Forum Discussion
Warning, don't fry your modem.
Yes, there is DC power supplied by the modem going through the coax to power the radio on the dish. Under certain situations the modem can be damaged if the power is shorted out. There are protections built in but they don't always work.
Also one reason we say to power down the modem from the wall receptacle, not the plug on the back of the modem.
vladams2015 wrote:
Companies like HughesNet, Viasat/Exede, etc should use LMR400 as a baseline, with N-type connectors, and certainly no dielectric. Techs often overlook (or don't understand) how a dielectric grease will impact impedence in the connector. We rely on internal dielectrics in the cables to maintain a matched impedence and minimize signal loss and transmit power gain...yet we make it common place to impact impedences and increase the loss/gain while using a (sure its solid copper core) cable that has its own inherent signal loss issues regardless of impedence matching.
It is truly a shameful practice in the RF world. If HN can't pinpoint problems with my system, I will be building an LMR400 cable from the dish to the modem, removing dielectrics, and changing all connectors to N-type and see what happens. Guarantee my speed will increase and transmit power will decrease. There are a lot of factors at play that should be customizable in these systems, but alas it is a cookie cutter product that is meant to work for Joe in the inner city with a 20 ft cable run, and Susie in the farmland with a 100 ft run.
You are going to have a much bigger problem trying to use 50 ohm LMR400 in your 75 ohm HN system than you will with some dielectric grease in your F connectors. Also keep in mind that the cabling between the modem and the dish is not carrying RF. The radio in the system is located at the antenna feedhorn and is integrated with the LNB. Signal quality as measured by the HT2000W is determined at the dish itself.
If I am talking about impedance matching, do you not think I would use 75 ohm LMR400? I mean justifiable concern but I can assure you I will impedence match.
Keep in mind one other thing, seriously now...signal strength is measured at the dish itself sure. The problem with your concern is that you believe there is no chance for signal loss or transmit power gain between the modem and the dish, and for this you are sadly mistaken but understandably so.
If there was not need for RF cable between the dish and the modem, it would be on much cheaper and extremely faster 1000/100/10 cat6e with excellent shielding metal backshells, and shields connected to the backshells, with dielectric running through the cable. My point is that you could have all of the bells and whistles in a cat 6 cable and still be cheaper than solid copper core RF. So...what’s the deal then? Why (according to you) would you use RF cable when there is no RF traveling between the LNBF and the modem?
