When you talk to the folks at Solid Signal, you realize one thing. We’re here to help you do the stuff no one else says you can do. But even we run into cases where it can’t be done, and we have to tell you about it. Recently someone asked me if you can attach a SWM to a DIRECTV dish with just one output. Read on for the answer, but we have to understand a little bit of why this question is important.
The two kinds of single-output dishes
Some dishes only have only connector on them. But, you can’t always judge a book by its cover here. There are two distinct types of dishes with a single output and knowing why there is one single output is the key here.
You will still sometimes find round dishes like the one you see above. This sort of dish sometimes has one output, sometimes two. It’s rare to see the ones with one output, but they’re still around. This sort of dish is extremely reliable and replacement parts are cheap. This sort of dish can support a single receiver, period.
There are also oval dishes with only one output. These are extremely common in home installations and are still being installed today. It’s the most common form of home dish. It can support up to 13 receivers or one home server.
And then there’s…
There are some mobile and marine dishes that have only one output. In some cases this means that they can support only one receiver, but this is fairly rare. In most cases it means that the SWM hardware is built in and it can support up to 8 receivers. This sort of dish makes it hard to know what’s really going on without reading the manual.
So can you attach a SWM to a dish with only one output?
In all cases, the answer is no. You cannot attach a SWM multiswitch to a dish with only one output.
With the round dish, the problem is that a SWM multiswitch requires at least two inputs. In order to receive the full broadcast from a satellite, half the signals travel on one line, half on the other. You can’t just use a splitter either, unfortunately.
With the oval dish, the SWM is already built-in, and you can’t attach a SWM to another SWM. You can change out the LNB so that you can attach more than one SWM, but that’s all that can be done.
As I said, in the case of mobile dishes you’ll need to consult the owners’ manual or spec sheet to figure out if it has a SWM inside it, but either way you can’t add a SWM.
Find out your options
If you need to upgrade your satellite system, we can help! Call Solid Signal during East Coast business hours. We’re here for you with real techs who really answer the phone. The number is 888-233-7563 and we’re ready to help!
