Need to Complete the Setup

[linuxman]

I need to complete my setup with a DVB receiver, and I would like for you to keep the following in mind with your answers.

This is an experiment, and if all goes well which it has gone extremely well so far, I will have to pretty much duplicate it for my wife and family. They are used to just pushing buttons and getting channels from DN. I have already alerted them to TitanTV if they want to know what is on and what it's about, so that shouldn't be a problem, but it may be a problem slaving the DVB receiver to the analog with their having to move the dish with the Drake, and then tuning the DVB to the channel. Maybe I am not giving them enough credit for the ability to do that, but I would like to make this as simple and painless for them as possible.

My thought is to have the analog as a slave to the DVB receiver, with a Vbox II to move the dish. Most of what will be watched will be on the DVB most of the time. We will not probably subscribe to more than one or two channels with the VCII+ and even with doing that, once they learn where to push the buttons on the DVB receiver, they can turn on the Drake and push a button and be there.

I am using a Corotor II plus with linear LNBs so that narrows me down to Pansats as far as DVB receivers that have the ability to change the polarity on the dish. If I had a 4DTV receiver, I might seriously consider going the other way with the slave, but can't afford one right now let alone two. I have read most of the FAQ's and posts concerning the Vbox II, most which are almost a year old, and receivers that have the ability to control the polarity on my setup, so here are a couple of questions.

1. Does anyone have any new experience with the Vbox II and a 10' mesh dish? If you do, I would like to hear from you both good and bad.

2. Are there any newer DVB receivers on the market that can control the polarity on a Corotor II Plus besides the Manhattan receivers.? Remember I have to ultimately buy two of whatever I get.

3. What are the major differences between a Pansat 3500sd and a Pansat 2700a that would make me spend the extra dollars to buy the 3500sd?

4. Is there a better way to accomplish what I want to achieve?

I have appreciated greatly all your help so far, and as time goes by will try to answer some questions for others.

Please be candid and let me know your thoughts.

 

[drhydro]

1) I have heard great things about the vbox II, a lot of folks "down under" use them. I had one for a short period of time, worked great till it died and i could not get it warranty repaired.

2) Some pansat models, satworks 3688 (does not have ac-3), and manhatten recievers willl control polarity. Remember, only 1 reciever will be able to control the dish, the other reciever has to watch whatever sat/polarity the dish is pointed at.

3) I dont have a 3500, but i think the major difference is that the 3500 has a SD card reader. This can be handy for editing channel lists, upgrading software etc.

4)I set up a 2700a with a vbox II and was happy with the results, seemed to work fine until the vbox died. This was a well used unit, so i dont blame the v box for dying. At some point in the future I will probably purchase another vbox II.

 

[linuxman]

1) I have heard great things about the vbox II, a lot of folks "down under" use them. I had one for a short period of time, worked great till it died and i could not get it warranty repaired.

I had read what you had to say about the Vbox II in some of your other posts which is why I thought I would give it a try.

2) Some pansat models, satworks 3688 (does not have ac-3), and manhatten recievers willl control polarity. Remember, only 1 reciever will be able to control the dish, the other reciever has to watch whatever sat/polarity the dish is pointed at.

I can't afford the Manhatten receivers, so I thought if I would ask if any other receivers would control the polarity on the Corotor II+. Yes I understand that only the Pansat or whatever receiver is ultimately chosen will be able to control the dish.

3) I dont have a 3500, but i think the major difference is that the 3500 has a SD card reader. This can be handy for editing channel lists, upgrading software etc.

The card reader and ac-3 outputs make the Pansat 3500SD more attractive, but as far as the manner that the receiver decodes the signal, does the 3500sd do that job better than the 2700a?

4)I set up a 2700a with a vbox II and was happy with the results, seemed to work fine until the vbox died. This was a well used unit, so i dont blame the v box for dying. At some point in the future I will probably purchase another vbox II.

Thanks again for your response and all your help.

I am going to wait and see if I can get another response or two and then place an order.

 

[Das Hammer]

Have you considered swapping out the current lnb/feedhorn setup for one that can control polarity via voltage? PSB has the C/Ku all-in-one for pretty cheap. Don't have to mess around with the Drake other than using it to move the dish. The DVB receiver would automatically switch to whatever polarity it needs then. I've got a polarotor on my 10 foot dish and it can be a pain at times to keep switching polarity with the other receiver. You don't know if you're on the right one sometimes and wonder if maybe the channel disappeared.

Of course, all this depends on if you still wanted to watch stuff with the Drake, because it would in essence be slaved to the DVB because the DVB is controlling polarity at that point.

 

[linuxman]

Hi there Mr. Hammer,

I have considered that as a distinct possibility. As I said, this is the experiment, and if I get the good wholesome programming that I think I will, making a few changes to the second setup for the family will be much easier to slide past my accountant wife.

While I am thinking about it, is there a way even if using a mechanical A-B switch of some type to change from one receiver to the other and allow that receiver to power the polarity while using it.

I thought I had read on another thread here that the Pansat would allow the polarity to pass through when turned off. I can't find that thread now for the life of me, but I would like to hear thoughts on how the idea above might work or not.

Regardless, the Vbox II would control dish movement for both receivers.

 

[Lynskyn]

Hey Das Hammer, I like your Avatar. I remember using Westar 5, Channel 2 when aligning C Band dishes back in the 80's. I could always count on that joker to be there with a strong signal.