I would like to add a sat tuner to my HTPC. But information regarding a PCI card's ability to blind scan seems to be vague. Are there cards out there that will do a blind scan, or is it not a function of the card but rather the software running the card? Thanks for anyone's input.
Blind scans with PCI card?
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I am not aware of any card itself having any blind scan ability, but the two popular programs (software) you can download scan the transponders for content. MyTheatre and ProgDVB have very good channel scans. The software that comes with your PCI card should have an option to scan for channels too. If you are looking to see if you can pick up a specific transponder from the satellite you are pointed to, ProgFinder is a very good program that lists the quality and signal strength of the transponders on various satellites.
galiman, do a search for ss2 v2.3 on this forum, there is info there about the ss2 card and blind scan. I'm not aware of any others.
Twinhan cards seem to be well supported with most software, although I've read the 1022 model had heat problems, I believe it has been replaced with the 102g, however I've noticed some places are still selling the 1022 so I would do my research. I"ve been using a Twinhan 1020A for about 1.5 years without problems, before that I used a Nexus card for about 1 year, it is a fine card also, but expensive and if you have a newer computer it really can't do anything a software based card can do at much less$$
USB Receiver must be external box. Is it large, I'm running out of room in my entertainment rack. Also, does it blind scan? Sorry I seem stuck on blind scan, but I've never really trusted transponder lists to be up to date, and we get so few unencrypted channels anyway I don't like the thought of missing any to a bad list.
Thanks again for the info.
Thanks again for the info.
I did a review on it, see the review area!
Its like 3" x 2"
No Blind scan! I use a Traxis 3500 to blind scan and the DVB to watch!
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=55482
Its like 3" x 2"
No Blind scan! I use a Traxis 3500 to blind scan and the DVB to watch!
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=55482
Hey Starman, I checked out the thread on the ss2. Sounds promising, but the heat issue worries me a bit. Will do some more research. This sounds like a brand new card (or version of the card). Do you know if it has been out long enough to determine long term reliability?
I really don't know anything about it, Jerryt is the guy who had that card and he might be able to shed more light on what software works well with it and any relialbility problems it might have. I've only had experience with the twinhan 1020a and Nexus. I do know just from reading different forums the SS2 cards have been around for a long time, I'm not sure about the 2.3 version that Jerryt talks about, maybe that is something new. Jerryt uses the same username at the Mytheatre forums and posts quite often, you might be able to pick his brain about the card over there. I'm with you on the blind scan on a pci card, it would be a great feature!
galiman said:
The SS2 r2.3 is the original version of the Skystar 2 card. The newer versions are 2.6 (b or c or d etc...). They have a smaller profile than r2.3 and the heat problem is less of an issue.
That being said I've never noticed much of a heat problem with the r2.3 card, but I do know that some people have attached small fans to the tuner to prevent any possibility of problems.
The standalone blindsearch program can be got here:
http://bxs.no.sapo.pt/index_direita_ss2_tf_bxs_eng.htm
It also supports r2.6x, but that is only software mode, so much slower than r2.3 which is hardware based.
You can also get ProgDVB to blindscan at a particular frequency with r2.3 if you enter '0' as the symbol rate. There is also some support for blindscan under Linux and VDR for r2.3
The r2.3 has been discontinued with quite a while, so only available secondhand. Your best chance of getting one would be to search the European versions of ebay (.co.uk, .de, .it etc) as these cards were bundled free with subscriptions to an Italian satellite ISP a while back. The r2.3 version is also known as 'Sky2PC'.
You can check out the different pics of the 2 revisions here in Russian:
http://www.gs.ru/si/SS2rev26.html
Galiman, what I do is blind scan all the satellites with my Coolsat 5000, import the channel list into Channelmaster(list editing program), then export it to a MyTheatre channel list. That way I can have up to date channels without blind scan on my twinhan card. There is a drawback to it in that I blind scan almost every day(feed dx'er), so its not a perfect solution, but may be acceptable to some.
Orthoclipse, you seem to know quite a bit about this card (ss2). Is it true that it does not play well with a motorized dish?
Starman, thanks, that's what I have in mind if I can't find an acceptable blind scan solution. I currently have Pansat 3500S attached to 31" Winegard and SG2100 motor. Works perfect, but I would like to move the Pansat into bedroom and put a card into Living Room HTPC to allow ReplayTV-like functionality. I've been a subscriber to DirecTV since nearly its inception, but with a couple of hundred channels to choose from, I find there's still nothing on. Would love to get AMC-3 HD and whatever this new HD content provider is on ANIF1? that I read about in this forum.
Starman, thanks, that's what I have in mind if I can't find an acceptable blind scan solution. I currently have Pansat 3500S attached to 31" Winegard and SG2100 motor. Works perfect, but I would like to move the Pansat into bedroom and put a card into Living Room HTPC to allow ReplayTV-like functionality. I've been a subscriber to DirecTV since nearly its inception, but with a couple of hundred channels to choose from, I find there's still nothing on. Would love to get AMC-3 HD and whatever this new HD content provider is on ANIF1? that I read about in this forum.
I have helped a number of people find the SS2 version 2.3 just for their blind scan abilities.
There is another piece of software, write by the auther of Altdvb, which does blind scans real real fast. Like one minute per satellite. It is at dvbskystar dot com and also dvbn.
The skystar2 2.3 is a great card. I have been moving a motor just fine with Mibi's ss2diseqc1.9 software. Note my motor has it's own power source, techinsat does not want the SS2 to supply the power to the motor. The twinhan cards have a much bigger power supply circuit(not trouble free). I may be able to find some more of the 2.3 version.
I am looking forward to getting the multiple Skystar card setup working.
There is another piece of software, write by the auther of Altdvb, which does blind scans real real fast. Like one minute per satellite. It is at dvbskystar dot com and also dvbn.
The skystar2 2.3 is a great card. I have been moving a motor just fine with Mibi's ss2diseqc1.9 software. Note my motor has it's own power source, techinsat does not want the SS2 to supply the power to the motor. The twinhan cards have a much bigger power supply circuit(not trouble free). I may be able to find some more of the 2.3 version.
I am looking forward to getting the multiple Skystar card setup working.
I have a SG2100 powered by a laptop power supply which has a variable output, I am using the 20 VDC output.
I have a step by step guide posted for modifing the SG2100 on the Mytheatre support board/download section under the heading "modifications". Also search for "Positioner Heart Surgery".
Seems like channels always lock better after a blind scan. The numbers change just a little IE 12311 might be 12313 and SR 20031 instead of 20000
I have a step by step guide posted for modifing the SG2100 on the Mytheatre support board/download section under the heading "modifications". Also search for "Positioner Heart Surgery".
Seems like channels always lock better after a blind scan. The numbers change just a little IE 12311 might be 12313 and SR 20031 instead of 20000
galiman said:
I don't use the SS2 to drive a Diseqc motor. I use a 36V linear actuator setup instead.
As jerryt says, Technisat don't release proper Diseqc 1.2 drivers for the SS2 because you can potentially burn out the card if the load is too much. From what I've read though, quite a lot of people are able to use the SS2 cards with a motor and the Mibi drivers just fine. For some though, it never seems to work right. I guess there is such a variation in motherboards, operating systems etc, that it's hard to give a definitive answer.
A very good forum for SS2 related questions is dvbn.happysat.org. The MiBi guy who writes the modified drivers also posts there.
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