Using DECA to get an ethernet connection with no set top box present

[ybe4094]

Well no, I was thinking you meant I could just put a DECA on each end of the coax run (w/a power supply on each as well) & in essence, I am now using the coax run as a "CAT5" cable run??? (NO D* equipment involved at all)

No, you need the SWiM multiswitch for the DECA to work. There are other various Ethernet over coax implementations but they are expensive, around $150 for a pair.

[dishrich]

There are other various Ethernet over coax implementations but they are expensive, around $150 for a pair.

Yea, I noticed that - THAT'S why I thought you had struck GOLD, being able to JUST use 2 DECA's. But still, good info to keep in mind, thx.

[Bob Nielsen]

it will work, but will cost ~$60 for each end of the connection (at a retailer, eBay should be less). Still, it is less than a pair of MoCA adapters (which use the same technology at a different frequency). Before DECA came out, I had one DVR networked via MoCA on the cable from my OTA antenna to the AM21.

[espaeth]

No, you need the SWiM multiswitch for the DECA to work.

??

SWiM doesn't have a multiswitch -- they're just high frequency splitters very similar to what is used with cable. SWiM maps each tuner to a unique frequency "slot" so that multiple tuners can be fed on the same cable.

With a straight piece of otherwise "dark" coax, you could put a DECA adapter on both ends and use it for a standard network connection and it doesn't have to touch any other DirecTV hardware.

If you want to use DECA on a DirecTV installation, the installation itself needs to be SWiM because it leaves a frequency slot open for DECA. If you tried to use DECA hardware on a legacy installation the frequencies would overlap and interfere; that's why if you want to use DECA on DirecTV you need SWiM.

[Clayton S]

John,
You couldn't be more wrong, end of story. DirecTV receivers use IP datagrams to communicate with each other. The DECAs merely move the signal between ethernet and coax cable. Why do you think receivers throughout a house are able to connect to the Internet once a DECA elsewhere in a house is connected to a home ethernet network (assuming broadband connection is present)? The DECA unit has no way of knowing what kind of equipment is connected to its ethernet port. As far as it is concerned, it moves any IP ethernet traffic onto the coax cable. Receivers in a setup with MRV, but not connected to a home network, still communicate via IP, anyway. They are unable to find a DHCP server on their network and assign themselves IP addresses in the 169.x.x.x range. All receivers in a house do this, thus end up on the same subnet and are able to see each other. The DECA adapter piggybacks outgoing IP traffic onto the coax network, and filters it out of incoming traffic so as not to confuse the receiver, as would be the case if you connected a receiver without a built-in DECA directly to the LNB. Do your homework, or at least know what you are talking about, before you belittle strangers online, please.
Thank you,
Clayton

[Clayton S]

Oh, also, all you need is a power inserter for the DECA. It needs to get its juice from somewhere.