HD LNB replaced old analog LNB

What do you mean by "HD LNB" and "analog LNB"?  There are really no such types of LNB.  Exactly what was the LNB you found? What type of dish does he have? If he had an H24, then he should have had an LNB that received HD anyway. If he had one of the old Phase III dishes, then you can't use the slimline LNB. 

You need to be much more specific about the equipment and set up if we are going to help you.

Sorry about not having all the specifics, We changed out his dish that he had with a slim line dish that we had gotten from a neighbor and the lnb for this dish is a SL5 SlimLine Five LNB Ka/Ku Slim Line LNB for Satellite Dish (SL5) (which can be found on Solid Signal website for resale it does appear http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=SL5&d=DIRECTV-SL5-SlimLine-Five-LNB-Ka%2FKu-Slim-Line-LNB-for-Satellite-Dish-%28SL5%29), he had an older analog dish with that particular LNB which I am not sure what the specifics were in terms of that model but it was not an HD dish. The HD receiver was actually mine and I turned it over to him for his account so that he could view HD content on a brand new TV he purchased. I thought the swap was as easy as changing out the LNBs from his previous to the new one which has a built in multiswitch as it states directly on the LNB itself (there are 4 coax hook ups on this particular LNB). We had it angled in the same exact spot as his older dish which did work so I was confused as to what was going on. Then I remembered that its possible that he would actually need the Zinwall 6x8 multiswitch in order for this to work OR maybe he would need one of the older HD receivers such as the H20 (was the newest H24 receiver too new for this type of slim line dish/LNB combo). Hopefully that is more detailed and my original question holds a lot of curiosity as to why the new hook up is not currently working. I thought I would ask here first before I went through all the hurdles of trying to get Direct TV involved. Any information would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

As I do more research I find that the SL5 LNB which is what I am trying to hook up needs some more fine adjusting to the following coordinates for my local area (Azimuth 228.5 & Elevation 35.3).  I will try these coordinates, I also remember that the box will need a B-band converter which I do have an extra one that I can hook up.  That being said if I do these adjustments I should eliminate the 771A error.  If its is still there then is it safe to say that the LNB we received is no good?  Or is there something else in the setup that I am missing?  Let me know, thanks.

You said you changed the LNB, are you saying you actually changed the dish?  The LNB is the piece of electronics with the "knobs" on it that is mounted inside the dish. If you changed the dish, there is your first issue. You need to align the dish correctly, not only does it align on a different satellite from the old one (101 instead of 110) but you can't just mount the dish in the same location and expect it to work, alignment is not a trivial process for any dish but particularly  the slimline. Once the slimline is correctly aligned, you only need an external multiswitch if you have more than four tuners (DVR is two tuners, receiver is one). And you say the H24 was "yours", is it actually owned by you, it is more than likely leased. If so, it won't be transferable to his account, if you try to remove it from yours DirecTV will ask for it to be returned. 

FYI any of the HD receivers will work with the SL5, but you will need a BBC (B-band converter), hopefully you connected one of those to the receiver also.

If you are getting a 771a, that's probably because the H24 you have has been connected to an SWM system (your home system?). When you connect it to a regular slimline 5, it needs to be reset otherwise it won't get any signal and you will get 771a because it is looking for an SWM dish. Go through satellite setup, select "multiswitch " (the dish has an internal one) and then the slimline 5 as the dish type.

Texasbrit, thanks for the detailed information, I think I have got it now.  I understand alignment needs to be re-done and you answered my question on the multiswitch.  He only has one setup for a receiver currently in his house, I ran 4 new lines and one of the lines will go to his new TV.  I will throw a B-Band converter on the receiver and I think once properly aligned (looks like in my area 13760 the coordinates are Azimuth 228.5 & Elevation 35.3) should work.  I will go back through the settings on the receiver and should be good to go.  I understand about the account thing, I do have an older H20 receiver that is mine (I own it) so I will probably try that out.  And yes I am fully aware the LNB is the piece that connects to the front, we changed out the entire dish and the LNB with the SL5.  Any issues I will re-post, if it still doesn't work I gotta think that the LNB is shot, I will give this a try...lets cross our fingers!!!

Actually as I look at my receiver it is the H25 receiver which I think requires SWM to work, which my father in law does not have.  So it looks like I am gonna have to go with an older HD receiver.

Yes, the H25 will only work on an SWM system...

Are you aware that Directv routinely installs these dishes free of charge?  I can understand wanting to help Dad out, but if you're intent is to set him up for HD on the QT, then you aren't doing him any favor as that violates your account Terms of Service. 

Yes I am aware, I think some of it is just the curiosity of how it works and how it can work.  I plan on contacting DTV but another issue is we had horrible floods in our area 2 weeks ago and to get service out to us is going to take sometime.  I already followed up with them and will certainly will continue to when the time is right.  Not trying to ruffle any feathers just trying to figure out how it all works...thanks for the heads up!

Ok so as an update, I tried fidgeting with the dish to get correct signal strength and I was able to get anywhere between 97 to 100 percent strength on all transponders on Sat 110  (but could not consistently get any strength on the other Sat), however I could not get the receiver to receive satellite info (as I reset the box).  I did change out the box and put a B-Band Converter (older style black type).  In any event very frustrating any advice would be helpful.  As a note dish is at about 60 degrees til, 30.5 degrees elevation, and what I believe is around 228 degrees Azimuth.  Wondering if its the actual LNB that may not be working???

Please post your complete signal readings.  I'm guessing you're not aimed at the correct satellite.  

Please post back with your signal readings for each satellite's transponders (and both tuners if applicable).  You'll find these readings under "Menu" -> "Setup" -> "System Setup" -> Satellite -> "View Signal Strength".  Note the "+" and "-" symbols next to the "Satellite" and "Tuner" entries where you can toggle the readings between the various satellites and both DVR tuners. 

Fill in your readings for each satellite and tuner using these examples.  A properly aligned dish will show 80-90s on most of the relevant transponders (although some will be low or zero):

Satellite transponders (32 total at 101º)

[Most of your standard definition channels are beamed from 101ºW]

1-8    #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

9-16   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

17-24  #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

25-32  #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

Satellite transponders (3 total at 110º)

[Not present with Slimline3 dish. No channels are currently beamed from this satellite]

1-8    NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  #

9-16   NA  #   NA  #   NA  NA  NA  NA

Satellite transponders (11 total at 119º)

[Not present with Slimline 3 dish. Local SD channels for some cities, Spanish package]

17-24  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  #   #   #

25-32  #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

Satellite transponders (16 total at 99º(s)) [or 99º(b)]

[Local HD channels for some cities]

1-8    #   #   #   #   #   #   NA  NA

9-16   NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  #   #

17-24  #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

[Note: these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) [or 99º(a)]

[National HD channels]

1-8    #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

9-16   #   #   #   #   #   #   NA  NA

[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) [or 103º(a)]

[Local HD channels for some cities]

1-8    #   #   #   #   #   #   NA  NA

9-16   NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  #   #

17-24  #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(ca))

[National HD channels beamed from D12 satellite]

1-8    NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA

9-16   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

17-24  #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

Satellite transponders (14 total at 103º(cb)) [or 103º(b)]

[National HD channels beamed from D10 satellite]

1-8    #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

9-16   #   #   #   #   #   #   NA  NA

17-24  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA

Satellite transponders (9 total at SWM)

[You'll only see this if you have a Single Wire Multiswitch (SWM) dish]

1-8    #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

9-16   #   NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA  NA

There are only three "live" transponders on 110 so if you were seeing more than that it means you were pointed at the wrong satellite. There are many up there and some are close together.

Ok so when we did the dish alignment we focused on 110, so the question then is what satellite do we need to focus on to get a good judge of where the actual dish should be pointed (so that the receiver can start to receive satellite information and be working correctly)?  Going by what the coordinates tell us on the DTV site and also when I went through the receivers dish setup process, 64 tilt, 35 degree elevation and 228 azimuth brings me almost to where I was getting great signals on 110 but apparently not on the other satellites.  I have a very clear path to the southwest sky where the dish is setup because the old dish was aimed there and worked fine.  Also its very touchy to the point where i move one half degree and loose all signal strength which leads me to believe the LNB may not be correct.  In any event just wondering what I should focus on when I do the signal meter and dish alignment, your help is greatly appreciated!

The slimline is focused on 101 not on 110. it's confusing because the old phase III 3lnb dish focused on 110.  Go back and set the alignment coordinates to the correct coords for 101, set the receiver with the transponder/signal screen set to look at 101, and then move the dish backwards and forwards until you get the 101 signal. (it will be to the left of where the dish is currently pointing). When the dish is aligned, ost 101 signals should be at or close to 100 (some will be low or zero, don't worry about those). Then follow the alignment instructions for the slimine which hopefully you already have. 

If you don't have them,  post back...

I'm not convinced that the poster is actually using a Slimline 5 dish.  If he bolted a SL5 LNB assembly to an old Multisat reflector, he'll never get proper alignment.

To the OP, does your dish look exactly like the pic?  Does it have the word Slimline printed on the face of the reflector?