AZBOX Tuners for the Premium Pluss

[Flinthill]

I've had a Coolsat 3000 for some years. Decided to upgrade and today ordered a Premium Plus. I have asked AzboxUSA about which tuners come with the unit and which ones I will need to simultaneously receive and record FTA channels (especially on AMC 21 [125deg]). Never received an answer that clarified the issue and hope someone can get me started with this new unit. I'm looking forward to again receiving OETA and Montana, especially in HD.

Thanks,

Ron

 

[1inabillion]

I've had a Coolsat 3000 for some years. Decided to upgrade and today ordered a Premium Plus. I have asked AzboxUSA about which tuners come with the unit and which ones I will need to simultaneously receive and record FTA channels (especially on AMC 21 [125deg]). Never received an answer that clarified the issue and hope someone can get me started with this new unit. I'm looking forward to again receiving OETA and Montana, especially in HD.

Thanks,


Ron

You will get em with the AzPplusHd. love the 2 i have. you will get all the good stuff

welcome 2 the group.

 

[Flinthill]

1inabillion, thanks for the reply. According to the person at AzboxUSA the P+ set will include 1 "Satellite S/S2 tuner", 1 "Terrestrial OFDM tuner" and 1 "Cable QAM tuner". I didn't fully comprehend his reply but I think that is what he meant. Since we don't have any cable here, and for that matter very few terrestrial signals (West Texas), the Premium Plus will be used exclusively with FTA. That being the case, do you think I will need to replace either the "Terrestrial or Cable" tuner with another S/S2 tuners in order to watch one TP while recording another?

Thanks,

Ron

 

[AcWxRadar]

Flinthill,

You had better speak with that person again, as I am sure that they are WRONG!

You will normally only get ONE tuner and it will be the DVBS-2 tuner for for satellite reception.

You would have to special order the SECOND tuner, regardless of what type of tuner it is.

Speak to the person you spoke to before and force them to clarify their statement. Tell them that I personally believe that they are misleading you or they don't know what they are talking about. Tell them that what "I" believe is that they meant to say that you have the option to acquire and install the additional second tuner of your choice, at an additional cost, and they would be required to order the second tuner from OpenSat for you, upon your request.

The AZBox Premium Plus does NOT come equipped with TWO tuners. It just has the option to INSTALL a second tuner of your choice, if you can acquire that tuner. The problem being in the acquisition of that second tuner.

Let us know what they say once you confront them and be certain to demand that THEY put it in writing before you commit to the purchase.

RADAR

 

[Flinthill]

AcWxRadar

Thanks for your reply. I had done research on several forums about the Premium + prior to placing an order. The decision to purchase this particular receiver was based in large part on the wide acceptance by many folks that appear to be heavily involved in FTA equipment.

I received the vague email about the tuners AFTER placing the order for the receiver, so they were not in any way attempting to be deceptive. In retrospect it could be the person at AzboxUSA was just detailing all the available tuners, rather than providing a list of ones included. Had I based my purchase decision on their input your concerns would be very valid.

Your reply has been helpful in clearing up the question about specifically which tuner is included with the receiver. And, now it sounds like there might be some difficulty in securing another DBBS-2 tuner. Do you have any suggestion where they might be available?

I appreciate your concerns and information.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Over the last year or so I've tried several times to buy a second S2 tuner for my AZ but NONE is available through that dealer in Miami and I wouldn't have one from rick if it was given to me.

I wanted a second one so I could split C and Ku but so far I haven't found one. They had a bunch of other tuners available on fleabay but NO S2.

If you find a source for those I'd like to know about it.

 

[Flinthill]

Lone Gunman,

OK, will do. I have several inquiries out and will see what the response is. Hopefully, there are some available. I read in a post somewhere that AZBOX is still in the process of developing firmware that will support the second tuner. Have you heard anything about this?

 

[AcWxRadar]

Flinthill,

I have not done much checking on the availability of the second tuner from any sources in N.A. recently, so my information may be outdated. The only sources I had found earlier in the year were from Europe. I am not to keen on overseas purchases like this as they are a hassle. You have to make a wire transfer from your bank to the bank account of the seller and fill out some really odd paperwork.

It is rather cumbersome because of the currency exchange rate and the fee for the wire transfer itself. It isn't a very easy task to buy direct from an overseas company in this manner and results in additional costs over the actual price of the product. If a business makes the transaction, like a bulk sale, they get by easier I believe.

RADAR

 

[beavs2112]

just fyi. i purchased a second dvb-s2 tuner card from opensat's AZBox official website. I created an account with a credit card. The only snag was when I had to put in the taxes. I put in N/A meaning not applicable but i think they interpreted that as North America so i recieved and e-mail a day later asking for my Canadian tax number so i replied i was a regular citizen and not a corporation and didn't have one. the purchase cleared with my CC co and it arrived five days later. unfortunately i think you can only get express shipping on international orders but maybe that's changed. this was a couple of months ago. if i remember the card was $100 canadian dollars and the shipping was an additional $80 canadian. i think also these guys are a canadian distributor http://www.drsat.ca/ maybe they sell tuners also. i am not endorsing anyone here just providing some info so other members can make an informed choice where to spend their money.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Last night, I took a little excursion to search for this and found that "axboxusa" has secondary DVB-S2 tuners to fit the AZBox premium plus receivers in stock!

I ordered one to test.

It was about $73 or $78, somewhere in there with all S&H fees. I will install it and see if it works and let you know what I find out.

RADAR

 

[Flinthill]

Lone Gunman, Radar:

I too located the DVBS-2 tuner at Azboxusa.com. I email them and they said they were in stock and will ship within 48 hours of order receipt. The lady I communicated with admonished me to be careful about the "programming" after I installed the tuner. She also said there is no manual available and they do not have any technical support. This brings up the question as to whether or not the receivers existing firmware will support the second tuner or does it need to be updated?

 

[AcWxRadar]

Flinthill,

This might prove useful.

 

[beavs2112]

that's good that azbox usa has the tuners on their webstore now.

@ flinthill. the second tuner works as expected in my premium plus. it wasn't too difficult to install hopefully you feel comfortable doing it. it's similar to installing another circuit board in a computer. just remember to follow basic electronic common sense eg. turn the azbox off before installing the board. the 2nd tuner fit well and secure into the second slot. i have it hooked up to my ku dish (Stab HH120 motor/Invacom QPH-031?1 meter dish combo) and i am running version 5020 SW in mine. the first tuner is hooked up to my c-band setup.

 

[AcWxRadar]

that's good that azbox usa has the tuners on their webstore now.

@ flinthill. the second tuner works as expected in my premium plus. it wasn't too difficult to install hopefully you feel comfortable doing it. it's similar to installing another circuit board in a computer. just remember to follow basic electronic common sense eg. turn the azbox off before installing the board. the 2nd tuner fit well and secure into the second slot. i have it hooked up to my ku dish (Stab HH120 motor/Invacom QPH-031?1 meter dish combo) and i am running version 5020 SW in mine. the first tuner is hooked up to my c-band setup.

Beavs,

Excellent buddy! You can help us out with our questions when they arise! I am off work today (weird shift) and I wish I had my new 2nd tuner in hand to install and set up. I will have to wait a few days for it to arrive.

RADAR

 

[beavs2112]

hi AcWxRadar i haven't gotten too serious into the second tuner and simultaneous recordings because i end up watching just one show at a time. also i have been really busy ironing some kinks outa my c-band system and working on my maz/acc/az channel list. but i'll be glad to help.

just a quick note .... while my azbox was doing a blindscan i had some time (fellow az owners know what i mean ) so i looked at azboxusa's website and there is a typo i believe. when you look at the DVB-S tuner card (for the premium plus) features and it has listed some quick info that i think is obviously wrong and is just a typo error. here's a copy of what i am referring to: "
Quick Overview

TUNER AZBOX DVBS2 DVB-S2 FOR AZBOX HD+ PLUS SPECIAL DESING BRASIL AND SOUTH AMERICA"

I don't think a DVB-S/DVB-S2 tuner card is specifically designed just (or only) for "BRASIL AND SOUTH AMERICA". It may work there also but S2 tuner cards work quite well in North America also thank you very much. I believe what has happened is their web designer guys/gals did a cut and paste from another tuner card (the ISDB-T perhaps?) and forgot to remove the wrong/confusing info. or maybe they don't know the difference.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Beavs,

There is something unique regarding the S.A. (and expressly the Brazilian) terrestrial broadcasts. They have adopted a unique format for their transmission. I don't know much about it, if anything except that I know that it exists. I also never attempted to research what it was all about. I guess because I never planned to move there (hee hee).

They probably had a language translation error moreso than just a simple typo. As you said, probably more akin to a cut and paste error regarding the ISDB-T tuner and the DVB-S2 tuner. They probably didn't realize that they were making an error since they either couldn't read the language or didn't understand the technical information, so their cut and paste was basically just blind.

I do think it is a rather funny faux pas or error, now that you mention it. Heh!

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

hi AcWxRadar i haven't gotten too serious into the second tuner and simultaneous recordings because i end up watching just one show at a time. also i have been really busy ironing some kinks outa my c-band system and working on my maz/acc/az channel list. but i'll be glad to help.

Same here Beavs. I am trying to get "acquainted" with the quirks of these programs as well. I have some discrepancies that I haven't figured out quite yet. Everything seems to work fairly well, but there is some information displayed that is confusing me.

For one example, I have one satellite that is set up to use DiSEqC 1.2 motor positioning (Hispasat @ 30°W) and all the others use USALS. When I download the files from the AZBox to my PC, the satellite list shows that Hispasat is set up to use USALS and 97°W is set up to use DiSEqC 1.2.

This is confusing the heck out of me. I can upload and download the list and it doesn't change how the AZBox uses the information. So, the AZBox still continues to work properly and everything is normal, but the channel editor (the antenna list/DVBS display) in AZBoxEdit shows it incorrectly or seems to map it incorrectly.

I won't go into that in depth here, not until I have more information.

RADAR

 

[Flinthill]

RADAR

Thanks for the "dual tuner" pdf. That is the kind of information I will be hunting for. I'm looking forward to the results of the second tuner installation.

Beavs2112

Thanks for the guidance. It has been some time now since I last built a computer but the installation doesn't sound much different from that. I'm glad you have some experience with these matters because you could soon become the go-to Guru for us. :>) Hope you don't mind.

Flinthill

 

[Flinthill]

Good and bad. Just received the new Premium Plus receiver. Opened the carton to make sure everything arrived intact (it did) only to find the power cord is for use with a 250V power source. I guess someone at Azboxusa.com thinks Texas actually went ahead and seceded, and then joined Western Europe.

Nope, we're still part of the good ole USA, dust storms, horses, pickup trucks and ya'all. But now the challenge is to find an 250/120 adapter in WEST Texas, where the mantra of all retailers here is "we can order it for you". I'll start with Wally World but don't hold out much hope. The 1 TB HDD arrived yesterday and I really want to get underway. I don't see this adapter listed on the Azboxusa.com site. I'm sure I can find it by searching but wanted to get started now. You'd never know I was ready to replace the Coolsat would you??? :>)

Flinthill

 

[AcWxRadar]

Good and bad. Just received the new Premium Plus receiver. Opened the carton to make sure everything arrived intact (it did) only to find the power cord is for use with a 250V power source. I guess someone at Azboxusa.com thinks Texas actually went ahead and seceded, and then joined Western Europe.

Nope, we're still part of the good ole USA, dust storms, horses, pickup trucks and ya'all. But now the challenge is to find an 250/120 adapter in WEST Texas, where the mantra of all retailers here is "we can order it for you". I'll start with Wally World but don't hold out much hope. The 1 TB HDD arrived yesterday and I really want to get underway. I don't see this adapter listed on the Azboxusa.com site. I'm sure I can find it by searching but wanted to get started now. You'd never know I was ready to replace the Coolsat would you??? :>)

Flinthill

Flinthill,

Don't fret! Try Radio Shack!

You can also buy a power converter if you wish (VC-200W). Then the plug on the end of the cord will fit the output receptacle of the converter and the voltage output will be 220 VAC. But, you can more simply just get the mechanical adapter for the plug and go directly to the 110/120 VAC 60Hz wall outlet.

I bought the VC-200W power converter because others were reporting problems with power supply failures and I thought this converter might help me prevent problems. I am now secure in believing that there was just a bad lot of power supplies produced back then. I have not heard anyone reporting a P.S. issue for a long, long time now.

This is yet another item that they do not discuss in the manual! I did contact Opensat at first and question them on the input voltage required. They assured me that it was manufactured to accept 110/120 VAC @ 60 Hz as well as up to 220 VAC @ 50 Hz.

RADAR