What is this thing here?

[SParker]

I took a picture of my setup downstairs and it looks the the incoming cable from the dish at ports 99 and 101 go through some sort of a female to female cable extender. Would this thing maybe cause some of the problems I am having with 103? I'm thinking not since it looks like 103 is coming directly through the wall from the dish. Are these female to female things okay to use or is it unnecessary? Only thing I can think of is the installer cut the cable to short and fixed his mess up but doing that... Or is it maybe the ground block??

[Directvlover]

It is your ground block. However it's strange you only have 2 wires through one...i have all four going through ground blocks.

[Tom Robertson]

That is your grounding block, a necessary required device in almost all municipalities. Don't mess with it. :)

[40-Dan]

Looks like you need another ground block for the other two sat leads.

[lwilli201]

I am supprised you have not gotten flammed for those crimp connectors. Your setup is like it should be. A bad connection, Bad BBC (Im sure your have already eliminated that), or bad LNB may be your problem.

[Carbon]

It looks like you had just two leads ran for your first install which are the 2 that are grounded then when you had the AT9/AU9 installed they ran the 2 additional lines (shiny looking ones) and did not ground them. Why would they use those lousy connectors?

Edited: Actually looking again it looks like all 4 cables are new except from the grounding block onto the multiswitch they look old. . . really not sure why someone would do that just ground all 4.

[40-Dan]

I am supprised you have not gotten flammed for those crimp connectors.

LOL - I didn't notice that at first. One of the lines between the ground block and switch actually appears to have a compression connector at one end and a crimp connector at the other end.

[SParker]

Should I change those connectors to the push on ones? Also does solidsignal or another company make a 4 wire ground block?

[techrep]

Should I change those connectors to the push on ones? Also does solidsignal or another company make a 4 wire ground block?

If you are going to change the connecters use the compression type and yes, new installs are supposed to have 4 conductor grounding blocks and SS should have them.

[medic4jc7]

Info on your picture added.

[JeffBowser]

That's one shaky drawing hand you have there, bubba..... :lol:

Info on your picture added.

[Tom Robertson]

A good solid crimp connection is quite satisfactory indoors, where moisture is not a problem. (A wet crawlspace is a different story.)

So long as the crimp is solid, no braid fringe is exposed, and the crimp isn't cracked from incorrect technique, I wouldn't bother changing these connections. Don't break the working unless there is a compelling reason, like weather exposure.

SParker, I'd likely leave well enough alone on the crimps. I would look to see if the lines are grounded outdoors; if not, ground all 4 to a new grounding block either outside or inside, but within a short distance of the point of entry.

Cheers,
Tom

[SParker]

Okay good info guys thanks, so if those other two aren't grounded I would probably want this? http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=PVGBQHFUL

[Tom Robertson]

Yupper and you should be able to find them at Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, and better Bed, Bath, and Beyond stores everywhere. :)

[medic4jc7]

That's one shaky drawing hand you have there, bubba..... :lol:Its Trackball Painting....:lol:

[jimmyv2000]

Okay good info guys thanks, so if those other two aren't grounded I would probably want this? http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=PVGBQHFUL

YIP YIP YIP- UH HUH(sesame street martians):hurah:
thats what you need
:D

[NCMAT]

Yupper and you should be able to find them at Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, and better Bed, Bath, and Beyond stores everywhere. :)

Shouldn't he be looking for a grounding block that has the blue center that has the higher frequency rating? The ones I've seen at Lowes and Home Depot have the white centers. I found the blue centers at Radio Shack. Am I right or is that just DirecTV installation video hype?

[twistedT]

The Ideal grounding blocks at Home Cheapo and Lowes have the blue centers rated from 0 to 3 GHz.

[cartrivision]

I took a picture of my setup downstairs and it looks the the incoming cable from the dish at ports 99 and 101 go through some sort of a female to female cable extender. Would this thing maybe cause some of the problems I am having with 103? I'm thinking not since it looks like 103 is coming directly through the wall from the dish. Are these female to female things okay to use or is it unnecessary? Only thing I can think of is the installer cut the cable to short and fixed his mess up but doing that... Or is it maybe the ground block??

The input on the Zinwell right next to the two flex ports with plastic caps is the one that supplies the 103b signal, so if you are having issues receiving 103b, try swapping each of the other 3 input cables to the 103b input to see if it makes any difference.

[ghostdog]

Looks like you need another ground block for the other two sat leads.

Ditto, 'get er done!'

[Crypter]

I got my grounding block setup right from the LNB outputs on my roof. See Pic.

[Mertzen]

I got my grounding block setup right from the LNB outputs on my roof. See Pic.

Probably not properly grounded. And the GB is mounted improperly .

[Doug Brott]

Its Trackball Painting....:lol:

I thought the picture looked good .. It probably wouldn't hurt to run a ground line from the Zinwell ground hole either.

[cartrivision]

Probably not properly grounded. And the GB is mounted improperly .

Care to expand on that statement with reasons to actually make it useful?

[Doug Brott]

Care to expand on that statement with reasons to actually make it useful?

I didn't actually see a solid ground connection to the dish itself on the photo, but that may have been hidden. Personally, I don't think that there is enough information to state for certain whether or not it is grounded properly. Looking at the neatness of the installation, I would actually assume that all is good.

[Tom Robertson]

I got my grounding block setup right from the LNB outputs on my roof. See Pic.

According to my recollections of the code, the grounding block probably fails only in one key area. Normally the code requires the GB to be withing a short distance of the point of entry into the house.

Aside from that aspect, it probably will work if the GB is electrically connected to the dish or mount. (Hard to be sure, that might be another ground wire in there.)

Cheers,
Tom

[cartrivision]

I didn't actually see a solid ground connection to the dish itself on the photo, but that may have been hidden. Personally, I don't think that there is enough information to state for certain whether or not it is grounded properly. Looking at the neatness of the installation, I would actually assume that all is good.

Does code require a ground wire going to the dish also? I thought that the ground wire needed to be run no further than the grounding block which is typically a fair distance away from the dish.

[JeffBowser]

The ground block needs to be horizontal so rain doesn't tend to flow straight down into the upper cables.

[cartrivision]

According to my recollections of the code, the grounding block probably fails only in one key area. Normally the code requires the GB to be withing a short distance of the point of entry into the house.

Aside from that aspect, it probably will work if the GB is electrically connected to the dish or mount. (Hard to be sure, that might be another ground wire in there.)

Cheers,
Tom

I recently had a D* installer put in a new Slimline which apparently comes out of the box pre-wired with 4 RG6 cables which are about 6 feet long coming from the dish, so the installers seem to be putting the grounding block there (about 6 feet away from the dish) where it couples the remainder of the required cable run to the 4 6 foot long pigtails that come out of the Slimline.

[Tom Robertson]

I recently had a D* installer put in a new Slimline which apparently comes out of the box pre-wired with 4 RG6 cables which are about 6 feet long coming from the dish, so the installers seem to be putting the grounding block there (about 6 feet away from the dish) where it couples the remainder of the required cable run to the 4 6 foot long pigtails that come out of the Slimline.

My guess is that the local installation company is assembling them in the warehouse that way for the installers. Or that installer is assembling them that way himself. I know our installation group does pre-assembly to save time on the job site.

Cheers,
Tom

[CCarncross]

The ground block needs to be horizontal so rain doesn't tend to flow straight down into the upper cables.

This picture is I assume inside his house in the basement or crawlspace. If the drip loops are correct outside, how would water get into this system?

The GB only needs to be mounted horizontally if mounted outside.

[JeffBowser]

I am referring to the outdoor ground block in post #21, not the indoor one.

This picture is I assume inside his house in the basement or crawlspace. If the drip loops are correct outside, how would water get into this system?

The GB only needs to be mounted horizontally if mounted outside.

[Mike Huss]

You guys made reference to the grounding blocks being available at HD, Lowes, etc. Do they also have the compression fittings and the tool for them? I could swear I've only seen crimp fittings there.

[techrep]

You guys made reference to the grounding blocks being available at HD, Lowes, etc. Do they also have the compression fittings and the tool for them? I could swear I've only seen crimp fittings there.

Yep, I buy them at Home Depot.

[ybeard]

I don't understand why everyone seems to think that a compression fitting is something that "must" be installed. Yeah, they'd be great, but it was my understanding that compression fittings were desired for outside installation of cables because of their ability to be waterproof, so to speak. Unless this installation has a history of water problems in that crawl space, and based upon the wood I see in the picture I don't see any, I don't see why he'd have to go to the expense of all compression fittings. I would agree about the lack of grounding blocks on all incoming cables however.

Do we know for certain that the cables weren't grounded outside?

[techrep]

I don't understand why everyone seems to think that a compression fitting is something that "must" be installed. Yeah, they'd be great, but it was my understanding that compression fittings were desired for outside installation of cables because of their ability to be waterproof, so to speak. Unless this installation has a history of water problems in that crawl space, and based upon the wood I see in the picture I don't see any, I don't see why he'd have to go to the expense of all compression fittings. I would agree about the lack of grounding blocks on all incoming cables however.

Do we know for certain that the cables weren't grounded outside?

While the compression fittings and the compression tool are a little expensive; the tolerances are better, they are faster to install, they look better, and there is the geek factor. :D With that said, I see no reason to change out crimp fitted connectors that are working fine. I see two ground wires in the lug (one has a black or dark covering) so maybe one goes outside.

[JeffBowser]

The compression fittings are said to be better also because they don't deform the dielectric insulator as badly as crimp fittings. The distance between the shield and the conductor is a factor.

I don't understand why everyone seems to think that a compression fitting is something that "must" be installed. Yeah, they'd be great, but it was my understanding that compression fittings were desired for outside installation of cables because of their ability to be waterproof, so to speak. Unless this installation has a history of water problems in that crawl space, and based upon the wood I see in the picture I don't see any, I don't see why he'd have to go to the expense of all compression fittings. I would agree about the lack of grounding blocks on all incoming cables however.

Do we know for certain that the cables weren't grounded outside?

[techrep]

The compression fittings are said to be better also because they don't deform the dielectric insulator as badly as crimp fittings. The distance between the shield and the conductor is a factor.

Good point.

[Crypter]

So did someone say they saw a problem with my setup in post #21? I was not clear if some of the criticisims that came after my post were directed at the OP or my post. The installer that setup my dish was very knowledgable and was very maticulous about everything even inside the house where he connected the multiswitch.

I only posted the pic as an example of the grounding block setup. I did not think anyone would find a problem with it. Please let me know if there is something I should be concerned with. thanks

[techrep]

So did someone say they saw a problem with my setup in post #21? I was not clear if some of the criticisims that came after my post were directed at the OP or my post. The installer that setup my dish was very knowledgable and was very maticulous about everything even inside the house where he connected the multiswitch.

I only posted the pic as an example of the grounding block setup. I did not think anyone would find a problem with it. Please let me know if there is something I should be concerned with. thanks

Crypter,
That's a clean install and I see no issues.

[Carbon]

We should all post pictures of our installs in would be interesting to see what everyone thought.

[medic4jc7]

So did someone say they saw a problem with my setup in post #21? I was not clear if some of the criticisims that came after my post were directed at the OP or my post. The installer that setup my dish was very knowledgable and was very maticulous about everything even inside the house where he connected the multiswitch.

I only posted the pic as an example of the grounding block setup. I did not think anyone would find a problem with it. Please let me know if there is something I should be concerned with. thanks
I believe the one poster was saying the GB was not horizontal. Water could still fall down the cable and into the grounding block connections.

[medic4jc7]

Needs to be like this outside.