Supporting a large customer install - need some technical advice/assistance...

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asmcbride

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jan 20, 2005
161
8
WV/VA
I've been tasked with occasionally supporting a satellite install for the owner of the company that I work for. I have an IT background so I understand the technical concepts, but I dont have any specific background with DirecTV equipment. Occassionaly he will have signal loss/no signal on his receivers, while others will work so I need a way to troubleshoot his setup to determine the issue at hand. I'll give a brief explanation of what he has and then open it up for suggestions on what I can get/do to properly troubleshoot and support it.

His install - wide "slimline" dish that is several hundred feet from the house, it has (4) very large heavy duty coax cables in conduit to the home. Here the 4 coax run into a Satellite USA WBA 425 F amplifier, next the 4 coax go into a Satellite USA WBT410, next the 3 coax go into a Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z, behind this device there are (2) Zinwell WB616. He has a lot of rooms with coax wall plates, which I assume is why so many ports on the multi-switches, but he is only using (6) receivers. Of the (6) receivers all are HD but only (1) is HD/DVR.

Like I said occasionally a receiver will stop getting signal, wont pass the signal test on the test screen and in the past techs have located that coax cable on the multi-switch and moved it to another port. This has solved the problem before (seemed as though a port on the mult-switch died), however for the current problem this didnt fix the problem. I've tried other receivers in this room and they wont work either, but I also cant get this receiver to work in other known working locations, so I may have two issues here. However, I need a way to test the coax from the AV closet to the room where the receiver is located.

First, is this install favorable or should any of the equipment be upgraded/swapped out, or reduced since only using (6) receivers? I've done some reading that SWM are now suggested over the Zinwell products.

Second, what equipment can I purchase that will allow me to test for proper satellite signal at each point in the cable run, for example: test for signal prior to the Zinwell multi-switches, as well as test for signal after the multi-switches, as well as test for signal in the respective rooms just before the cable would enter the receiver? I would also like a suggestion for a toner, in the event that I need to tone the coax to find a cable run in the AV closet.

Please let me know if I need to better explain anything or if I've left out any info that would help with this.

Thanks in advance.

-mcbride
 
...Here the 4 coax run into a Satellite USA WBA 425 F amplifier, next the 4 coax go into a Satellite USA WBT410, next the 3 coax go into a Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z, behind this device there are (2) Zinwell WB616....
Why doesn't the Zinwell WB616 have four lines into it? Or was this a typo?
 
Sorry, that was a typo. Should read 4. The house is very large (about 20k sq. ft.), so I'm sure some of the runs are lengthy in the home . The run from the AV closet to the dish is probably less than 450 ft.
 
I'm not totally up on the equipment you mentioned, but it looks like the Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z is a 6x16 multiswitch. So why the need to cascade two WB616s off of it? I think you're asking for trouble by cascading these switches. I'll let others more knowledgeable jump in now.:)
 
from what i've ready I think they can be cascaded up to a total of 64 receivers, so that would be up to
(4) of these devices, at least that's what I was thinking
 
Does this customer require that many active outlets?

Can you determine which receivers lose signal?
Is it random or ones on a particular switch?

For troubleshooting purposes, put the receivers on the MS6X16WB-Z with the WB616s disconnected.
 
If possible, take some of those extra switches off the lines and just hook up the original 6x16. This is powered so I would make sure that it's located in a good spot to maintain power constantly.

A line toner would be good for located lines in the AV closet but wouldn't be very helpful on testing signal strength. You could buy a signal meter or just use a box hooked up to a tv to see what you're getting at the boxes.

Do you have a need for anything more then 16 rooms hooked up?
 
I've been tasked with occasionally supporting a satellite install for the owner of the company that I work for. I have an IT background so I understand the technical concepts, but I dont have any specific background with DirecTV equipment. Occassionaly he will have signal loss/no signal on his receivers, while others will work so I need a way to troubleshoot his setup to determine the issue at hand. I'll give a brief explanation of what he has and then open it up for suggestions on what I can get/do to properly troubleshoot and support it.

His install - wide "slimline" dish that is several hundred feet from the house, it has (4) very large heavy duty coax cables in conduit to the home. Here the 4 coax run into a Satellite USA WBA 425 F amplifier, next the 4 coax go into a Satellite USA WBT410, next the 3 coax go into a Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z, behind this device there are (2) Zinwell WB616. He has a lot of rooms with coax wall plates, which I assume is why so many ports on the multi-switches, but he is only using (6) receivers. Of the (6) receivers all are HD but only (1) is HD/DVR.

Like I said occasionally a receiver will stop getting signal, wont pass the signal test on the test screen and in the past techs have located that coax cable on the multi-switch and moved it to another port. This has solved the problem before (seemed as though a port on the mult-switch died), however for the current problem this didnt fix the problem. I've tried other receivers in this room and they wont work either, but I also cant get this receiver to work in other known working locations, so I may have two issues here. However, I need a way to test the coax from the AV closet to the room where the receiver is located.

First, is this install favorable or should any of the equipment be upgraded/swapped out, or reduced since only using (6) receivers? I've done some reading that SWM are now suggested over the Zinwell products.

Second, what equipment can I purchase that will allow me to test for proper satellite signal at each point in the cable run, for example: test for signal prior to the Zinwell multi-switches, as well as test for signal after the multi-switches, as well as test for signal in the respective rooms just before the cable would enter the receiver? I would also like a suggestion for a toner, in the event that I need to tone the coax to find a cable run in the AV closet.

Please let me know if I need to better explain anything or if I've left out any info that would help with this.

Thanks in advance.

-mcbride

i do not know what the WBT410 is or the Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z in front of the switches... they might be a polarity locker & a splitter ... i try to check ...if so ... you mught gave what you need & only need to check lines...



first thing ... i rarely cascade switches....second ... you need to verfy the wiring is good... also you need 3 ghz connectors thruout....also ... swm might be more reliable for long runs....

step 1
you need to verfy that all your wiring, esp what you are using, is good & have 3 ghz wallplates...


step 2
next ... instead of cascading ... get you 4 2- way power passing hf splitters...

mark them 1, 2, 3, 4...on both your switches on the inputs from left to right mark them 1, 2, 3, 4....
hook each line from your dish to the single leg on each of the splitters..

connect the left side of splitter 1 to the first switch on input 1
then 2 to 2 ...3 to 3 ... 4 to 4

connect the right side of splitter 1 to second switch on input 1
then 2 to 2, 3 to 3 , 4 to 4

step 3
also you might need a polarity locker

step 1 might take care of your problems ... if so ... i would also do step 2



ill be back
 
I've been tasked with occasionally supporting a satellite install for the owner of the company that I work for. I have an IT background so I understand the technical concepts, but I dont have any specific background with DirecTV equipment. Occassionaly he will have signal loss/no signal on his receivers, while others will work so I need a way to troubleshoot his setup to determine the issue at hand. I'll give a brief explanation of what he has and then open it up for suggestions on what I can get/do to properly troubleshoot and support it.

His install - wide "slimline" dish that is several hundred feet from the house, it has (4) very large heavy duty coax cables in conduit to the home. Here the 4 coax run into a Satellite USA WBA 425 F amplifier, next the 4 coax go into a Satellite USA WBT410, next the 3 coax go into a Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z, behind this device there are (2) Zinwell WB616. He has a lot of rooms with coax wall plates, which I assume is why so many ports on the multi-switches, but he is only using (6) receivers. Of the (6) receivers all are HD but only (1) is HD/DVR.

Like I said occasionally a receiver will stop getting signal, wont pass the signal test on the test screen and in the past techs have located that coax cable on the multi-switch and moved it to another port. This has solved the problem before (seemed as though a port on the mult-switch died), however for the current problem this didnt fix the problem. I've tried other receivers in this room and they wont work either, but I also cant get this receiver to work in other known working locations, so I may have two issues here. However, I need a way to test the coax from the AV closet to the room where the receiver is located.

First, is this install favorable or should any of the equipment be upgraded/swapped out, or reduced since only using (6) receivers? I've done some reading that SWM are now suggested over the Zinwell products.

Second, what equipment can I purchase that will allow me to test for proper satellite signal at each point in the cable run, for example: test for signal prior to the Zinwell multi-switches, as well as test for signal after the multi-switches, as well as test for signal in the respective rooms just before the cable would enter the receiver? I would also like a suggestion for a toner, in the event that I need to tone the coax to find a cable run in the AV closet.

Please let me know if I need to better explain anything or if I've left out any info that would help with this.

Thanks in advance.

-mcbride


ok the Satellite USA WBT410 is a tap ... need to know how this is wired in ... has 4 in , 4 out , 4 tap..


the Zinwell MS6X16WB-Z is just a 6 x 16 switch... so i guess you have 3 of them ...

how many rooms or wires do you have that need to be connected ... 3 x 16 is 48 ...
 
the wbt410 has the 4 coax in and 4 coax out, nothing connected to taps 1-4. They have enough rooms wired with coax to fill the (3) switches, but since they are only using (6) receivers I think I will remove the (2) cascaded switches and just move all live receivers to the single 16-port S6X16WB.

What kind of tests can be done to test the cable quality for a run from the AV closet to an office? What specific equipment should I get to test it? not specifically test the satellite signal, but test the coax cable itself, and then also test for satellite signal? Thanks.
 
the wbt410 has the 4 coax in and 4 coax out, nothing connected to taps 1-4. They have enough rooms wired with coax to fill the (3) switches, but since they are only using (6) receivers I think I will remove the (2) cascaded switches and just move all live receivers to the single 16-port S6X16WB.

What kind of tests can be done to test the cable quality for a run from the AV closet to an office? What specific equipment should I get to test it? not specifically test the satellite signal, but test the coax cable itself, and then also test for satellite signal? Thanks.

Something like this will allow you to test for shorts and identify up to four cables at once. As far as signal strength you could just use a box and a portable tv. Or
get yourself a Satellite Meter.
 
the wbt410 has the 4 coax in and 4 coax out, nothing connected to taps 1-4. They have enough rooms wired with coax to fill the (3) switches, but since they are only using (6) receivers I think I will remove the (2) cascaded switches and just move all live receivers to the single 16-port S6X16WB.

What kind of tests can be done to test the cable quality for a run from the AV closet to an office? What specific equipment should I get to test it? not specifically test the satellite signal, but test the coax cable itself, and then also test for satellite signal? Thanks.

if nothing is hooked to it ... then it is useless
 
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