Switches...should they be inside or outside.

[Wdam33]

Just a question or opinion....

Last year when our new house was finished, the installer installed the DP34 outside just underneath my electical service entrance. Was wondering if it would be better to move it inside the house and you put the ground blocks outside? The installer ran a ground wire from the switch to the common ground to the house (telephone/electric grounded on same ground rod). The coax is fine as he put waterproof connectors and sleeves on the connections, but I was thinking that it may prolong the switch if it were not exposed to the elements all the time.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[boba]

The DP-34 is fairly well sealed so it should last for a while outside but if it can be protected inside that is always better.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I disagree with boba. Keep the big metal box outside next to the ground rod. There's no sense in putting in an extra set of connectors for a separate grounding block. This gear is all designed to survive weather extremes.

If boba was right, then we should move the LNBFs indoors, too, eh?

 

[Wdam33]

Okay, thanks for the info....probably will just leave it outside. A couple of years ago I had a few legacy SW-21's go bad as they were outside in the elements. I moved them into the crawl space and that seemed to take care of that. Though, my old installer said they replaced those switches all the time since their seals were not that great.

Mark

 

[SimpleSimon]

I had one go bad myself for the same reason - but those were exceptions and easily fixed by mounting them "properly".

 

[Rocky Watson]

don't use that switch as your ground it's not UL rated for grounding, dish network will tell you also a dish network switch does not quailify as proper grounding material

rock

 

[Mike500]

I install a lot of multiswitches under eaves, but as for my own, and for those of my premium high end installs, I place them indide or in weatherproof boxes.

There is absolutely no way to keep water out of a connection, even with drip loops and horizonal placement.

I've placed sw21's on roofs, but in weatherproof boxes open to drain at the bottom. I've still have some customers with them for five years with no failure.

Water vapor is a gas and penetrates in places except those with positive internal pressure constantly maintained.

Outside under a shelter like an eave is good. Outside in a weatherproof box with bottom drainage is better. Inside is best.

 

[Wdam33]

don't use that switch as your ground it's not UL rated for grounding, dish network will tell you also a dish network switch does not quailify as proper grounding material

rock

Crap, well thats what my installer did. There is no ground blocks outside. I have some extra ground blocks, do you have to run a seperate ground from each ground block or can they be in a series on the same ground wire?

Mark

 

[Stargazer]

I used to have problems with the first sw-21 switches when they first came out. They were supposed to be waterproof but wasnt like they were supposed to be. No matter how well the drip loops were the water found a way in many times so I started putting them inside the house or where I knew the water would not get to them. Later on they corrected the problem and I never had any go bad after that point.

With these currenty DP34 switches I have not had any problems with them. There are way too many out there and way too expensive for Dish to make such a mistake with these. I try to keep these outside as three wires are a bit much to run inside a house unless there are three or more receivers in the house.

I have more than three receivers all in the same room. Having run the three wires from 105, 110, and 119 to the room where all the receivers are at I can run up to 12 receivers/tuners there (in which I should never need that many). This allows for less wires to be run to the house (only three) instead of the more for the number of receivers there are. I distribute the wires throughout the house and the UHF controlled receivers (510, 721, etc) go through the walls while the other receivers (301's) can have the channels changed with a UHF remote and one UHF upgrade pyramid in the room. All remotes get their own unique remote address so that there is no interference.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Crap, well thats what my installer did. There is no ground blocks outside. I have some extra ground blocks, do you have to run a seperate ground from each ground block or can they be in a series on the same ground wire?

Mark

Don't sweat it - Rocky Watson is WRONG. http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/products/installation/install_diagrams/index.shtml

3 of the 4 diagrams referred on the above page use grounded switches and no separate ground block. The 4th one has no switch, but does have a ground block.

If the switch has a ground lug, it's a grounding block. And if the device is UL-listed, they couldn't put a lug on it unless it was suitable as a ground.

Heck, you can make a grounding block out of a barrel connector by soldering a screw lug to the middle of it - same thing.

 

[jlhugh]

I use to install the SW21 switches to the bottom of the LNB arm. I used sheet metal screws and screwed them in. Didn't really have that many customers that had problems. I think we had more bad LNB's than switches. Now that I am not ding installs anymore I put my stuff at the attic entrance, that way if there is a problem I just stick my head in the entrance and see what the problem is. All my connections are made at the entrance.

I believe either way you want to do it is OK.

 

[LarryG]

If I remember correctly the NEC says that coax can be grounded on the inside IF grounded within 3 ft of point of entry, and the sw can be used as the gr. block

 

[SimpleSimon]

Yes, LarryG, code says you can do that, but it doesn't mean it's "right" - or at least the best way.

Remember, while grounding is mostly to dissipate static, it also provides a bit of a path for lightning. Keep that path outside whenever possible. I've seen what happens when you don't.

 

[lonewolfe]

I installed mine in the attic as well. Easy access incase I need it. THough I do think it should be grounded, I am sure you can find a way to do it indoors.

 

[Mike500]

I There are way too many out there and way too expensive for Dish to make such a mistake with these.

You haven't replaced many DishPro Twin Lot Number CSS9601, have you?

They are still paying to replace them. It was one of the reasons that Channel Master filed bankrupcy and was bought out by Andrew.

Never assume that the higher ups know all of what they are doing. They are not any smarter than the rest of us. They are just there.

 

[SimpleSimon]

How can I make this clear? Would you invite a man wearing a bomb into your house?

Ground the suckers OUTSIDE!
I've seen what happens when you don't.

SimpleSimon,
Colorado certified Firefighter II, EMT-B

 

[Stargazer]

I have not had to replace any lnbf's to my knowledge, at least any twins. Lnbf's are probably one thing I have the least problems with. Remotes is the main thing and then receivers. At first the 301's seemed more reliable but had more failures in the last several months. They have been out for almost three years now. I even had a 301 refurb that was bad out of the box.

 

[Wayd Wolf]

The NEC is where local electrical codes START and they only grow more tight from there. This is but ONE of the reasons most cable companies are now abandoning the old allowable practice of grounding the first splitter and forgoing a ground block. Switches aren't any different.

There should ALWAYS be separate ground blocks for each line(dual or quad blocks in one are fine, I mean each line passes through a ground block port) FIRST in the line from the LNBs, the dish(es) should be grounded as well, the ground passing in a straight line in parallel through the blocks to the grounding point. 90% of bad receiver trouble calls I've done were missing ground altogether, missing dish ground, or grounded to the wrong place.

AFTER ground, come switches, diplexors, broadband splitters, etc.

 

[SimpleSimon]

The NEC is where local electrical codes START and they only grow more tight from there. This is but ONE of the reasons most cable companies are now abandoning the old allowable practice of grounding the first splitter and forgoing a ground block. Switches aren't any different.

There should ALWAYS be separate ground blocks for each line(dual or quad blocks in one are fine, I mean each line passes through a ground block port) FIRST in the line from the LNBs, the dish(es) should be grounded as well, the ground passing in a straight line in parallel through the blocks to the grounding point. 90% of bad receiver trouble calls I've done were missing ground altogether, missing dish ground, or grounded to the wrong place.

AFTER ground, come switches, diplexors, broadband splitters, etc.

Please explain why, in detail, a ground block is better than a switch for grounding. Both provide an effectively zero-resistance connection between the cable shield and the ground lug.

 

[korsjs]

i have had my switch outside for years with no protection and is still works as good as the day it came with my 6000.