Question for the digital cable guys...

[jblomenberg16]

My wife and I recently built a new home. In the process, I wired all of the main living spaces with CAT5 cable as well as RG6. The thinking being I wanted media connectivity in as many places a possible to give us options in the years to come.

We have Direct TV, and part of the initial install was 3 recievers (1 of which is whole how DVR btw). The installer ran the main line from the dish into a "SWiM" device which is powered. There are then 3 line outs to the 3 recievers.

So, my question comes in hooking up a 4th reciever. Can I take the 3rd line out, and run it into another digital TV 1 to 3 Splitter, giving me flexibility for recievers 3, 4, and 5 ? What does the SWiM do, and do I need a second unit?

 

[zx6rman96]

i have a swim switch, i think it is 6 way swim. If you have extra ports on ur swim just plug in the cable to any available one and you should be good.

 

[Noland]

I do not think that will work. I am pretty sure that you need to hook the 4th unit to the swm, not split one of the 3 existing lines.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I do not think that will work. I am pretty sure that you need to hook the 4th unit to the swm, not split one of the 3 existing lines.

So, in essence, I need to buy a larger "splitter" and then plug the SWM into it, like a 6 way, etc.

Picture of what I have:

Would like to come out of the top connection on it, and go into the input to this:

 

[Wwwildthing]

Using the top pic you provided as referance...

Plug the dish cable into the SWM IN, then run a jumper from SWM OUT to Splitter IN. Run cables from Splitter OUT to each TV set.

 

[Noland]

So, in essence, I need to buy a larger "splitter" and then plug the SWM into it, like a 6 way, etc.

Hopefully a real expert will chime in since I am not one, but going to a larger swm will work. In some cases you can add a second swm behind the first one in a "cascade" but I don't know if that will work on your system. Regular splitters are not multi switches.

 

[Tactical Dave]

Word to the wise... don't cheap out on coax ends (fittings), or the splitters.

If you say just want to add one more line then to the picture above get a 6 port splitter. Put the lines in the new splitter in the same spot that they cam from (read what each port it labeled) on the old and put the new coax for the new TV on the remaining port and you SHOULD be goof to go.


I am pretty sure with Direct that you don't have to call and have additional receivers activated so it should just be plug and play.......

You want the least amount of breaks in a coax as possible... multiple splitters is a bad idea... having multiple coax lines put together to make one long one is also not ideal.... all tend to affect signal quality.


I had to remove one of those power boxes the other day.... I removed the coax that it was attached to from it and the splitter..... and it showed voltage on one of my tests........... yeahhhhh.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Yeah, I went with some of the more expensive connections on the Home Depot shelf. For a few extra bucks it is worth not having the worry of a bad signal.

 

[The Keymaster]

You can get the splitters in a variety of sizes. I use an 8 way. BUT you have to have a splitter that has a terminal that is DC pass. Notice on the existing installation the terminal that is connected to the power supply. That terminal is DC pass and runs the power back up the line to the LNB at the antenna. If you install a splitter that does not have a DC pass terminal, you will not get power ti the LNB, and nothing will work.

I took a couple of minutes to study the photo you posted. With a little rewiring you can add one more IRD too the setup you have. I am not sure who wired what is there, but they did not do it in the manner I would have done it.

The output from the power supply labeled "power to SWM should be going directly to the LNB at the antenna. The output prom the power supply labeled "signal to IRD" should be connected to the terminal labeled "in from SWM" on the 4 way splitter. Now you have 4 available outputs to connect to your receivers.

I am probably a little late with this, but the thread title was a little deceptive. I do DirecTv systems, not digital cable.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Thanks Keymaster. This was the DirectTV installation as done by the tech. He went ahead and terminated all of the RG6 that I had run, but only instaled the 3 recievers we had with our original order, hence the 3 way split.

I wondered about the way it was wired myself...didn't seem intuitive, so that was part of my question. So, what I really need then is a larger splitter and make sure it has the DC pass. I assume that is clearly marked when you buy one?