Multi-room Switch Help Needed

[equant]

I've just finished reading the switch thread in the FAQ, and I want to know if I'm understanding things...

If I want three rooms to share several satellites for simultaneous viewing (different people watching the same bird, but different polarities, or different people watching different birds) my only option is to use a 4x4 multiswitch and dual-output LNBs?

I guess I thought that I could use all-port-power-passing splitters and diseqc swtiches with dual-output LNBs, but that doesn't seem to be an option. Am I right?

Thanks.

 

[pendragon]

If I want three rooms to share several satellites for simultaneous viewing (different people watching the same bird, but different polarities, or different people watching different birds) my only option is to use a 4x4 multiswitch and dual-output LNBs?

A 4x4 and a dual-output LNB is probably the simplest and least costly option. There are quad output LNBFs for Ku - see the Fortec Star FSKU-4v at Sadoun for example, but this doesn't scale as well if you end up with more than four receivers.

 

[Anole]

Splitters of any sort have little use in modern FTA setups.
About the only application I can think of has to do with piggy-backing a DVB receiver onto an existing old BUD system.
Won't go into the details, but the DVB receiver doesn't get full control of LNB polarity; it's a slave.
You want full access from each receiver to all the LNBs and both polarities.

The Switch FAQ is for the basics, and one thing not discussed in it is use of Bandstacked LNBs.
With them, splitters could be used to distribute signals to multiple receivers.
Most folks don't want Bandstacked LNBs, and those who do, already understand how to apply them.

Now as to using 2x2, 2x4, 3x-anything, or such multiswitches, and finding 'em at good prices, that alone can become a serious challenge!
Oh, and there are powered and unpowered multiswitches, too.
So, just the basics can get pretty complicated. - :up

 

[Mr Tony]

I guess if you could lay out what you're loking to do maybe we can help

ie: is it a motorized system and 2 or 3 fixed dishes or 4 fixed dishes or ????????