First, D11s are not SWM-compatible, so don't test with those. Also, don't test the the H20, because that is a notoriously troublesome receiver if you have previously set it up with a non-SWM system.

Connect ONLY the HR20 and go to the satellite setup and set it for the SWM.

Wow! Working on a holiday weekend. Thanks, Jeff!

I did test with just the HR20, PI, SWM and dish. No joy. I have only put the D11s on the legacy ports to see if those would work. No joy. I see absolutely no signs of life. Zero signal strength on all transponders on all satellites on any receiver.

Is there anything I can test at the SWM to prove it is alive? I know it is getting 29 volts (at least until I plug in the cable). I have not tried to put a Y in the cable and see if the voltage is shorting out under load. There is a green light inside the PI when the cable is plugged into the SWM. For instance, should the SWM provide a stepped down voltage to the LNBs? I haven't looked for that...

I also should have said that with just the HR20 receiver, PI, SWM and LNBs hooked up, I set the dish to Slimline-5, the switch to SWM and the tuners to dual. No signal received.

Can you try to get everything a little closer than the 200ft you are running now, and see if that changes anything? If you have poor quality cable, that could make all the difference in the world. It's possible that you have defective equipment, I suppose, but it's pretty rare.

Will do. I'll have to wait until it quits raining. Then, I'll put something together with new, short cables. (It's all RG6 now and works without the SWM with signals in the 80s and 90s, but it is still worth a try.)

Finally caught a break in the weather but had no luck with the SWM. I moved the HR20 as close to the dish as I could. New cable from the Power Inserter to the SWM. Different cables from the Power Inserter to the HR20. Swapped cables from the SWM to the LNB block. I even changed the order (I know it isn't suppose to matter). I checked to be sure I had either 13 or 18 volts at the LNB (2 of each). The test setup had LNB - 4 feet of 4 cables - SWM - 40 feet of RG6 - Power Inserter - 6 inches of RG6 - HR20. Red Button reset. Setup changed to Dish=Slimline 5, Switch=SWM, Tuners=Dual. Zero signal strength on all satellites and all transponders. Another Red button reset, same results. Unhooked the cable from the power inserter and the SWM. Plugged it back into the LNB block after removing the 4 cables to the SWM. Plugged it into the HR20. Signal strength in the 90s to 100. Everything started working as in the past.
So. It isn't the LNBs. They work without the SWM. It isn't the cables unless the SWM is so different that cables which run direct won't work for SWM. It isn't the receiver. It works fine without the SWM. It isn't the Power Inserter unless it can somehow block the signal from getting back from the SWM to the receiver. On the previous tests, I tried other receivers on the legacy ports and the SWM2 port with zero results. The SWM receives the 27 volts from the Power Inserter and properly steps it down to 13 or 18 volts. I just get zero signal from the SWM. All my diagnostics point to a bad SWM. I understand that is rare, but I don't have another explanation. Anything else you want me to try before we start swapping out these new parts?

Make sure no cable is shorter than 18 inches. Shorter cables can cause problems.

Did you have to switch your config back to a standard multiswitch to get it to work directly with the LNB?

We still haven't seen a bad SWM module itself . . .

Arrgh! Ok. I'll set it up again and make that short cable longer than 18 inches. Yes. I did have to switch the HR20 back to Switch=Multiswitch to get it to work with the direct cables.

Still... I've never seen ANY signal. Not a good one, not a bad one, nothing above zero. Not with long cables, not with short cables, not with different cables. I troubleshoot for a living. Unless it is something silly, like, I have the wrong LNB (see the first post) then I can't see how this could be anything but the SWM or the Power Inserter. Those are the only two components I haven't swapped (since I only have one) and that aren't working when I hook up direct. Is the SWM so picky that cables which work direct would not work with the SWM? Different frequency band or something? Is there a setting other than Dish Type, Switch and Tuner that has to change? At this point, I've done 20 or 30 resets on several receivers using all the SWM ports. There is no signal detected by any piece of gear I have available.

Sorry. My frustration level is high. My wife is going to have a fit if I don't stop messing with her TV. I need to resolve this soon.

Well, if you need to, you can send the SWM and PI back here for testing and we can see if we get a signal.

OK. As soon as I can finish the 'more than 18 inches' test, I expect I will need an RMA.

No problem. Just email us with your order number: [email protected].

Did you power down all of the receivers before kicking on the SWM? I read this hint on another forum and I pwered them all down for my SWM install. I initially had the same outcome as you but my issue was the faulty cable connectors that I had made myself on the new cable runs.

I think the original poster did, but to echo the second part of your post, SWM equipment is much more sensitive to cabling and connectors than older multiswitches are. So be sure to use solid copper core RG6 and good quality connectors.

Yes. I was careful to power up the equipment one piece at a time to allow the receivers to get their id from the SWM. My final test was with new, short (but not very short) cables with good connectors. That didn't help.

I have RMA'd the SWM and the PI. I am waiting for results from their testing to see if this is something simple, like a bad piece of gear, or if it is hard, like 3 sets of cables that are all bad in some way. I will let you know the results when I can try again.