i need suggestions on an install i have this week so here it goes
as told by the client


current set up done by electrician

250ft from oval dish to multiswitch wall
line amps at end of run (rg6 cable),two 8 way switchs used one powered one not? some lines have over the air signal mixed in some dont

16 receivers in the house




everything was going fine for about three years untill a week ago when the singal got bad on some channels i went out to move dish it was on a 4x4 wooden post and pointed into pine trees, got good singal strength at dish location and on most transponders were getting 95 percent but on a few i was only getting 50 or so, left house customer says 90 percent better,

does any body have any suggestions on what could be causing all the trouble or maybe a web site that explains multi room setups with long runs. i am goona write down the schematics tomorrow and post it here just thought i would get a jump on the job

This message was edited by Mark Trusty on 07/07/02 19:32.39.

First thing, check all connections.

We've found that usually a connection has become corroded, or faulty, and it causes the symptom you describe. Especially outdoor connections.

We silicone seal all outdoor connections.

Hope this is a good start,

JJP

The ones with 50 or less could be spot beams not meant for your area so chances are their subscribed card isn't even seeing those transponders. Just a guess on my part. You can do a search on the net and you can find out which tranponders are not being used for your area and see if they are the same ones with low signal.

Well, with a run that long definatly need the line amps, but also...are they using an outboard dish power supply?

[Link: dbs-online.com]

This will help with your problems with one polarity. It eliminates the receivers from powering the LNB's and supplies more current for proper operation. As close to the dish as possible is recommended.

Or if you need line amplification also...

[Link: starkelectronic.com]

Another thoughtis a 76cm dish, it works better than the standard dish (more gain) for rain fade etc.

[Link: shop.store.yahoo.com]

You can also get 16 port multiswitchers if you want, although the loss through a High frequency splitter isn't all that much. (beware that it must be power passive to the correct multi switch the way it's currently installed!)

[Link: starkelectronic.com]



Basically you have an SMATV system there, Satellite Master Antenna TeleVision. I also have worked with many of these type systems..if you live in a snowy place you could also propose a heated dish and LNB system. HotShot makes a good one.

If you need any more advice, feel free to look me up! I've done many of these systems..my largets was a 40 receiver headend for a national hotel chain.

Not sure if you need locals with the pricing of locals from satellite these days.

If your mutiswithes are outdoors make sure they are outdoor rated , check connections as John said Then check your line amps , check receivers sat in voltage,try swaping around multiswitch inputs .

Yeah, this sounds like a problem that was caused by age or elements, if it worked fine for the first couple years, then it's probably not a problem with the setup. Troubleshoot from the standpoint of a faulty component in the system, like a multi-switch that has gone bad, or an LNB. What about the power to the multi-switches? Bad AC Adaptor maybe? I dunno, but a corroded connector seems like a possibility too, if it's mounted on a 4x4 wooden post, what about the possibility of the post warping and re-aiming the dish? Could it still be getting most of the signals at good levels, but the dish has moved far enough to affect those? 250 feet to the dish.....could this cause too much voltage drop to the LNB? If so, could that cause damage to it? And if so, would it be the kind of damage that would affect one channel and not the others? Dunno, talk about complicated stuff, I just have a simple broadband line amp/splitter. Good luck with it though.

~~If that makes absolutely no sense, blame it on Jack. Somebody....(Surely it wasn't me)...was drinking last night.~~

This message was edited by ItsColdInMN on 07/08/02 13:43.54.

Normally the length of the run will make the lower voltage polarity drop off much faster thant he higher one.

Sounds like you might want to investigate Spaun Multiswitches. They have tech support that can help lay out your system, and they actually use math (gasp!) to configure systems. They are the opposite of cheap, but they work. You're always going to need sound engineering practices, of course, but the right tool for the job makes a huge difference.

Yeah, I've used them... the nice thing about them is the Cascade feature.

I did the system here at the Target Center, for each private box. Worked great.