I would not use power passing "splitters", I would strongly recommend using sw42 switches. They are about the same price on eBay (around $10), you only need two sw42 switches, (you need 4 splitters) and they work much better.

its ok guys, i got a DP Quad which already has a 4x4 switch in it, was just trying to avoid running another line,, but i guess thats my project for this week..

I would not use power passing "splitters", I would strongly recommend using sw42 switches.

I think you mean SW24 (or SW34) switches. If so, I agree with your recommendation, though I wouldn't go so far as to say "they work much better". The splitter solution works just fine in most cases. It is, after all, the solution specified in the SW44 manual.

Well I just tried option number 1 using two of the two way switches from Home Depot and it worked perfectly.

I have 6 receivers setup and all are working great including my 9242.

Well something now went wrong. Since I last posted the cascaded switches don't work anymore. So I unplugged the 2nd SW44 and the original setup works fine.

Not sure what went wrong? Why did it work fine for 10 days and then today with the two SW44 cascaded I the test switch would fail?

:confused:

Oh and I only was cascading for 91 not 82 (82 is needed only on the first SW44 for HD).

I just installed my replacement refurb 9242. It works ok, but i still get the same switch errors as before.
I run Check switch and it passes, all signals fine. Then cancel out of there and the reciever gets stuck on the 015 screen, aquiring sat signal.....
This can take an hour of trying again and f-ing around before it passes that screen and works fine. Untill i record 2 shows at once.
I get swtich error, says to run check switch, which it passes fine as above.

When i explained all this to the tech on the phone, she was pretty sure it was a bad switch. But they won't send a replacement, they can only send it with a tech. for $75.
The 9200 on outs 3 & 4 of the same switch, doesn't have this problem.
And, when she found out i installed myself, now they are sure its an install problem, not a switch problem anymore.

Any ideas?

Tom.F.1,

I would re-strip the 2 problem wires, make sure you leave a lot of extra copper wire and make sure that none of the braid touches the copper. Put your connector on and cut away the extra copper leaving about 3-4mm or 1/8" sticking past connector.

You could also just move the working wires from port 3 & 4 into 1 & 2 and see if starts to exibit problems. This would most likely be a switch error.

really hard to troubleshoot when it rains and I lose all signal. :o

I had forgot that the 2 Lines to the reciever go through a surge protector on my fancy power bar. One of those connectors was loose.

I think i'll go through all my connections and snug them up with a 7/16" wrench. I give that advise to others, but didn't use it myself. :eek:

I had forgot that the 2 Lines to the reciever go through a surge protector on my fancy power bar.
I wouldn't do that. Many are not rated for satellite signals. A grounding block and/or a satellite rated surge protector are better.

I wouldn't do that. Many are not rated for satellite signals. A grounding block and/or a satellite rated surge protector are better.
My power bar has 2 satellite rated surge protectors, and one ANT/CATV surge protector.
Been using it for 1-1/2 yr. Why would it become a problem now?

It is possible that if any of the protection circuitry has actually been "hit" then you could run into problems.

I agree with I_Want_My_HDTV though and would bypass it. A properly grounded and installed system should not require any additional protection....... Unless you live in an area with high amounts of lightning, and have the dish mounted on the highest point on your house...... :)

Also, where you say "tighten" for your connectors, I sure hopw you are using screw on connectors. These should never be used.......and can easily be over-tightened causing even more problems as they damage the shielding in the cabling. Most people recommend compression connectors although I personally prefer high-end crimp connectors. In any case, use the best quality you can get your hands on. At $1 or so each they are well worth the investment and will provide years of trouble-free use if properly installed.

I installed the replacement switch 44 that bell sent me. They even provided the return shipping label to send the old one back.

No problem. My Sat signal surge suppressors work just fine.
And all my Twist on F connectors work just fine too. :)

First, thanks to all of your input to provide the details. I have been looking to confirm the install needed for more than four receivers since the 9242 requires 2 on its own. I like the simplicity of the second suggestion, using SW24 or SW34 switches to cascade the two SW44 together.

My main question is if using an SW34 that has the extra RF input for combining cable in this configuration, can it be used instead for an external Sirius satellite radio antenna that feeds RG6 into the house? And if sat. radio or even regular cable is fed into this configuration is a separate diplexer needed on each of the outputs from the SW44's, or just the one where the receiver and satellite radio units are located in the house (the other 7 outputs feeding just BEV receivers do not require a diplexer)?

First, thanks to all of your input to provide the details. I have been looking to confirm the install needed for more than four receivers since the 9242 requires 2 on its own. I like the simplicity of the second suggestion, using SW24 or SW34 switches to cascade the two SW44 together.

My main question is if using an SW34 that has the extra RF input for combining cable in this configuration, can it be used instead for an external Sirius satellite radio antenna that feeds RG6 into the house? And if sat. radio or even regular cable is fed into this configuration is a separate diplexer needed on each of the outputs from the SW44's, or just the one where the receiver and satellite radio units are located in the house (the other 7 outputs feeding just BEV receivers do not require a diplexer)?
do you know what frequency the sat radio antenna outputs?

The bell sat rx's need 950 MHz and up, The Ant input on the SW34 is for 900 MHz down.

sat radio is in 2.3GHz range so don't combine that with satellite tv and it will not work in ANT. input.

OTA and CATV will go through the SW44 switch and you don't need to use a diplexor in every area where you connect just a satellite box.

Thanks for the prompt replies. I have done some more searching using the US Sirius site and it looks like they have their own solution that involves a different pair of combiners/splitters that they sell. I'll see if I can get my hands on this setup.:D
http://shop.sirius.com/edealinv/servlet/ExecMacro?nurl=control/StoreItem.vm&ctl_nbr=2640&siId=2896145&catParentID=7872&scId=7872&oldParentID=7872

There you go.

I read the installation pdf and one very important thing to keep in mind is that it says it does not work through any switches. It needs to be one uninteruppted line when split and combined which means it needs to go before or after the multiswitch and SW44 switch.

Current setup is:

9200
9242
I have all 4 satellite RG-6 cables goint to the SW-44. 2 outputs going to each HD PVR.

I want to connect my old 3500 for the kids TV. To drive the 3500, I bought a $30 splitter from The Source (all ports power pass). I split one of the 91 satellite cables (from the splitter, one is going to the SW44 and one is going directly to the 3500). Unfortunately, this split 91 setup is not working. As soon as I turn on my 3500, I get full signal on the 3500, but I no longer have proper signal at the 9242. Is this split 91 setup the correct way? If not, how do I get a signal to my 3500 without disrupting my HD PVR's?

Thanks in advance,

F499

Lots of drawings in this Forum that give you many many options.

Splitting a line will not work in your scenario, ever.

Cheapest/easiest might be to get an SW24 (SW34) and connect the 2 lines from the 91 degree LNBF to this switch, then run 2 of its outputs into the SW44, leaving 2 outputs 1 for the old 3500 and a spare.

My current set up is one sw44 mounted outside on my dish, with the four cables coming in my house running a 9200, a 5900 and one is just a spare.

I really dont want to run any more cables into my house, but I need to add a 9242, so I want to make sure this works before I buy anything.

Can I get 4 connectors (and what kind) to connect the 8 wires all going into my sw44 outside, in effect making them 4 cables from my lnb's straight into my house. (approx length would be 30') I dont think the cables leaving my house to my dish will reach the lnb's, but if they do, I will just do that.

I would then bring my sw44 inside, use two multi switches and another sw44 as shown in example two at the start of this thread, and hope it all works.

And are Ecoda 3x4 multiswithces ok to use? http://www.onesat.ca/product_p/ecoda%203x4.htm