EMP-Centauri 13x8 Multi-Switch (S.160-CP-8)

[Chimney]

I need some advice before I pickup a new switch.

I was able to get 82, 91, 110, 118.7/119 and 129 on one dish. So 6 sats/5 lnbs I want to hook up to 4 receivers (maybe more). Would the EMP-Centauri 13x8 Multi-Switch (Model S.160-CP-8) work well with my setup? Really the 13X4 Switch (P.160-CP-4) is good enough for me but for the price of the switch and difference between them it's probably best I spend a bit extra so I have the option to add more receivers later. They aren't exactly cheap so I want to make sure these work for what I want to do before I get it.

[homer_™]

here is a c/p of a post that I made at another site that explains 22hz switches

I have a 9X4 emp centurion and I think they are well worth the extra cash


How to run multiple LNBs with multiple receivers
Since Dual Lnbs only have two coax out puts you can only run two DiSEqC switches, so in order to run a third or a fourth receiver you will need a miltswitch. Multi switches require a separate input for each polarity and they switch lnbs with a 22 Hz tone toggle. The 22 Hz tone toggle allows you to run two lnbs off a single port. LNB 1 will run on port one with 22 Hz on and LNB 2 will also run on port one with 22 Hz off.
The example below is your typical 4X4 miltswitch now the lnbs need an input for each polarity so the first number must be divided by two for the amount of lnbs. The second number is for the amount of receivers. This configuration will have all four receivers set to DiSEqC 1
LNB 1
DiSEqC port 1
22 Hz off
LNB 2
DiSEqC port 1
22 Hz on

(click the image below to enlarge)
10837

Now if you want to run more than two lnbs off multiple receivers you will need a bigger multiswitch preferably a powered multiswitch because there will be a lot of coax that the 13&18v pulses will have to pass through and a powered multiswitch will prevent voltage loss. At this point I would recommend that you label which line of coax goes to which LNB because you are going to have a labyrinth of coax lines and there has to be some sort of order. It’s not fun tracing that many lines underground and through walls trust me.
Most receivers have four ports in the DiSEqC menu each represents of one LNB if you add a 22hz toggle(with a 22hz switch only) you will double your capacity to 8 lnbs. The example below shows a 12X8 multiswitch which will be utilizing ports 1 to 3 with a 22hz tone. The 12 represents 6 lnbs And the 8 represents the amount of receivers it can handle.
The antenna settings for this configuration will be as follows
LNB 1
DiSEqC port 1
22 Hz off
LNB 2
DiSEqC port 1
22 Hz on
LNB 3
DiSEqC port 2
22 Hz off
LNB 4
DiSEqC port 2
22 Hz on
LNB 5
DiSEqC port 3
22 Hz off
LNB 6
DiSEqC port 3
22 Hz on

(click the image below to enlarge)
10838

Hope that helps.

[Chimney]

Thanks for the info. I guess there should be no problems/complications/compatibility issues with this switch then? How important is it to have these switches indoors? Would it be ok to have it enclosed outside?

Where did you get a 11X4 version of this switch? I don't see it any any of the sites I'm seeing mainly 9s 13s and 17s but no 11s. Do you have a model number or something for that? I don't think I plan to add any more LNBs so 11 would work for me. 4 receivers might be tight though I think I'd prefer the 8 to be safe.

[Mark7]

Hi guys,

Okay, got the EMP 17 x 12 switch up and running with 4 LMB's - dual output, and 7 receivers.

Now, I would like to add at least two more dual LMB's.

Right now, I have 81w on the first two inputs (1 & 2), 91w on 5 & 6, 110w on 10 & 11, and 119W/118w on 14 & 15.

Only get 48 channels on 110W. Apparently, it has a internal switch that recognizes 119 and 110.

With 7 receivers I have not had to use the 22 Khz settings, but I do want to add more STB's

Can anyone make suggestions on input-output configuration and use of the 22KHZ settings.

All the STB's are in separate rooms, so I would like them all to work without conflict.

So I am going to guess on this one:

Lmb 1 Input 1&2 22khz Off
Lmb 2 Input 3&4 22khz On
Lmb 3 Input 5&6 22khz Off
Lmb 4 Input 7&8 22khz On

Input 9 Terrestrial

Lmb 5 Input 10&11 22khz Off
Lmb 6 Input 12&13 22khz On
Lmn 7 Input 14&15 22khz Off
Lmb 8 Input 16&17 22khz On

Each receiver Antenna Set-Up ie: 110 should have the 22khz selected to correspond to the inputs, right?

And doing this should not cause any interference between receivers, right?

The 119/118 lmb is still throwing me for a loop, but worse comes to worse I'll hit 118 with a separate dish/lmb


Thanks guys, I appreciate any help.