Spaun AT9 compatible multiswitches, Data Sheets

[herdfan]

Just received the datasheets from Spaun for their new AT9 compatible switches. Gina said they should be available by the end of the month.

There are 2 versions. One is a 12 port and one is a 16 port.

 

[cforrest]

About time, looks good. Thanks for the update, Ms Carbone keeps pushing the timeline back, just like D* and their HD DVR, lol! Glad to see a picture with the specs at least.

 

[knoxbh]

Directv Multiswitches

Had previously queried Zinwell about their 6x16 multiswitch. Had read either here or another forum that the 6x8 Zinwell was approved by Directv but not the 6x16. At that time, Zinwell said that it wouldn't be ready until some time in mid-July and cost would be $190. Received an email yesterday from them asking if I was still interested in the 6x16; emailed them back saying "yes", asking cost and availability, and if it had been approved by Directv. Received the following info:

"Actually the item came in last week, and now still have 2 units left in stock. There are more coming next Thursday, Aug 24,2006. The price is $190 for each plus shipping and handling. Basically, the WB616 is the extention of WB66, the main difference is WB616 comes with one AC/DC power module and one F-F adapter. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us."

Went online this morning to Zinwell - the WB68 is listed (and approved by Directv) but the WB616 was not. Not quite sure what the do but the price is right (for a 81yr old retiree) as compared to the prices for Spaun products.

Any suggestions?

 

[locksmith30076]

i advice you guys to stay away from the spaun multi-switches. spaun equipments are too expensive and cannot be replace by directv technicians. spaun have terrestrial port to combine cable or off air antenna with satellite signals. directv doesnt carry terrestial multiswitches unless its a 6x8 switch, but the ports are compatible for only the international dish and satellite 72.5. if you plan to get a spaun multiswitch make sure you keep your receipt . cause boy you are going to need it just in case your switch go out.

 

[herdfan]

i advice you guys to stay away from the spaun multi-switches. spaun equipments are too expensive and cannot be replace by directv technicians.

Has it ever occured to you that I, and many others, don't want a D* technician anywhere near my multiswitch?

spaun have terrestrial port to combine cable or off air antenna with satellite signals. directv doesnt carry terrestial multiswitches

So do the Terk's I have been using for 5 years. However, since D*'s new AT9 setup prohibits diplexing of OTA signals on the satellite line, the new Spaun switches DO NOT have a terrestrial port.

Spaun makes very high quality, albeit very expensive, multiswitches. I would not hesitate to purchase a Spaun product if I have the need for it and it is the only option out there. Zinwell, D*'s official supplier, has removed all references to its 6X16 switch, so it seems Spaun may be the only alternative in the near future.

 

[AntAltMike]

...Spaun makes very high quality, albeit very expensive, multiswitches. I would not hesitate to purchase a Spaun product if I have the need for it and it is the only option out there. Zinwell, D*'s official supplier, has removed all references to its 6X16 switch, so it seems Spaun may be the only alternative in the near future.

I occasionally use Spaun products in my commercial, MDU installations when the specs of their product make them an optimal fit. Their failure rate, for me, has been ZERO.

But I wouldn't pay $500 for a Spaun 5x16 multiswitch on a bet, and I'd expect this 4x16 AT9 expander to be priced in that neighborhood. If you need as many as sixteen ports from one AT9 antena, you can use two WB68s with four diode-steered, power passing splitters for less than half the price.

 

[herdfan]

you can use two WB68s with four diode-steered, power passing splitters for less than half the price.

I have almost that exact setup except with two Terk powered BMS-58's.

The key here is powered. I have some long runs to the multiswitches and a long run to my dish. Therefore I need the powered switches so that the receiver is not required to power the LNB.

Zinwell had one (powered 6x16) on their website for a while and it was listed at $179, but it seems they have not gotten it approved by D* so they took down all references to it.

If the Zinwell emerges before I need one, I will go with it, otherwise it will be the Spaun. And yeah, $500 sounds about right.

 

[AntAltMike]

I don't think Zinwell makes a powered WB68, so if you really needed to reduce the current load of the WB68 because of cable lengths, you could do that by using external LNB power inserters, but then you'd have to work around the problem caused by the fact that whatever in such a circuit blocked the WB68s LNB voltage might block the 22Mhx satellite select signal as well. I have enough toys on my shelf to work something like this out without buying anything, but individuals and most residential installers do not.

 

[knoxbh]

AntAltMike:

I considered using 2 Zinwell 6x8 multiswitches. Thought all I had to do was connect 4 outputs from the first multiswitch into the second multiswith, giving me 12 connections which is all I need. Do I need some other equipment other than the 2nd multiswitch?

Thanks.

Howard Knox

 

[AntAltMike]

AntAltMike:

I considered using 2 Zinwell 6x8 multiswitches. Thought all I had to do was connect 4 outputs from the first multiswitch into the second multiswith, giving me 12 connections which is all I need. Do I need some other equipment other than the 2nd multiswitch?

Thanks.

Howard Knox

Funny thing about that. Zinwell's product specs page says it can't be done but doesn't say why, but reliable sources at AVSForum report that it has been done successfully. Consider it a YMMV configuration. There could be an incremental gain or slope problem or even a current sinking or sourcing problem introduced by cascading them that is not always fatal but might become so under certain extreme circumstances.

An example of a system design problem that creeps into an application without necessarily being fatal can be found in Sonora Design's "Hot Boxes", They use cascaded amplifiers within one Hot Box that have slopes engineered into them that are appropriate for the length of cable that would typically mandates the gain supplied by the second amplifier, but since the signal loss between the first and second amplifiers was caused by splitters rather than by cable length, there was no slope to compensate for. As a result, the outputs have nearly twice the optimal slope. That doesn't make the outputs unusable, but it renders them more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of other degradation than can naturally take place in distribution, and the combined effect of the degradations can, in some instances, make some of the outputs unreliable.

 

[herdfan]

I don't think Zinwell makes a powered WB68,

They do, its just not approved by D* yet. It was on their website for a short time, but then it was removed. It was a powered 6x16 so it had the flex ports unlike the Spaun.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=71081&highlight=Zinwell

 

[netraider]

Zinwell WB616

The Zinwell WB616 was on their site but is no longer available from the home page. I'm not sure when it was removed but I from it in their backup directory at the following link

http://www.zcwc.com/zcwc/products/multi_switch/wb_616.htm.bkp

Does any one know why it has been removed or when/if it will be again available? I need to replace a 5x16 Spaun.

 

[netraider]

Using 2 Zinwell WB68s

To use 2 WB68s to net 9 - 16 lines I recommend splitting each of the four feeds from the dish using diode-steered power passing splitters rated to 3G and connecting each splitter to the two switches. Keep the inputs in order, i.e. splitter 1 to input 1 of both swithes, splitter 2 to input 2 of both switches, etc.

These splitters seem to work fine.

http://www.prosatellitesupply.com/hi-freq_digital_signal_splitterX4.htm