What is needed to connect a stand alone box?

The H21s are harder to activate these days as they are considered obsolete boxes. DIRECTV may not activate them so before you purchase anything be sure they can be activated on your account. These days, receivers like the H24 and H25 are usually used (and can be activated if purchased through Solid Signal).

In any case, you’ll need an HD slimline SWM DIRECTV dish as those 18 inch and 18x20 inch oval dishes are only capable of receiving satellite 101 which has MPEG2/SD programming that is being phased out as we speak.

I think your friend’s standalone box must have been an H25 which only works on SWM systems. These older 18 and 18x20 inch dishes use the legacy non-SWM systems and are thus not compatible with the H25.

For your H21 scenario, you’ll need a dish and likely tripod or non-penetrating mount to have the pole properly placed.

Here’s a link to a dish on Solid Signal:

https://www.solidsignal.com/DIRECTV-SL3-SlimLine-SWM-Satellite-Dish-Antenna-With-J-Mount-Kit-AU9-SL3-SWM

Addiitonally, you must have a 21V power inserter in order to power this SWM LNB: https://www.amazon.com/Formerly-DIRECTV-Volt-Power-Inserter/dp/B005AME7Y8/ref=sxts_rp_s_a_1_0_mod_primary_new?content-id=amzn1.sym.eff26b9b-e255-411b-a40d-eccb21f93fe4%3Aamzn1.sym.eff26b9b-e255-411b-a40d-eccb21f93fe4&crid=3A1UNNPLDI7VO&cv_ct_cx=DIRECTV+power+inserter&keywords=DIRECTV+power+inserter&pd_rd_i=B005AME7Y8&pd_rd_r=6839cbff-7343-41c4-a669-6dcd8bc771eb&pd_rd_w=XKtqQ&pd_rd_wg=byPWx&pf_rd_p=eff26b9b-e255-411b-a40d-eccb21f93fe4&pf_rd_r=K3A3M3JSQNHZYBWXGWAN&qid=1672851216&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=directv+power+inserter%2Caps%2C92&sr=1-1-5985efba-8948-4f09-9122-d605505c9d1e

When you go to install the dish and H21, you must go in the H21 menu and set it for a SWM LNB. B-band converters are not needed. 

@FOWL1 

Old 18" round is MPEG-2/SD-only. As DirecTV is finishing up the MPEG-2/SD-only shutdown, that must be replaced with an updated SWM and MPEG-4 setup.

Activation of those H21s may be difficult depending on their status (leased/owned), as well as no recent order to verify. If activation is successful, and is counted as 'leased' (as owned options went away years ago), prepare for a 24-moth service agreement.

What model is the box your friend has? The only standalone receiver that cannot use the older setups is the H25 as it is SWM-only (like Genie setups). However if that box is a Mini Genie, then it is not standalone as must be connected to the same setup as the Genie. And is that box active on the account to begin with?

As a note, the Genie-2 (HS17) is the only model that forbids standalones from being on the account.

Not sure about what model his "stand alone" box is.  I'll find out.  So if it is a H25, will it work on the oval dish with a SWM lnb?  Do we need a signal booster in the hose that plugs in to the house current and coax or just plug the coax into the box and aim the dish.  We have an old HD dish that someone was getting rid of and he also bought a dish from Amazon, I think.  That was the guy that told him he needed to register the LNB.  I was only going to have him try to activate the H21 boxes if they would work on either dish(Round or oval).  Like I said, they were in a storage facility that I cleaned out and just trying to get the tv in the cabin to work on his current contract without having to disconnect the genie and take it up there etc...  When he had the non HD, he got a seperate round dish and took a rented box from home and we connected it and aimed the round dish and had everything he had at his perm residence.  We're just trying to get something on the screen.  There are only 2 over the air channels and we can't even get them on a regular antenna.

If his stand alone box won't work, does anyone know anything about the OTA Satelite boxes that are for sale on Amazon or Ebay?  Are they any good in the USA?  I see that they pick up foreign stations, but we're not interested in the foreign stations.  We'd like to watch American TV thanks again.

No, SWM LNBs won’t work on older 18 inch oval dishes or 18x20 inch dishes. You MUST have a slimline DIRECTV dish (this looks bigger and can receive HD sats 99 and 103 as well as 101). By signal booster I assume you mean DIRECTV SWM power inserter. Yes, you do need a 21V power inserter, it is linked in my previous post. If someone is getting rid of an older dish I’m sure you could use it as long as it is a slimline DIRECTV dish. LNBs are ‘not’ registered with receivers, that’s not a thing. 

The H21 works with oval/round dishes (18 and 18x20 inch dishes) but as stated those older dishes are being phased out since they only receive MPEG2/SD broadcasts. You’d need the slimline DIRECTV dish to receive the HD programming on satellite 99 and 103. 

The older round dish he had with non-HD is likely an 18 inch dish, which is not efficient anymore today. 

There is no such thing as OTA satellite boxes. You must mean FTA (free-to-air) satellite receivers. Yes, they are good in the USA. But, they won’t be capable of getting any fancy premium channels (mostly some local channels and foreign channels). To get into the FTA hobby, you’d need a separate 39 inch dish (purchase on eBay)with a linear LNB. There are several KU band satellites you can receive for whatever channels are available FTA. I am still in the FTA hobby and often satellites like 97W, 125W, etc. have watchable stations.

Not to get off topic, but if you want American channels it may be better to get an OTA antenna rather than a FTA dish and receiver. You’d have to aim the antenna toward your local station to receive whatever local channels are nearby. Again, this won’t include fancy American channels like CNN, ESPN, etc. 

IIRC you only had 30 days to activate those H21 upon purchase so doubt they can be activated.  All Genie have to have a SWM slimline dish but depending on the model number may or may not need the power inserter.   

I'm pretty sure the dish we had was a "Slimline" and we had 2 different LNB's.  One was a single cone and said SWM and the other was a 3 cone that said SWM.  so if that is the case, we would only need the 21v power inserter and it should recognize the dish and we should be able to "point" it using the set top box.  Am I correct in this thinking?  That is if the set top box is truly a stand alone.  I'm trying to find out what model it is, but if he left it at the cabin, I'll have to wait until one of us gets back up there.  it is 200 miles away.  If he brought it home, he should be able to get back to me soon.  Thanks again and I'm sure I might have more questions.  When we are there, we don't much care about CNN etc...  We more just like it for some of the regular news and occasional game that should be on regular stations.  Or the old stuff like Me TV or gunsmoke or something like that.  

@FOWL1 

Yes, you are correct. If you already have the slimline dish, a SWM LNB, and the proper mounting, all you’d need is the 21V power inserter and obviously a SWM-capable receiver like the H21 or H25 as previously discussed.

Cool!  I'm trying to find out which model the box is.

Thanks again!  I'm sure I'll be in touch.  Thanks!

OK so he got back to me and he has a H24 - 100 set top box.  So if I am correct, we can get the 21v power inserter, connect it to the Slimline dish with the SWM LNB, aim it and watch TV.  Does that sound right?  Thanks!

Yes, that’s correct. The H24 is both SWM and non-SWM capable. When you go to aim the dish you’ll need to go into Menu, Settings & Help, Settings, Satellite, and Repeat Satellite Setup to ensure that the H24 is set for a SWM system.

Cool.  Thank you all for responding.  It might be a while until he or I get back up to the property but I'll get back to you and let you know how it worked.  Thanks again!

Sounds good. No problem, glad to have been of help. 

OK.  Sorry, it's been a while, but I just got back from the cabin.  I bought the power inserter and took it with me this weekend.  I borrowed the set top box from my friend.  It is a H24 box.  I think someone on here said I could use the old dish and LNB for the H24 box.  I connected the power inverter to the dish coax coming into the house.  I connected another coax from the power inverter to the set top box.  I then connected the HGMI cable from the STB to the TV.  It came up with a message that it could not find a signal.  I think it was Error Code 771 or775, can't really remember.  I went into the settings and changed it to 18" round and multi switch.  I also tried an HD dish with a SWM 5 (3 cones) and set the setting to reflect this change.  I don't know if I'm just dumb to this stuff, but should there be a coax from the power inverter to the STB and let the HDMI do the rest of the work or should I have connected the coax from the power inverter to the TV and then let the HDMI do the work.  Also, if the old "Round" dish is supposed to work wit hthe H24 STB, do I need to repoint the dish or will it pick up the signal for it's current location?  I' not sure if he had the H24 STB connected to a TV or not, but the date was showing Dec 31 2022.  Is it possible that it needed to be connected to a TV to get updates etc... before trying to connect to the remote location?  Does anyone know what the compass direction should be for the 21550 zip code?  Please Help!  Thanks everyone.

If it’s an 18 inch dish then those do not need a power inserter nor should they be set for SWM in the H24 menu. 

As others have also stated, you must replace this dish at some point with an SL3 SWM HD slimline dish. With this dish, you do need a power inserter.

If your 18 inch dish is not aimed, you will see error 771. Error 775 is the wrong setup, you do not need to set an 18 inch dish for SWM as previously stated. In H24 menu, ensure it is set for MultiSwitch and round 18 inch dish. 

In order to aim your dish for satellite 101, use this site for instructions on elevation and  azimuth (left and right setting):

dishpointer.com