Digital Breakup on 101 C Band

[armadillo_115]

In our main viewing area I use an Amiko Mini HD SE most of the time but occasionally bring out the FreeSat V7 or the X2 M1HD to lock a problem signal. Really stinks to have to swap out boxes like that. Agree, you would think someone could put together a receiver that just works for North American FTA (ACM, 4.2.2, low bit rate signals, etc). I can't believe it wouldn't sell here...

That reminds me of something I have been curious about: When you swap receivers back and forth...does the Sat positions get out of whack? Or does the VBox remember positions,regardless of which receiver is hooked up?

Sorry to wander off topic.Been thinking of getting a spare receiver.

 

[KE4EST]

Just make sure that you have the same position numbers assigned to the same satellite in each receiver.
If receiver A:
97W 12
99W 14
101W 16
etc

Make sure receiver B:
97W 12
99W 14
101W 16
etc

 

[armadillo_115]

Cool,Thanks!

 

[FTA4PA]

That reminds me of something I have been curious about: When you swap receivers back and forth...does the Sat positions get out of whack? Or does the VBox remember positions,regardless of which receiver is hooked up?

Sorry to wander off topic.Been thinking of getting a spare receiver.

Just make sure that you have the same position numbers assigned to the same satellite in each receiver.
If receiver A:
97W 12
99W 14
101W 16
etc

Make sure receiver B:
97W 12
99W 14
101W 16
etc

What he said!

P.S. I don't know which receiver you were thinking of getting but I've found that the X2 M1HD won't let you manually assign the positions - it does it for you sequentially and automatically. (see more about this in post 312 of this thread). I normally use the M1HD with Diqesc 1.0 on a stationary dish and if I swap it in somewhere else I first move the dish with the other receiver.

 

[Radioguy41]

Ran into a small hitch with the Freesat V7 today. Keep in mind this is piggy-backed to a 4DTV so it doesn't move the dish nor set polarity, just scan and tune. What happened was I decided to start at one end of the arc and scan in each bird from west to east. After 12 birds the unit locked up. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and started to scan the next bird in order and it locked up again, about 25% of the way through. The box was quite hot and after allowing it to cool down it again worked perfectly so it seems the heat issue isn't just associated with moving a dish, repeatedly scanning over a long period of time apparently also causes the box to heat up. I think the next step might be to remove the metal screen inside the box and maybe add a heatsink.

 

[wvman]

Ran into a small hitch with the Freesat V7 today. Keep in mind this is piggy-backed to a 4DTV so it doesn't move the dish nor set polarity, just scan and tune. What happened was I decided to start at one end of the arc and scan in each bird from west to east. After 12 birds the unit locked up. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and started to scan the next bird in order and it locked up again, about 25% of the way through. The box was quite hot and after allowing it to cool down it again worked perfectly so it seems the heat issue isn't just associated with moving a dish, repeatedly scanning over a long period of time apparently also causes the box to heat up. I think the next step might be to remove the metal screen inside the box and maybe add a heatsink.

Jeep, when the processor has a lot of activity for an extended period of time, it creates a lot of heat. I've ran into the same problem on laptop computers with poor cooling, or when the internal fan takes a crap. At $26 bucks a whack, I didn't expect much in the way of cooling, especially with the unit being less than 5 inches front to back or side to side. It has just barely enough case to house the connections.

 

[wvman]

In our main viewing area I use an Amiko Mini HD SE most of the time but occasionally bring out the FreeSat V7 or the X2 M1HD to lock a problem signal. Really stinks to have to swap out boxes like that. Agree, you would think someone could put together a receiver that just works for North American FTA (ACM, 4.2.2, low bit rate signals, etc). I can't believe it wouldn't sell here...

You would have thought the Cisco receiver sold on Rainer Satellite's website would have those issues resolved, but apparently they don't. Somebody in here posted they had one and still suffered with the same issues we're having with less expensive receivers. At $750.00 a pop, I would have returned it if I still had the same issues. Glad I was given the heads up on it. I may still get one of the DH 9 foot spun dishes, but not from Rainier.

 

[FTA4PA]

I have both the FreeSat V7 and an X2 M1HD. The FreeSat has gotten very little use so far but I have used the M1HD a bit. I don't use it for dish moving either but it still overheated while scanning or viewing so I finally decided to mod it and add a fan inside ( http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/posts/3923833/ ).

I can't believe how tiny that FreeSat V7 is, about the size if a deck of cards.



Being so cramped inside with no room for air circulation it's no wonder these overheat. I see no way to add a fan to the FreeSat V7 other than externally but it may solve the problem.

 

[Radioguy41]

Jeep, when the processor has a lot of activity for an extended period of time, it creates a lot of heat. I've ran into the same problem on laptop computers with poor cooling, or when the internal fan takes a crap. At $26 bucks a whack, I didn't expect much in the way of cooling, especially with the unit being less than 5 inches front to back or side to side. It has just barely enough case to house the connections.

Yeah, I started hand building computers in 1979 and have watched cooling requirements climb through the roof. However, I've used the same process on several boxes in the past couple of years exactly the same way and this is the first one to overheat and lock up so I thought I would mention it in case someone else runs into it. By the way, ever see an HP laptop melt the case even with the fan working? I performed an emergency contract several years ago replacing 1100 brand new HP laptops that were melting at an alarming rate, about a dozen a week.

 

[wvman]

Yeah, I started hand building computers in 1979 and have watched cooling requirements climb through the roof. However, I've used the same process on several boxes in the past couple of years exactly the same way and this is the first one to overheat and lock up so I thought I would mention it in case someone else runs into it. By the way, ever see an HP laptop melt the case even with the fan working? I performed an emergency contract several years ago replacing 1100 brand new HP laptops that were melting at an alarming rate, about a dozen a week.

Wow, I never ran into cases melting, but I had a few where the battery caught fire. I started using water cooled fan assemblies in my desktops and it reduced the heat a good bit. I stopped building laptops several years ago when I found a place that would supply them below what I could build them for. I decided to leave the headaches to them. A lot simpler that way. My customers could return them straight to the company.

 

[fred555]

Update: The V7 that was not stuttering on some of the channels on the Grit mux stutters now.
I have Grit OTA if there is something I need to see, oh well.

 

[Radioguy41]

Grit is the only channel that stutters on mine. All the rest, including Bounce, are fine.

 

[wvman]

Update: The V7 that was not stuttering on some of the channels on the Grit mux stutters now.
I have Grit OTA if there is something I need to see, oh well.

Fred, the HDVR3500 or my old HDVR1200 doesn't have the stuttering on any of the those channels, but for some reason, I can't get Buzzr working. I can get the video but no audio. I've used every audio setting there is and still can't get audio. I guess Bounce is working, but we never watched it so I never bothered to program it back in. I have a different issue with these channels. When I want to change from one channel to another, I have to go to Dr. TV or another channel, and then switch back to Grit, Laff or one of the others. I can't go directly from Grit to Laff, or Laff to Escape.

It will show the channel information for the one I was going to, but it's actually still on the previous channel. The only channels that do it are Grit, Laff, Escape and the Justice channel. The rest of the channels work normally. I didn't realize it was doing it until my wife called me at work and said she couldn't switch channels. Other than that, they work just fine. Just to clarify, the HDVR 3500 switches these channels, but not the HDVR1200. It's the only one that makes you switch to another, and then back.

 

[wvman]

Grit is the only channel that stutters on mine. All the rest, including Bounce, are fine.

I had three that stuttered on mine until I changed receivers, and wouldn't you know it, they were the ones we liked the best. In an earlier post I mentioned the GDMX channels breaking up. As it turns out, they were doing it on the HDVR3500. All of these channels had a great signal quality, but still broke up. Went back to the HDVR1200, and the break up want away. It seems like you purchase one receiver to fix this, and it creates a problem somewhere else. My wife is one of those people who could watch television on a toaster and not be bothered by bad reception and small pictures. Me, I am a perfectionist and that kind of stuff drive me crazy. I wish someone would land on a receiver that did it all. But hey, it's free and that's a big plus.

 

[richyrich]

As I have noticed in the past and experienced; stuttering; or blipping can mean many things. .am i missing something? One of the cases I had was in 4dtv 920/22 and the digicipher light; and it is still today a per instance deal; where each receiver will be the problem; or any of the external/outside components. Today's map of satellite signals and their sources ; or strengths and weaknesses; are how well the signal looks to the receiver from its "source" of signal; is how well it maps each channel exactly, where the numbers match (the drift is 0). Compared to a spectrum analyzer ability to show you what it looks like, if it is being sent the part of the lobe; the lobe@ being sent (say 12.140 Ghz.) scans @ 12.138 or 12,142. The fineness of the receiver and the number it knows is only off a little bit; but itself is what is r having to throw its number off for some reason. And in double checking these receiver's; it depends on a subject that DMX chart's do not care for; tuner adjustmen (today's tuners are t)otally un-adjustable to a very small cavity; so small; so locked down. But the dmx charting to the manufacturer a tool to update; or tune; them in; and the hdvr1200 is done over satellite g19. Reverse mode is not fixing it; and letting it be (the other day I found a wireless internet box was swiping past my up-time) and turned it off for a few minutes; fixed the "noise" pronlem from one direction and not the rest. And today's noise level max. is 20 db; what the internet devices are set to in power levels. Their applied bandwidth and freq. will destroy a satellite signals at the width they use in "today's microwave technologies" and today's seperate freq. It can be how often a dish or direct internet installer misses his mark by just 2 degrees; every day (it is called wrong bank for 1 second; but no more. And side lobe up or down acts the same way; like dish and size.

 

[wvman]

I thought of wireless interference from internet devices. I live 8 miles from town in a deep valley with my closest neighbor a half mile away. I even wired my own local network, doing away with the wireless modem and any wireless connections. I even took a field strength meter capable of detecting 2.4ghz signals and found nothing other than a very weak reflected cell phone signal from a tower located 3 miles west of me, looking at the back side of the mountain facing the back side of my dishes. I even powered down my HAM equipment thinking about possible interference from it.

The only place in the state I know of that would be more free of radiated interference would be the quiet zone around the radio telescopes at Green Bank, WV. I even thought of the possibility of interference from the so-called smart TV's with built in WIFI capabilities. My older TV's had none of these amenities. I even have a friend of mine searching for a schematic for the new Sony 60 inch TV I recently purchased so I can look it over and see if there's a way to disable the WIFI circuitry. All in all, I have a pretty clean environment regarding interference. My company cell phone won't even work here

 

[FTA4PA]

It being one of the few receivers that can get these problem channels, I see that X2 has now raised the price of their M1HD on eBay from $39.95 to $99.95! That's a 150.19% increase!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271970904283

 

[Radioguy41]

The Freesat V7 on Amazon has jumped to $65-$78.

 

[fred555]

Glad I bought 4 at the cheaper price!

 

[wvman]

I just saw the V7 on ebay for $26.44 from China. It says there are only 9 left. I still haven't heard anything back from Freesat about the video I sent them showing the stuttering problem. Hopefully soon.