Take a look on this blog for articles about Spaun multiswitches. You’ll notice that over the years I’ve written a few. The sad thing is that I wrote an article all the way back in 2015 recommending that Spaun users should start looking for alternatives. That article is so old that the replacements I recommended for Spaun products are, themselves, obsolete and no longer made. That should tell you something if you’re still holding on to a Spaun product at this point.
Quickly: the Spaun story
Spaun was a German manufacturer of satellite TV equipment back in the 2000s. They gained popularity among marine engineers for two reasons. First, their products were very well built. Second, you could use them for satellite TV systems from many different countries. That was important to folks with larger yachts who went from place to place.
Unfortunately, the market for those products really wasn’t that big. By the early 2010s, pretty much every country in the Western hemisphere was using its own multiswitch technology that didn’t work with any other country’s. Even in Europe, pay TV services like Sky started requiring that you use their equipment. But Spaun products soldiered on as people held onto older satellite receivers still worked with them.
By 2014 Spaun started cutting back their product line, and in 2020, they stopped all manufacturing, period. I’m sad to say that it didn’t come as a surprise. However, here in 2023, there are still people using older Spaun products because they haven’t failed… yet. But those old Spaun products are starting to fail fast, and our customers are calling for options. Here are two of them.
Option 1: This is your opportunity to retool
If you’re still using Spaun products, you’re probably using satellite TV receivers that are ten years old or more. This is your time to plan for a full update of your system. Talk to all the satellite TV providers you use on your boat and find out what is the most modern, future-proof solution. If you subscribe to DIRECTV US, Bell, or DISH, our Solid Signal tech staff can help.
Chances are, you’ll need to replace those Spaun products with multiple switches, and build a wiring scheme that makes sense for each service you subscribe to. The good news here is that in most cases you’ll be able to replace four to six old wires with one new one, giving you the space you need for multiple different wiring schemes.
Option 2: One last time
Many of our customers have found that the Televes Nevoswitch multiswitches are a good replacement for their aging and defective Spaun products. You can get them in different sizes and they will work with any satellite system that uses the standard DiSeQC protocol, whether those switches are used with horizontally polarized or circularly polarized services. We can’t guarantee that they will work for you, but they have worked for many people.
Televes tells us they have no plans to discontinue the Nevoswitch line so you should be able to continue using them for a while. However, you should know that most current satellite receivers require the use of their provider’s multiswitch and the Nevoswitch will not work for most pay-TV hardware made since about 2014. That includes current DIRECTV and DISH products.
Not sure what’s best for your situation?
Our Signal Connect team is here to help! We’ve worked with hundreds of people and companies just like yours, on land and at sea. Our experts can help you decide what to do when a failing Spaun multiswitch is causing problems with your satellite reception. We’ll lay out all the details, the costs, and even help you find an installation professional in your area.
It all starts with a call to our Detroit-area corporate offices. Call us at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. You’ll get connected to someone who has dealt with this exact situation for years and years and knows all the options. We’re here for you! If it’s after hours, just fill out the form below and let us know when it’s best to contact you!
