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As title says, I've had my AzBox for 6 months now and thought I would share a few observations I found out but have not seen in other posts or on other forums.
This is my first FTA receiver. I have the two tuner model. The A tuner is hooked to a GeoSat Pro 1.2m Ku dish on a DG-380 H-H motor. The B tuner is hooked to a Sadoun 2.4m C-band dish through a G-Box V3000 positioner and a 24" actuactor.
For editing tools, I am using Filezilla 3.5.3, Maz 3.2.0.0 and ACC 1.1 to download, edit and reload the three criteria all_channel.dat and antenna_list.dat and DVBS.dat files.
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AzBox Premium + Observations:
1. There is a steep learing curve getting this box up and running and, probably even more so to get it stable. Very, very picky about settings and sequences. Not sure I would recommend this as the first box for someone getting into the hobby. If I had it to do over again, I'd spend time with a cheap and easy-to-use box to get my Ku and C band dishes up and running and then progress to the AzBox. For that matter, I'd never try the "C-band on a Ku dish" experiment at all (that was a waste of my time). Tough troubleshooting set up when you have not had anything working and you are trying to figure out where to start.
2. I did have the AzBox external power supply die on me within a few months. It was a component failure that took out an internal fuse. This appears to be a wider ranged problem that has been addressed in production. Got a warranty replacement; so far so good. If it goes again I plan on building my own using separate +24V and +12V power supplies and just wire them to the AxBox connector. That little power supply gets way to hot. I suspect it was designed in Europe for 240VAC and therefore draws double the current when running on US 120VAC.
3. The USALS works like a champ. I set my south satellite at 83W and was done after one tweak to get a better signal on PBS at 125W. I can get 30W to 125W on Ku. For some reason, I have to set the positoner to DiSEqC 1.2 not USALS for the satellite at 34.5W. The USALS puts the dish too far west. Tweaking it manually brings signal quality from <30% to a solid 80%. This is the only Ku bird I have to mess with at all, ever. Funny thing is USALS works for 30W and 45W on either side of it just fine.
4. There is very little control over audio in this box. For services that transmit AC3 audio on different channels like NBC does, you can make yourself crazy using the "yellow" button to try to find the audio as they switch commericals, show and news vocals. It is all but impossible to watch services that transmit the TV audio on the left channel and some radio station on the right channel like Silverbird TV on 37.5W at 3775 H 2143 for example. Need to be able to selectively turn off/on individual audio channels and have a redirect to a center channel so we can select what we want to listen to.
5. Not sure what is happening but some HD channels cause the box to take more than double the amount of time to change channels and respond to a remote key. For example, if I am on the Fox "Cops" feed on 99W 4060 V 27780 and am watching the SD feed, the box responds normally. If though I am watching the same HD feed, it takes ~10 seconds for the box to respond to a channel change. This happens only on HD channles but not all HD channels.
6. On the subject of HD channels, what is wrong with eScapes HD? Audio sounds great but the update rate is not HD. I can't watch this. Looks like it drops frames. I assume it is an AzBox issue as I cannot believe anyone would transmit that poor of quality and represent it as HD.
7. I find the AzBox to be very sensitive to antenna position for C band S2 signals ... even on the same satellite I may have to move it. I can get some signals at position X then need to tweak the dish a couple of click west to get one and then have to go back east 3 or 4 clicks to get another. Not all S2 signals have this issue but ones that do I have learned to just tweak it and be done. Satellites that I like to watch like 103W, 101W and 87W are among the worse that have this issue for me.
8. Finally, I find h.264 channels will lock up the box if I tune to them and the signal is poor for any reason. For example, on 99W there are some ABC h.264 feeds at 4120 V 30000 and 4140 V 30000. If they are blocky when I tune them in, the box will lock up and not display anything else until a reboot. I can change channels but nothing displays and no audio is played. The only thing I can do is a power reboot. After reboot all is well unless I tune right back to the poor quality h.264 signal where it will lock again.
G-Box V3000
1. The G-Box V3000 works well through DiSEqC 1.2 once it is set up. But... a blind scan causes the software limits to be reset and the dish will go to the full east or west limit and "Error-2" out. I have learned to go to Sathint.com and just look for changes and add them manually. Blind scan is very slow anyway with the AzBox and frankly I have not found much using it.
2. Moving distances either direction virtually guarantees the count will be off. This is another widely discussed issue it seems. I track the C-band arc from 37.5 W to 131W. If I move short distances from satellite to satellite... say 91W to 99W then to 101W I find the count error is small and the dish stops close enough to get a good Q signal. If I move a large distance... say 50W to 103W at one move, but when the dish stops it will not show a signal and will always need to tweak the position using the G-Box remote control. Lots of discussion out there about reed switches but it sure acts like a bug (way too predictable and repeatable and pervasive).
Edit Software Observations:
1. Do as much as possible with the edit tools and not in the AzBox itself. Deleting satellites or more than one channel at a time or renaming a channel can cause unpredictable results if you do it via remote control and AzBox.
2. Use Filezilla *only* to retrieve the three files. Use Maz *only* to edit the files. Use ACC *only* to relaod the files back to the AzBox. Use of any other tool or mixing use of these three can (will) cause unpredictable results.
3. Even in Maz, it is always best to do one thing, save the file and reload it rather than doing several of the same thing in a row. For example, deleting multiple channels off a satellite then saving can cause unpredictable results. It is always better to delete a channel, hit save, then reload before deleting the next.
4. In Maz if you get a memory violation error, stop what you are doing, do not save the file and start over at last save.
5. If you enter frequency and SR in Maz, be sure to always add three zeros to the field. 3710 H 27000 for example must be entered in freq as: 3710000 and in SR as: 27000000
6. Not sure why there is so much discussion and concern about this being a Unix-based box though. You do not need to be a Unix-guru to use this box. Having a real good understanding of how to get a wireless connection set-up will be of more use than knowing any Unix at all.
Hope this helps someone in setting up or making a buying decision.
===
Bill
This is my first FTA receiver. I have the two tuner model. The A tuner is hooked to a GeoSat Pro 1.2m Ku dish on a DG-380 H-H motor. The B tuner is hooked to a Sadoun 2.4m C-band dish through a G-Box V3000 positioner and a 24" actuactor.
For editing tools, I am using Filezilla 3.5.3, Maz 3.2.0.0 and ACC 1.1 to download, edit and reload the three criteria all_channel.dat and antenna_list.dat and DVBS.dat files.
===
AzBox Premium + Observations:
1. There is a steep learing curve getting this box up and running and, probably even more so to get it stable. Very, very picky about settings and sequences. Not sure I would recommend this as the first box for someone getting into the hobby. If I had it to do over again, I'd spend time with a cheap and easy-to-use box to get my Ku and C band dishes up and running and then progress to the AzBox. For that matter, I'd never try the "C-band on a Ku dish" experiment at all (that was a waste of my time). Tough troubleshooting set up when you have not had anything working and you are trying to figure out where to start.
2. I did have the AzBox external power supply die on me within a few months. It was a component failure that took out an internal fuse. This appears to be a wider ranged problem that has been addressed in production. Got a warranty replacement; so far so good. If it goes again I plan on building my own using separate +24V and +12V power supplies and just wire them to the AxBox connector. That little power supply gets way to hot. I suspect it was designed in Europe for 240VAC and therefore draws double the current when running on US 120VAC.
3. The USALS works like a champ. I set my south satellite at 83W and was done after one tweak to get a better signal on PBS at 125W. I can get 30W to 125W on Ku. For some reason, I have to set the positoner to DiSEqC 1.2 not USALS for the satellite at 34.5W. The USALS puts the dish too far west. Tweaking it manually brings signal quality from <30% to a solid 80%. This is the only Ku bird I have to mess with at all, ever. Funny thing is USALS works for 30W and 45W on either side of it just fine.
4. There is very little control over audio in this box. For services that transmit AC3 audio on different channels like NBC does, you can make yourself crazy using the "yellow" button to try to find the audio as they switch commericals, show and news vocals. It is all but impossible to watch services that transmit the TV audio on the left channel and some radio station on the right channel like Silverbird TV on 37.5W at 3775 H 2143 for example. Need to be able to selectively turn off/on individual audio channels and have a redirect to a center channel so we can select what we want to listen to.
5. Not sure what is happening but some HD channels cause the box to take more than double the amount of time to change channels and respond to a remote key. For example, if I am on the Fox "Cops" feed on 99W 4060 V 27780 and am watching the SD feed, the box responds normally. If though I am watching the same HD feed, it takes ~10 seconds for the box to respond to a channel change. This happens only on HD channles but not all HD channels.
6. On the subject of HD channels, what is wrong with eScapes HD? Audio sounds great but the update rate is not HD. I can't watch this. Looks like it drops frames. I assume it is an AzBox issue as I cannot believe anyone would transmit that poor of quality and represent it as HD.
7. I find the AzBox to be very sensitive to antenna position for C band S2 signals ... even on the same satellite I may have to move it. I can get some signals at position X then need to tweak the dish a couple of click west to get one and then have to go back east 3 or 4 clicks to get another. Not all S2 signals have this issue but ones that do I have learned to just tweak it and be done. Satellites that I like to watch like 103W, 101W and 87W are among the worse that have this issue for me.
8. Finally, I find h.264 channels will lock up the box if I tune to them and the signal is poor for any reason. For example, on 99W there are some ABC h.264 feeds at 4120 V 30000 and 4140 V 30000. If they are blocky when I tune them in, the box will lock up and not display anything else until a reboot. I can change channels but nothing displays and no audio is played. The only thing I can do is a power reboot. After reboot all is well unless I tune right back to the poor quality h.264 signal where it will lock again.
G-Box V3000
1. The G-Box V3000 works well through DiSEqC 1.2 once it is set up. But... a blind scan causes the software limits to be reset and the dish will go to the full east or west limit and "Error-2" out. I have learned to go to Sathint.com and just look for changes and add them manually. Blind scan is very slow anyway with the AzBox and frankly I have not found much using it.
2. Moving distances either direction virtually guarantees the count will be off. This is another widely discussed issue it seems. I track the C-band arc from 37.5 W to 131W. If I move short distances from satellite to satellite... say 91W to 99W then to 101W I find the count error is small and the dish stops close enough to get a good Q signal. If I move a large distance... say 50W to 103W at one move, but when the dish stops it will not show a signal and will always need to tweak the position using the G-Box remote control. Lots of discussion out there about reed switches but it sure acts like a bug (way too predictable and repeatable and pervasive).
Edit Software Observations:
1. Do as much as possible with the edit tools and not in the AzBox itself. Deleting satellites or more than one channel at a time or renaming a channel can cause unpredictable results if you do it via remote control and AzBox.
2. Use Filezilla *only* to retrieve the three files. Use Maz *only* to edit the files. Use ACC *only* to relaod the files back to the AzBox. Use of any other tool or mixing use of these three can (will) cause unpredictable results.
3. Even in Maz, it is always best to do one thing, save the file and reload it rather than doing several of the same thing in a row. For example, deleting multiple channels off a satellite then saving can cause unpredictable results. It is always better to delete a channel, hit save, then reload before deleting the next.
4. In Maz if you get a memory violation error, stop what you are doing, do not save the file and start over at last save.
5. If you enter frequency and SR in Maz, be sure to always add three zeros to the field. 3710 H 27000 for example must be entered in freq as: 3710000 and in SR as: 27000000
6. Not sure why there is so much discussion and concern about this being a Unix-based box though. You do not need to be a Unix-guru to use this box. Having a real good understanding of how to get a wireless connection set-up will be of more use than knowing any Unix at all.
Hope this helps someone in setting up or making a buying decision.
===
Bill
34 Replies
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6051 views
My observation after 1 year of owning a AZ Box Premium Plus....don't use it unless you absolutely have to. It's a major headace 
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My observation after 1 year of owning a AZ Box Premium Plus....don't use it unless you absolutely have to. It's a major headace
Jim,
I honestly cannot agree with your statement here wholly. Truly, it could be a lot better, I agree with that. But, the box can do a lot of really nice and amazing things if you are willing to be patient with it. Some items need a bit of extra "gloss" in order to overcome their stigma. But, in all fairness, there are many boxes out there which are much worse and do less.
I summarized some of StarGaze's pertinent points above and to all of these, I agree. Having used many different makes and models of IRD's, I must say that no box is without its own set of pros and cons. The biggest problem of any box is that it always has critics. It is human nature to dwell upon the negative as that is what annoys us most. This is, however, a good thing as it is also what instills within us the desire to set out to improve it or search for solutions or resolutions.
One thing that I can state is this. There was a period early on when I first bought my AZBox when I began to question my purchase. At first this box was the cat's meow and I was thrilled with a new box. Then the newness wore off and as I discovered all the potentials of the box, I also discovered its deficiencies. But, as time wore on, I began to find all the loopholes and tricks to overcome the deficiencies. Today, I am quite confident and pleased with the AZBox.
RADAR
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68532 Replies
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2673012 views
Lifetime Supporter
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
112 Replies
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1756 views
Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN
Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."
www.nbcsports.com
M
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN
Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."
Browns lead the AFC North 
For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
541 Replies
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18545 views
Supporting Founder
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
150 Replies
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1819 views
. Hated to see my dawgs go down but I still say being ranked #1 is a hex on you!
My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke 
239 Replies
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11068 views
S
Don't you mean phone sex operators
Is That why you keep SXM ???Don't you mean phone sex operators
Mrs. Foxbat reminded me it's that time of the year to do the Cancel Tango
The A.I. agent appears to be better than in the past. It got to the acceptable price quicker than previous years, no human operator involved. $5/mo and I still have over $50 in SiriusXM credit from my FordPartner benefits.
The A.I. agent appears to be better than in the past. It got to the acceptable price quicker than previous years, no human operator involved. $5/mo and I still have over $50 in SiriusXM credit from my FordPartner benefits.
I forgot you can pay that with Ford Pass points, I won't be due again till Feb, but I'll have to remember to try it ... Not sure what needs to be done, but I do have a substantial amount of points currently.Mrs. Foxbat reminded me it's that time of the year to do the Cancel Tango
The A.I. agent appears to be better than in the past. It got to the acceptable price quicker than previous years, no human operator involved. $5/mo and I still have over $50 in SiriusXM credit from my FordPartner benefits.
S
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when i say cancel. they give the moon and stars!!! iv'e gotten free radios and a free month once since it was my bdayIs That why you keep SXM ???
.
Pub Member / Supporter
America’s Fastest-Growing EV State Isn’t California—Not by a Long Shot
New data shows electric vehicle adoption is increasingly driven by state policies, electricity prices and charging access—not federal incentives
www.autoweek.com
The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.
It has no ZEV mandates and "minimal" incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.
113 Replies
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929 views
tomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net)
This author has chosen to make their posts visible only to people who are signed in.
bsky.app
Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.
So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.
US EV sales are rising again. Here’s why the recovery is set to last.
Even though sales tanked last year after the end of federal incentives, the American EV sector is on the mend as drivers face sky-high gasoline prices.
www.canarymedia.com
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy
Ethanol Free Stations
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy
Ethanol Free Stations
5553 Replies
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460691 views
Here in Indiana, the difference between Regular and Premium is usually a dollar, but some charge even more:
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beTFfPz10OI
Direct YouTube Link - Club TWiT: Media Club #3 - Best of Adult Animation: Futurama, Rick and Morty, and Simpsons Classics
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beTFfPz10OI
Direct YouTube Link - Club TWiT: Media Club #3 - Best of Adult Animation: Futurama, Rick and Morty, and Simpsons Classics
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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12 views
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
4 Replies
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111 views
