Coolsat/BSC621-2

[gremlin411]

yes you can use the usb flash drive to load factory file.

 

[gremlin411]

schnitz411
I sent you a pm

 

[schnitz411]

This NVRAM clearing procedure doesn't seem to work on the 7100. Anyone had success doing it?

 

[amc1]

:up

Figure you're all probably sick of me at this point, but I've got another question. This morning I was continuing to find my satellites and save the positions, with good success. Coolsat 7100 (freshly restored to factory settings) LNBF: BSC621-2 Motech positioner Working on Ku band, so setting for Universal LNB anf Diseq position2 Had position on AMC6 (25-35% quality) Then had G17 (about 40% quality)..working great. then started to try to find AMC 5 at 79W....moved back and forth on right frequency in right area (12182 H 23000 (the New York Network)) and nothing. Worked backwards and all of a sudden had lost the AMC5 signals, and then G17 too. Positioner started giving me Err2 and looked on roof, found it was stuck on the far (AMC6 end). Got it moving again. Reset positioner. Set the limits even more conservatively. Now I'm trying blind searches in likely spots but I think there is some issue somwhere. If I have coolsat about to start an advanced or manual search, it shows a level of about 80% from the LNB (as usual), but as soon as I hit "blind" it loses the level entirely. This is really odd behavior and I'm thinking the blind scan isn't really scanning anything at all. Anyone come across this one? So frustrated! Thought I was in business finally. This is not as easy as I thought when I got started!

i dont think anyone is getting sick ,this about asking questions . if you dont ask how would 1 learn anything .we all can learn something . i have a bsc621 -2 im only getting around to installing it soon goinng to ask a few questions of my one.i did fool around with it but lost interst in it im soon going to give it another try beacus g10r has a stronger signal now.

 

[rv1pop]

Probably not the same, but I had a power burp (OK the generator ran out of gas) and I began getting symptom simular to those. I found almost all my LNB setting had gone to universal.... Changed them all back and it started working again..WHY ????
POP

 

[schnitz411]

Ugh. Well was having fairly good luck for a while. Had a friend go on roof. Found G26 and rotated LNBF and pulled it in and out different distances from ring and got strong signal. Skipped down a few to G28 and was getting nothing till again doing some rotations and got a decent signal. Then went back to the exact spot (using the Vbox directly not via the coolsat) and could find NOTHING. Did a blind scan and found some stuff that I am 95% sure is all the way over on AMC4 (Gospel Music TV, Bethel TV, Miracle TV...) im beyond confused about how sometimes when I go back to the same # its in the same place and other times apparently off by 10 degrees?? which should be like 30 clicks!

 

[Lak7]

When you are bouncing between the 2 Sats, make sure that the TPs you are using are on the same Polarity.

 

[gabshere]

although i don't know if this is related to your problem but i have something that happens like this ... usually its spread over a longer distance. i actually pointed it to the v-box and the actuator. some actuator only count so much like 30 pulses or 32 pulses per inch. other count like 48 the higher the counting the better the v-box handles it ( and my v-box is the v-box III) i think the g-box should do a better job counting but won't know until i get one and try it.

main thing is to find the satellites and set them up .... you might have to manually re-tune them a bit until a solution is found. i don't want to say this is your problem but it sounds close . there are several threads over in the c-band section on counting or my dish doesn't know how to count ect... you might find more infor there on the subject.

my attempt at a fix is to test a second reed sensor to double the count of the actuator to gain a better count and a bit more accuracy. ( i hope to try this soon)

 

[schnitz411]

Wierd thing is that the 4dtv controlled the motor just fine but this setup is having trouble. I can live with it I suppose but with this kind of jumping around its very hard to find a sat again... Sounds like the consensus on that is the actuator and positioner not really talking in a consistent way? This couldn't be wiring could it?

Also: anyone think its wierd that the same asjustemns to lnbf rotation etc to get verticals and horz good on one sat are useless on another sat and the ones that work there are useless on the first. My understanding was if you get it well tuned on one it should work ok on another.

 

[gabshere]

skew is a weird thing
at zero and 180 the v & h should come in but if you add skew to 180 out ( the the probes are also 180 out) so this changes the skew ( you would provably have to think reverse on the skew when going 180 out). thats why its usually set at your TS satellite and let the dish handle the skew. does your 621-2 have the little pointer or a scale for the skew mark ?

 

[schnitz411]

Wow I'm clearly new at this because I don't even understand what you mean about 180 out? I'm inclined to believe that the dish itself is actually mounted plum and all that because i've gotten stuff from as far over as AMC6 at 74W and as far over as something in the 130something range on CBAND. So hwo does that fit into what you were saying about true south? Whats the ideal process for getting the skew right given this? I do have the markers...0/30/60 type thing I think.

 

[Anole]

From reading the thread, two areas of concern jump out at me:

1). the proper orientation of the BSC-621 is documented,
and should be set for zero skew when the dish is pointed at your true south bird.
Period.

As a side note, it will operate fine if you should twist the LNBf 180 degrees.
That just means your vertical probe is pointing up instead of down. Same thing.
But, if you rotate the LNBf 90º, then you will swap all Vertical transponders for Horizontal ones.
If you find your transponders interchanged (even for odd on 4DTV, I think), then 90º is the cure.

Anole pix of skew for CK-1 and BSC-621 LNBf's
http://www.satelliteguys.us/1281374-post50.html

Of course, you would not want to run a BSC-621-2 on Analog nor 4DTV Ku, if it's the one with Universal Ku LNB.
(I say that to cover my butt, because not owning one, I can never remember which BSC is which! ) -
Reason being, those receivers cannot deal with the local oscillator frequency of 10600 instead of the expected 10750
That's a Ku-only problem, of course, and either LNBf would work the same on C-band.


2). It sounds like you do not have reliable counting in your Vbox.
As I have read about them, they are quite reliable, so...
- maybe you have flaky, broken, or otherwise damaged wiring on the sensor
- maybe you have a flaky reed switch which the 4D can deal with but the Vbox cannot
(try adjusting the reed-to-magnet spacing if possible)

It could be something totally different even down to ground loops, so the above it not a guaranteed fix.
It's just a place to start.
Best of luck - :up

 

[gabshere]

180 out = 180 degrees out
zero ( on a compass) would equal 12 on a clock
180 on a compass would equal 6 on a clock

from your location you would have a true south satellite. when on this satellite your skew would be zero on your lnbf. since you have the scale -30/0/+30 this scale should be at the 12 o clock position when on your true south satellite.

- maybe you have a flaky reed switch which the 4D can deal with but the Vbox cannot
(try adjusting the reed-to-magnet spacing if possible)

i did try this but need to try a couple other things also

 

[c4net]

schnitz,

Your seem to be chasing your tail...

To be able to pull in Ku digital, your dish has to be 100% true:

-pole 90 deg to earth with weight of dish hanging on it
-Axis at True north
-Axis angle set at proper inclination for your latitude
-Proper declination set for your location
-Dish plane perfectly flat (for prime focus dishes; see How to set up antenna reflector panels using fishing line)
-feedhorn:
a)mounted in center of dish, parallel to dish face
b)feedhorn set at correct focal length
c)Scalar ring set to corresponding setting for your dish f/D
d)LNB mounted so that polarity correct (TIP: put marks on the outside of the feedhorn throat and then put an X on the plastic throat cap so you can see, adjust it from the ground)

Then use a signal meter and an analogue receiver to check your arc scan and make any adjustments.

THEN you can start to work with the digital recvr. Make sure you fully understand all the choices of settings and how to save them as you go.

You have to eliminate as many variables as you can to nail down the problems.

And as I said in my first post...I think there is something screwy with the VboxII and Diseqc 1.2 commands from receivers...at least with my Viewsat IV200....sometimes the dish just doesn't stop moving (after I let the button go on the receiver's remote) until it gets to the soft limit!

Man, this Ku digital dxing makes analog C-band dxing seem like tuning rabbit ears!

 

[c4net]

BTW, "How to set up antenna reflector panels using fishing line" is a link to that document

 

[melgarga]

I'm with you c4net, "chasing your tail" seems to be an accurate description.
First, repeatability out of the positioner is a must. If the feedback isnt reliable your will never know where your at. You MUST have good reference points to get the arc right.
Next, I sort by position and print an FTA list, identify the known strong tp/freq/sr/pol/birds making a quick ref page bird by bird. This makes it easy to jump from bird to bird, and know what you are looking for. Noting the positioner counts [if they are accurate] as you pan the sky is a good idea too.
I dont know about the CS 7100 but my 6K is supported by a proggy called Channelmaster. An .ndf file can be built using known good sat/tp/freq/sr/pol data and u/l'd to the unit. Also on my 6k, I have to go to manual scan to select/edit tp/sr/pol data, and if in sat info area, the 1st freq in the list [seen in manual scan screen] is what it tries to get signal on, so if that tp/sr/pol isnt valid for that bird, no Q.
If you must edit in your data manually, put the known good info in the 1st position.
This site -www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html#anchor469886
has the best "C-Band 101" instructions and info in one place I've yet to find. You may notice that other sites on the web have "gleaned out" portions of the text/graphics and put it up on their site. The graphic at the bottom of page 3 is an excellent visual explanation of arc, elevation, declination and true south position. There is a wealth of other sat info there too.


I'll try to u/l the graphic-


Good luck ,and get that feedback pulse gen and/or wiring issue fixed.
My current project is to get a 48" offset feed Primestar/Invacom QPH bolted to an old polar mount assy that had a 7.5 ft mesh on it to track 58-129. It's being a 'challenge' but I'm gettin' close...........