Anolog-Sidecar (905), summary??

[esteveW]

I don't seem to understand this combo. I thought I did but have my doubts now.

I have a Toshiba 1820 and Motorola 905 sidecar and I have hooked it up with the 905. Rechecked this several times.

I have also been aligning my new (old) 10' dish for the past 8 days. I have verified the feed horn alignemnt and f/d, etc.. I believe I have this pretty close and get a strong signal strength 90-99 however, the highest quality I have had is 4 and presently I'm getting a 1. I can get a clear B/W picture on either end of the arc and with a little tweaking at near south. I just can't (never had) trace of color.

All of the above is posted in several previous threads.

I'm thinking, maybe a problem with the C LNB (I haven't concerned myself with the Ku yet.). Or perhaps the receiver combo.

Last night I tried going to the anolog directly I got the same B/W picture. Crisp and clear, but no color. I haven't found anyway to monitor signal on this receiver other than a bar graph on the set display.

Another thing I don't like about this STB is there doesn't seem to be anyway to program in new(er) satellite designations. I seem to stuck with the 42 factory set designations even though I can move these in and out of a 24 slot menu.

Now I still haven't really figured out the interaction of the digital Sidecar 905. It has different set of factory satellite designation and only a few correspond ot the those in the Toshiba. The list doesn't seem to have all of those on the NPS llist.

To add to this confusion. The 905 reminds me to have the anolog set to the same satellite. I have frequent problems there since the they seldom have the same satellites in their memory.

I don't know if I'm receiving digital when I'm on the Toshiba and I have never had any kind of picture when I switch to the 905. It always says "not service avaliable----". The only reception I ever get is when I'm on the anolog STB.

I have to put all this aside for a while. 8 days too much time to spend on one problem.

Anything I have missed?? Maybe I need a new C band LNB?? or I'm thinking a better anolog reciever. (anything that is more user freindly)?

Thanks for reading my sad story.

Steve

 

[Hermitman]

I'll give it a guess. First, I would connect the analog receiver alone and get a color picture. Then worry about the 905. And getting a clear picture is half the battle. What happens when you move the polorizer? If the picture fades out and comes back, then its working. If you are using the coax to connect to the tv, is it set to the same channel as the receiver (3 for 3, 4 for 4)? Is the tv set capable of displaying color? Are the receiver menus in color?

On the 905, if you don't get a green dish icon on the indicator panel (it stays red), then you're not locked on to a 4dtv signal and the receiver won't decode any signals. That's the big thing, getting the dish icon green. Once you get the green icon, then you can shoot for the highest quality. Good luck.

 

[Inno]

As for the satellite names not matching, that's something you'll just have to learn to live with.
Skyvision has some charts that may be of use for finding out which current satellite name corresponds with the name in the 4DTV memory. The names get changed every time the satellite is updated but the 4DTV satellite lists never do.
If you want, I can post some of the more common ones from the research I've done.
G1 is probably the most important one (or at least a good reference point where you can take a hit), it is also known as G15 and it's at 133°W. F3 or C3 is also know by it's new name as AMC11.
What satellite are you aiming for? With the analog receiver hooked up (without the 905 at all) try to tune in G1 (G15) channel 5 horizontal. That is Classic Arts Showcase. Once you're locked on that and get a picture with minimal sparklies etc. then hook up your 905.
If your 905 does not have the newest channel map you may not have G1 in your satellite list.
If this is the case select G0 and memorize it. Then go to channel 5. You should see the green light on the front of the receiver.

Report back when you get a chance, we'll get ya going!

Edit: the color problem you are having could be your analog receiver, it's not your LNB. As far as the interaction between the two receivers, once it's set up properly the analog unit is really only used to move the dish to a different satellite. If hooked up correctly the 905 will be able to switch back and forth between the two receivers, the analog for moving the dish(and watching whatever analog is available), the 905 for watching 4DTV programming.

 

[esteveW]

I already tired just using the anolog box by it's self, last night then I went over all the interconnections again. The reception on the anolog box was the same without the 905 in the mix.

My TV is a HD color set and I have my DN box using the HDMI, my ViewSat 7000 on Video input #1, the Toshiba/905 are connnected (inaccordance with the 905 manual) to Video input #2. I still have Video input #3 and some other strange named inputs. I could also try the old F connector cable to the TVs channel 3 or 4 input..

Regarding the 905 Sat indicator light, it has remained red all the time and never has switched to green, indicating a digital lock.

The anolog box menus are always in B/W. It never occured to me that they could be any other color.

Right now, unless I come up with something new, I'm going to pack up all my temp. cable runs (so I can cut the lawn) and I'm preparing for 2-3 week road trip to get some Grampa Time with the family.

I'll get back on this later, when I have a fresh outlook on the problem..

In the mean time I'm looking for recommendation on a different anolog box that can do Blind Scans, etc.. Maybe one that also has a way to check the Sat. location by viewing the pulse count. The Tosiba doesn't do either. And any other feature you-all consider essential.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Hermitman]

A couple other thoughts. When you bring up the menus on the 905, are they in color? They should be. When you attached just the analog, did you completely take the 905 out of the connection or were you still routing the yellow/white/red cables through the 905? I would try a straight connection between the analog and the tv using the cables and/or coax connection. Have you tried the source button on the 4dtv remote to see if that has any effect? (page 23 in manual)

Concerning the different names of satellites, the orbitmagazine website has a very nice chart showing the satellite name, longitude, c-band designation, 4dtv designation and ku-band designation. Its a very helpful conversion chart. You can find it on page 3 of their downloadable demo pdf version. Good luck.

 

[phlatwound]

I don't think you will find (or even want) "a different anolog box that can do Blind Scans, etc", analog channels (what few that remain) are on dedicated frequencies and polarities, so you don't have to scan for them.

And I think you are correct, with the Toshiba as far as naming satellites goes you are limited to either the preloaded designations, or a combination of 1 letter (G, T, F, E, W, C, M or K) and one digit (0-9). The bottom line is it doesn't matter what you name them, you just need to know what orbital location (i.e. 87W, 99W, 125W, etc.) you have the dish pointed at. I have created a little chart to cross reference what the Toshiba names are and what they new designations are.

Another option for moving your dish is the G-Box, it can be used as a stand-alone postioner, or it will interface with a receiver that outputs DiSEqC commands. There is a great review on the G-Box in the review section here.

You need to get a DVB receiver with blind scan capabilities if you want to search for digital channels, and all of them (that I am aware of) that will blind scan, will do both C or Ku-band.

I am totally 4DTV illiterate, so I can't offer any ideas on that part of your system.