How To North Americanize Your AZBOX

[stargaze]

Ha Ha! Yes, I am still baffled and amazed with that one! It is not supposed to be possible, but you are doing it! I cannot argue with that. I have set up switches in manners that were totally against the rules and made them work, too. So, not everything we are told is impossible, is really impossible.

Problem was I was not told anything. I asked a question on Sat guys months ago asking but never received 1 reply and the thing never came with any instructions. I just did what I did and it worked fine ever since, then when you found out you told me it was not possible but here I was doing it. Go figure!
Guess it is one of those things where "YMMV".

 

[stargaze]

It looks like I did everything like you. It was subsequent changes/refinements where my problems began. This stuff is just too unstable to be trustworthy. I'll bet we'll continue to have difficulties with Enigma when it comes into general use. They need to release the source code to everyone so we'd get more corrections done faster. IMHO. It would be nice if they got the high bit rate recording problem and Diseqc issues fixed/improved also.

Johnny, when you stop fighting the receiver and work within the means we have you may have some surprising results.
Sure we all wish for better things but at this moment this is what we have and instead of fighting it just try working with it.
Not everyone has the same results with the different editor programs. Radar likes one better than I do, it does not make us hate things; we end up with the results we want even though the programs we use are different but they work for us on our equipment.
If one program shows the correct items you need for your system then go with that program. This process is meant to get your system up and running so you can sit back and enjoy FTA TV.

I also suggest to try thinking ahead when making changes to the satellite/channel lists. Add a couple dummy's in so in the future you will not have to go in and edit things.
I also realize you are using some controls that I am not using here but once set up properly you should not have to go in making constant changes.

Now, with some new experimental firmware upgrade on the horizon, Unless you are into being a beta tester, sit back and wait till those testing it out work out the bugs.

The first time I posted how to North Americanize the Azbox people complained it was too long of a process. I could not ever find a shortcut that would work and remain working other than what I had done. The receivers I tried taking a shortcut on would seem to end up having problems within a few days time, the receivers I had that used the long drawn out process have never had a problem since day 1.

I have even gone as far as zipping up some files for people who had their system set up exactly like mine, and they are sitting back watching TV without the hassles many people face simply by installing them using specific programs.
I stated many times that I am not a computer wiz by any means but I am willing to learn which is what makes all the difference. Not saying you don't want to learn, but it seems like you have some specific problems and I wonder if they are because you have not completed something along the way using the proper process.
I have found that even after all this time, I find myself missing one minor step or overlooking it and then I end up beginning all over from scratch just to make sure nothing corrupt goes back to the receiver.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Version c

Try AZBoxEdit version 0.9.2880a instead. That is the only item that I can point out as being unique.

RADAR

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Johnny, when you stop fighting the receiver and work within the means we have you may have some surprising results.
Sure we all wish for better things but at this moment this is what we have and instead of fighting it just try working with it.
Not everyone has the same results with the different editor programs. Radar likes one better than I do, it does not make us hate things; we end up with the results we want even though the programs we use are different but they work for us on our equipment.
If one program shows the correct items you need for your system then go with that program. This process is meant to get your system up and running so you can sit back and enjoy FTA TV.

I also suggest to try thinking ahead when making changes to the satellite/channel lists. Add a couple dummy's in so in the future you will not have to go in and edit things.
I also realize you are using some controls that I am not using here but once set up properly you should not have to go in making constant changes.

Now, with some new experimental firmware upgrade on the horizon, Unless you are into being a beta tester, sit back and wait till those testing it out work out the bugs.

The first time I posted how to North Americanize the Azbox people complained it was too long of a process. I could not ever find a shortcut that would work and remain working other than what I had done. The receivers I tried taking a shortcut on would seem to end up having problems within a few days time, the receivers I had that used the long drawn out process have never had a problem since day 1.

I have even gone as far as zipping up some files for people who had their system set up exactly like mine, and they are sitting back watching TV without the hassles many people face simply by installing them using specific programs.
I stated many times that I am not a computer wiz by any means but I am willing to learn which is what makes all the difference. Not saying you don't want to learn, but it seems like you have some specific problems and I wonder if they are because you have not completed something along the way using the proper process.
I have found that even after all this time, I find myself missing one minor step or overlooking it and then I end up beginning all over from scratch just to make sure nothing corrupt goes back to the receiver.

OK OK. I'll quit asking anyone any questions or reporting problems. Goodbye!!

 

[AcWxRadar]

OK OK. I'll quit asking anyone any questions or reporting problems. Goodbye!!

JohnnyN,

Please don't misunderstand the information that StarGaze was trying to relay to you. He isn't chastising you for anything you did or did not do here in this process. He is just trying to reiterate that this is a very quirky adventure and every "t" must be crossed and every "i" must be dotted all the way along. I have my system and my AZBox functioning perfectly now by simply trying different avenues over and over again. The instructions and the results may differ for each individual as there are some incompatibility issues with the support programs that we are installing and with our specific OS versions (XP, Vista, 7, etc).

My fear is that the author/s of the support programs created them with one specific operating system and did not fully realize the implications of running their software with another OS. I don't intend to state that I know this as a fact, it is just a speculation. But, it is probably a legitimate suspicion if nothing else. For instance, you can open a DOS application with all Windows OS, but that is nothing more than a simulated DOS operating system, it is NOT a true or the original DOS. Therefore, some corners have been cut and some instructions may not be fully applied or implemented.

Do notice that there are no ACC or AZBoxEdit or MazEdit programs that are dedicated to Windows XP versus one that is dedicated for Windows Vista or 7 or one for a Mac? You can bet that there are glitches here due to that fact. The support programs are relying upon the resident OS in your PC to work properly. If the author or compiler created these files with a Windows XP system in mind, they should work just great. Apply the same program on a Windows 7 system, and some library or DLL or OSX file might be missing or different.

I myself, not being a computer geek, would not know when to expect these deficiencies or how to deal with them right away.

If any of what I explain here makes any sense to you, then you will understand why these glitches exist. These deficiencies are hard to detect and identify, unless the program you are trying to run absolutely comes out and informs you that it couldn't find a specific file. If you see that, then you should write down the file name and you can go off to Google and locate it and install it on your PC.

Beyond this, I hope that you understand that none of us have found all this to be perfect from the start, either. We waded through all the glitches to just get one step beyond and then found another glitch to deal with. You will have to come to the realization that this is a major learning enterprise and an intense hobby for those who wish to be challenged.

You will be able to figure this out, your problem is not a huge one and you will find the answers, too. Please take notes as you go, for others - if you will.

RADAR

 

[tonydix]

Thanks to all for their helpfull comments. I have succeeded in editing my channel list .
The key for me seems to be :-
Download with Filezilla
Edit with AZBox edit
Send the edited files back to the box with AZBox ControlCentre.
Use the box remote to edit you satellite freq and Disq settings.

This last step is a nuisance for me since I have about 10 different satellites scanned into the box.
Is there a better alternative to this last step ?
Thanks
Tony

 

[AcWxRadar]

Thanks to all for their helpfull comments. I have succeeded in editing my channel list .
The key for me seems to be :-
Download with Filezilla
Edit with AZBox edit
Send the edited files back to the box with AZBox ControlCentre.
Use the box remote to edit you satellite freq and Disq settings.

This last step is a nuisance for me since I have about 10 different satellites scanned into the box.
Is there a better alternative to this last step ?
Thanks
Tony

Tony,

You can edit many of the parameters while in the AZBoxEdit program. This takes a little experimentation to understand how, but it is not too difficult.

What you cannot do is set the DiSEqC 1.2 motor positions ahead of time. You can prescribe each satellite as DiSEqC position #1, #2, #3, etc, but you still have to drive your motor to find the satellite and then store the position. This is because DiSEqC 1.2 positions are stored in the motor, and not in the receiver. This still must be accomplished manually.

USALS works fine from the editor as this uses the satellite orbital position and your site's lat/long to calculate the command to send to the motor.

RADAR

 

[putney]

I vote that this post be a sticky!