This is advanced "geekyness" stuff....
[Warning: Do not attempt to modify your channel file unless you have done this type of thing before, realize that this could possibly cause your reciever to become useless, the receiver would not be covered under warranty, and you would need to buy a new receiver.]
I found the location in the Mercury II channel file where the diseqc positioner numbers are stored for positioners such as the VBox II.
The location in the channel file is (hex) 0xE200.
Note that I am using Mercury firmware version V0145. It is possible that this data is in a different location for other firmware versions or that it may be moved/changed with future versions.
The stored satellite position numbers on my Vbox II appear on the VBox display as.
P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P10, P11, etc.
The above is decimal.
The positioner numbers stored at 0xE200 are hex...
P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P0A, P0B, etc.
The hex number stored at location 0xE200 corresponds to the first satellite in the satellite list on the Mercury with the listing set to default (not sort by position). So...
1st satellite in list = location 0xE200
2nd satellite in list = location 0xE201
3rd satellite in list = location 0xE202
etc.
So for example I could store 01 to location 0xE200. Then I could download the modified channel file to the Mercury and go to the first satellite in the default (unsorted) list and it would move the dish to Vbox position P01. Or store 1E to the same location and it would move the dish to Vbox position P30. (Assuming that these positions have already been stored in the Vbox.)
With a blank channel file where no satellite positions have been saved, FF is stored at each location.
This explains the problem of deleting satellites in the satellite list and then getting the wrong corresponding VBox positions for some or many satellites. When a satellite is deleted from the list, all of the remaining satellites below that satellite move up the list one. But this is not done with the stored position numbers apparently.
So...
Sat 1 = P01
Sat 2 = P02
Sat 3 = P03
Sat 4 = P04
Sat 5 = P05
Then delete Sat 2 from list. Then you get...
Sat 1 = P01
Sat 3 = P02
Sat 4 = P03
Sat 5 = P04
I wanted my Vbox to number the satellites P01, P02, P03, etc. in order from east to west. But when I first got my Mercury, I did not save the satellites in this order. So now I was able to do factory reset on the Vbox, save all the satellites in order using a new clean mercury channel file, then go back to my existing channel file and switch the position numbers to the new numbers. Now they go P01, P02, P03, etc. east to west and I can look at the Vbox and know where the dish is pointed.
I found this location in the channel file using a clean channel file and saving the satellites as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. on the default list starting at the first satellite in the list. Then I searched the channel file for data: 01 02 03 04. There was only one location with this data.
Then I wrote down the positioner numbers (decimal) for my existing channel file satellite list (default sort) and converted these to hex (32 31 0A 10) and searched for these in that file. Same location! (0xE200)
[Warning: Do not attempt to modify your channel file unless you have done this type of thing before, realize that this could possibly cause your reciever to become useless, the receiver would not be covered under warranty, and you would need to buy a new receiver.]
I found the location in the Mercury II channel file where the diseqc positioner numbers are stored for positioners such as the VBox II.
The location in the channel file is (hex) 0xE200.
Note that I am using Mercury firmware version V0145. It is possible that this data is in a different location for other firmware versions or that it may be moved/changed with future versions.
The stored satellite position numbers on my Vbox II appear on the VBox display as.
P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P10, P11, etc.
The above is decimal.
The positioner numbers stored at 0xE200 are hex...
P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P0A, P0B, etc.
The hex number stored at location 0xE200 corresponds to the first satellite in the satellite list on the Mercury with the listing set to default (not sort by position). So...
1st satellite in list = location 0xE200
2nd satellite in list = location 0xE201
3rd satellite in list = location 0xE202
etc.
So for example I could store 01 to location 0xE200. Then I could download the modified channel file to the Mercury and go to the first satellite in the default (unsorted) list and it would move the dish to Vbox position P01. Or store 1E to the same location and it would move the dish to Vbox position P30. (Assuming that these positions have already been stored in the Vbox.)
With a blank channel file where no satellite positions have been saved, FF is stored at each location.
This explains the problem of deleting satellites in the satellite list and then getting the wrong corresponding VBox positions for some or many satellites. When a satellite is deleted from the list, all of the remaining satellites below that satellite move up the list one. But this is not done with the stored position numbers apparently.
So...
Sat 1 = P01
Sat 2 = P02
Sat 3 = P03
Sat 4 = P04
Sat 5 = P05
Then delete Sat 2 from list. Then you get...
Sat 1 = P01
Sat 3 = P02
Sat 4 = P03
Sat 5 = P04
I wanted my Vbox to number the satellites P01, P02, P03, etc. in order from east to west. But when I first got my Mercury, I did not save the satellites in this order. So now I was able to do factory reset on the Vbox, save all the satellites in order using a new clean mercury channel file, then go back to my existing channel file and switch the position numbers to the new numbers. Now they go P01, P02, P03, etc. east to west and I can look at the Vbox and know where the dish is pointed.
I found this location in the channel file using a clean channel file and saving the satellites as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. on the default list starting at the first satellite in the list. Then I searched the channel file for data: 01 02 03 04. There was only one location with this data.
Then I wrote down the positioner numbers (decimal) for my existing channel file satellite list (default sort) and converted these to hex (32 31 0A 10) and searched for these in that file. Same location! (0xE200)
