How To North Americanize Your AZBOX

[AcWxRadar]

AZBox runs Linux. I run Linux. Is there or will there be ACC & Maz3 for non-Windows users? If not, is there some alternative software, or even plain text editor, to Americanize an AZBox?

Mrmazda,

Unfortunately, not at this time. Not that I am aware of. All the support programs that I have found are all compiled to be run on a PC with Windows OS.

Yeah. It's kinda funny that everyone wants to write Windows apps to configure a Linux OS.

JohnnyNobody,

Actually, this notion is not a problem as the communication between the PC and the AZBox is accomplished in DOS only. Using DOS prompts and commands. I might be wrong, but some of the errors might be blamed on the fact that a Windows OS uses a "simulated" or emulated DOS program and there may be some errors generated in such an application. Windows does not produce a true DOS environment, it can only impersonate one.

I forgot to mention that I ran nmap to check to see if the Ultras Telnet and FTP ports were open and they are. The IP in the ACC connections area is correct along with root user and the default azbox password. So, I don't know why ACC gives me a box that states "Connection closed". When I click on OK to clear the box the ACC keeps displaying "RELOADING". The Ultra never reboots from this process & nothing is changed.

I see that all the time... "CONNECTION CLOSED BY SERVER". It is still connected, but you see that message anyways. There is some sort of a timeout period applied when no data is being exchanged or the comm link is inactive. The program you are running on your PC thinks it is still connected to the AZBox server, but the server has disconnected.

I have found that it is best to manually open and close the connection yourself. If it remains timed out too long, you have to close the entire application and restart from scratch. But, if you "disconnect from the server" when you are done with your task, then "reconnect" when you wish to start something anew, it works just fine.

"So, open the door, get in, do your thing, get out and close the door."

I wish I knew and understood what was happening exactly, then maybe I could alter the process, all I know is what I see from my end.

RADAR

 

[ZetaMale]

Mrmazda,

Unfortunately, not at this time. Not that I am aware of. All the support programs that I have found are all compiled to be run on a PC with Windows OS.



JohnnyNobody,

Actually, this notion is not a problem as the communication between the PC and the AZBox is accomplished in DOS only. Using DOS prompts and commands. I might be wrong, but some of the errors might be blamed on the fact that a Windows OS uses a "simulated" or emulated DOS program and there may be some errors generated in such an application. Windows does not produce a true DOS environment, it can only impersonate one.



I see that all the time... "CONNECTION CLOSED BY SERVER". It is still connected, but you see that message anyways. There is some sort of a timeout period applied when no data is being exchanged or the comm link is inactive. The program you are running on your PC thinks it is still connected to the AZBox server, but the server has disconnected.

I have found that it is best to manually open and close the connection yourself. If it remains timed out too long, you have to close the entire application and restart from scratch. But, if you "disconnect from the server" when you are done with your task, then "reconnect" when you wish to start something anew, it works just fine.

"So, open the door, get in, do your thing, get out and close the door."

I wish I knew and understood what was happening exactly, then maybe I could alter the process, all I know is what I see from my end.

RADAR

I guess I need to spend more time with the ACC since hovering the mouse over the icons doesn't tell you what they do.

 

[stanleyjohn]

I downloaded maz 3,unziped it and it seemed to load but most of the lang isnt english.A bunch of language files were also unziped including english!How do i get the english version to run?unless there is a different maz 3 download i need.Thats the problem with playing with other parts of the world sofware!trying to find a english version

 

[stargaze]

I could never understand why so many have problems running the Maz program. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones, I don't know.
Some say to try deleting all but the English language file, I can't comment on that since I did not have to do it. I found the area where you changed the language settings, and choose the British Flag, in the options box that is on the screen when Maz opens up.

I am beginning to think that the N/A market must be very small as all the info and programs to do things with this receiver are coming from Europe.
(or maybe the US no longer has any more real programmers left).

I do know that when Maz opens it does a search on the web for any updates that are out there. I started with 2.3 and it automatically upgraded itself to 3.0. This has me wondering if you open Maz on a computer that has no internet access if it acts differently?

I have it on Windows 7 laptop, Windoze XP pc and another pc, all installed separately at different times and all worked fine.

 

[ParaclipseCKu]

Except for the fact that the language files have been useless, Maz seems to work on various computers here. I use it along with ACC and except for no English haven't had a problem recently

 

[stanleyjohn]

I downloaded Maz3 from two different sites on two computers!one is a vista and the other xp!getting same results when trying to run.When i run program it comes up with a access violation error in module maz.exe then then program seems to run.looks at pics!would like to have English!but cant seem to finsd a way to do it.Dont know italin if thats the lang showing but i thoght i could just click on language under options to load english but no selections to choose from!just a big blank .Anyone have a clue on the problem?? Like i siad i tried this on a xp and vista computer.

 

[ParaclipseCKu]

I forgot I get the access violation too! It still seems to run ok just the wrong language and no way (that I have found) to change the language.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Thanks!I just did a search and it seems that this is a very common problem.If i cant fix maybe radar or stargaze can take a pic of the english main sceen so i can translate ps! tried shutting down firewall and virus protect plus deleted all lang but eng and span

 

[ParaclipseCKu]

I've tried all the suggestions but haven't had any luck with the languages again. I don't have MAZ with me right now but let me know and I can try and guide you around. It really isn't too hard to navigate even without the correct language !

 

[ZetaMale]

Well, I tried starting over with a factory reset, reformat, and reinstall of the firmware and still couldn't get this procedure to work with the ultra. Everything was fine until I tried to upload the new list with the ACC. It never completes the upload. I even tried opening a telnet session with the ACC first and then tried the upload and it still didn't work. I tried opening an FTP session with the ACC before sending from Tools-2 and that didn't work, also.

 

[beavs2112]

hi johnnynobody. i'm gonna be up for a couple more hours tonight. can i be of some assistance? i am also available ths sunday to trade posts.

my az is broken right now so some of this is from memory. when you tried telnet did the az reply with any error messages? i have had many problems with ACC and my AZ recently. so i tried telnet via maz. i added a telnet script to maz and copied the command from crackts post here. well it didn't work at first cause when i sent the command the az replied bad command. so i looked at the other telnet scripts in maz and mostly they are one line scripts. well my script was 3 lines. it seemed windows copied a bunch of spaces as well as the command. so if your trying the telnet route the command has to be on one line only with the word "mount" starting right at the beginning of the command. and i'm pretty sure you have to hit the enter key after you send the script. also make sure you're connected to your az via ftp first or your telnet commands go nowhere. now when i telnet in then ftp the sat/channel files over i get the message saying 100% file transfer complete in the maz ftp status window.

stanleyjohn in the maz window on the left hand third of the screen look for the word "lenguaje". that's language. now move your mouse cursor over to the down arrow to the right of the language window and click on it. that should bring up a sub-menu with the different language choices. if it doesn't i'd suspect your maz program is corrupted somehow. it should work cause in your second picture thumbnail in your last post the english language plugin program that goes into maz is there along with all the other language choices. the language files are on my computer also and my maz works well.

hope this helps

 

[AcWxRadar]

Well, I tried starting over with a factory reset, reformat, and reinstall of the firmware and still couldn't get this procedure to work with the ultra. Everything was fine until I tried to upload the new list with the ACC. It never completes the upload. I even tried opening a telnet session with the ACC first and then tried the upload and it still didn't work. I tried opening an FTP session with the ACC before sending from Tools-2 and that didn't work, also.

JohnnyN,

When you state that it never completes the upload, what stages do you observe that it actually does complete? It should display (in the center of the screen) a rectangle with a brief flash of a message that it is uploading each of the three files (all_channel.dat should be first, followed by the antenna_list.dat and DVBS.dat - but I don't recall the order). These messages are quick and very brief. What do you witness here?

One other suggestion. I saved my three edited files on a USB flash drive, then removed the drive from the PC. Then I used ACC to upload the files from the AZBox so that I could see where on the PC that ACC wanted to place them (what the destination file and folder was). Then I deleted those files from that location and put my edited files in the same location. That way I was certain that ACC could find all three of the files I wanted it to send back over to the AZBox.

It seemed to me that ACC did not function properly if it was forced to "browse" for the files. However, if it found the files automatically (as if it knew where they should be found) then it transferred them (all three) without a hitch.

I think that we will determine what is holding your process up if we discuss some of your specific steps and analyze and compare them with the steps we are taking. Somewhere along the way we should be able to pinpoint the trouble.

RADAR

 

[ZetaMale]

hi johnnynobody. i'm gonna be up for a couple more hours tonight. can i be of some assistance? i am also available ths sunday to trade posts.

my az is broken right now so some of this is from memory. when you tried telnet did the az reply with any error messages? i have had many problems with ACC and my AZ recently. so i tried telnet via maz. i added a telnet script to maz and copied the command from crackts post here. well it didn't work at first cause when i sent the command the az replied bad command. so i looked at the other telnet scripts in maz and mostly they are one line scripts. well my script was 3 lines. it seemed windows copied a bunch of spaces as well as the command. so if your trying the telnet route the command has to be on one line only with the word "mount" starting right at the beginning of the command. and i'm pretty sure you have to hit the enter key after you send the script. also make sure you're connected to your az via ftp first or your telnet commands go nowhere. now when i telnet in then ftp the sat/channel files over i get the message saying 100% file transfer complete in the maz ftp status window.

The Maz works fine. No errors on Telnet or FTP. You seem to be saying that you used the Maz to ftp the channel list changes back to the Azbox when it is my understanding that the ACC is supposed to be used to send the stuff back to the Azbox so that ALL the appropriate files get modified. Otherwise, the channel and sat lists will be overwritten on the next reboot.

There's got to be a better way to do this.

 

[stargaze]

The Maz works fine. No errors on Telnet or FTP. You seem to be saying that you used the Maz to ftp the channel list changes back to the Azbox when it is my understanding that the ACC is supposed to be used to send the stuff back to the Azbox so that ALL the appropriate files get modified. Otherwise, the channel and sat lists will be overwritten on the next reboot.

There's got to be a better way to do this.

The ACC is the program which should be used to send the files back to the azbox. The ACC will write the files to the backup directory as well.
If you have a saved copy on your pc of your files the way you want them then no matter what, in the future, if there is another update , all you will need to do is to resend the file back to the azbox (using the ACC program) and your set to go once more.
The hard part is getting it done the first time the way you want it, after that it is a piece of cake!

I have found that after setting up my N/A list and spending the time to redo my channel list I save those new additions to my pc and send it back to the azbox with ACC so it is also in my backup as well. I use one completed set of files for 3 different azboxs now. It has a channel list from 40.0W to 131.0*W in it.

 

[ZetaMale]

JohnnyN,

When you state that it never completes the upload, what stages do you observe that it actually does complete? It should display (in the center of the screen) a rectangle with a brief flash of a message that it is uploading each of the three files (all_channel.dat should be first, followed by the antenna_list.dat and DVBS.dat - but I don't recall the order). These messages are quick and very brief. What do you witness here?

One other suggestion. I saved my three edited files on a USB flash drive, then removed the drive from the PC. Then I used ACC to upload the files from the AZBox so that I could see where on the PC that ACC wanted to place them (what the destination file and folder was). Then I deleted those files from that location and put my edited files in the same location. That way I was certain that ACC could find all three of the files I wanted it to send back over to the AZBox.

It seemed to me that ACC did not function properly if it was forced to "browse" for the files. However, if it found the files automatically (as if it knew where they should be found) then it transferred them (all three) without a hitch.

I think that we will determine what is holding your process up if we discuss some of your specific steps and analyze and compare them with the steps we are taking. Somewhere along the way we should be able to pinpoint the trouble.

RADAR

I used MazEdit to read and save the lists, then I used AzboxEdit to edit the list and save the modifications, then I used the ACC to upload the files. I tried to manually open a Telnet and FTP connection using the ACC prior to sending the modified lists to the Azbox (which is something that someone suggested) but I still get a "connection closed" dialog box even though the ACC shows that the FTP or Telnet session is still active. But the modified lists never get uploaded and the Azbox never reboots.

 

[ZetaMale]

The hard part is getting it done the first time the way you want it, after that it is a piece of cake!

Not in my experience.

 

[stargaze]

I used MazEdit to read and save the lists, then I used AzboxEdit to edit the list and save the modifications, then I used the ACC to upload the files. I tried to manually open a Telnet and FTP connection using the ACC prior to sending the modified lists to the Azbox (which is something that someone suggested) but I still get a "connection closed" dialog box even though the ACC shows that the FTP or Telnet session is still active. But the modified lists never get uploaded and the Azbox never reboots.

If your doing this on your Ultra (I do not have an elite model) I hook it up directly to my router, In the ACC program there is a connection setup that needs to be done, from what your saying it sounds like your connection is either not working properly in ACC or is closing down prematurely. I don't know if I can be of more help for your experience I can only let you know what has worked flawlessly here since day 1.
Maybe starting a new thread just for the ACC program may grab someone's attention who can give you some better advise on it's workings.

 

[ZetaMale]

Well, I just tried having both a telnet and ftp session open using the ACC and then was able to upload the list. After searching the A-Z guide, I didn't see this procedure of having both a telnet AND FTP session open in the A-Z pdf manual. Anyway, even though I uploaded (or thought I uploaded) a channel list of 10 channels and 2 satellites, when I went into the Azbox setup menu, I got a box stating that there are 0 (zero) satellites. So, I tried a second time and had success. 2 satellites and 10 channels show up now. What a hassle but I'm glad that I got it figured out now. Now to add in all the other stuff I want. I suppose I can use the Azbox to add sats and then blind scan them and then retrieve the new list with MazEdit and then send them back with ACC all will be well?

 

[stargaze]

I used azbox edit and added all my satellites from that program.
For my setup I always put in "user Defined" for the lnb type then made sure the LNB Freq was set up along with the DiSEqc settings.
Just make sure you add one transponder to each satellite. I used a dummy like 3600000 25000 3/4 H DVB-S QPSK for each satellite then when doing a blind scan I just deleted my dummy.
Do not forget to put in the degree settings, that is why I made a chart in the az guide to make it more simplified.
I just posted the new version 2.4pdf file of the guide here...

http://www.satelliteguys.us/azbox-discussion/232104-z-users-guide-azbox.html

If you use az box edit or any other program start at one end and work your way to the other.
I believe I started from 139*W all the way to 5*W.
I also added a spare satellite at 99*W/97*W/89*W and kept the degree part in the azedit program off by .01*.
The spacing was done so the az computer would not reject the satellite, (don't know if it would or not but why take the chance) and also since there are some frequencies that are part time at these locations that are either so close or using the same freq. so I can add the extras on the spare and still keep the main ones on the main sat.

 

[beavs2112]

The Maz works fine. No errors on Telnet or FTP. You seem to be saying that you used the Maz to ftp the channel list changes back to the Azbox when it is my understanding that the ACC is supposed to be used to send the stuff back to the Azbox so that ALL the appropriate files get modified. Otherwise, the channel and sat lists will be overwritten on the next reboot.

There's got to be a better way to do this.

That is exactly what i am saying. when you press the "send to AZBOX" button in the "tools 2" area in ACC it does some commands. i am doing manually via telnet and ftp what ACC is doing automatically. but since ACC wasn't working for me I had to find another procedure to copy the files that did work. i just transfer the 3 files manually via ftp. it was too difficult to figure out why ACC didn't work for me. I think it happened when i downloaded the toolbox and got a hacker version. i removed it and ever since then ACC hasn't done the job.