Special DPP44 switch?

[RandallA]

I bought a brand new DPP44 on eBay for $61.00 and went ahead and installed it in my setup over the weekend and I repeat again it's brand new.

I found out something very interesting about my DPP44, if I unplug the power inserter all receivers lose the signal. I also have a DP34 cascaded off the DPP44 and all the receivers on the DP34 lose the signal too. WTF?

I don't like that because if the power inserter fails then you're SOL on all receivers. I know the power inserter is there by design but the switch should continue to work if the switch is still drawing power from the receivers. Also the pass through to the other switches should continue to work and it isn't on mine.

I'm gonna have to swap them around so the DP34 will be first in line and will continue to work if there is a power inserter failure. But would like to know if this is happening to everyone out there with a DPP44 switch or my DPP44 is "special".

I also confirmed what others have said before about long stingers for the DPP44 switch, yes you need them long. Everything else seems to be working fine.

 

[n0qcu]

That is the way the switches have always worked.
If there is no power to port 1 of the DPP44 it will not work.
When you trunk (not cascade) switches, if the first switch has no power any other switches can't work because the LNB's won't have power either.

 

[RandallA]

"That is the way the switches have always worked."

You mean switches with power inserters because I had a DP34 switch before and unless you unplug all the receivers on the first DP34, the second one continues to work.

 

[bhelms]

Does the power inserter "pass" power? If so I would think that the power from the receiver should be enough to power just the 44, at least temporarily. (I think there have been posts here that discussed pros/cons of powering the 44 from just the receiver.) What's the possibility of a redundant power supply feeding the inserter? I'm inclined to think that the PS would be more likely to fail vs. the inserter itself...

 

[Ripper]

Agreed. Switches with power inserters will not operate with the power removed. Such as the old SW64, the new DPP44, etc. Yes, it's a single point failure source for the design, but has been proven reliable in field use. I have so far only experienced a single SW64 failure, and it was internal - not related to the power supply.

 

[RandallA]

"If so I would think that the power from the receiver should be enough to power just the 44, at least temporarily."

And that's my whole point, the switch should continue to receive power from the receivers and allow the pass through outputs to continue working. Some people have reported that they have the DPP44 switch working without the power inserter.

Another disadvantage with this design is that if someone unplugs the power inserter for whatever reason then the whole setup goes dead. I understand what Kevin was saying that the LNBs will not have power but the other ports should pick up the lack of power from the power inserter. Just my opinion.

 

[bhelms]

My first question rephrased - does the power inserter pass power from the receiver if it (the PI) is not powered from it's ac adapter? I think what others have done is remove the PI from the line to switch output port 1 altogether and let the receiver do the job, which it might marginally be able to do (risking long-term overload damage due to the high current demand of the 44). But maybe if the PI is still in line then the receiver can't power the 44 ??

I would tend to agree with Ripper that the PI is probably very reilable, but if I were concerned about the power source then I might be inclined to find a way to add a redundant or back-up ac adapter...

I have also been inclined to relocate the PI to right at the switch (which in my case is indoors) to reduce any loss from the 60'+ coax run to where it is currently located. That would also prevent someone from accidentally unplugging it...

 

[RandallA]

Ah, I see what you're saying Bhelms.

"But maybe if the PI is still in line then the receiver can't power the 44 ??"

That's a good point. No, I haven't tried it without the PI. I will try that when I get back home.

I have the power inserter plugged into my APC UPS backup unit so I'm not too worried about my setup. My comment was directed more to people in general.

 

[swatson1]

I have two dp34 switches with a dpp 44 cascading off of it (3 cables connecting them). If I disconnect the power inserter on the dpp 44, I only lose signal on the receiver connected to the dpp 44. Sorry if this has been discussed already.

 

[RandallA]

"If I disconnect the power inserter on the dpp 44, I only lose signal on the receiver connected to the dpp 44."

So you have DP34 (1st switch) + DP34 (2nd switch) + DPP44 (3rd) switch). That's what I will do, put the DPP44 last so it won't affect the DP34. I have the DPP44 first in line and if I disconnect the power inserter the receivers on the DP34 also lose the signal.

 

[webbydude]

Back to Randall's post. There is a way to run a DPP44 switch without the power inserter. ALL of the receivers have to be DP. The power from the the DP receivers is enough to power it up.

And yes, I know it's not SUPPOSED to work that way. But guess what...it has and does

 

[RandallA]

I just moved the DP34 in front and put the DPP44 at the end. Now I can play and remove the power inserter and see what happens. Saturday night, I removed the power inserter and I heard screaming from all over the house.

 

[AIsmail]

Not for nothing but if you lose power to the switch doesn't that mean you probably lost power to the tv and everything else in your home. I've never had a situation with anything where I just lost power to one outlet. Just a thought.

 

[bk63ross]

Doghouse

Uh Oh, into the Dohouse you go and hope you get a warm meal to go with... We know how Women can get when they cant get HGTV...

 

[RandallA]

Uh Oh, into the Dohouse you go and hope you get a warm meal to go with... We know how Women can get when they cant get HGTV...

Well, we were painting the living room so I had to move some equipment and that was my excuse.
So it wasn't that bad.

 

[Van]

The DPP44 even when cascaded to a second and third non dp34 switch will prevent signal and current from passing through it to the other switch(s) if it looses its power source because it requires alot of power to run properly.

Webby I have seen 44's run without the power inserter inplace but the problem is that those dp receivers are working overtime to power that switch and the switch is working hard to use the minimal current that the receivers are providing it and this stress on the system will cause it to fail eventualy.

 

[RandallA]

"The DPP44 even when cascaded to a second and third non dp34 switch will prevent signal and current from passing through it to the other switch(s) if it looses its power source because it requires alot of power to run properly."

Unfortunately I found out the hard way. For a $200 top of the line switch I would have thought that it would at least allow passing through to other switches. I mean the receivers are still connected to the switch, geesh how much power does it need? I just think it's a flaw in design but that's just my two cents.

 

[Turd Fergeson]

I have a DPP44 and if I connect the power inserter I loose all signal on all receivers. When I disconnect it everything works fine.

 

[Smith P.]

That's not good, like reversed reaction to Viagra . You'll need a cure ... for the switch.

 

[Turd Fergeson]

One of the guys I trained when I worked for the local DNS came out with the switch. We hooked it up and nothing. After alot of trouble shooting and finding out that they didn't have anymore at the office we decided to try it without the inserter. It has been working for about 3 months so far with no problems