Thanks AJF.

I can even keep my user name! Consider this Sunday shot.

You're welcome . Check out their CES coverage .
There's a lot to sift through so if you
want to know what's coming from DirecTV, go to this thread :

[Link: satelliteguys.us]

So... Have you told Maxwell that you've rewritten his equations! For those of you that don't know Maxwell or his equations...

A metallic staple that does not pierce or physically deform coax will have absolutely no effect on the signal traveling inside the coax.

Very true! Metal staples are often erroneously thought to affect coax by somehow inducing a magnetic/electrical field or interrupting signal flow.

The myth comes from staples that pinch, even slightly, coax cable.

A cable's impedance is dependent upon its ratio of core size and dielectric width to outer shield. Once that ratio has been compromised i.e. pinched, overly bent or otherwise deformed it changes the impedance which then decreases the ability for maximum power transfer. That typically shows up in broadband cable by attenuating certain frequencies.

Metal staples are simply more apt to do this because they lack the flexibility of plastic. Of course, the correct size staple is fine.

For those of you still using crimp connectors this is also true. Many designs have minimized the effect of changing the impedance but none can eliminate it completely, though I'm sure some marketing departments at the manufacturers may disagree. Compression connectors do a slightly better job of spreading the pressure equally around the coax and therefore minimizing the impact of the connector.

See you got me rambling again... sorry.

Yet no one has officially addressed when they will turn off to my knowledge.



I have to say I couldn't agree with you less. Since when does someone want to buy four $700 computer when they have the luxury of waiting for a new one to turn up on the shelves two months later that costs $200 with an improved chip, five times the connectivity and comes with 150 extra software titles.

My clients are rich, not frivolous nor stupid.

Hey, the guy in the DirecTV shirt on the video said no metallic staples!

But, he didn't clarify why. Maybe it's because he knows the hacks among us will pinch the cable, or while fastening, we'll hammer the coax a few times with our framing hammers.

Thanks for the clarification. I should've known better. Aloha.

THen they have to wait. Period. They cant have TiVo(DVR) for 2-3 months.

ANd its not just a $200 box. Its a new Dish thats more expensive. Significantly more install time on that dish. a Maxixmum of a 8 way multiswitch(for now) thats more expensive as well.

And the box hasnt shipped yet. Is it truely going to be $200? I havent heard that.

I downloaded all 5 of the D* dish installation videos, converted them from .WMV to .MPG, seamed them together and put it on a DVD for training purposes. I showed it to our installers @ a meeting and they seemed to get a good bit out of it. I'd be more than happy to upload it to an FTP site for anyone to view and download. I don't have access to one, but if anyone does and is willing to host it for a little while, let me know.

Ben

Well, DIrecTV just threw another Monkey wrench into this discussion. Seems they are changing over to a Lease the equiptment model like the cable companies instead of selling boxes outright. What I hear is that you will still be able to buy a box... At a much higher cost as the Buy down programs are history.

I dont see the HD DVR's being $200 anymore....(If they ever were going to be...)

If your leasing you evidentally wont ave to pay a mirror fee on extra boxes. But if you buy em you still have to pay... Which seems wrong.....

I'll post more once I see the information forst hand. Was just informed of these changes by one of the owners.

I heard him say in the video that the new boxes use data to switch between the various LNBs. I wonder if this means that the info from each LNB is available simultaneously from every output from the multiswitch.

I just moved into a 13 unit building that we wired for satellite. I ran 6 cables from the dish to the common utility closet. Form there, each unit gets a GE 2X2 (2 rg6 solid copper quad shield, 2 cat 6) to the local low voltage box in the unit. My unit got the 2X@ plus 2 extra drops of RG6 quad. (Just in case stacking is a problem)

I'm wondering how I will be able to set up the building so everyone can have a local multiswitch in their unit to support 2 tuner DVRs, and extra boxes.

Does anyone have any idea about new stacker systems for Ka/Ku?

Ka/Ku - isn't that like CaCa in polish?