related to the pansat 250sm

[FaT Air]

Norsat KU 2707a = 10.750 Mhz True for all Ku - Skyvision Satellite Equipment But that is AMC 3, 87.0°W, you are on. http://www.satelliteguys.us/thelist/index.php?page=87+AMC+3 NASA on C band at that orbital location. 4000 H 28112 http://www.satelliteguys.us/thelist/index.php?page=C+87+AMC+3

 

[shankle]

I'm now getting NASA on amc 3. So I had the sats screwed up by one.
Amc 9 shows nothing. Intelsat 9 shows nothing. It's got to be the
alignment out of whack. When adjusting for KU I messed up C-band.
So I am back to adjusting C-band and the wife is giving "leave it
alone if you got it working". She has no idea what she is talking
about but they give advice anyway. Just throw away $70 for the
KU lnb. Not a wise decision.
I'll tinker until I have c-band working well and then I guess go back
to amc 3 and amc 9 and try those KU sats. At least I have a general
click count now to go by.
The pansat 250sm on Pansatusa.com has an update for the 250 which
is the same one that was in the 250 when I bought it. It would be
nice if they updated their software and got the bugs out of it.
I guess they consider it an old model and will do nothing more with it.
Pity. Might be my last Pansat.
Heat still in the 100s during the day which cuts way down on my
tuning time.

 

[FaT Air]

Ouch! with the heat. Been HOT and Humid up here to, not in 100's but close enough. And unusually Humid. Yeah, the Ku is going to be very touchy, so after you get C working again. The Ku adjustments are are usually no more than 1/4 of that you make during C band tuning. The TP's loaded into 250 are probably so out of date as to be useless in finding sats. Try loading some from The List, for the sat you're looking for. Ice has got it up to date better than any other list I've seen. Or, for ease, attached is list I made for me to use as a blank "start over from scratch" list. All listed TP's were up yesterday and should also be of the 24-7 variety.

 

[shankle]

Thanks for the list Fat Air.
Will see if I can figure out how to load it to the 250.

About the List:
1. Is there a tut for the list?
2. How would the downloadable list help me or should I download the printable list?
3. What are the items in red?
4. Explain how I use the Video Pid? I never have touched it in the past.
5. Explain how I use the Audio Pid? I never touch this. Maybe that's
why my sound is so bad.
6. What is PCR?

 

[stanleyjohn]

Shankle!Great idea sticking with the c band for now.Once you lock on to more satellites across arc later on it will be much easier to get your ku working correctly!Plenty of c across the arc to choose from.When you talk about whats in red!I think your asking about the list.I asked iceberg just the other day about this and this is what he said. http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-shack/224588-list.html

 

[shankle]

I asked him if it would be possible to add a color line at the bottom explaining
what the colors mean. They do this on lyngsat and it helps.

 

[stanleyjohn]

I asked him if it would be possible to add a color line at the bottom explaining
what the colors mean. They do this on lyngsat and it helps.

:up I agree! It can get alittle confusing

 

[shankle]

To Fat Air,
Thanks for the list you made.
I have a few questions about it.

Why the Freq, Polarity and Rate on each sat?

Why the SR on Gal16?

I gather the list is not complete as I have sats not on your list.
Such as Satmex5 and Satmex6. No problem just wondering.

Is this a true statement:
If you do any adjusting of the dish such as azmuth or elevation you
must rescan all sats?

Also Mr. Ice does not include G12(133) in his List. Wondering why.

Another question about the 250sm. When I set up a sat in the Antenna
Setup and then go to Smart Search, where does it get the info to search
for. If it's from the ancient list from Pansat it's worthless.

 

[FaT Air]

Haste makes waste. Can't rush it, just have to go step by step. Make one (small) move at a time, so if it doesn't work as planned, or hoped, it's only one step back to where you were.
Right now, I have to agree with stanleyjohn, it's imperative to tune up C band, as perfect as possible. Find and program all the C band sats. Then graduate to Ku. Ku will require a very carefull tune-up, using very small adjustments. The adjustments you make, now on C band, are 4 time larger than the adjustments you make on Ku. A "small" nudge on C band tune-up can put a Ku signal from Q 60 to Zero in a heartbeat.

PID's and PCR, I know there's a more technical description, but this should suffice.. Each transponder can have multiple video and audio channels. Each requires a different P(rogram)ID, so the decoder in the STB knows which one to decode and send to the TV.
(This is similar to the 9200, so if not perfect??)
Entering Transponder info manually:
Main Menu >> Installation >> SAT and TP Edit. Enter freq, Polarity and SR. OK to save. then Exit out.

PID scan: Main Menu >> Installation >> Advance and TP scan.
Select a pre-programmed TP with Left or Roght keys, or input freq manually.
change polarity if needed, enter SR.>> PID Scan, right key to manual, OK,
enter PIDS. Scan Option= All or FTA (right key), Start Scan.

Why the Freq, Polarity and Rate on each sat?
Each is a known 24/7 transponder. Info is needed to be programmed into the receiver to display Q, to aim dish. Without any TP data programmed, there is no way to know what satellite we are pointed at.

Gal 16 (ku)freq and Sr? Ku is listed to find, and program the sat in the receiver. That TP is data, no TV service. But G 16 Ku is known to have ocassional wild feeds. So I can watch that TP's Q to get "Right On" then blind scan.

Is this a true statement: Rescan all after a dish tune-up? NO
The only thing that will change are your mover numbers.

Ice does not include G12(133) probably because Classic Arts has announced that they will cease operation there shortly. And it's GONE now! They have, already, a signal on G 19. The TP info I listed is for channels that are normally $, but have been clear for about a month and a half. The other DVB-S TP I have for G 12 is 3924 V 3247, but it is not 24/7.

When I set up a sat in the Antenna Setup and then go to Smart Search, Where does the info come from?
The receiver will scan the sat for any carrier, when detected it will search within the signal for the PID's and PCR. then store all this info along with the outdated info for that sat. This can result in a LOT of useless info being stored. That is the reason for me reprogramming my 9200 lately. So much old useless info stored that I couldn't add a known active channel, or blind scan(smart search) for wild feeds. That's why it's a very good Idea to delete all the Transponder info that came pre-programmed in the receiver, and start with a known good, clean, list of known active transponders. The List or mine. I know mine is up to date as of yesterday. The List is probably checked at least weekly, I believe.
Boy, what I thought was a 1 minute edit, wasn't. Hope there's not to many typo's as to produce confusion.
Have a good one!

 

[shankle]

Thanks Fat Air,
No wonder I am having problems. I try to search a sat with no Freq, Polarity
or Rate. Wonder what else I don't know. Must be an enormouse amount

Just a little more clarification on the old stuff in the receiver. I assume it
works like a computer and has an area that can only be read from.
That means to me that no matter what you put in the receiver you can't
override the non writeable area. AM I Wrong????

 

[FaT Air]

The non writable area is for the firmware. over writable only with a updated firmware. The TP info, and channel info is all erasable and re-writable.
Like I've just done in my 9200, erased everything,Channels and TP;s, and started with just what's on my list. Then add the other TP's from The List and TP Scan, or Smart Search.
I only add the G19Ku TP's I want to receive, as some 300 channels means a lot of lost wild feed hunting opportunities. Took 3 weeks of leisurely reprogramming, but well worth it.
IT just HIT ME! how you have been seeing TV, but no Q. You have a sat programmed and are watching something, but then you go to installation screen, but the first TP's listed are the factory programmed, out of date, no longer in service TP's.
Gotta practice programming the TP info, and delete all that out of date info. Each TP programmed can be deleted or edited as needed.
The 250's remote looks identical to the 9200's. Whenever i see video on the TV, I can hit the green SIG button, and see the Signal and Q, along with some more info. I wonder if the 250 is the same?

 

[stanleyjohn]

Im sure FaT will chime in but maybe i can help alittle.On most satellite receivers if not all!You can edit,add and delete satellites,tp's(transponders) and the tp's information (example 3905/v/30000.Ill give you an example on searching for a new channel you dont have yet on a satellite you have stored.
WSJX FOX 3845 H 15030 on Galaxy 16 C 99w.
What you do is first select satellite Galaxy 16 from your satellite list.
Once you select the satellite open the TP list for that satellite
Look for 3845 H 15030 on that list
If it is on the list then do single tp scan on that TP and if your aimed correctly then it will find WSJX FOX and store that into a list for that satellite.
If that tp is not on the list then you should be able to add 3845 H 15030 to the tp list then save it and scan that TP.

The excample i gave you is active and tried WSJX is a fox station!also on that tp i gave you will be other us networks like ABC,NBC and CW.
Hope this helps alittle! Take care Stan.

 

[shankle]

Wow!!!!, is all I have to say.
Thanks fellows for helping.
Adding the Freq, Polarity and Rate from Fat Airs list made me wonder what
I have been doing for the last 6 months. I think like a programmer because
I am one. It's so simple to write a program that says "Dummy enter a Freq,
Polarity and Rate, Dummy". But a lot of people are writing programs that don't
have the vaguest idea what they are doing.

Question: Why Fat Air did you not pick the 1st F, P, R from the list for each sat??? Did it have something to do with a 24/7 channel?

Entering the V-pid, A-pid and Pcr did not help with the sound. I'm getting
no sound.

Here is what I have been able to view tonight: Amc3 C-band, Amc9 KU.
Can not view amc3 ku or Amc9 c-band.
Tomorrow should be fascinating.

I delete all tps before programming a sat. That does not delete the tps that
are in what you have called the firmware.

Haven't had time to figure out how to add the data from the "List" to a sat.
Does it add to 1 sat or all sats? I've been using Smart Search and figured
I didn't have to worry about that.

To my understanding Pansat does not give updated fireware.

Going to bed my heads all in a whirl......

 

[FaT Air]

>>Why Fat Air did you not pick the 1st F, P, R from the list for each sat??? Did it have something to do with a 24/7 channel?<<
Basically, it's just one I have as a strong signal, and 24/7. Easier to get aimed at. It, however may not be your strongest.

>>Entering the V-pid, A-pid and Pcr did not help with the sound. I'm getting
no sound.<< What is the TP in question? If NASA, they have both normal mpeg audio, which the receiver will decode and send to the TV. The STB most likely has the AC3(Dolby) audio selected by default. NASA has AC3 audio which can't be decoded because of the cost of implementing hardware and software protected by technology patents. When on one of the channels with no audio, press the Audio button on remote. There should be two audio channels available. Select the one without the double D (Dolby) icon. To decode and listen to these requires, at least, an adapter called a "Sonic Voom" headphone. (inexpensive from many sources, Ebay, Amazon) Some feeds/channels have AC3 as the ONLY audio. No mpeg audio.

>>That does not delete the tps that are in what you have called the firmware.<<
There are no active TP's in firmware, Just test Tp's used at the factory. It is also the "operating system". The factory installs the firmware and pre-loads TP info that is current at the time of creating the TP list.
Firmware can be backed up on the USB stick in the CODE folder.
Your TP info and Channel List (in one file) can be backed up on the USB stick in the Chan_Data folder.
Loading updated firmware in my Panny's, 9200 and 3500, has never affected the channels I've programmed. Restoring from CODE should be the same. I've never had to do it.

>>I have been able to view tonight: Amc3 C-band, Amc9 KU. Can not view amc3 ku or Amc9 c-band.<< Ku works, C not, Then C works, Ku not. My guess: is disqc programming? OR, since you're using the analog to run polarity, is it reversing the polarity?

>>figure out how to add the data from the "List" to a sat.<<
Main Menu >> Installation >> SAT and TP Edit. Delete or edit as needed. (Freq, Polarity and SR). One TP at a time, for each satellite, east to west or W to E. A satellite orbital position with both C and Ku uses 2 satellite entries. I.E: AMC 21 and Galaxy14. Galaxy 18 also needs 2 spots, G 18 C and G 18 Ku. (Disqc, LNB Lo freq, 22Khz etc. is programmed in the Antenna Setup. done during the search for, and scanning the satellite)

>>Pansat does not give updated firmware<< If and when they come out with an update it will be on their website. (I would venture to say their firmware has fewer holes than Micro$oft's)

The following has nothing to do with dish tune-up, just programming the STB.
Procedure I use to do my last Re-program of the 9200:
I started at the bottom of the SAT and TP Edit list, renamed the sat to my furthest west sat, then entered my initial TP info(from my list) Then did the next sat, and if a sat is C and Ku, Enter TP data in 2 sat locations. 1 for C, 1 for Ku.(G14C, G14Ku) Did this till I had an initial list, All the way from the western sat, to my eastern most sat. I then backed it up on the USB for safe keeping. I named the file I720 (Initial 7=july 20-day) Then I do the Antenna setup, Setting the Disqc#, LNB LO and any other settings as needed, and scan it in. Either a sat scan, where I only program desired TP's, or a smart scan.
After each couple of sats, I back up my channel list again. and name the file by date. AUG22 for example. That way, when I screw up, and lock up the receiver, (9200 seems to like to factory default when I screw up). I just have to reload from my last back up, instead of starting over from scratch. I delete a previous backup after creating a new one, But never delete my initial backup. (I have done it, more than once, because I got too anxious and hit the wrong button, or just pushed buttons too fast) I print a paper list of sats, and note what type of scan is performed. When I do backups is also noted.
I also write myself notes on things to do or check when I get around to programming another couple of sats. I do forget things. CRS, is what some people call it.
I don't program sats West to East, or East to west. I start where I am most interested and go from there. Maybe only one sat a day, If I get to watching.
Keeping my initial list, from one programming session to the next,(Approx every 6 to 9 months, depending on amount of wild feed programming) only requires minimal time to update, via The List, or just going sat to sat, and writing down the info from the TV screen, on an active 24/7 service.
Give yourself time, Rome wasn't built in a day. Most importantly, have some fun. Every satellite programmed is a reward.

 

[shankle]

My efforts for the day.

C-band seems to be working ok except for Satmex 5. I must have goofed somewhere.
Amc 9 c-band - "pa cable network" never has come in for me.

Played with 2 KU sats. Amc 3 KU and amc 9 ku. Both came in nice and clear.
Finally got the Patients Channel in the right place.

Here is the method I used to program the C-band sats. Let me know if my
thinking is correct:
This is what I see on the Pansat 250sm.
1: go to "Sat and TP edit"
find sat - clear all entries
add a F, P, R from Fat Airs List
save
2: go to "Antenna Setup"
make sure the parameters are correct
save
3: go to "Smart Search"
check sat and parameters
scan

This way I don't have to worry about V-pid, A-pid, PCR.
If this is not correct please tell me!

On Interlsat 9 (58d) c-band, I got a Q of 64%, Level of 84%
On Intersat 9 KU I got Q of zero, Level of zero
The highest Q for the day was 90%. Also had a few zero Qs.

It rained on me but the temp was down in the 80s.
Give it another shot tomorrow.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Sounds to me that you know what your doing.:

 

[FaT Air]

""This way I don't have to worry about V-pid, A-pid, PCR. If this is not correct please tell me!>>
Correct for 99.9% I'd say you have it Nailed.
The one guaranteed exception is G17 C band, The CW channels require a PID Scan to acquire.
Go into Advanced and TP Scan, use right button to scroll thru the freqs to 3720, The SR should be 26700, and polarity horizontal. If they are not listed as such, you can input the freq, polarity, and SR. Then scroll down to PID Scan and hit the right arrow til it reads Manual, then OK, window to input the PID's opens, enter V-PID 101, A-PID 102 and PCR 101 then OK, scroll down to Start Scan and hit OK. The East feed should appear The other two channels are:
V-PID 201, A-PID 202, PCR 201 (Cent) and V-PID 301, A-PID 302, PCR 301.(Pac)
Can only do one set of PID's at a time.
& I don't know why this is not on The List, it used to be. Maybe Quert just overlooked it.
I don't have any Ku listed for Intelsat 9, But have Ku, 11810 H 27500 on Amazonas @ 61W. 3630 H 2785 is my strongest on the C band side. (Change to my list)
The Ku is weak here, Q = mid 30's, but it's the only Ku I see there. I May need a tune-up.
Good Job & Have Fun!!

 

[shankle]

I am getting some KU very nice and some just doesn't do anything.
What I do get is very clear. Don't think anymore adjustment to
the dish is the problem. Can't anyway as it's raining, so will play
with the Stick today and learn how to use it.

Lost all my sats again and I swear I didn't do anything wrong.
No names on the left and had to do a factory reset again.

Settings on Antenna setup:
It has been my habit in the past to set the LNB Type to Standard.
Will it make any difference if I set C-band to single-sl/single-sh
and KU to single stack? I can find no setting for LNB LO.

When I need a new C-band sat name I try to find one that I don't
need and rename it to the new one. Same procedure for KU.
Is this ok to do? Trying to find the reason for the blank names on
the left causing the need for a factory reset to be done.

I tried to get the CW signals as you directed but the 250sm gave
a "no programs found" message. I tried it twice.

This is the 2nd time that while composing a msg on Satelliteguys
it timed out on me. Guess I'm going to have to compse my
messages elsewhere and copy them in,

 

[FaT Air]

<<getting some KU very nice and some just doesn't do anything<< Could try other TP's listed in The List. The ones I listed are good for me, may not be for you.
Also, may have to bunp dish a click East or West, from your best C band position. Maybe two.
<<Lost all my sats again and I swear I didn't do anything wrong.
No names on the left and had to do a factory reset again.>>
Reason enough to back-up to the USB stick. It's a heck of a time saver. I don't know why it would be "no Name" or blank. unless erased was saved, and the name you inputed wasn't saved. Hit OK on OK after renaming to save the new name.
<<L.O. and LNB type?>> I would select Standard for Ku and C, and input the correct freq with the number keys. 10.750 for Ku, 5150 for C )
<< I try to find one that I don't need and rename it to the new one. >> That is what I do. But, I start at the bottom of list, and rename each one to my needs, even if one is already listed. There I'd rename it to UNK or some other name. I do this to keep all the sats in an East to West order. I am thinking of just listing the orbital slot, like 99w, 58w etc.
<<CW>> should have worked, If you get the other G17 C band channels. Nat Geo etc. Try with setting the FEC to 3/4
--time out--- I use notepad all the time.

 

[shankle]

Hi Fat Air,
Thanks for staying with me.
Still can't get the CW on G17. Still getting "no program found".

What is FEC. How do I set it to 3/4? Never done this.

Have done my 3rd Reset.
Reason I got a wide band of garbage clear across the Antenna Setup
screen. To get rid of it I had to reset.
Beginning to think I've got a dude receiver. What is your opinion?

I just talked to the gentleman that sold me the 250sm. He said that when
I do a factory reset I should reinstall the factory software.
What do you think about that?

Here are the directions from Pansat on installing the update and doing a factory reset.
"Please update the new software first and then execute the factory settings.
Finally re-scan the program to complete the process."
These instructions don't make any sense to me. EX: re-scan what program?