Pansat AP 600 vs. VboxII : an Analog/FTA slave solution

[kulakovich]

Greetings,

Long time reader, first time caller.

I have a Pansat2500a slaved from a GI650i, and a 7.5 primefocus. They all seem to be working, though my targetting needs improvment.

Having to use the 650i to aim the 2500a makes me nuts. Not to mention the polarity issue with a chapparal feedhorn and regular lnbs. I would like to have the Pansat control everything. I understand one of the pointers above, could do the trick, taking the Diseqc output and translating it into actuator voltage.

My questions:
Are either of these a better product? Is there a better product out there? If I am going to drop $100 on this problem, is this the best solution?

Thanks for your time and effort.

kulakovich

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome

I know there are a couple users of a VBox...hopefully they can chime in

 

[drhydro]

The only one i have heard of is the vbox II, i have never heard of the pansat positioner. Everything i have heard about the vboxII is that it is a good unit, it should work well for your application.

 

[kulakovich]

Thanks for such quick responses - off the top of your heads, is there anything that would greatly improve my system without enormous cost? I have gotten some decent LNBs, an Eagle Aspen 15 degree and what now I hope to be a working Norsat .6 db for Ku.

I see items like 'wideband' feedhorns for c/ku - although I understand that they would only be of use for extreme Atlantic birds from my position (SE Mass, USA, 02346) would this or other things be worth the 'oomph'?

I use quad shielded cable, have a very proper ground (2 LNBs later) etc.

What is next? a DSR-905? HD sidecar? What could improve my experience?

Thoughts?

Thanks again for your time and effort,

kulakovich

 

[kulakovich]

p.s.

Iceberg, thanks for the welcome, and thanks to you and Dr. Hydro for your responses as well - I was inspired by your other VBox postings here to ask my question!

 

[drhydro]

Thanks for such quick responses - off the top of your heads, is there anything that would greatly improve my system without enormous cost? I have gotten some decent LNBs, an Eagle Aspen 15 degree and what now I hope to be a working Norsat .6 db for Ku.

Those should work fine for now but if you having problems getting some of the weaker signals, or you are seeing sparklies on analog, then you might want to consider purchasing new lnbs.

I see items like 'wideband' feedhorns for c/ku - although I understand that they would only be of use for extreme Atlantic birds from my position (SE Mass, USA, 02346) would this or other things be worth the 'oomph'?

If you have a clear LOS south east with no obstrucions on the horizon you should be able to pick up a lot of the atlantic sats, up to 60 degrees east of you. Take a look here http://www.lyngsat.com/atlantic.html to see what channels require a wideband feed. Look at where polarity is listed, if polarity is listed as left or right then you need a wideband feed to pick them up. Then you figure out whether or not you think it is worth the added cost.

I use quad shielded cable, have a very proper ground (2 LNBs later) etc.

good, good

What is next? a DSR-905? HD sidecar? What could improve my experience?

Thoughts?

Not a huge amount of hdtv out there YET, but I am sure that will start changing. A 4dtv receiver expands available options considerably, I have been trying to figure out how to work one into my system without having it control the dish. A 905 sidecar might work for this application, try it out and let me know what you think

ps: i just googled the Pansat AP 600, it doesnt look like this is diseqc compatable, it looks like a stand alone dish positioner.

 

[kulakovich]

Well that sure as heck answers my question! I will be digging around for a VBox II then. And thanks for all your input - Next I'll have to consider dsr905 and HD compatability!

Thanks again,
kulakovich

ps: i just googled the Pansat AP 600, it doesnt look like this is diseqc compatable, it looks like a stand alone dish positioner.

 

[kulakovich]

I am looking to see if there is a major difference between the vBox and vBox II - right now no one seems to have either in stock, unless I want to pay $150 or 150eu, but there are vBox on eBay for $59 - but they are not the II.

I also learned - refering to drhydro's post - that it would seem the dsr-905 is c-band only and lacks Ku inputs. yikes!

If anyone knows of significant differences and can let me know, I'd appreciate it. Else I am back to google and ebay!

kulakovich

 

[Stefan]

"I am looking to see if there is a major difference between the vBox and vBox II - right now no one seems to have either in stock, unless I want to pay $150 or 150eu, but there are vBox on eBay for $59 - but they are not the II."

My understanding is the primary difference between the 2 is that the Vbox II comes with a remote control and can be controlled by the remote control in a "stand alone" type configuration. That is if you don't have a reciever that can send diseqc coomands to the Vbox or isn't configured to do so, you can simply use the remote to move the dish. With the original Vbox, I don't believe you can do this. With it you must use your reciever to send diseqc commands to tell it to move the dish. Of course this is what most people want the Vbox for anyway. So for most people the original Vbox may be just as well as the Vbox II.

 

[drhydro]

I also learned - refering to drhydro's post - that it would seem the dsr-905 is c-band only and lacks Ku inputs. yikes!
kulakovich

Yikes is right, i was unaware of that limitation. Guess that knocks the 905 out of consideration for my system as well. Thanks for the info :-D