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View Full Version : Power Inserter Location?

skidadesert79
09-30-09, 12:09 PM
I was told by an installer that I should not have the power inserter for my Slimline 3 SWM behind any DVR's in my house. He stated that if it was behind any DVR it might/would cause blocky picture. I learned this after the new install after I moved; I had already hooked up all the boxes in the rooms I wanted before he arrived, trying to be helpful.

------edit ------
The installer meant wired in/plugged into a DVR. Especially my HD DVR. He said I had to make sure it was plugged into the standard box/non-dvr. hook-up would be

coax from Dish/SWM -- power insterter -- coax to DVR

------edit-------

Is there a rule on this?

I have 1 HR22, 1 R16, and one standard.

I tried a quick search but did not find anyting conclusive. Perhaps I need to re-read the first look handout agian. If this is answered somewhere else please move it there. Thank you in advance.
dettxw
09-30-09, 12:16 PM
Hmm... not sure what "behind any DVR" means.
My SMW8 PI is physically near the back of the DVR (within 2 feet) and plugged into the common UPS.
There is probably 3 feet of coax connecting the PI and the DVR, then 40 feet of coax between the PI and the SWM8.
I've heard that you should have a minimum amount of coax (15 feet?) between the PI and the SWM8, but I never had to worry about that since I was never going to get the PI anywhere close to the multiswitch that it was powering.
dsw2112
09-30-09, 12:30 PM
I was told by an installer that I should not have the power inserter for my Slimline 3 SWM behind any DVR's in my house. He stated that if it was behind any DVR it might/would cause blocky picture. I learned this after the new install after I moved; I had already hooked up all the boxes in the rooms I wanted before he arrived, trying to be helpful.


I haven't heard anything related to this either. My PI is right behind the DVR with 3 ft of cable connecting the two. The PI feeds DC to the SWM8/SWMLnb so I don't know how that would affect the receiver. Maybe he's theorizing that having the two electronic components too close together would cause interference? I've been using the setup for years without problems on this end.
bobnielsen
09-30-09, 12:59 PM
The PI doesn't do anything to the signal. It just passes it through to the receiver, blocking the DC and 22 kHz outputs from the receiver and inserting the voltage feeding the SWM. I have about 3 feet of cable between the PI and my HR20 and it has worked flawlessly for nearly 3 years.
skidadesert79
09-30-09, 01:35 PM
The PI doesn't do anything to the signal. It just passes it through to the receiver, blocking the DC and 22 kHz outputs from the receiver and inserting the voltage feeding the SWM..

Thanks all. Got the tech specs to go with it too.

I love this place...
HoTat2
09-30-09, 01:37 PM
... Is there a rule on this?

I have 1 HR22, 1 R16, and one standard.

I tried a quick search but did not find anyting conclusive. Perhaps I need to re-read the first look handout agian. If this is answered somewhere else please move it there. Thank you in advance.

Curious, specifically what receiver is this "one standard" outside of the R16 that is compatible with a SWM environment?
bobnielsen
09-30-09, 01:41 PM
Curious, specifically what receiver is this "one standard" outside of the R16 that is compatible with a SWM environment?

The D12 is SWM-compatible
HoTat2
09-30-09, 01:59 PM
The D12 is SWM-compatible

Ok thanks;

Just happened to be watching Ray Edward's popular DirecTV installation training videos on SolidSignal's website, and he made no mention of any of the D series standard STBs as being SWM compatible. Only the "H/HR20/21, R16, and R22, or any models newer than these."

Since practically all I've ever used are DVRs I do not keep totally abreast of all the latest features and capabilities of all the models.

Guess the D12 must fall somewhere into "newer" category than all the aforementioned models unless Edward's is mistaken which I doubt.
dracozny
10-01-09, 01:24 AM
Ok thanks;

Just happened to be watching Ray Edward's popular DirecTV installation training videos on SolidSignal's website, and he made no mention of any of the D series standard STBs as being SWM compatible. Only the "H/HR20/21, R16, and R22, or any models newer than these."

Since practically all I've ever used are DVRs I do not keep totally abreast of all the latest features and capabilities of all the models.

Guess the D12 must fall somewhere into "newer" category than all the aforementioned models unless Edward's is mistaken which I doubt.

some techs come up with crazy ideas, I should know I hear them daily.
powersupply can be behind any reciever as long as that line is the one designated at the splitter to power pass to the dish.

each tech has thier own way of doing things as long as it meets NEC and directv policies(as well as thier own managements).
randyk47
10-01-09, 07:11 AM
Like in any profession there are good techs and there are not-so-good techs. I showed a tech my SWM-8 and he was like "Wow! That works huh?" :) My PI is behind my DVR in my theater room and has worked perfectly from moment one without any problems.
rudeney
10-01-09, 11:27 AM
The only thing I can see that the tech might have been thinking is the fact that a receiver should never be connected to the red power output port of the PI. Maybe somehow he misunderstood that rule and came up with "don't put the PI behind the IRD" ???
veryoldschool
10-01-09, 11:31 AM
The only thing I can see that the tech might have been thinking is the fact that a receiver should never be connected to the red power output port of the PI. Maybe somehow he misunderstood that rule and came up with "don't put the PI behind the IRD" ???
:shrug:
Could be anything.
Could also be from using the PI 21 verses the PI 28.
"Some long runs" have had voltage issues with the PI 21.
AZsatTech
10-13-09, 08:26 PM
We have been told not to install the PI on any DVR feeds. Sometimes we don't have a choice, and yet to have any issues.
armophob
10-13-09, 09:03 PM
I have my SWM power inserter directly behind my Hr20-700. The purpose is that the Targus chillmat I have cooling the dvr, sends its exhaust over the inserter and cools it as well. Been that way for years now.
BattleZone
10-13-09, 09:16 PM
We have been told not to install the PI on any DVR feeds. Sometimes we don't have a choice, and yet to have any issues.

There is absolutely no reason not to install the PI there, but this type of thing is a common myth that gets passed around as the truth and becomes policy as soon as a field supervisor or GM hears about it. Many people don't understand how SWM technology works, so if they have a problem, and their troubleshooting leads them to change something that doesn't matter (like the location of the PI) and somehow things start working, suddenly they assume that they figured out something new, and a myth is born.

The "don't plug the PI into a power strip" myth is only to keep people from turning off the whole power strip in one room and thus powering off their sat signal for the whole house. There's nothing about a power strip that will hurt the PI or any other part of the SWM system, but because they don't explain their reasoning, people invent reasons why this is the policy. Some *crazy* reasons...
RobertE
10-13-09, 09:21 PM
:lol:

I'm breaking all of those. All I have are DVRs, all on a SWiM. No choice but to put the PI behind one. :p To top it off, I have the PI plugged into a UPS as well. :grin:

As Adam and Jaime would say: "Myth Busted" :D
BattleZone
10-13-09, 09:50 PM
I have 1x2 SWM splitters daisy-chained on my system, instead of home-runs to a 1x4. Of course, I was told that it wouldn't work, though it's been working for almost 2 years now.

Recently, there was a rumor that you had to use splitters with a port for each TUNER, so, for example, if you had 4 DVRs, you needed a 1x8 splitter. This came about as a result of the guy on a training video saying "tuner" in one place where he meant "receiver". It turned into a major thing until I proved it false... :)
NYCEGUY01
10-15-09, 08:25 PM
Just because something works ( or has for 2 years ) doesnt make it a good idea...

If your runs are short and you have plenty of Db to start out with it will work fine.
Say that in a tech meeting and the service techs will be rewiring and replacing splitters for the next 2 weeks on repeat svc calls.

You will have more Db loss with 2 ( or more ) 2 way splitters than 1 4 way...
Just wait untill youre on the last swm channel at 1700mhz and add a long run of coax etc.... Just too many variables for a blanket statement like that one that says it will work.

A much better statement would be that in YOUR home with YOUR equipment it will work.
veryoldschool
10-15-09, 08:58 PM
Just because something works ( or has for 2 years ) doesnt make it a good idea...

If your runs are short and you have plenty of Db to start out with it will work fine.
Say that in a tech meeting and the service techs will be rewiring and replacing splitters for the next 2 weeks on repeat svc calls.

You will have more Db loss with 2 ( or more ) 2 way splitters than 1 4 way...
Just wait untill youre on the last swm channel at 1700mhz and add a long run of coax etc.... Just too many variables for a blanket statement like that one that says it will work.

A much better statement would be that in YOUR home with YOUR equipment it will work.
While I want to find something wrong with your post, I can't really, "but" tell those same techs to not use 8-way splitters and have to terminate half the ports, "too".
I've got a 2-way upstream of my 4-way, and it IS the best layout for my system. The PI is just in front of the 4-way.