[boylan]

At my house, we had two dishes 1) a Slimline 5 with 4 lines in to a WB68, 6 out - connected to 3 DVRs (HR20-100, HDTiVo, SD TiVo) and 2) the original 101 only dual LNB dish with two lines to a 2x4 multiswitch connected to 2 SD TiVos.

DirecTV called me up out of the blue and offered us a second HDDVR (HR-22, it turns out) for free and free installation. I wanted to install it in place of one of the SD TiVos off the 2nd dish, so I thought it would require the splitters into two WB68s off the first dish, while disconnecting the 2nd dish.

The installer came out yesterday and simply inserted the second WB68 outside, coming off the Slimline dish. So now there is one dish with a WB68 hanging off of it - coming out of it there are 4 lines going inside to the original WB68 (about 50 feet away) and 4 lines (2 each) going to the other two DVRs that used to feed from the 2nd dish.

Everything works, except for the fact that I thought I read that a WB68 should not be cascaded off of a second WB68, and they should run off of splitters. Should I be buying 4 splitters and inserting them, so each WB68 connects directly to the dish (via splitter)? If so, where can I get them?

Also, is the WB68 better off inside the attic than outside? What about the splitters?

I have my own RG-6 cable and compression fittings, so I can do that. I realize I should have fought the installer, but he was not at all interested - he barely spoke English and insisted my weak reception on 99 had to do with trees interfering, which is complete nonsense, and he refused to align the dish, probably since it was above the roof line. If I can fix it myself for $10 in parts and about an hour of my time, I'd rather just do that.

Thanks.

 

[carl6]

While it is recommended to not cascade WB68's, many people have done it quite successfully and have had no problems. At this point in time, my advice would be "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". It sounds like you are fully capable of fixing it should future problems arise. You want splitters that are wide-band and dual port power passing.

Carl

 

[Supervolcano]

Personally, I wouldn't bother changing anything.
The amount of loss in cascasing WB68's is what I'd classify to be negligible.
But I'm sure opinions on this forum are mixed for this topic.

The WB68 itself is weatherproof and will be fine outside.
Only thing I might do is make sure all the connections are sealed well.

 

[boylan]

Thanks for the quick reply and good advice, Carl.

Is leaving the WB68 hanging uncovered outside a bad idea? Is it worth pulling it inside to the attic (a distance of about 10 feet)?

Note: Supervolcano replied while I was typing - that answers this question as well - thanks, guys.

 

[texasbrit]

Personally, I wouldn't bother changing anything.
The amount of loss in cascasing WB68's is what I'd classify to be negligible.
But I'm sure opinions on this forum are mixed for this topic.

The WB68 itself is weatherproof and will be fine outside.
Only thing I might do is make sure all the connections are sealed well.

It's not a signal loss problem with cascaded WB68s, it's a satellite signalling voltage/LNB power issue. Since the WB68s are unpowered, the power has to come from the receiver through both WB68s and up the line to the LNB. So if you start getting 771s, it's probably a voltage drop problem and you will need to run the WB68s in parallel.
FYI Zinwell specifically stated on their web site that WB68s should not be cascaded because of this problem.

 

[2dogz]

Thanks for the quick reply and good advice, Carl.

Is leaving the WB68 hanging uncovered outside a bad idea? Is it worth pulling it inside to the attic (a distance of about 10 feet)?

Note: Supervolcano replied while I was typing - that answers this question as well - thanks, guys.

Anything electronic is going to be happier and live a longer life if it's not subject to rain/snow/direct sunlight. Attic is better for all those connectors also.

If you do leave it outside, get a tube of dielectric grease and double check and reseal all the connectors before the weather turns bad.