My Installation Revisited

[kawdog]

Ok, I have documented my problems in various threads and will not go over all that again. Voom sent a new guy out a week or two ago to install OTA antenna which is the Sensar II, the one that has to get power from the STB. Well, the OTA still doesn't work, he said the guy before had it hooked up wrong (which I knew) and that the antenna needed power from the STB and the Multiswitch was not letting it get power so I needed this splitter to get power to the box. He took all the diplexors the original installer had used and had came with the antenna. Long story short, the picture below is all I have left and is how it is connected now. I still think it must be wrong and the thing must not be getting power since I can't get any OTA signal. Please look over the picture and tell me what I need to do to get the antenna to work.

Voom is supposed to be sending someone out one day to upgrade the antenna and install it on the roof instead of the fence it is on, but that is another story, I have not heard back from them in a week or so. Thanks for your help.

Also, he said SD tv's cannot receive digital locals so he did not bother hooking those up, is this true? I know they can't display them in HDTV but I can view all the VOOM HD channels on my SD tv's and that sounds like a load of bull to me.

kaw

 

[Claude Greiner]

Remove the Dioplexer unit on the back of the VOOM Receiver and hook it up the following way.

It will work fine without any problems....

 

[kawdog]

Thanks for the quick reply, I will try to get one of those power inserters and give it a try.

kaw

 

[Ilya]

Good pictures!
I see at least two problems with your current setup:

1. That splitter at the bottom is not needed at all! It should be removed. If you look at it, it is rated 950-2150 MHz which is a satellite frequency. OTA frequency is bellow 950 MHz. I think this splitter filters it out. No wonder you are having problems with OTA signals!

2. I am not sure about that multi-switch: whether it passes voltage to the antenna input. I can't tell from the picture. It is important to pass voltage to the antenna if it is an amplified one.

So, what should you do? First, remove that splitter and connect the cable directly to the diplexer at the back of your STB. This might bring some of the OTA channel right away, at least those that are strong enough without the OTA amplifier. Then you need to replace the multi-switch with the one that passes power to the antenna.

Alternatively, you can bypass the diplexers completely, as Claude Greiner suggested. You will have to run a separate cable and to buy a power-inserter if it was not included with the antenna.

And of course SD TV sets will be able to show all channels, including OTA, if connected correctly.

 

[Claude Greiner]

First of all, the dioplexers loose about 7-10 DB, so by the time you run it through both dioplexers your loosing 14-20 DB worth of signal. So eliminating the dioplexers will help significantly.

Even without the power inserter, removing the dioplexers should help

The splitter shouldn't kill it completely, eventhough its rated for 900-2150 MHZ it should like most other high freq splitters still pass through the lower bands. You really need to use the correct splitter.

 

[kawdog]

Thanks again, it is sad that two different installers have tried to install this thing and neither one of them knew how, including the last guy who said he was the only person from North Louisiana to take the VOOM class. I think I had the correct diplexor to use with it but the last installer took it with him along with everything else install related that had been left with me for the original install, but thats another story.

kaw

 

[Ilya]

kawdog, let us know about your progress. I am particularly curios to know if bypassing that small splitter made any difference. Please keep us posted!

 

[WickedDyno]

SD tvs have no problem receiving digital local stations through the voom stb. I don't know what that fellow was thinking.

 

[kawdog]

I removed the splitter and still can't receive any locals. I called VOOM back to check on the upgraded antenna I was supposed to receive and was told the installer did not have the equipment and that is why I was not contacted, but it should be done in a few weeks. Anyway, I am going to wait and see what the new antenna and installer does and will keep y'all informed.

kaw

 

[sat4me]

I removed the splitter and still can't receive any locals. I called VOOM back to check on the upgraded antenna I was supposed to receive and was told the installer did not have the equipment and that is why I was not contacted, but it should be done in a few weeks. Anyway, I am going to wait and see what the new antenna and installer does and will keep y'all informed.

kaw

I can solve this entire problem..It's not the Sensar OTA... It's completely connected incorrectly, which we can all agree on, and half of the advise you're seeing posted here is ok, the other half is wrong.

First I need to know exactly how many STB's you have, before I can go any further.

 

[Sean Mota]

sat4me,

he has three receivers. Here's his original installation thread.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=19544&highlight=kawdog

 

[sat4me]

Sorry I had not seen the original post, thanks Sean.

Attached is how ALL VOOM multiswitched multiple STB installs need to be done for now until VOOM ships a multiswitch that passes power.

This is the ONLY way this can work, make sure to show this to your installer or service person. The only other way is to use separate OTA lines, with a single-port power passive 4-way splitter and WINEGARD power supply, which is NOT supplied by the installer or VOOM.

this config. really works and although it looks way complicated, it DOES allow power to pass to the Sensar.
The installer will need the Winegard OUTDOOR DUAL diplexer/combiner, a STANDARD single-port power diplexer, and a STANDARD multiswitch.
If your installer doesn't do it this way exactly, it WILL NOT WORK!!!!!!! >>>The standard multiswitches do not PASS power through the ANT in/out.