Help with multiswitch for 2 directv signals into back of dvr

[Garibaldi]

Hello,

Recently I bought a Directv DVR with Tivo. In the instruction book it says that if I hook up two lines from the satellite into the back of the DVR at Satellite 1 and Satellite 2, I can watch one channel while recording another. Anyway I have 1 cord coming from my satellite going into my house, and it would be a pain to run another cord:




I talked to directv about this problem and they said that you can get a multiswitch, which you run the one satellite cable into and run two cables out of it and put them into the Sat 1 and Sat 2. I have done this, here is my setup:







I then went through the Directv setup, and it shows that both the signals are coming in at 85 (strong) from both cables at 101 degrees. I then go to the next part where it verifies my setup and it just sits at 10% complete and then eventually says: "error, cannot find satellite" for both signals. I have talked with directv extensively about this and they are stumped. Also please note I have tried the cables in RX2 and RX4. Do you have any ideas why this isn't working, I really need some help!

Thanks!!!

[bgclarke]

I have no idea on this one.

Can you try it with just one cable attached to the receiver and see if it still fails?

Also, does it matter if the main satellite feed is connected to LNB A or LNB B? The voltages on your multiswitch are different for A and B.

[Garibaldi]

I have no idea on this one.

Can you try it with just one cable attached to the receiver and see if it still fails?

Also, does it matter if the main satellite feed is connected to LNB A or LNB B? The voltages on your multiswitch are different for A and B.

I had 1 cable to the reciever on there until I got the multiswitch in the mail, and it worked fine.

I also tried the feed on LNB B and the test then wouldn't even register the 85 so I guess it wants it to be on LNB 1. Thanks for your help, any other ideas?

[bgclarke]

I know with the splitters I have in the house for our digital cable, the splitters need to be 2-way. Not sure if satellite is the same.

What about trying one cable coming out of the multiswitch and see if it still is a problem - basically rule out a hardware fault in the switch.

[Garibaldi]

I know with the splitters I have in the house for our digital cable, the splitters need to be 2-way. Not sure if satellite is the same.

What about trying one cable coming out of the multiswitch and see if it still is a problem - basically rule out a hardware fault in the switch.

That's a good idea, test the switch like that. I talked to a guy at Best Buy and he said he thinks its a bad multiswitch, that figures if it turns out to be that - just my luck!

I'll give it a try and let you know!

[Garibaldi]

To make matters even more confusing listen to this:
I did a quick test tonight, I unhooked the directv cable coming into my house from my dvr and put it on the LBN A input on the multiswitch. I then took one of the coaxial cables (3ft) and hooked it to RX1,2,3, and 4 and into the DVR - and it worked fine on all of them!!! Why was there a problem then before??? This is so strange!! The only thing that I can possibly think of is if the multiswitch won't let the dvr send signals back to the satellite for some reason.

If so I have this question:

Could I temporarily hook up two cords (I'll just run one out my door) to the satellite and run the initial setup, and then just use the multiswitch from then on because it shouldn't have to connect to the satellite dish again (and if it does I can just connect the directv cable coming in directly to the dvr)? Or does it communicate with the satellite dish on a more regular basis?

[smearbrick1]

The DVR should be only sending voltage to the multiswitch and the LNB (if this is what you meant by signal). On my dish at home, I had to run both LNBs into a multiswitch because the multiswitch required both LNB inputs (LNB A and LNB B). I had one hell of time getting my DVR to recognize the correct switch matrix. After it would finally settle on a switch matrix, somehow the switch information would just disappear, and the receiver could no longer locate the multiswitch. This was a pain in the ass. Finally, I removed the multi switch, said "screw having receivers in other rooms" and just wired direct from the dish to the DVR LNB A into sat 1 and LNB B into sat 2. Never had a problem since.

It shouldn't be this hard to get satellite TV!!

[Garibaldi]

Well I solved the problem by running the 2nd line from the satellite. It was a pain to dig up the old pipe and string it to it, not to mention getting it into my new family room, but as soon as I plugged it into the DVR it worked, instantly!! No problems!!! Thanks a lot!