After having a SWM-8 in my house for a couple of years, I decided to put one on the dish in my RV. I have the following setup: I have a Directv AU9 5LNB dish mounted as a Winegard Trav'ler on the roof of my RV. I had it run to a SWM-8 switch which I also mounted outside on the roof next to the dish. The swith is lying horizontally on the roof. The cable runs from the four outputs on the dish to the SWM are about 2 feet or less. I used both of the SWM ports 1 and 2 to run two separate lines to an HR20 and HR21 inside the RV. The PI for the SWM was located approximately 20 cable-feet away at the first receiver.

Up until this last week, the system worked fine for the last 5 months. Both receivers would automatically recognize the SWM when powered on and signal strenghs were in the 80s and 90s for all satellites and the SWM signals were in the 90s. Now when I power on the receivers I get no recognition that the SWM is present; if I manually choose SWM, I get no recognition and all signals are 0 strength. The PI is plugged in properly and the green light is on. However, even with the PI plugged in, the SWM does not get warm to the touch as it normally does. So I backed everything out and tested. I get 29V at the PI and through the cable all the way up to the SWM1/PWR input which is the line for the first receiver. I have rebooted everything several times, and brought the receivrs on one at a time. I also removed the SWM from the circuit and removed the PI and ran the lines directly to the receivers, with the B-band converter of course, and I get all signals at 90+.

So I am fairly certain that my SWM-8 is now a large paperweight. My question is has anyone had trouble with a SWM-8 outdoors in the elements? My research on the SWM-8 stated it was rated for outdoor use. Is is just a freak equipment failure? Should I risk changing the unit for another one in the same location or move the unit into an interior compartment, at greater expense?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.