Back to the Basics - Please Help!

[linuxman]

Ok, Back in business again after a brief time-out.

It seems that one of the chips on the mainboard of the Pansat has failed, or is failing badly. The one that controls the polarizer and skew. I am not willing right now to spend the $40.00 plus $10.00 shipping that Panerex requires to have something fixed under their warranty. So I am going to use it like it is for now with the analog HTS controlling polarity. I have all the right DC one side blocking other side pass-thru now along with a new DiSEqC switch, and I am hooked back up to the Vbox II which is going to serve as the positioner. So far everything is working properly.

I have a question about how to set up KU in the analog receiver since so many of the Sat's KU format has changed. The C-Band is pretty straight forward, and there are numerous charts with old names, and new ones.

I have 7 choices of format that I can save a satellite as in the HT System VIII Plus.

1. C Standard 24 CH
2. C Morelos 24 CH
3. KU Anik 32 CH
4. KU Gstar 32 CH
5. KU Satcom-K 32 CH
6. KU SBS 20 CH
7. KU Spacenet 12 CH

Which KU format should I choose for each KU Satellite, and how will it affect polarity on the Pansat?

I would think I would choose SBS for SBS-6, but what about the rest of them? I am currently on G-11, and I have tried the SBS format, because the book says that it was SBS-4 at one time, but that isn't working out too well.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Fred

 

[voomvoom]

Hello Fred, since you're using the VBOX to drive the dish. Why not just use one of the ku sats with 32 channels for switching polarity and analog use? If I remember right, that Anik bird (set in the box) is going to have the 1st 16 (1-16) channels one polarity and the next 16 (17-32) channels the other polarity? While the other birds will be every other channel changes polarity. It shouldn't make much difference with the Pansat, but you might have a problem with the analog if you're on the wrong (set in the box) polarity. But, it would probably only miss channel 1 or channel 32, depending on which way you're off. "I Think"! Been a long time since I've used a pure analog receiver.

Al

 

[linuxman]

Hey Al,

I think you are probably correct about the KU sats, I finally chose a satcom format and it worked pretty sell for G-11 KU.

I chose W3 I think for the C side, and it worked ok.

But what you are saying is, just try out the one KU setup for all the KU birds except for Anik, and maybe sbs-6?

If I want to actually watch some analog C-Band, I will probably have to set each of them up because they reverse every other satellite. I miss having the polarity on the Pansat, but will get used to it.

My neighbor across the street is an Electrical Engineer. He designs and builds mainboards for automated controllers for a living. He said he would have time to look at it in a couple of weeks. Probably just a single chip failing in that circuit. Maybe he can fix it. What the heck, if I am going to pay $40.00 plus shipping for a warranty, why not give them something to really work on.

If not, I will use what I have.

Thanks, Fred

 

[voomvoom]

But what you are saying is, just try out the one KU setup for all the KU birds except for Anik, and maybe sbs-6?

Fred, Yes try one out and it should work for any sat you're on.
What I'm saying is the VBOX II will point it at the sat listed in the Pansat. So, it doesn't matter what it says in the analog receiver, it's still pointed at whatever the Pansat has it pointed at.
What I was saying about the Anik bird, and I could be wrong, is "I think" it was pre-programmed in all receivers as having channels 1-16 as one polarity and channels 17-32 as the other polarity. While the other sats have the polarity change on every other channel. This was also true for the Anik C-band side as well, where they had 1(a)-12(a) as one polarity and 1(b)-12(b) as the other polarity. "I think"?

Al

 

[linuxman]

Cool!

I'll give that a shot later today.

Thanks,

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Progress so far.

I have now programmed in another 5 C-Band digital sats on the West end. For their analog cousins I just have two named sats, one for "normal" polarity, and the other for "reverse" polarity. I also have the KU digital counterparts programmed into the Pansat as well. I have discovered, that whatever the analog C side polarity is set to, the Pansat will use that for the KU side. No need to set up a KU analog sat unless you want to scan for analog KU feeds. There are a few.

So far the Pansat and the Vbox II have not skipped a beat. I can hit the button in the Pansat on G-11, and watch the WB, and hit another button and watch G4 on AMC 10. All I have to do is change the sat accordingly in the analog, and choose an odd or even channel, and I am set.

G-10 is next for tomorrow.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

WOW!!!! Jackpot

G-10 KU coming in with most signals in the 60's with a few in the 30's. Haven't even fine tuned yet.

Now I know why this hobby is so interesting and so much fun.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Hi All!

I want to wrap this thread up finally.

I want to thank everyone here at Satelite Guys for all your help in getting everything set up. Especially you Al who have replied, and given direction for all the problems I had in the beginning, and to Mike Kohl at Global Communications without whose advice on the Hi-Freq switches, I would probably have burned up another DiSEqC switch or two and maybe even the Pansat. Rick Carley of Ricks Satellite was a tremendous help as well. The Chaparral C-Band LNB he recommended and sold to me is doing a fantastic job.

Just a word of caution to all those who attempt what I am doing. Make sure you know what you are buying. Don't depend on the salesperson at the other end of the phone line. They may or may not know what they are doing, and in fact might just be an order taker. If the salesman at Sadoun had given me what I asked for as advertised in the C-Band FAQ's idea thread and on their website, I would have been saved a lot of grief, frustration, and money. As a result, my experience with Sadoun was not a good one.

The thing I really miss most at this point is the Polarizer on the Pansat. The Vbox II and every other aspect of the Pansat is working fabulously. I am getting White Springs TV KU on the West in the the lower 30's, and all channels on SBS KU on the east some in the 90's. I am getting most of the channels on G10 KU in the 40's, and some much higher, so I am a happy camper.

I have even learned how to use Channel Master, and reclaimed some of the coveted 1-26 positions in the Pansat. I still have some sats to set up, and I have to replace my almost dead Drake. The HTS VIII Plus is nice, but I miss the Drake.

Again thanks to all of you. You are a great bunch of guys!!!! I wish I could be in Denver on the 16th to meet some of you.

Fred

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Congrats! :up

 

[drhydro]

I am psyched to hear that the VBOX II is working well for you, congrats on your setup.

I think that you can probably get white springs tv at higher SQ levels by playing with the skew on your analog box, good luck

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Tracy and Doc,

You were both a big help in the beginning. It was your suggestion Doc when tuning the dish to not touch the elevation, but to swing the whole thing on the pole that brought SBS-6 into such fine performance.

I probably need to do some more fine tuning, but will save that for a day when I am all alone, and have lots of time for running up and down the ladders.

I think the Polarizer on the Pansat did a better job of fine tuning with the skew than the HTS does, and I will probably not do the fine tuning until I get that fixed or sent in and fixed.

Thanks again, Fred

 

[suttle69]

hi Fred, I"ve been reading your post and just glad it is you and not me having to do the adjusting on your roof. I see you are using a Houston Tracker 8 Plus,I have one that has bee in my closet for about 8 years and was thinking of getting it out .it seems that i've been out of the sat.loop question for you is the ht8plus a ku receiver and can i use it with a directv lnb/dish to pickup FREE TO AIR stations?I"m glad i found this site i miss the old days. David

 

[linuxman]

Hi David,

The HTS 8 Plus is an analog receiver. It does have separate inputs for both C-Band and KU Band analog signal.

As far as I know, a directv lnb will not work with an analog receiver, nor will that size dish pick up analog signal.

You need a linear LNB for each type of signal, both C and KU, and you will need a dish at least 6', preferably 8' or larger to pick up reliable analog signal for either C or KU.

Hope that helps,

Fred

 

[Sadoun]

If the salesman at Sadoun had given me what I asked for as advertised in the C-Band FAQ's idea thread and on their website, I would have been saved a lot of grief, frustration, and money. As a result, my experience with Sadoun was not a good one.

Hi Fred

Sorry the salesperson (in your case the order taker) was not much help. We have hired additional sales staff and they might be still green on some of the stuff we sell. If anyone run into this issue with any of our operators ask to speak with one of our senior saleperson such as Judy or Bryan.

Also, if you are looking at a certain product, you can point out to the salesperson the page you are looking at or the part number for the product.

Best of luck.

 

[linuxman]

After thinking about Doc's suggestion on White Springs TV, I went through my settings on the HTS analog receiver and polarity.

I was a little confused about which sats were "reverse" and "normal" polarity.

I used the Satcruiser Chart that was referred to in another post here by pmb1010, and this link, which I found to come up with which pre-programmed satellites to set up in the analog to produce the correct format with the best output. I now have an F4 sat, and a G1 sat only programmed in the analog. The F4 is for "normal" and the G1 is for "reverse".

I couldn't find anything about SBS-6, so I just guessed, and have the analog set as a reverse format satellite.

It improved the signal on another couple of sats by just changing the format and fine tuning the skew for that format.

Fred

As a result, I was pulling in White Springs in the 40's yesterday, and the verticals on SBS-6 in the 90's.

Fred

 

[voomvoom]

Fred, don't know if you are aware of it or not, but you don't have to have the HTS on a ku sat to watch ku on the Pansat. The Pansat will get ku if you have the HTS on a C-band sat. Regardless of whether you use the C-band sat or a ku sat on the HTS, the Pansat will get C-band or ku-band from either one. The VBOX II will point to the desired sat through the Pansat, so both lnb's will be pointed at the sat. You will only be using the HTS for changing the polarity, and it won't matter which sat you're on with the HTS. But, when you're watching some analog, you will need it to be correct.

Al

 

[linuxman]

You are correct as always Al.

I do not have a KU pre-programmed Sat set up in the analog right now, and the Pansat pulls it in correctly, but since the analog is controlling the polarity right now, it is important that I have a pre-programmed satellite chosen in order for the polarity and skew to be in the proper format for the Pansat to use.

If you have that, you are in business.

I will probably setup a couple of pre-programmed KU sats in the analog to watch analog KU with, but am still setting up the Pansat.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Just an update on the progress.

I have just a few sats left to program in. Both Aniks, Amazonas, and maybe a couple of others.

I am pulling in good C-Band from Intelsat 805 at 55.5W, and pretty decent KU from Pas 9. Wrong day to scan, rain this morning, and heavy clouds since. I'll go back and rescan them on a clear day. Still lots to watch, if I only knew Spanish or Portugese. There are a couple of English channels on them. Real Madrid for one.

I could probably get Intelsat 707, but Lyngsat only shows one transponder that my setup will pick up.

So my setup is pulling in from 135W to 55.5 W with good strong signal on C and KU.

I love this hobby.

 

[dashaund]

Wow, sounds awesome. I've been a little hesitant about jumping into C-band since it took me so long and a good bit of frustation to get my Ku setup right. However, it was a great learning experience and I would have done it all over again. Thanks for posting your experiences here and hopefully it will help guide me someday when I decide to take the plunge. Yes, this hobby it awesome.

 

[linuxman]

Hey Dashaund,

I do hope the experiences I have had here help keep people from making some of the same mistakes I did. It has been an incredible learning experience for me too, even with the mistakes.

As for C-Band, get a 10 footer, and jump right in. I have not had a small dish KU setup, so I don't know what that is like. But I like what I have, and would recommend it to anyone.

Fred