HR21 cabling question

TLTivo · 01-02-2008, 08:46 PM

I'm going to be adding an HR21 to my existing setup. I'm going to have a mix of HR10s, HR21/HR20 and R10s and an old RCA receiver all feed from the same 5LNB dish (currently a 3LNB dish, being upgraded on Fri). I currently diplex cable through a Terk BMS58. Can I do the following:

From the 5LNB dish, feed the 4 lines into a 6x8 multi-switch. Have 4 of the lines go to two HR21/HR20s and the remaining four lines go to the BMS58. I then want to have the cableTV feed go into the BMS58 and diplex it to the HR10s, R10s and RCA receivers (5 connects total).

D* told me today that they will supply a 6x8, but anything larger I would have to purchase. That got me thinking that I might be ok with the BMS58.

Scooter · 01-02-2008, 09:02 PM

First of all, it's not diplexing. The Terk is a multi-switch. I was confused for a bit because you can't diplex like you used to with the new 5LNB dish. Second of all, DIRECTV gave me a 6x16 switch for my setup. At first they were going to give me a pair of 6x8s and I convinced the guy to give me a 6x16. Luckily the guy had one on the truck. There shouldn't be a charge as long as you need the equipment. Of course, your mileage may vary. Good luck.

Scooter

rminsk · 01-02-2008, 09:13 PM

First of all, IT IS Diplexing. The Terk is a multiswitch with a diplexer built-in. The setup you describe should work fine. Just make sure the new HR20/21 are not fed with the existing 5x8 and are fed by the new wide-band multiswitch.

Scooter · 01-02-2008, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rminsk

First of all, IT IS Diplexing. The Terk is a multiswitch with a diplexer built-in. The setup you describe should work fine. Just make sure the new HR20/21 are not fed with the existing 5x8 and are fed by the new wide-band multiswitch.

Okay, I wasn't trying to sound like an ass. If I did, sorry. Anyway, will the old style multi-switches work with the new 5lnb dishes? I know you can't diplex the OTA part of it like you used to.

Scooter

rminsk · 01-02-2008, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scooter

Okay, I wasn't trying to sound like an ass. If I did, sorry. Anyway, will the old style multi-switches work with the new 5lnb dishes? I know you can't diplex the OTA part of it like you used to.

The old style switches will work with the 5-lnb dish if you are not trying to get to the new satellites. Since the OP is using the old switch to feed the old receivers it will not be accessing the new satellites. The OP is not trying to diplex the signals to the new receivers only to the old receivers. What the OP is describing will work fine.

Scooter · 01-02-2008, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rminsk

The old style switches will work with the 5-lnb dish if you are not trying to get to the new satellites. Since the OP is using the old switch to feed the old receivers it will not be accessing the new satellites. The OP is not trying to diplex the signals to the new receivers only to the old receivers. What the OP is describing will work fine.

Gotcha. Thanks.

Scooter

TLTivo · 01-15-2008, 01:17 PM

So D* came out today to install the HR21 and 5LNB dish. Besides not having the proper mounting hardware, he refused to connect the zinnwell 6x8 to my BMS 5x8. He said the powered bms58 could cause damage to the LNBs.
Any thoughts?

So, his fix was to disconnect 2 of my receivers. Additionally, I now have the HR21 connected to a 3LNB dish.

I told him I didn't understand why this would be different from what we previous had. And the BMS58 has been in service for 3 years, without any issue.

ebonovic · 01-15-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLTivo

So D* came out today to install the HR21 and 5LNB dish. Besides not having the proper mounting hardware, he refused to connect the zinnwell 6x8 to my BMS 5x8. He said the powered bms58 could cause damage to the LNBs.
Any thoughts?

How many connections did you need?

If you needed more then 8, he should have then installed a WB616
or multipe Zinwell WB68

TLTivo · 01-15-2008, 03:34 PM

I needed 9 connections. He didn't have a switch greater than 8 ports and he wouldn't use two of them.

I suggested using the zinnwell 6x8 and having 4 connections go to my bms5x8, but he didn't want to do that. So, he disconnected one of my receivers.

D* says it'll be at least a week before they can even install a 5LNB dish.

So, should I run 2 dishes (3LNB and 5LNB) or fight for a 6x12

rminsk · 01-15-2008, 05:36 PM

If you get a WB616 you will have to have separate diplexers on each of the lines to put your cable on the line for all the non-HR20/21. The 5x8 will not damage the LNBs or the WB68 at all. The installer was just making up an excuse for something he does not understand.

JimSpence · 01-15-2008, 05:40 PM

I'd have the installer put in the WB68 connecting as many receivers as possible. Then using info from here, add the 5x8 the way you need it.

TLTivo · 01-15-2008, 08:39 PM

After the installer left I called D* and asked about connecting the BMS58 to the WB68, they said it would be a problem with frequent high band switching to low band and would be a quality problem. I told them I don't understand that as none of the receivers connected to the BMS58 would receive mpeg4 signals. I guess they didn't like me re-asking because the response was, "thats what the tech said".

rminsk · 01-16-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLTivo

After the installer left I called D* and asked about connecting the BMS58 to the WB68, they said it would be a problem with frequent high band switching to low band and would be a quality problem.

What switching? The BMS58 will be always requesting the exact same inputs on each of it's lines. It will never switch satellites or polarities on it's inputs.

JimSpence · 01-16-2008, 05:27 PM

Another case of improper training of CSRs.