DISEqC Motor Positioner

[vc2]

DISEqC Motor Positioners for moving big dishes

I'm presently using a M/A-COM T1 positioner to move my 12' dish. It suffers from the inability to be integrated to a modern FTA Receiver for automatic control. The 2 digit display (1 letter + 1 number) used for satellite identification is also inadequate.

I was looking at some of the DISEqC positioners. There doesn't seem to be a lot of choices available.

The PowerTech GBOX V3000 has the largest display that I could find - 6 Digits. It advertises 60 "pre-stored" satellite names, leaving only 30 that are user programmable.

I was left with the impression that the 60 "pre-stored" name list cannot be changed.

Does anybody know if this is the case?

Many of the "pre-stored" names listed in the users manual are presently obsolete. In 10 years time most of the remaining names will be obsolete. It's kind of useless to have a "pre-stored" name list if the list cannot be updated. The manual does not indicate that updating the "pre-stored" list is possible.

The remaining positioners that I found only have 3 digits available for satellite identification. This is inadequate.

Are there any other positioners out there that I should consider?

 

[gabshere]

make sure your receiver will control the mover

although most of the newer dvb receivers should be able to control the g-box some older receivers might not.

the g-box is a good diesqc positioner several users here have them and like them.
i have the v-box III and and love the ability to control a big dish with the dvb receiver

the preset satellites , i don't know , i haven't used them. I suspect you could move the dish using the preset stored sats without a dvb receiver. making it just like an old analog receiver .

i setup using the save positions with the dvb receiver and setup one for each c-band & ku satellite.

 

[vc2]

make sure your receiver will control the mover

although most of the newer dvb receivers should be able to control the g-box some older receivers might not.

the g-box is a good diesqc positioner several users here have them and like them.
i have the v-box III and and love the ability to control a big dish with the dvb receiver

the preset satellites , i don't know , i haven't used them. I suspect you could move the dish using the preset stored sats without a dvb receiver. making it just like an old analog receiver .

i setup using the save positions with the dvb receiver and setup one for each c-band & ku satellite.

I have a Pansat 2700 receiver. It will handle DISEqC positioner control. I will probably be purchasing a new HD receiver as soon as something decent (DVB-S2 & 4:2:2 video) becomes available.

I've read the reviews on the gbox, but I'm not sure that 30 programmable positions will be sufficient. I'd like to have more. I have no use for the presets.

 

[gabshere]

with all the satellites i have saved into my v-box III one for each of (most of the satellite arc i can see ) from 50W to 139W so thats about 40+ saved positions so i'm sure the g-box can handle it ( i think it can do up to 99). these are set & saved with the pansat receiver ( using motor control diesqc 1.2) and the g-box will acknowledge the saved positions. it usually names the positions p1 - p whatever

60 Pre-stored Satellite Names & 30 Free Names at User's Choice

i think these are for if you wanted to set it up to stand alone , and you could use the remote and tell it to goto g6 and the dish would move to your saved position ( i didn't setup and use it this way so i'm guessing )


I'm sure it will work but some of the guys using a g-box will probably chime in tomorrow

 

[1captain]

The PowerTech GBOX V3000 has the largest display that I could find - 6 Digits. It advertises 60 "pre-stored" satellite names, leaving only 30 that are user programmable.

I was left with the impression that the 60 "pre-stored" name list cannot be changed.

Does anybody know if this is the case?

Many of the "pre-stored" names listed in the users manual are presently obsolete. In 10 years time most of the remaining names will be obsolete. It's kind of useless to have a "pre-stored" name list if the list cannot be updated. The manual does not indicate that updating the "pre-stored" list is possible.

The remaining positioners that I found only have 3 digits available for satellite identification. This is inadequate.

Are there any other positioners out there that I should consider?

Hi vc2, I use the Powertech G-box here, an nice unite they work very well better than the MotechII that I used before, an I have 3 of them all working Horizon to Horizon mounts, from AMC-8 to Alantic bird-1 @12.5.

now have a Cool-5000 run 1 from Alanticbird to Galaxy-27 an no problem with is storing all sats in its memory using the 1.2 mode (note: no controler will work with USALS) an on this one about 60+ satellites stored.

also have a Sonicview-8000 running 1.2m ku dish only from Galaxy-13 to Telstar-12, also no problem with a bunch of sats stored in its memory.

Now here is the problem child Pansat=9000, (or all Pansat models using the 1.2 mode) this 1 runs a 10-footer from AMC-8 to NSS-7. now the problem is with a Pansat not the G-box. Pansat will only let you store 22 satellite locations (uses # from 27 to 49), an this is our main receiver that we use, but have to use the remote for the G-box to select other sats over what the Pan wont store. but I did mine on Poistion setting like P-1, P-2 an so on. now with the Pan you can select the same location # for a C satellite an Ku satellite, like Gal-18 you can select 30 for C an 30 for the Ku bird also. Now what I had to do to get the Position #s to work was hook up the Cool-5000 to run to those sats an started program sat from east to west my far east bird is P-1 (NSS-7), then hook the Pan up an just pick up the G-box remote to select P-1 an it goes to it (also rename satellite's in the Pan with P-1 or P-2 next to their real name) makes it easy to remember.

an the satellite list in the G-box is out of date, an as far as I know their is now way to change them. but the position #s seems to work the best for use here, the only thing is that you put another remote control into the mix.

now as far as "are their any other positioners to consider" in my book noop, the only other 1 that I have used was the MotechII, an very good worked great, but like the G-boxs for their double counts, they just seem to be more acurate, an they like a motor drive with a high or fast count, an have been using them for just about a year now, an no grips about them at all.

 

[elzipa]

Really? no more than 22 satellites with Pansat...uhnmm. I have a Pansat 9200 and did not understand very weel what you mentioned above. (Is that 44 birds at the end between ku and Cband) Can I program more than 22 sats using the Pansat or there is no way to do it using combo Pansat and V-box? could you explain please.

 

[1captain]

Really? no more than 22 satellites with Pansat...uhnmm. I have a Pansat 9200 and did not understand very weel what you mentioned above. Can I program more than 22 sats using the Pansat or there is no way to do it using combo Pansat and V-box? could you explain please.

using any position controllers you have to use the 1.2 mode not USALS. an with the Pans soft-ware they will ONLY let you select # positions from 27 to 49, so that give you only 22 locations that a Pansat will run a dish to using a position controller.

now a Pansat with a Disqc motor using usals no problem you can store as many satellites that you're motor can drive to in its arc. but USALS doesnot work with any position controller.

so that is why I have to use the G-box remote to drive to my eastern sats, because from 27 to 49 is used up for the western satellites. I have got a lot of hours on the phone with Panerax about this but no fix for it as of yet, that is why I replaced a pan-3500 with a Cool-5000, but like the 3500 much better for its scanning.

 

[elzipa]

Got it Captain.. Thaks for the explanation

 

[vc2]

I called Sadourn this afternoon regarding the availability of firmware upgrades and reprogrammability of the 60 "pre-stored" names on the V3000.

The people that I spoke to had even less knowledge about the product than I did after reading the manual. They were clueless . . . So much for technical support.

I sent off an email to the manufacturer in China. We'll see what happens.

 

[dem0nlord]

My experience has been that Pansats will in fact handle position numbers starting at 1 and going up. It's true you can't enter them from the remote. However, you can place them in there when you edit a channel list with channel master and it does end up using them, the position number I put in is what shows on the gbox when I store the positions later. I currently have around 65 positions stored.

 

[1captain]

My experience has been that Pansats will in fact handle position numbers starting at 1 and going up. It's true you can't enter them from the remote. However, you can place them in there when you edit a channel list with channel master and it does end up using them, the position number I put in is what shows on the gbox when I store the positions later. I currently have around 65 positions stored.

will Channel Master work with a Pansat-9000?

 

[dem0nlord]

will Channel Master work with a Pansat-9000?

No, it doesn't. Pansat never would cough up the needed info to add their newer receivers.