Options for Satellite Meter/Tuner

[linuxman]

I thought I would update this thread with my final solution.

Below are the pics of the finished Linuxman Satellite tuner.

Here are the specs so far:

Very sensitive tuner with stable meter for peaking the dish. (Used Vortex 3500)
Will move a big dish with linear actuator or H-H gear driven motor. (New VBox V which replaced my VBox III which I sent in for warranty work) Thanks DMSI!
Will move a diseqc motor with 1.2 or USALS.
Will control a servo motor on a Co-Rotor or Polarotor.
Has blind-scan built in.
Has an 8.5" color LED screen complete with audio that displays for 4 hours with it's own battery. (Got an open box Insignia for $110.00 at BB)
Will have a UPS, or inverter/battery combination once I figure out which way to go.

It is 14-3/4" wide X 12.5" deep X 22" high with 6" of clearance in the bottom two compartments, and almost 8" of clearance between the top shelf and the top lid.

Adjustable fold out lid with side supports along with black shading to keep light off the monitor. (used a broken umbrella for the shade material) Hinged front door. All secured with folding locks to make it safe to carry with equipment inside.

All in all, I think it will serve my purposes very well. Here are the pics:

 

[Anole]

power to the people !

I'd suggest wiring up an outdoor AC outlet on my roof to power this beast.
That reduces the weight and cost of your box.
If it's already built, then use the spare space to house a coil of outdoor extension cable.

Advantages include having power up there for power tools when you need 'em.
I commonly run 100...200 feet of extension for outdoor projects now, and don't find that the least bit troublesome.

Congrats on the little monitor. Do tell us more.
I'd been thinking about using an LCD display intended for the car, since they are becoming so common.
Is that what you have? I didn't get the reference you made to it.
edit: oh, looks like another LCD/DVD player.

An unrelated need that's been pestering me, is how to turn regular video from one of my FTA receivers into something that could drive a computer LCD.
We start with composite, Svideo, or maybe Component, and need to get to VGA.
...because none of the common computer monitors have a regular video input.

edit: just took a closer look at the pictures above.
OMG! That's going to need the dish-crane, to get to the roof! -
What's the bare box weigh? And you're going to put a lead battery in there, too?

 

[linuxman]

I'd suggest wiring up an outdoor AC outlet on my roof to power this beast.
That reduces the weight and cost of your box.
If it's already built, then use the spare space to house a coil of outdoor extension cable.

That is probably the route I will go. I already have the wire, just need to fix up a water-proof box to put the outlet in, and have a place to store a few tools.

Advantages include having power up there for power tools when you need 'em.
I commonly run 100...200 feet of extension for outdoor projects now, and don't find that the least bit troublesome.

If I locate the box near the center of the roof, a 50' extension will work almost anywhere I need it.

Congrats on the little monitor. Do tell us more.
I'd been thinking about using an LCD display intended for the car, since they are becoming so common.
Is that what you have? I didn't get the reference you made to it.
edit: oh, looks like another LCD/DVD player.

It is an Insignia 8.5" DVD player with A/V input from an outside source. Seems to be working well. Has a source input button, so I could watch a DVD while waiting on a scan, or whatever.

An unrelated need that's been pestering me, is how to turn regular video from one of my FTA receivers into something that could drive a computer LCD.
We start with composite, Svideo, or maybe Component, and need to get to VGA.
...because none of the common computer monitors have a regular video input.

Not possible that I am aware of. A computer LCD screen has DVI or VGA, or both. Needs a converter to take composite, Component, S-Video, or RF to feed the screen. Could be done with the proper video card and software through the computer itself, but not direct to the screen.

edit: just took a closer look at the pictures above.
OMG! That's going to need the dish-crane, to get to the roof! -
What's the bare box weigh? And you're going to put a lead battery in there, too?

Probably will not use the battery as indicated above.

Just grabbed the digital bathroom scales. It says it weighs 31.5 pounds with all the equipment and cables attached. Once it is on the roof, it will be sitting on a bucket.

 

[updatelee]

I have a great little vga converter I bought off ebay. it has four video inputs, composite and svideo, and one vga input, and one vga output. works great because I have my htpc attached, and three other satellite receivers, and can watch them with a push of a button on my 17" lcd monitor. it even does audio switching. I think it cost me $60 or something. there are cheaper ones that have just one input if thats what you want.

 

[Anole]

wow, solutions for all !

UpDateLee - Thanks for the head's up - I'll have to take a closer look.

LinuxMan - well, if you make your box weatherproof, I suppose you could just leave it on the roof full-time...
Have you considered wheels underneath it (maybe one of those crawlers for working under you car)?
Perhaps a hand truck? They're cheap, have two wheels and a handle.
(key word search on "hand truck" or "dolly" or "creeper" for more examples)
For weatherproofing, you could go for shingles on the outside!? -

 

[rv1pop]

UpDateLee - Thanks for the head's up - I'll have to take a closer look.

LinuxMan - well, if you make your box weatherproof, I suppose you could just leave it on the roof full-time...
Have you considered wheels underneath it (maybe one of those crawlers for working under you car)?
Perhaps a hand truck? They're cheap, have two wheels and a handle.
(key word search on "hand truck" or "dolly" or "creeper" for more examples)
For weatherproofing, you could go for shingles on the outside!? -

Hey, now there's the idea. Build the base to match the slope of the roof and make it a little bigger so you can have a folding chair or maybe a recliner up there on the roof. Add an ice chest or small refrigerator and a coffee maker. Then the neighbors would really know you were a redneck!

Since all my dishes are at ground level, I just might do something like that for my place! But then the "street people" would really want to camp out on my properrty! I'd have to put a sliding door on it to keep out the weather. It is snowing so hard 1/2 mile to the North that I can not see the hills. Not bad right here

 

[linuxman]

LinuxMan - well, if you make your box weatherproof, I suppose you could just leave it on the roof full-time...

If I get the "roof box" weatherproof enough to suit me, I can just put this box inside of it and leave it on the roof.

For now, I'll probably just take it up and down.

It really is not much more than my laptop bag with all the electronics in it, then the bucket with the cables separately.

The great thing about this box, is that all that has to be hooked is the ends to the dish.

I have terminal strips on all my C-Band dishes for alligator clip hook-up.

 

[Anole]

ya just had to go there!

Hey, now there's the idea. Build the base to match the slope of the roof and make it a little bigger so you can have a folding chair or maybe a recliner up there on the roof. Add an ice chest or small refrigerator and a coffee maker. Then the neighbors would really know you were a redneck!

And here I was taking the high road...
... and not mentioning the option of putting the little crescent moon on the door . . .
- - -