[scubasteve]

Greetings from the new guy on the block

After many years of SD I am moving to the HD world. I plan to install the new slimline dish next month.

I am looking for the pro's/con's of moving to the new SWM or sticking with the Zinwell when I install my new dish and move to HD?

I live in Central Fl and had an all steel home built back in 2000. It's red iron construction. Knowing it would be difficult to add additional wiring after it was finished, I pulled 5000 feet of cat 5 and quad shield RG6 through out the home. Everything is home run to a central "lan closet". All the drops in the house consist of at least 2 cat 5 and 2 RG6.

My current dish is on the roof - the new dish will be pole mounted on the ground with the new cable run from the current Zinwell location to the dish being about 80 feet.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Cmnore]

I have a similar setup. I went ahead and installed the SWM-8. Funny thing was, I chose it because the Zinwell MSW didn't allow for diplexing OTA throughout the home. Ironically, with the SWM, it eliminated a cable run for SAT signals - which freed up the extra cable for OTA use.

 

[Cmnore]

If you go with the SWM-8, you can use it now via the legacy ports, and use the SWM outputs as you upgrade your receivers/DVR's.

 

[Cmnore]

Have a look at this:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=141607

 

[scubasteve]

Thanks for the info Cmnore

That thread was a good read - great price over at Solid Signal

 

[Cmnore]

Yep! Best deal in town.

 

[Grentz]

I would go with the SWM-8 or even better if you dont need legacy ports, a SWMLine enabled LNB (eliminates an external box and the need for 4 runs from the dish).

It is the new technology, it works very well, eliminates the need for BBCs on HD receivers (the little boxes that go on the cable before the input to the receiver), allows you to diplex OTA if necessary, and just simplifies things. The only draw back is the limit of 8 tuners (4 DVRs) overall, which can be a problem for some.

 

[scubasteve]

I would go with the SWM-8 or even better if you dont need legacy ports, a SWMLine enabled LNB (eliminates an external box and the need for 4 runs from the dish).

It is the new technology, it works very well, eliminates the need for BBCs on HD receivers (the little boxes that go on the cable before the input to the receiver), allows you to diplex OTA if necessary, and just simplifies things. The only draw back is the limit of 8 tuners (4 DVRs) overall, which can be a problem for some.

Thanks Grentz

The SWMline enabled LNB would be the easiest to install. But I will need the legacy ports for a month or so - I may have to rethink my installation strategy.

Cheers

Steve

 

[br408408]

I too am very happy with my SWM-8. It was worth every penny to me to use existing runs and to not have to pull a bunch of RG6

 

[Cmnore]

You might want one of these too:

http://www.tripplite.com/EN/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=419&CID=1&txtModelID=3640

 

[scubasteve]

My home is already equipped with 5 APC UPS units. There is a UPS where the power from the SWM8 will go

Can't live in Florida without UPS and generators

Cheers

Steve

 

[Cmnore]

Ahh. I see. My PI is inside the S.W. panel.