SWM modification

[jtwex]

I shortened the cable runs on my SWM & had a couple of questions. First, on the SWM 8-way splitter what is the second red coax port (says out) right next to the red one that receives the power from the supply? Mine is a SWM-8 so I'm assuming you can use it to feed 8 tuners. Secondly, after shortening, my HD (99) signal was jumping from 95 to 0 every few seconds after I used the correct diplexer (40-2150Mhz) to separate the OTA from the cable. This obviously caused a noticeable stutter across the HD channels until I removed the diplexer.

Any ideas?

 

[jtwex]

Will keep an eye on the diplexer part; changed to a different type & so far everything is fine.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

from experience, and search my name to verify all my posts, swm and diplexing does not work well, I finally gave up, I believe your supposed to use dual power passing splitters which carry 2-2300MHz to seperate the ota and swm (yea im not sure how that would work either, but that seems to be the word on the street so to speak. For diplexing, i used holland 5-2150 splitters and it seemed to work ok, but if you watch your xpndrs, they jump like hell. its that pesky 2.3 control signal that gets all fckd up. Altho I was using diplexers for a different reason than everyone seemed to be using them for on here, I would still recommend staying away from them.

 

[NutFlush920]

I have SWM LNB and am diplexed. It works very well. Check out my setup. It lists all the parts need as well.

http://i43.tinypic.com/520z61.jpg

 

[jdspencer]

...First, on the SWM 8-way splitter what is the second red coax port (says out) right next to the red one that receives the power from the supply? Mine is a SWM-8 so I'm assuming you can use it to feed 8 tuners. ...

The SWM8 can support a total of 8 tuners in any combination from the two ports.

 

[jtwex]

Thanks for the responses, the new splitter seems to be working fine. I'm still very interested why there is a second RED coaxial output (8-way SWM splitter) that comes uncapped (non-terminated) & says OUT above the red port.

Anybody know why it's red & not terminated (it still works even though I left it as is (unused port for me)?

 

[jdspencer]

The SWM8 has an internal splitter to help facilitate installations. Thus two outputs.
I implied that in my reply above.

 

[jtwex]

The SWM8 has an internal splitter to help facilitate installations. Thus two outputs.
I implied that in my reply above.

Thanks JD, but I'm talking about the various splitters (4 or 8) that are fed from the power supply; one of the ports on any SWM splitter is red and says "Input only from power supply" & right next to it is another red female coax connector that says "OUT"; the rest of the outputs are all terminated and are white. The only way to get to eight tuners would be to use the red output but I was curious to why it was red & also not terminated. I am going back up to my attic to hook up two legacy TV's & one SWM port & will try to take a picture to show you what I mean.

Thanks again & sorry if I am making it confusing.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

that particular red port is a power passing port, on a swmline dish its what the power insertor would connect to.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

You can put the PI either between the red input and the SWM 8 /SWM dish or between the red output and a receiver. This gives more flexibility for locating both the splitter and the PI.

 

[jtwex]

I understand what the second coax port is for now (thanks everyone) but promised some pictures so here they are. Please keep in mind that the pic's are before I cleaned up the wiring (as best as I could in that 95 degree attic oven) & all the surrounding wires come from several generations of installs.

Anyway, here goes......

The top board includes an SWM-8, SWM-8 power supply, power strip, pre-amp power supply (which put all the OTA signals in the high 90's) Distribution amplifier & an SWM 8 way splitter (the one with the red unterminated coax port) Everything worked on the first go around & I love the fact I can still use Legacy equipment for older TV's. My SWM8 was running hot to the touch after only 24 hours; does anyone know what type of heat range to expect out of these things?

 

[JosephB]

You should probably move one of your connections over to the red port or terminate it. The red connection means it's power passing, which if you had your PI near one of your TVs, you'd want to connect the PI to the red port. Otherwise if you leave it disconnected you should terminate it like the others.

 

[jtwex]

Looks like I need one more trip up to hell to terminate that last coax; since I'm going (& already threw out the doc's) can someone in the know tell me what the expected temperature range of the SWM-8 is? I thought it was hot after 24-hrs & since I hooked up everything to a wooden frame I would consider moving the switch to a metal frame if it gets any hotter than it was.