Received Zinwell WB616 w/danger messag
Dear dishrich et al.,
Just received my Zinwell WB616 from Solid Signal. With regard to terminator caps, the manufacturer included a separate warning on yellow, (i.e. eye-catching), paper that you should never use them. Following is the instructions that I received if you want to read them from the horse's mouth"
"IMPORTANT NOTICE
Only a multi-switch (3x4,etc) with an off-air, UHF/VHF input requires 75 ohm terminators on all un-connected outputs. This is to minimize ghosting on off-air analog TV reception or dropout of off-air digital signals.
A multi-sw with no off-air input (4x4, 4x8, 6x8, 6x16, etc.) does not require any terminators on the un-connected outputs. Under no circumstance an installer may put 75 ohm terminators on any un-connected inputs. To do so will cause the satellite receiver's input to short out. This causes system malfunction and the overheating of terminators."
Just for people like me, they follow the written instructions with diagrams of every multi-switch from 3x4 to 6x16 with red "exes" and the exclamation, "No!", over every unused port where a satellite tyro might think of putting one.
Apparently, they are only required on the unused output ports of the 3x4 multiswitch where there are two separate satellite leads and one off-air leading in, and four output ports, two of which are unused.
They are, the pictures make clear, NEVER NEVER NEVER used on unused input ports, and simply not required on output ports.
The WB616 came equipped with plastic dust cover caps on every one of the ports, including the AC power port, (23, to be exact), and they are what I will use on the unoccupied ports following installation.
- - -UNLESS- - -, and I insert this caveat because Zinwell seemed positively apoplectic at the notion that one would use a terminator cap on an input port, UNLESS someone here advises me that one shouldn't even put dust cover caps on input ports.
And so, the saga continues. I will let you know, after the new multiswitch is hooked up, whether the digitization issue is resolved. If not, I'll call in Crawford to take a look and let you know what he does. (Unless the solution is so embarrassingly simple-minded that I am too ashamed to post it.)
Muchas gracias,
alto sombrero de tamaño