SWM Question

[dishbd]

I am wanting to switch to D* and I have been doing some research on here and reading up on these SWM's that seem to be hard to come by, and then word of this upcoming Slimline w/ SWM built in. But I guess I'm a little confused at what all the SWM does.

My situation is that I have one coax run to each room in the house which was pre-wired before the house was finished. The way our house is laid out, and the way things are in the attic, it is essentially impossible to run another coax to our living room. Also, all of the cable runs come out on the side of the house below where our existing dish (E*) is installed.

So, I know that currently without the SWM, you would need two coax runs to each room that has a D* dual tuner receiver. The SWM would seem to allow two separate sat signals to run through one coax. But I am also reading that the SWM is used for allowing multiple receivers to get a signal from one run from the LNB.

So I'm guessing then that the SWM allows you to split the signal into multiple coax runs, but at the same time combines two sat signals into one coax to allow dual tuners to work with just one wire. Are both of these correct? I guess I'm just a little confused about all this.

Any input is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[jcrandall]

SWM stands for "Single Wire" Multiswitch.

Everything is done with one wire from the LNB or the switch (depending on the solution).

Essentially, it is perfect for your situation, you would put a splitter (rated to 2000 mhz) in your attic where the runs come together. Connet it to the LNB or Switch, and you're done!
You can also use multiple splitters if necessary.

Each receiver then needs just one wire ran to it to run both tuners.

The problem is that you can't easily get one.

They are used in only 4 markets as a test launch....and that is kinda in a holding patern as they finalize development/testing on the slimline LNB. When that is done, it is expected that they will move forward with the LNB in general installations, but we could be a year or more away from seeing that in the mainstream.

The SWM8 (multiswitch) would be used for MDU's and complex installs with more than 8 tuners. Otherwise, the SWM LNB would be used.

 

[dishbd]

Thanks, masterdeals, for the info! The cables actually come together outside on the side of the house. There is a plastic box installed there where all the connections are made. The SWM requires power doesn't it? So I'd have to run an extension cord or something I assume. This makes me wonder if these are even intended for outdoor use?

Realistically, I will probably just have to holdout for the SWM Slimline once it's mainstream. In that case is it just up to 8 coax runs that would come directly out of the dish/lnb, each capable of providing 2 signals for the dual tuner receivers? And then you would just connect those directly to each pre-existing coax run, correct?

 

[jcrandall]

You can put the switch outside, but not the power inserter.

You would use one line into the house to hook to the power inserter.
You could connect all the lines to the receivers (in your outdoor box) to a good (2000mhz rated) splitter and then into the SWM 2 port on the SWM.

You could in your case just use SWM 1 port for the power inserter.

SWM-8 has two SWM outputs. Runs 8 tuners regardless of how you hook it up.

 

[daves29]

you can pu the power inserter inside behind your reciever. it is an inline power inserter

 

[bjthadj]

Here's a somewhat random question. Would a "Dish Separator" work for this? It is a device from E* that allows one line to be used for two tuners. I know it's unlikely but maybe this piece of E* equipment could be used for D*? Or is the technology just too different?

 

[daves29]

no, it is not compatible

 

[jcrandall]

The last part of your post is right - the technology is very different.

The purpose is similiar, but the methods are totally different.

 

[tamiraan]

Essentially, it is perfect for your situation, you would put a splitter (rated to 2000 mhz) in your attic where the runs come together. Connet it to the LNB or Switch, and you're done!
You can also use multiple splitters if necessary.

So it means i can put high frequency/power passing splitter wherever i want? like cable setup?

 

[jcrandall]

Exactly, just make sure the power passing is just to the power inserter location. Don't use a "all ports power pass". You want "Single port power pass"

You can use any type of power passing splitter on the link that does not have the power inserter.