I am setting up a home DBS distribution system to distribute the four lines coming off my oval dual LNB dish to 4 rooms with two RG6 lines going into each
room. I am bringing two lines to each room b/c all of my receivers have TiVo built into them as well. The four lines from the dish, as well as two lines from my
Turk off air antenna, go into two multiplexers (3 in, four out JVI units, part #180-455 at Parts Express) . Within the wall of each room I have a diplexor set up to split one of the
RG6 lines to provide both off air & dbs signal. So, coming out of the wall plate I have two DBS signals and an antenna signal.
Still with me? ;)
This all worked fine until I decided to protect my whole system from power surges with a pair of Powermax 8 DBS +3 coax surge protectors. It seemed like a
good idea to try to protect my equipment from power surges, but I only get satellite signal to my receivers if I use the multiswitch or the surge protector, not
both. It occurs to me that with 100ft runs to my most distant receivers, and multiple connections, my signal is getting too weak. Do you guys think an inline
amp between the surge protector and the multiplexers would help? Would it be better to put the amps between the dish and the surge protectors? Lastly (I
promise!) do you think that two of #180-457 would work better or four of #180-456? Or should I buy 8 of #180-456 and put them after the multiswitch and
before the receivers? Aghghghghghghghgh!!!!

Somehow, the LNBs are powered by a receiver. You may be blocking the power with those Powermaxes. I don't think that all 3 coax protection circuits are designed for sat signal. Perhaps if you could figure out which lines are delivering power to the LNBs, you could make sure to use the sat coax protector for those lines.

If your signal is completely blocked, check the above. If it's just too weak to lock:

Otherwise, if it is just an amplification problem, I think amping between the LNB and switch is the best idea. I'm not an expert on this part, but I think the 180-457 is more appropriate since it deals with the 13/17 volt difference in the wires from a dual LNB.

Spiky, I appreciate your response. What is wierd is that the surge protectors don't seem to effect the satellite signal when I bypass the multiswitch and run the cable straight out of the surge protector to the receiver. It is only when I try to use it in conjunction with the multiswitch that I run into a problem. Any ideas? Thanks!

I used a Twin LNB with built-in switch for my Dish setup and a Monster HTS800 with no problems. Now I don't currently have switches with my new DirecTV setup so I can't compare.

Maybe if you outlined the precise connections, somebody here or at another forum could help. dbsforums.com is apparently back up again. There are more knowledgeable people frequenting that place than any other I know. Or maybe Panamax could help.