# SWIM Mounting Location



## davetexas (Jun 17, 2010)

Sorry for such a long post on my first post!

Here is a description of my current setup. My dish is on the roof of my garage with all 4 wires running to a central point in my 2nd story attic say 70 feet away or so. From there two of the 4 coax wires run down about 25 feet to a closet where my dvr and electronics live. One coax is attached to my existing rj59 wire and goes to an sd receiver and one is just terminated there.

I'm going to get a second hddvr and replace my sd reciever with a hd receiver.

Where are they going to want to mount my SWIM unit??
1. outside near the dish?
2. In the attic? I'm in Texas and I bet the attic gets to 130 degrees!!! Will this unit survive?
3. Down in my "electronics closet" , kinda were I would prefer but this would mean running two more coax wires down there and two more back up to the other receivers.

I could run all these cables myself as I used to install alarms/tv back in the day.....For the 49$ tech call I'm guessing they are only going to do the bare minimum.

THANKS!!!!!!


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

I put mine in the attic out of the weather and yes it gets HOT but I put two fans in the ceiling to vent out alot of the HOT AIR and if you have to maintain it or hook up another cable it is Really Easy To Do by yourself without having to call an installer.

So my Power Inserter and SWiM Multiswitch along with my 2 8 Port Splitters are all located in my attic.

Very Convenient!!!


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

*davetexas,

:welcome_s *to DBSTalk!*
*


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## davetexas (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks!

Does the Swim module need an external power source ie does it plug into 110?

Is there only one kind of Swim module, I've seen people mentioning dish ones or something?

Sorry for all the rook questions.


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## sungam (May 10, 2007)

davetexas said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Does the Swim module need an external power source ie does it plug into 110?
> 
> Is there only one kind of Swim module, I've seen people mentioning dish ones or something?


If you'll only have two DVRs (four tuners) and you have a Slimline dish now, they'll replace the LNB with a SWiM version. One cable from there to some convenient location for a splitter and from the splitter one cable to each DVR. There's a power inserter for the SWiM LNB that requires AC and can go just about anywhere there's a satellite cable, your equipment closet being a likely spot.

If you happen to have an older AT-9 KaKu dish they'll replace it with a SWiM Slimline. You'd only get a separate SWiM module if you needed a second dish for international programming or had more then 8 tuners total.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

richierich said:


> I put mine in the attic out of the weather and yes it gets HOT but I put two fans in the ceiling to vent out alot of the HOT AIR and if you have to maintain it or hook up another cable it is Really Easy To Do by yourself without having to call an installer.
> 
> So my Power Inserter and SWiM Multiswitch along with my 2 8 Port Splitters are all located in my attic.
> 
> Very Convenient!!!


Don't the new SWiM Dishes avoid this SWiM placement issue completely? On my install they had a choice of an external SWiM and keep the existing dish, or put up a new dish with SWiM included in the dish. I opted for the latter, and since I had 4 lines already out at the dish that go to various rooms, they just ran a single line from the dish (about 5' or so) to the Splitter mounted on the siding under the dish, and toned out the lines that went into the house, so we could get everything connected up. Works great, and my signal is about 5 percentage points better across the board.

The reason I ask this question is that the installer preferred to change the dish (I had an AU-9), but gave me the choice. If everyone had this choice, why would one opt for an external SWiM? (assuming they have enough tuners).


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

DirecTV uses the minimum hardware needed to complete the job.

For most installs with 8 or less tuners, a SWM LNB is used (an LNB with an integrated SWM switch).

The exceptions for this rule are customers who also have International programming and the couple of remaining areas that still have 72.5 dishes for SD locals. These customers get a SWM8 external switch, which requires a legacy (non-SWM) LNB and 4 cables from the Slimline dish to the switch, plus the line from the other dish.

Customers with 9-16 tuners get a SWM16 external switch, which again requires a legacy LNB.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

hasan said:


> Don't the new SWiM Dishes avoid this SWiM placement issue completely? On my install they had a choice of an external SWiM and keep the existing dish, or put up a new dish with SWiM included in the dish. I opted for the latter, and since I had 4 lines already out at the dish that go to various rooms, they just ran a single line from the dish (about 5' or so) to the Splitter mounted on the siding under the dish, and toned out the lines that went into the house, so we could get everything connected up. Works great, and my signal is about 5 percentage points better across the board.
> 
> The reason I ask this question is that the installer preferred to change the dish (I had an AU-9), but gave me the choice. If everyone had this choice, why would one opt for an external SWiM? (assuming they have enough tuners).


Your point is well taken, but this is one of those things that requires a "it depends".

A SWiMLNB Dish can support up to 8 tuners, for customers who have the need for that many or less tuners in any combination.

If a customer had more than 8 tuners (in any combination of HD receivers and/or HD DVRs)...and external SWiM unit, likely the SWiM 16 (for 16 tuners) comes into play.

As for temps...the SWiM units are all designed to be water resistant and can operate with a reasonably wide range of temps - cold and hot weather.

The units themselves normally give off their own operating heat. That said....like any other electronics...extreme environmental temps have the potential to have the SWiM units perform less than perfectly. Therefore, there would be some advantage to locating these units such that extreme heat or cold are not in play.

Many locations will likely be acceptable, however, its probably fair to say that locating a SWiM (I'm mostly referring to a non-Dish unit) in a cooler location (such as mine in a lower level/basement), in contrast to a hot attic or outside in a sunny-all-day physical location, is preferable if given the choice.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Your point is well taken, but this is one of those thigns that requires a "it depends".
> 
> A SWiMLNB Dish can support up to 8 tuners, for customers who have the need for that many or less tuners in any combination.
> 
> ...


Yes, that's what I thought (number of required tuners needed or anticipated). If the number is 8 or fewer, then if given the option, the SWiM/LNB dish seems like a very good choice. I'm not sure people are being given the choice like I was, so I thought I would pose the question.


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## davetexas (Jun 17, 2010)

Is the SWiM/LNB dish the same as the swim 8?

Will it support whole home dvr?
Will it support connection to my broadband?

I plan on having 2 hd-dvr's and another receiver, plus internet connection, plus whole home dvr.

I need to run two new rj6 lines and don't want them running on the outside of the house, I can do the inside work but need to know where I should put the lines.

Anyone have any pictures? Thanks everone!


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

davetexas said:


> Is the SWiM/LNB dish the same as the swim 8?
> 
> Will it support whole home dvr?
> Will it support connection to my broadband?
> ...


I think your answers (and photos) all lie in one of these few threads...

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=172052

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=78249

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=129302


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

davetexas said:


> Is the SWiM/LNB dish the same as the swim 8?


No. The SWM8 is a little more flexible as it supports legacy receivers (up to three tuners) and it demands four runs from the dish to the switch


> Will it support whole home dvr?
> Will it support connection to my broadband?


SWiM supports Whole Home DVR Service via DECA. It can support a broadband connection but you must have ordered it that way. The broadband bridge does not count as a tuner.


> I plan on having 2 hd-dvr's and another receiver, plus internet connection, plus whole home dvr.


Five tuners is within the 8 tuner limit. If you're adding two DVRs and a receiver, that's another story tossing out the SWiMLine and using an SWM16 instead. Installers almost never install on speculation. If you didn't order it with or prior to the installation, they won't install for it.


> I need to run two new rj6 lines and don't want them running on the outside of the house, I can do the inside work but need to know where I should put the lines.


Don't bother terminating any cables that you run that are destined to carry DIRECTV satellite signals.


> Anyone have any pictures?


Pictures of what?


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

My Installer changed out my LNB for an SL3 LNB and then put the SWiM 16 Multiswitch along with two 8 Port Splitters and the Power Inserter in my attic so I am good to go.

He did it that way because I was going to have more than 8 tuners.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

My system was upgraded yesterday to an SL3 and SWiM16. SWiM16 and splitters are all located outside on the underside of the open porch . The ceiling of the porch can get pretty hot here in in the summer. If the SWiM goes out due to overheating, I'll just have DTV replace it.


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## davetexas (Jun 17, 2010)

Ok, I think I'm understanding more. I thought that everything pluged into the swim module but it seems that that there is a splitter that the recivers plug into and then the splittler goes to the swim module.

The splitter is the piece that I thought was eliminated with the swim module but apparently not.

This doesn't make sense to me as I thought the swim module was like the "switch/hub/router" but I guess it does this with only one coax wire going to it. 

I would like to go with the swim 8 is there any way I can ensure this over the swm lnb? Ie if I keep my old sd receiver would I have to have the swim 8 to support it?

Thanks all and thanks for putting up with a rook!


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

You have your 4 lines from your Dish that go into the top of the SWiM Multiswitch. The Power Inserter plugs into the side of the Multiswitch where there are 3 Ports and the Middle one is Labeled PWR for Power. You then come out of one of the 3 Ports which is SWM1 to a 8 Port Splitter and then another coax comes out of SWM2 Port to another 8 Port Splitter. Then each coax goes into a DVR or Receiver.

I believe that each Splitter can only Support 8 Tuners so you could have 8 coaxes going into 8 Receivers or 4 coaxes going into 4 DVRs for a Total of 8 Tuners for each Splitter or any combination whereas the result is that 8 Tuners are Powered or Supported.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

davetexas said:


> Ok, I think I'm understanding more. I thought that everything pluged into the swim module but it seems that that there is a splitter that the recivers plug into and then the splittler goes to the swim module.
> 
> The splitter is the piece that I thought was eliminated with the swim module but apparently not.
> 
> ...


The SWM8 and SWM16 standalone models both have 2 base HD stream outputs - SWM1 and SWM2. For the SWiM8, each of these two ports are typically sent through a splitter to 4 ports each (8 tuner ports total), whereas the SWiM16 version can be sent through multiple splitters to 8 tuner ports each (16 total).

The SWiM LNB Dish supports a maximum of 8 tuner ports, also sent through splitters.

There are good diagrams and other information around this in the "First Look" documents for these different versions in the links previously provided.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

davetexas said:


> This doesn't make sense to me as I thought the swim module was like the "switch/hub/router" but I guess it does this with only one coax wire going to it.


The SWiM is more like a "pre-tuner" that outputs 8 channels [one for each tuner]. The single cable is simply split to feed each receiver.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

Her is a picture of my SWiM16 installation.

bob


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

azarby said:


> Here is a picture of my SWiM16 installation.
> 
> bob


Nice...I like the labels on each line....a good idea that I also employ.


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## davetexas (Jun 17, 2010)

Ok, think I have it all figured out now.

What decides if I get a swim 8 or a swim lnb?


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

davetexas said:


> Ok, think I have it all figured out now.
> 
> What decides if I get a swim 8 or a swim lnb?


You can request one or the other, but there are no guarantees.

What helps drive that more is if/how you communicate your current and planned number of HD receivers/DVRs, to establish the number of tuners. The SWiMLNB is not going to be expandable over 8 total tuners, whereas an SWiM8 can be upgraded to an SWiM16 if/when required.

If you have 8 tuners, and anticipate more...you'll likely get one version of the SWiM standalone unit installed.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

davetexas said:


> Ok, think I have it all figured out now.
> 
> What decides if I get a swim 8 or a swim lnb?


There is one way to guarantee a SWiM16. To do that, you need nine or more tuners. Since you have existing tuners, there is nothing to say that you can't deactivate one or more after the installation.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Tell Directv that you plan on in the Future adding more DVRs so that you will probably have more than 8 Tuners Active at one time (in the Future) and they will give you a SWiM 16 Multiswitch.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

veryoldschool said:


> The SWiM is more like a "pre-tuner" that outputs 8 channels [one for each tuner]. The single cable is simply split to feed each receiver.


Would you accept the term "stacker"?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> Would you accept the term "stacker"?


Nope, since the common use of a stacker would have all the channels on the line and these wouldn't change frequencies, other than a block being upconverted.
With the SWiM, each of the output "channels" can & will change the channel it is carrying, but not frequency it is sending it out on.
So in the tuner world, the IF stays the same for the next stage [the receiver] but the input selection does change, hence a "pre-tuner" with a wide bandwidth IF.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

I don't share your view that band stackers cannot be agile.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> I don't share your view that band stackers cannot be agile.


I didn't say [or even know] that they couldn't, but stackers/destacker aren't/don't with the SAT feeds and simply upconvert all even TPs to above the odd TP frequencies.
This was what I was referring to by "common" stacking.
As seems to be a bit common for you, when you get cornered, you start grasping at "straw reality" in an attempt to support an unsupportable position.

Stacker converts a block of TPs where the SWiM doesn't, and selects which TP the receiver needs and then tunes to it and converts this to an IF for the receiver that requested it.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

SWiM takes a 100MHz band and transposes it to a SWiM channel. This is not entirely unlike taking an LNB single polarity input and stacking it on a channel (as opposed to taking up a large fraction of the cable capacity). There are many frequencies represented. Let's not forget that the arrangement of channels in a legacy multi-satellite LNB setup is called a "stack plan"

Whether you want to call it bands or channels or what have you, SWiM is taking groups of individual streams and stacking them up to eight high on a single cable.

It isn't so much that I'm grasping at straws; rather I'm trying not to propagate some sort of fabricated trade terminology to obscure simple ideas from regular people. By all means call a coil a "choke" among radio people but don't use it to hide the simple truth that what you're talking about is an inductor.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> SWiM takes a 100MHz band and transposes it to a SWiM channel. This is not entirely unlike taking an LNB single polarity input and stacking it on a channel (as opposed to taking up a large fraction of the cable capacity). There are many frequencies represented. Let's not forget that the arrangement of channels in a legacy multi-satellite LNB setup is called a "stack plan"
> 
> Whether you want to call it bands or channels or what have you, SWiM is taking groups of individual streams and stacking them up to eight high on a single cable.
> 
> It isn't so much that I'm grasping at straws; rather I'm trying not to propagate some sort of fabricated trade terminology to obscure simple ideas from regular people. By all means call a coil a "choke" among radio people but don't use it to hide the simple truth that what you're talking about is an inductor.


:nono: :nono:
Why do you have to be such a PITA?
A stacker simply uses a fix oscillator to upconvert the even TPs as a block to the band above the odd TPs. One fixed conversion all the time. this is somewhat like a BBC, where it converts the 250-750 MHz band to 1650-2150 MHz, though this has to deal with even/odd TPs, but this is done in the LNB.
SWiM on the other hand, will convert any TP frequency from 250-2150 MHz range of them to a fixed output frequency [of the eight available]. Since this converts both up & down, it shouldn't be called a stacker, but instead functions more like a tuner [since it can vary frequency as needed to supply a constant intermediate frequency]. Since this is really just a course tune as it has 100 MHz bandwidth and several TPs, it is only the first conversion/stage of a heterodyne receiver.
A stacker is "dumb" compared to a SWiM.
And with this, I'll let this thread return to the topic, after having again to explain to you something you seem to have little understanding of, but sure like to make a stink about.


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