Can I run 2 DVR tuners off of one line?

[TravelingJ]

My previous RV had a winegard crank up dish on the roof. When we had it installed, I had 2 lines run so I could DVR 2 shows at once. The replacement RV already has a winegard crank up dish on the roof, but they only had one line installed.

The guy at DirecTV tech support told me I could buy a satellite splitter, and get both tuners to work/record. He was sort of right. What he didn't mention, was that I would lose enough signal quality, that my local channels wouldn't come through (we have the DNS system) and this makes my girlfriend very sad.

Is there a way to pull make it work? Some sort of amplified splitter I can buy? A fully automatic dish is in the future, so running a second line is out. Sadly, there are a few other purchases that will take priority.

Help please. Thanks in advance.

[texnet]

You can use a splitter, but you need to purchase a high quality one that will pass the higher frequency of the sat signal on both of the outputs.

[Bill Adams]

No splitter will allow you to turn a single cable run into a dual input for your DVR. You simply run the second cable from the LNB into the coach and you will have your second input. Winegard also has a diagram which would allow you to run 2 cables from the LNB to a SWM switch on the roof and then run the one existing cable into a SWM power inserter and then to the special SWM splitter. This will give you 8 outputs with the SWM8 switch. You also have to ensure that your receiver is SWM capable and you plug only one cable into the tuner 1 input. I have a copy of this document if want but I suspect you would be many dollars ahead of the game by running (or having someone run) a second cable. Drop me an e-mail if you would like a copy.

[TravelingJ]

Thanks Bill. That's exactly what I was afraid of. I had run into those SWM switches while trying to research this problem, but I didn't quite understand how they worked. If it won't even let me record from two tuners, I guess there isn't much point in using them at all. I didn't realize it would be that close in price to having a second cable run. Since I'm not a fan of personally drilling a hole in the roof of this guy, I will have to start asking around about that one.

[wa8yxm]

I agree with Bill (Who by the way is the expert in this thread) the cost of the special hardware to use the single line is way way way higher than the cost of running a 2nd coax. Very likely in the "Hundreds" of dollar range. (I'm surprised he did not know it)

Drilling a hole is no biggie,, Provided you follow the following instructions.

Be very careful about WHERE to drill.. I've drilled a few only one of them went "Wrong" and that was not "Seriously Wrong" (I wanted it to come down in a cabinet, It came down in the wall behind the cabinet,, I cut an access hole in the back of the cabinet and covered it when done, Looks .. very good, and actually worked out better than planned)

Just make sure you have the proper "Cable cap" thing to put down on top of the hole. Run the cable in, lay down caulking, lay down and screw down the cap, it won't leak.
Dicor Lap sealant is the caulk of choice.

[TravelingJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm I agree with Bill (Who by the way is the expert in this thread) the cost of the special hardware to use the single line is way way way higher than the cost of running a 2nd coax. Very likely in the "Hundreds" of dollar range. (I'm surprised he did not know it) Drilling a hole is no biggie,, Provided you follow the following instructions. Be very careful about WHERE to drill.. I've drilled a few only one of them went "Wrong" and that was not "Seriously Wrong" (I wanted it to come down in a cabinet, It came down in the wall behind the cabinet,, I cut an access hole in the back of the cabinet and covered it when done, Looks .. very good, and actually worked out better than planned) Just make sure you have the proper "Cable cap" thing to put down on top of the hole. Run the cable in, lay down caulking, lay down and screw down the cap, it won't leak. Dicor Lap sealant is the caulk of choice.

Thanks for the tips! I put a hole in my last rig, down into a cabinet, and it did work well. On that one, I used an outdoor outlet box to weatherseal it, and filled it with spray foam. Your method sounds like it would look a LOT cleaner. I will take a look at the cable path and see what I think. I'm not sure how they ran the lines to get up into the tv cabinet, that is on the slide.

I really thought the special hardware would have been cheaper than the labor to run another line, though.

[Bill Adams]

The new cable does not need to follow the same line as the old cable (and likely will not). It just needs to end up at the same destination.