[b4pjoe]

According to DIRECTV: You’ll see DIRECTV error code 775 when the signal between your receiver and satellite dish is interrupted.

In a bedroom I have two satellite coax connections. Both have worked in the past for satellite recption to a TV. The TV has been on one and a power inserter has been on the other. The power inserter is applying power to the system. It has worked fine. I liked have the power inserter separately in this location because it is easy to get to if I need to unplug and plug it back in. I know the power inserter is working because if I unplug it all receivers in the house go out. I decided to mount the TV on the wall where the power inserter is located. Then I connected an RG6 cable from the open port on the PI (to IRD) to the HR24 SAT 1 port. Now I get the error 775. All other receivers are working fine. The only thing changed was moving the one TV in the bedroom over where the PI is located. The PI is working so why is my HR24 getting the error 775?

There is also a 4 way and an 8 way SWM splitter hooked up to this. It is a real spaghetti mess of wires. But somehow everything was working great until I moved the TV. Everything is still working except for that TV.

 

[b4pjoe]

Thanks. I'll give it a shot at first light tomorrow. I assume you mean the port right next to where it is attached in now. It is marked as SWM1/PWR CH1-8 and it is the red port? There is already something attached there.

 

[b4pjoe]

As shown in the screen grab above the cable from the PI is plugged into the DC/PWR port. The two ports next to it have coax on them, SWM1/PWR CH1-8 is going to the IN port on the SWM 4 port splitter and the SWM/CH9-16 is going to the IN port on the SWM 8 port splitter. I do have an HR54 with the built in PI that is on the power port on the SWM 4 port splitter as shown here. First question: If I unplug the PI I lose picture on all receivers. Why doesn't the HR54 power the system when I unplug the PI? Does the system sense there is a separate PI on the system and disable the builtin PI in the HR54?

Next question. The power port on the SWM 8 port splitter as shown here has nothing plugged into it.

Will it work if I just move the PI cable into the power port of the SWM 8 port splitter?

 

[b4pjoe]

Will it work if I just move the PI cable into the power port of the SWM 8 port splitter?

Tried this. Get error 775 on all receivers.

 

[b4pjoe]

Taking your word about "spaghetti", I would re-check if it's true. Also, I would swap 4port and 8port splitters to verify DC pass circuit of the 4port one

Well here is the mess. The HR54 does not power through the power port of the SWM 4 way splitter and the PI doesn't power through the power port of the SWM 8 way splitter. In this photo I have moved the PI cable back to the DC/PWR port.

 

[b4pjoe]

This is why your HR54 isn't able to power the system. Any device that is intended act as the PI must be on the DC power pass line.
Yes, but that's probably not the ideal way. If all of this stuff is in the same room, you can just move the cable that is currently connected to the "TO IRD" port of the PI to the SWM2 port of the switch and walk away. The ideal is to minimize the number of connections to get to the switch (insertion loss) and the PI puts its downstream gear two connections further away.

If the ultimate goal is to get rid of the SWM switch (ie. you want to use a SWM LNB), then you would want to move the PI to the DC power pass port as you surmised but that still leaves some equipment downstream of the PI which isn't optimal for satellite IF or MoCA.

See photo and post above. What would be the optimal way to get it working? I cannot use the cable on the other side of the room. It would have to run across doorways in both direction to get to the TV.

 

[b4pjoe]

So I moved the PI to a different unused location and plugged that cable in the DC/PWR port and it did power up the system. Then I moved the cable where the PI was to a port on the SWM 4 way splitter. Now that receiver is getting an error 776 and says a satellite dish hardware upgrade is required which makes absolutely no sense.

 

[b4pjoe]

So this one? DIRECTV 21-Tuner SWM LNB for Slimline Dishes (3D2LNB) Or should I get a reverse band LNB? This one doesn't say reverse band.

 

[b4pjoe]

I have a Suggestion --Replace your LNB with Swm LNB (one Down Lead) Supports 21 swm Channels +1 for the guide data--then remove the SWM-16 and connect a the Down lead to a swim 8 (single port) on top and the Hr54 to the Swm 8 (red port 1) then run on lead to each other receiver (ports 2-8) and get rid of all the useless wire.

Example below --Just replace the LNB --No need to re-align
DirecTV SWM3 LNB DSWM3 3D2LNBR0-02 NEW DSWM reverse band slimline dish 2 lot | eBay

Also I have 9 locations but only 7 receivers but I would like to have all 9 working for when we move a TV to a different spot in 2 rooms. Can I just add a 4 way splitter connected to a port on the 8 way splitter so I can have all 9 locations active all of the time?

 

[b4pjoe]

Because the PI isn't in the picture (it appears to be in the bundle of six cables going up and to the right), I'll assume that it is relatively far away

You need to go with a completed version of your solution:
1. plug the PI into the DC passing port of the 8-way splitter (since the PI is performing double duty -- powering the switch and forwarding a signal).
2. Swap the PWR/SWM1 and SWM2 cables (since the PI must be on the PWR/SWM1 port).

Thanks. That worked and everything is working other than not knowing why the HR54 doesn't power everything when the PI is unplugged. I mean I know it won't work now because that splitter is connected to the SWM2 port but it wasn't powering it when it was connected to the SWM1/PWR port. So either the built-in PI in the HR54 is dead or the power port on the SWM 4 way splitter is dead.

Might go the route that WestDC proposed and get rid of some cables and maybe get brand new splitter(s) too. Does the dish have to be re-aligned when you replace the LNB? I ask because I don't do dish alignment.

 

[b4pjoe]

You could perform some tests as P Smith suggested, but does it really matter?

While it is possible that the 4-way acted as a fuse and blew that connection, I'd suspicion that the HR54 isn't performing its PI function. I would point out that this will only be an issue if your PI fails and it is easier to stock a spare PI than a spare Genie.



Answered before you asked.

Thanks. Didn't catch that or the link the first time through.

 

[b4pjoe]

The built in power inserters are meant to power a SWM LNB, not a SWM multiswitch.

Which is better: external power inserter or the one built into the Genie? - The Solid Signal Blog

This little tutorial will help you make up your mind.

blog.solidsignal.com

"If you are using an external multiswitch, which can let you use your HR54 DVR along with many other receivers, you must power the multiswitch using the power inserter. It cannot be powered by the DVR itself."

Thanks for info!

 

[b4pjoe]

You should really limit the number of splitters in your system. With your current splitters you have 12 ports, so why do you need to connect another splitter?

I was asking that if I were to replace the LNB and remove the multiswitch. I would have 8 ports with the 8 way splitter plugged into the LNB, I asked about adding another 4 so all 9 access points could be live even though I would only be using 7 at a time.

 

[b4pjoe]

The one in my link is an RB - Since you only use 7 Receivers --Hook up the 7 Receivers --And when you wish to move a TV to another room --Remove the rg6 and replace it with the rg6 in the room you moved it 2.
Reminder -Cap all unused ports on the splitter --If you connect a RG6 to a ROOM that does not have a TV --Use a Cap + a Barrel connector in that room.

You can add another splitter if you choose Just to be sure to cap all unused ports at the unused room ends.
That way you have a closed system --and no TV drips on the floor 

Yeah I somehow glossed over your link and the info that the dish doesn't have to be re-aligned again. Thanks for the info. The thing is I don't know which of all those wires go to which rooms and at my age I don't feel like going on an adventure exploring in the crawl space of the house. If I can manage to be home by myself at some point where no one else is watching tv I need to unplug one cable at a time and see what receiver it is controlling and label the cables so I know what cables go where. Probably wouldn't hurt to rep out every cable under there and put in all new ones but that is big job. DirecTV installers ran most cables on the outside of vinyl siding and plastic connectors are all weathers and starting to break and some cablews are hanging loose so if I do that I probably need to get the house resided. One small chore leads to several bigger ones.

So my wife wanted to re-arrange furniture in the bedroom so now I need to replace the LNB, rip out all old cables, put in new cables and get new siding on the house. And the garage because it needs to match the house!

 

[b4pjoe]

As I mentioned previously when you said I should just use a longer cable to reach the other TV location...both rooms that have two connectors in them have them for a reason. They both have doorways in both directions from the connections opposite each other. I do not run cable either under a rug in the doorway or up over the doorway.

I might go with the disconnect one and use the other as necessary once I figure out what cables under the house go where. I know a couple of them but not the rest.

 

[b4pjoe]

You can get a coaxial cable toner for under $20 that will allow you to do this easily. They have more sophisticated (and more expensive) toners that will allow you to map multiple cables.

Yes...WestDC already linked me to one of those.