Azbox premuim+ no quality issues

panek75

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
May 29, 2007
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IL
Currently i have a pansat 150m as my main receiver in a motorized setup but i would like to change this and have the azbox be the main receiver and i am having some issues.The setup is a 90cm dish,hh90 motor,invacom qph-031 lnb and a zinwell 4x4 switch.Works without issues connected like this.

LL ports on lnb connected to 22khz on - "linear sats"
CC ports on lnb connected to 22khz off -"circular sats"
Output port #1 of zinwell goes to lnb in on motor and then out to ps150.
Output port #2 of zinwell to azbox.
Output port #3 of zinwell to Dvb world 2104d.
Output port #4 of zinwell to vs maxhd.

If i make the azbox the primary receiver it controls the motor fine and gets quality on the off side of the switch but not the on side.Any ideas?
 
Currently i have a pansat 150m as my main receiver in a motorized setup but i would like to change this and have the azbox be the main receiver and i am having some issues.The setup is a 90cm dish,hh90 motor,invacom qph-031 lnb and a zinwell 4x4 switch.Works without issues connected like this.

LL ports on lnb connected to 22khz on - "linear sats"
CC ports on lnb connected to 22khz off -"circular sats"
Output port #1 of zinwell goes to lnb in on motor and then out to ps150.
Output port #2 of zinwell to azbox.
Output port #3 of zinwell to Dvb world 2104d.
Output port #4 of zinwell to vs maxhd.

If i make the azbox the primary receiver it controls the motor fine and gets quality on the off side of the switch but not the on side.Any ideas?

Panek,

Is the switch a Zinwell SAM-4402-3A? If it is, it will not be compatible with the QPH-031 LNBF nor with your AZBox (at least not in this instance - maybe with some other application it might be useful). The original design of this switch was for a special and limited application.

Is the switch by chance some other model?

The first troubleshooting step you want to conduct is to remove the Zinwell switch from the circuit entirely. Run your cable direct from your AZBox to the motor and then from the motor to one LINEAR port on the LNBF. Check your signal and quality readings. Then move the connection from the LINEAR port to the CIRCULAR port and test again. Are the signals good in both circumstances? Then the switch is responsible for the trouble.

I would recommend an SW21 switch. Connect one LINEAR LNBF port to one inout port on the SW21 switch and connect one CIRCULAR LNBF port to the other input port on the SW21 switch. Connect the output of the SW21 switch to the motor's LNBF port and connect the receiver port of the motor to the AZBox.

For your other receivers... Use the two remaining LNBF ports and a switch that is compatible with those receivers and the QPH-031 LNBF. I would look into the Ecoda multiswitches for this. But, I cannot be certain which model to suggest to you without doing some research first.

RADAR
 
Radar,

Thanks for the response to my question.The switch is a Zinwell MS4x4WB-Z which i think is the same same as the SAM-4402-3A.I know you say this switch isn't compatibility but i have been using this setup for around two years with out issues and ,I have at times used various fta receivers as the primary control unit and the only one that doesn't run the system correctly is the azbox.Originally i did have two ecoda 22khz switches on this setup when the ps & vs were the only units i had and this worked fine also.Do you think the azbox could be connected via the ecoda 22khz switch as primary (instead of sw21) and then i find a different switch for the remaining three?It seems like the azbox doesn't like to be the lead dog as it works fine when not the primary receiver via the 4x4 switch and motor.
 
Radar,

Thanks for the response to my question.The switch is a Zinwell MS4x4WB-Z which i think is the same same as the SAM-4402-3A.I know you say this switch isn't compatibility but i have been using this setup for around two years with out issues and ,I have at times used various fta receivers as the primary control unit and the only one that doesn't run the system correctly is the azbox.Originally i did have two ecoda 22khz switches on this setup when the ps & vs were the only units i had and this worked fine also.Do you think the azbox could be connected via the ecoda 22khz switch as primary (instead of sw21) and then i find a different switch for the remaining three?It seems like the azbox doesn't like to be the lead dog as it works fine when not the primary receiver via the 4x4 switch and motor.

I had a few minutes before work to look into that switch. The one you have and the one I mentioned are basically the same thing. The number you provided is (I guess) the DirecTV part number for the same animal. I am suprised that it works as applied. All the data that I found (which is very limited) states that it is for a DirecTV application only. But, rules are meant to be broken.

I tried to find some data sheets and application notes in detail, but have not had any luck in the short time I have searched. However, if it works with the other FTA receivers you have, I would think that it should with the AZBox also. I will try to find more information regarding your problem if I can while I am on break tonight.

Please test the AZBox without any switches in place at all. This way you can verify if the AZBox is operating the motor and the LNBF to your satisfaction prior to adding a switch into the equation. Always do this frst.

RADAR
 
Last edited:
Thanks for looking into this Radar.When it gets a little warmer around here i will definitely try running without a switch and test motor operation/signal quality on both the linear and circular ports of the invacom.
 
Thanks for looking into this Radar.When it gets a little warmer around here i will definitely try running without a switch and test motor operation/signal quality on both the linear and circular ports of the invacom.

Panek,

After looking up a few things, I now believe that your switch is compatible with the AZBox.

Did you turn the 22 KHz signal ON for all the linear satellites listed in your AZBox (in the SETTINGS > ANTENNA SETUP menu)?

Also, how did you configure the system to make the AZBox the "Primary" receiver? Did you just swap the AZBox and the Pansat? Or did you move the motor to the AZBox cable?

RADAR
 
Radar,

Only the linear sat's that i use have the 22khz setting set to on.I make the azbox the primary receiver by just swapping the cables between the two units.
 
Radar,

Only the linear sat's that i use have the 22khz setting set to on.I make the azbox the primary receiver by just swapping the cables between the two units.

Panek,

OK, so the 22 KHz tone is turned on for the LINEAR sats and you are not detecting any signal strength or quality from any of them. The only thing you changed from your original wiring scheme is to unplug the cables from the Pansat and the AZBox and swap them to the other (or did you swap the cable connections at the dish/motor)?

Have you had the opportunity to hard wire the AZBox direct to the motor and then on to the LNBF without the switch?

The AZBox was receiving both LINEAR and CIRCULAR signals and both polarities (H/V and RH/LH) before the change? But, now you have lost all the LINEAR signals?

RADAR
 
Radar,

No i did not get a chance to do a straight connection as it has been raining here.When i have the azbox connected to the switch thru one of the ports that doesn't control the motor (#2,#3,#4) the receiver switches and i get both linear/circular sats but when it runs thru port #1 (motor control) i lose just the quality on the linear sat's .When i am swapping cables everything is begin done inside the house so nothing is being changed at the dish/switch.

Thanks
 
Radar,

No i did not get a chance to do a straight connection as it has been raining here.When i have the azbox connected to the switch thru one of the ports that doesn't control the motor (#2,#3,#4) the receiver switches and i get both linear/circular sats but when it runs thru port #1 (motor control) i lose just the quality on the linear sat's .When i am swapping cables everything is begin done inside the house so nothing is being changed at the dish/switch.

Thanks

Panek,

I do see your dilemna here. This is an unusual problem.

When your weather clears, let's try running the cable direct to the motor and then on to the LNBF without the switch. I don't know if this will tell us anything, but we need to rule it out. Obviously, something is blocking the signal from the LINEAR sats here.

If that works well, then the next step I would like you to try is to set everything back up like you had it originally (when everything was working well) and then, instead of swapping the cables inside the house, just move the motor from the circuit where the Pansat controls it and put it in the circuit where the AZBox controls it. Don't move any other cabling other than what is required to move the motor from port 1 to port 2.

I am scratching my head on this one, Panek. It is a little strange. The Pansat works fine in its role here, but when you put the AZBox in that role, it loses the LINEAR sat signals. Just from a gut feeling, I am wondering if your AZBox is driving your motor to the accurate position for all the linear sats.

You do understand that you can be off quite a ways from a circular satellite's position and still pick up the signal. But, on the linear sats, 0.2 degrees might kill it.

It is possible that your dish and motor are not truly aligned to the arc. I can see this happening very easily as it would not take much of an offset to kill your signal from the linear sats.

What motor control system are you using (USALS or DiSEqC 1.2)? Are you using the same system on both recievers?

If your dish and motor are perfectly aligned, then any receiver with true USALS that you connect to the motor should be right on the mark for all sats. But, you are going to have to verify the site coordinates in the USALS menu. These coordinates are operator entered and if there is a small error, it will throw the dish alignment off.

There are many sources of error here, and we need to reduce the possibilities by checking each one, one at a time.

To make it short and sweet, all your electrical components appear to be operating fine, including the switch. The problem stems from one or two sources. Either the dish if not aligned perfectly or the parameters for the motor control are slightly in error (or a combination of both).

Using your AZBox, select one good satellite (like 97.0°W) and select DiSEqC 1.2 motor control and step your motor a few tenths of a degree west or east and monitor your signal and quality levels on a TP that is known to be always active and always strong.

Let us know what you determine from experimenting with the suggestions I presented here. When you have acquoired the results, please inform us and we will proceed as necessary.

RADAR
 

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