nav Systems of the F15A-Eagle in the Air Force, I'm an absolute doornob when it comes to home networking (I currently have 2 Private Networks, but not intentionally!). That said this is fortuitous as I just replaced my Linksys with a Belkin 750, so I own a second one.
Where would I hook up the second? Plug it into the Belkin? I don't have a second Ethernet Port on the back of my PC. Thank you much

 

[RealBeast]

Thanks for your service, my brother in law is retired Air Force. And welcome to the forums.

How do you have the functioning direct TV sat box currently connected to the network, I assumed that there is an Ethernet cable from the sat modem to the WAN port of the router?

If it requires a direct wired connection to the computer before the router to run software and then the signal is streamed over a network, you would have to either connect to a second computer or, if the software can run multiple copies at once you could add a second NIC that would be designated to have an address on the second network.

It seems the real issue is not whether you can have two wireless networks (you can), but how to configure your direct TV equipment and routers to use two.

The reason that your devices would randomly grab one signal or the other is that both routers were broadcasting on the same network and radio channels, to resolve the conflict the devices just either pick one or pick none.

 

[wyattspoppa]

Sure, and I thank him for a lifetime. Ironic it seems we have a new madman every generation or so, your brother and I had the Ayatollah Khomeini. I've actually had this running wirelessly, the N adapter hooked up to the sat tv via ethernet cable in the bedroom next to my office where I watched Directv2pc on my laptop. It worked fine except for occasional freezes when watching HD content (streaming wireless HD isn't ideal but it does work, or it did). The directv guy came out with another N box, the same one they use for "whole home". He left without completing the setup, he wasn't able to find my network name (3 minutes after he left, I had the ingenius idea to "scroll down the network page list" where mine was just off-screen. Duh! My wife's tv/sat box can now DL Directv on-demand. Since then, when I try to launch my directv2pc application, half the time I'd get her directv menu, the other half I get my TV in the bedroom's sat box content. I can't view either, click on any show and I get "An error has occured". Footnote: When I removed and re-installed the Directv2pc software, I happily watched about 45 min of the desired box upstairs before it crashed. The 2nd network has disappeared from my network and sharing center, unfortunately, the one that is gone was the wireless that gave me 300Mbps, it left me with the local and internet private network that only gives 100Mbps and no wireless. Suffice it to say, I think I've poorly constructed my home network as my wireless has disappeared (though my wireless PC downstairs still has internet access) and the one feature I set out to fix that worked last week, watching my bedroom's saved Tivo content using directv2pc no longer works. It's worth saying I replaced my modem and that seems to be the time I lost functionality. Hope this was concise. Thanks Brother Beast
Tommy

 

[RealBeast]

So is it still your goal is to set up two distinct networks using the two wireless routers? Or perhaps it is possible to attach two receivers on one network and use the second router as a wireless access point? The receivers usually seek an ip address from the network dhcp service that they are attached to, and should receive different addresses if both are attached.

The method to detect receivers seems to depend on the model according to THIS.

What brand and model is the first router that is attached to your wife's computer? And is the Belkin 750 currently attached to a computer by an Ethernet cable or is it used wireless only?

Also, which model satellite receivers do you have, and do you have the DirectTV whole home service?