I have a client with eight of the same satellite receiver, with no discrete power commands. It finally occurred to me that I could definitively turn them off if I plug them into the A/V receiver's swtiched power outputs.

DirecTV says this should not negatively affect performance of the system, except perhaps to slow the first access of the guide every day. They say removing power should not affect the callback procedure, either.

This is such a simple stupid answer that it seems impossible. Any comments?

Can't see any reason why it won't work. As DirecTV says, you will have a delay when you access the guide after power is restored. Also you will not get any software upgrades while the boxes are off, if you "miss" a scheduled upgrade I am not sure how these are retransmitted...

"Upgrades" are usually initiated at the next "check-in" call, and not necessarily according to a schedule.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

One concern... Are you sure the AV receiver's output is suitable for sourcing current to eight(!) satellite receivers?

Hopefully, J., Ernie meant eight throuought the house, and not all in one room.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Upgrades to the sat operating software are not tied to the phone call. They are downloaded automatically when DTV makes them available for a particular receiver. DTV typically pushes these upgrades at a specific time each day, usually early morning. As long as the receiver is active (valid card) and it has power (it doesn't even have to be turned on) it will automatically DL an update if one is available.

jandras, Larry,
The customer has eight receivers. He has two houses, with four in each house.

jandras, "are you sure the AV receiver's output is suitable for sourcing current to eight(!) satellite receivers?"

What current comes from an AV receiver and goes to a satellite receiver?

Ernie, we're referring to the switched receptacle on the receiver. Most receivers have a rather limited current capability, because the receptacle is switched by the same contacts as the receiver itself.

In the case of electronic switching, the receptacle is almost definitely switched by a relay, but even then, higher-current relays are more expensive and larger than most manufacturers are willing to spring for.

Usually, most people use them for low-current items like EQs or antenna amps, etc, which don't require a lot of current, so it's usually not a problem. One can always cascade, i.e., switch a high-power relay with a low-power one, like I do.*

*My pre-pro has a 12V output that is rated at only 15ma, so I have that powering a reed relay (11ma), which controls a relay w/10A contacts, which in turn control a 4-pole, 25A contactor, which controls 4 separate circuits in my sub-panel.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Larry,
<>

I did a sports bar once with six of the same DSS receiver and IR control. We made a little thingy that went on the bar -- you poked the DSS remote into one of six rectangular tubes that then took the DSS IR signal only to the proper receiver....

<<*My pre-pro has a 12V output that is rated at only 15ma, so I have that powering a reed relay (11ma), which controls a relay w/10A contacts, which in turn control a 4-pole, 25A contactor, which controls 4 separate circuits in my sub-panel.>>

UL Approved? Where do you separate the low voltage side from the high voltage side? Does anyone make a relay with low voltage coil connections totally separated from the 120 VAC contacts, in order to keep low and high voltage separate for NEC purposes?

As a licensed electrician, I'm "qualified' to break the rules (in my own home). I installed an RCA jack on the cover of my sub-panel (because my pre/pro's 12V output is an RCA), and the two lower-current relays on a small printed-circuit board within a plastic enclosure inside the panel.

A better idea would be to use a 120V line cord out of the panel, and the relays within their own box. (Paraphrasing here:) The NEC says that line and low voltages should not occupy the same enclosure, except where they connect to the same equipment (such as a transformer or relay).

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com
(site tempoarily down)

Oops. I thought you had an "eccentric" client who was was running a "NASA"-like setup of eight receivers and one AV-amp in the same room.

That's why I assumed you were thinking about drawing the combined power needed for all eight receivers through only one relay-circuit.

In any one of the client's houses, where are the four sat receivers relative to the one AV amp? Same room? Different rooms?