My Visionsat IV 200 PVR Arrived

[dennis33]

As soon as I got it I hooked it up to a TV to get used to the menus. I deleted all of the items in the Channel List, most of which were premium channels ($). Then I looked at the Application Version which is 2.30. I assume that this is the firmware version?!?

Should I just do a factory reset then load v1.45 (which seems to be the latest version). Not sure what 2.30 is.

I also hooked it up to my lnb/dish and tried to locate 97W, but since there's a bunch of trees spanning my southern view here I wasn't expecting much. I can't wait until I get it to the barn in Pennsylvania which has a unrestricted southern view from east to west!!

Now I know why you need the box and monitor next to the dish for setup. I made about 20 trips back-and-forth into the house. That won't happen tomorrow at the barn when I'll use my small 5" TV outside.

What I did see was the level showed about 36-39 no matter where I pointed the dish. The quality was always '0' but I ran an 'Auto Detect" anyway which found nothing - as did the blind scan. I hope that the LNB is working correctly.

Also, I'm not sure about the LNB frequency that I should use. I tried them all and the level went down for some so I stayed with 11250 which had the highest level.

I'm glad that I spent a few hours running through this setup even though I didn't get any reception today. It should make tomorrow's setup a little easier.

Next on the list to buy will be a SG2100 or DG280.

Dennis

 

[brentb636]

Look on your lnb for a clue to the LO frequency. If it's linear, hopefully it's a standard lnb with LO=10750 . If it's a Universal lnbf the LO is probably 9750/10600, for the two bands, with 22khz=AUTO in the setup. The LO of 11250 is for circular polarity subscription birds.

 

[Mr Tony]

2.30 is most likely hackerware (and the $ channels being in there kinda solidifies it)

I would load 1.45 in there to clean out the bugs. JUst load it through the USB option

The LNB setting should be 10750 if its a standard...11250 is for DBS LNB's

 

[dennis33]

Thanks Iceberg,

Should I do a factory reset first?

I'll stick to 10750.

2.30 is most likely hackerware (and the $ channels being in there kinda solidifies it)

I would load 1.45 in there to clean out the bugs. JUst load it through the USB option

The LNB setting should be 10750 if its a standard...11250 is for DBS LNB's

 

[Bill_KY]

I use my Visionsat IV 200 PVR as my main "install receiver". As soon as you start to get a quality signal the strength and quality level indicator turns to blue.

Use the "List"

SatelliteGuys.US - TheList

And use the calculator by entering your zip code.

Satellite Angle Calculator - SatelliteGuys.US

This will tell you how to aim the dish, remember skew is as important as azimuth and elevation. I would do the skew first then work with elevation and then direction.

Based on the calculator... (FOR MY AREA) The, skew is 14.7 Left, 43 degrees elevation and 199 geographic azimuth to 204 magnetic azimuth for 97 West. of course your area will be different.



You can easily change all the parameters if needed like with 125W Ku. For instance 125W is now Ku Band, but on the antenna setup menu only 125W C Band is available. No problem...just go to 125W change the TP parameters to the ones required for 125W Ku and start aiming the dish.

Example...For Montana Legislature on 125W Ku .........You would edit the TP (Transponder) info on the Visionsat to these parameters.

TP 11958
H
2531

And if you have a single LNB set it to 10750

Watch for strength and quality turn BLUE as you aim the dish...

Good Luck

 

[dennis33]

Thanks again, Bill.

I printed out things from dishpointer.com, TheList and Satellite Angle Calculator. I also made a word document of a few messages from this forum that relate to setting up a dish and the Visionsat box. Nothing left to do but getting to the site and set everything up tomorrow (unless someone else has some last minute words of encouragement).

I'll give an update when I get back on Sunday.

Dennis

BTW, What is the Level Indicator showing in the Dish Setting menu? I had 36-39% on it, but 0% in the Quality bar.

 

[Jim S.]

I don't remember, have you had the speech about how some dishes' elevation scales are inaccurate yet? What I usually do is pre-set the elevation, then line up the azimuth as best as I can with a compass and start moving it very slowly til I find the satellite. If I can't find it that way, I move back to where I'm getting the highest signal level and then start tweaking the elevation. Just yesterday I was aiming for 97 and found a satellite, but much much weaker than 97 should've been. When I looked at where I had ended up in azimuth, I knew it couldn't possibly be 97. When I scanned it, I could tell from the channels that I found that I was over on 103, so my elevation scale was about 4 degrees off.

The level indicator, or signal indicator on some models, is the amount of power coming from the LNB. It will vary according to how close you are to a satellite, but it won't tell you anything about whether it's the satellite you're looking for. That's why you need to have a valid symbol rate as well as an active transponder frequency, so you can see by the Quality indicator how much of the digital data is being recovered.

 

[phlatwound]

The Visionsat also has a feature where you can activate an audible beeping tone (through your television speaker), that increases in speed as the quality goes up.

I think it is called Extended Signal and you press the blue button to activate it, can't remember which menu it is available in.

 

[dennis33]

I don't remember, have you had the speech about how some dishes' elevation scales are inaccurate yet? What I usually do is pre-set the elevation, then line up the azimuth as best as I can with a compass and start moving it very slowly til I find the satellite. If I can't find it that way, I move back to where I'm getting the highest signal level and then start tweaking the elevation. Just yesterday I was aiming for 97 and found a satellite, but much much weaker than 97 should've been. When I looked at where I had ended up in azimuth, I knew it couldn't possibly be 97. When I scanned it, I could tell from the channels that I found that I was over on 103, so my elevation scale was about 4 degrees off.

Yeah, the arrow pointing to the elevation scale is several degrees wide! I already set the elevation for the 97W sat but I'll keep that in mind when I'm setting up the dish this weekend. I guess that I should bring a list of channels for nearby satellites so I can tell which direction that I'm off if that happens to me.

Dennis

 

[ken2400]

Do you have a signal meter? I wasted a few hours before getting to this site and finding out how much funner digital vers analog.
I find the basic ones work good. I have moved onto a channel Master 1004IFD that works good too.

Good luck :up

 

[guapoharry]

Does this receiver still have the problem where it has trouble blind scanning through DiSEqC switches?

 

[dennis33]

Do you have a signal meter? I wasted a few hours before getting to this site and finding out how much funner digital vers analog.
I find the basic ones work good. I have moved onto a channel Master 1004IFD that works good too.

Good luck :up

Thanks Ken,

No I don't have a meter yet. After this weekend I'll know what I'll need. That's why I holding off on getting a H-H motor. I might have a shopping list by Sunday and order whatever I need.

Dennis

 

[dennis33]

Does this receiver still have the problem where it has trouble blind scanning through DiSEqC switches?

I don't think that I'm qualified to answer that question!

 

[dennis33]

2.30 is most likely hackerware (and the $ channels being in there kinda solidifies it)

I would load 1.45 in there to clean out the bugs. JUst load it through the USB option

The LNB setting should be 10750 if its a standard...11250 is for DBS LNB's

I loaded 1.45 then deleted a bunch of MUSIC$ entries in the list. Now it's a blank slate waiting for a satellite to be detected!

 

[dennis33]

The Visionsat also has a feature where you can activate an audible beeping tone (through your television speaker), that increases in speed as the quality goes up.

I think it is called Extended Signal and you press the blue button to activate it, can't remember which menu it is available in.

I saw the Extended Signal button and I hope that it's still there after the downgrade to v1.45.

Thanks, Dennis

 

[avg1joe]

You might read this thread:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/175392-setting-up-my-visionsat.html

I searched for your lnbf but can't figure out if it is standard 10750 or universal 10600. You might try both LO's if no one knows for sure.

Instead of a satellite meter I would recommend getting a long enough extension cord and a little tv to put the tv and visionsat right next to the dish. It is very helpful being able to change tps and channels while you are right there fiddling with the dish. I found a little 5 inch tv on craigslist for $5 just for that purpose.

While you are aiming make sure that you have a live tp chosen. Sometimes I have found it helpful to delete all the tps from the satellite except the tp I'm using for aiming. This guarantees that I have chosen a live tp since its the only one there. Once you have tuned the heck out of that tp scan all the others in and then tune them by making very small adjustments.

Ignore signal strength. You are looking for quality.

Have fun. There is nothing cooler than catching that first signal with a new box.

 

[dennis33]

Instead of a satellite meter I would recommend getting a long enough extension cord and a little tv to put the tv and visionsat right next to the dish. It is very helpful being able to change tps and channels while you are right there fiddling with the dish. I found a little 5 inch tv on craigslist for $5 just for that purpose.


Ignore signal strength. You are looking for quality.

Have fun. There is nothing cooler than catching that first signal with a new box.

I have my 5" ready to go with me and 10-4 on 'looking for quality'!

Thanks,

Dennis

 

[Tron]

Does this receiver still have the problem where it has trouble blind scanning through DiSEqC switches?

No, that was fixed a couple of updates ago. V1.45 doesn't have that issue.

 

[phlatwound]

I saw the Extended Signal button and I hope that it's still there after the downgrade to v1.45.

Thanks, Dennis

That feature is definitely still there with v1.45.

I just remembered, not only does Extended Signal have the audible tone, it expands the size of of S & Q meters to cover about 1/2 the TV screen.

And I know 2.3 is higher numerically, but I don't think v1.45 should be considered a "downgrade".

 

[dennis33]

And I know 2.3 is higher numerically, but I don't think v1.45 should be considered a "downgrade".

Thanks phlat.

I'm sure that v1.45 is the one that I want to be using. And, yes, I saw that the Extended Signal is much bigger. It should make things a little easier. With this added function, would you still think that a signal meter would help?

I have my packet of printouts from this forum and I'm on my way to set up the dish!! It looks like the weather will cooperate, too!

Dennis