DISEqC switching decocder?

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Wallybot74110

New Member
My Satellite Setup
None...yet
My Location
Warwick
Hi All

Some help with this would be really appreciated, I am not a satellite genius like you lot!

I have a dish setup in a French property, appears to be unicable to a wall socket. There are 3 dishes input to the system, set up by the local installer.

He has set up:

- DISEqC A pour AtlanticBird
- DISEqC B pour Astra 19.2
- DISEqC C pour Astra 28

He says I need a decoder with an internal DISEqC switch, does this sound right?

Can anyone recommend a good decoder or setup? Thanks!
 
Welcome to the forum!

Basically any satellite receiver will do DiSEqC switching these days, with a few exceptions like UK Sky boxes (which are designed for watching only one satellite so no switching needed).

What channels are you looking to get from these satellites? Whereabouts in France is the property and what size is the dish?
 
When you say unicable do you mean just a single cable to the wall socket? I ask because a Unicable LNB is a very specific piece of kit. Basically it's just a single LNB which can supply all four states that a universal LNB can be put into down a single cable. It can replace the twin cable setup that satellite recorders need for full functionality but only if the box itself supports a Unicable LNB.

Assuming you mean a single cable then somewhere between the wall socket and the (presumably) three leads going into the three LNBs will be something called a DiSeqc switch. This will "point" to whichever LNB it is instructed to by the satellite box. That's what he means by a box with an internal DiSeqc switch - he really should say controller.

Incidentally, I would suggest that you have the arrangement changed so that Astra 28 is on Port A. it won't make any difference to a DiSeqc capable box but it will mean that one of $ly's boxes will work without complaint.

Down in the Vaucluse I've gradually upped the size of my satellite dish over the years. It's now an 85cm Triax TD88 which works well when the weather is fine but the HD channels go in light rain and the SD channels in moderate rain. I intend to fit a 1m dish at some point.
 
Wallybot74110 said:
appears to be unicable
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that? The unicable system is a system of one cable, multiple tuners. With 3 dishes, you would have a unicable multiswitch installed, I guess. Is that true?

If you just have multiple dishes/LNBs for one receiver, the unicable solution would be huge overdimensioning I would think.
Do you have a normal 4/1 diseqc 1.0 switch installed?
Then, as @timo_w2s wrote, you just need a 'normal' receiver with diseqc 1.0. Normally, the diseqc logo would be printed on (the back side of) the receiver.

Greetz,
A33

Edit: Ah! @PaulR was quicker... ;)
 
Thanks for the replies folks.

I'd heard that sky boxes are not switchable, I plugged it in but it came back with 'no signal'. Presumably they default to DISEqC channel A (or 1). I've asked if ASTRA 28.2 can but out on channel A but with a building predominantly French, they opted for Eutelsat! I am stuck with C.

On the unicable point, I am unsure if it officially unicable but there is certainly just 1 cable that provides SAT/TV/FM into a wall socket (with an integral signal separator).

I am assuming there is a DISEQC switch somewhere, I just need a decoder that can choose between them. I only need it so I can select 28.2 to pickup UK free to air channels, not that fussed about getting French or German from 19.2.

For timo, I think it's a 1m (ish) dish, we're located in Morzine in the Alps. I'll report back on signal quality etc when I get the box there.

Can anyone recommend a good decoder?

Thanks again
 
Ah, I see what you are getting at. I think you want you want is an encoder that will inject a DiSEqC code into the cable to tell the switch to use output C so that you can use a Sky box? Problem is I don't know of one, but it's the sort of thing you'd expect Global to make but I don't think they do.

I have in the past used a basic free to air satellite receiver with an LNB loop through to a Sky box and it has worked. Using the free to air receiver I've tuned into a channel on Astra 28E (port C) and then switched it off to allow the looped through receiver full control (a Sky box in this case). Then the Sky box can view the satellite and my DiSEqC remembered the last port being used. I don't know if it would work for your setup though.

I don't know if combining SAT/TV/FM down a coax has any official names as such but it's not unicable.
 
Thanks timo. I am not particularly fussed about a sky box. As long as I can plug in a decoder (of some description), select port c, and get uk free to air channels that'll be great.

Are Icecrypt boxes and good? Not heard of it as a make, are they good quality?
 
If it was myself buying a receiver i would go for one of the Technomate range of boxes, solid build and well supported.

Icecrypt boxes have been round for a long time and they are OK for the money, but its not one particular brand that i would favour.

I would also like to point out that dependent on which receiver you get you may also find that ports A to D may be labeled as AA (A), AB ( B ), BA (C), BB (D) in the receivers menu under DISEqC 1.0 mode.
 
timo_w2s said:
Ah, I see what you are getting at. I think you want you want is an encoder that will inject a DiSEqC code into the cable to tell the switch to use output C so that you can use a Sky box? Problem is I don't know of one, but it's the sort of thing you'd expect Global to make but I don't think they do.

I have in the past used a basic free to air satellite receiver with an LNB loop through to a Sky box and it has worked. Using the free to air receiver I've tuned into a channel on Astra 28E (port C) and then switched it off to allow the looped through receiver full control (a Sky box in this case). Then the Sky box can view the satellite and my DiSEqC remembered the last port being used. I don't know if it would work for your setup though.

I don't know if combining SAT/TV/FM down a coax has any official names as such but it's not unicable.
Click to expand...
Or you could find the switch and swap ports a -c , or 1 -3 depending on the switch. Cannot be too well hidden, all decent engineers put such things in an easy to get to area, normally!
 
If it was just a simple set of DISEqC switches then i may agree with you, but i'm more than certain you would be aware that the block would probably be controlled by a 13 wire Multiswitch.

If you changed the ports you would affect the whole block. The DISEqC switching is controlled by the switch via the DISEqC signal from the receiver being received through the outputs, the only way you could change the order of the DISEqC settings is by changing the inputs which would mean moving at least 8 cables round. You also have to also consider that the switch serving the original posters property may not be a single switch, it may be a repeater, so messing with the switch could take out the whole system.

It would probably result in at least quite a few angry French people who would not be too happy about the default satellite being switched to 28e and may even result in a very expensive bill to repair the system if you wreck it. :D

I would not even entertain the idea of swapping anything over on the switch unless you have the correct meter and settings, the knowledge to do the swap and also permission to do so. If you don't know exactly what you are doing leave it well alone.

I have had to repair so many block before now when one of the tenants has taken it upon themselves to mess around with something that they have no idea how it works. Connect one wire up to the incorrect input and you could knock the switch out or worse even destroy it.

Any decent engineer would also leave the headend and any associated repeater multiswitches under lock and key. Theres nothing that p**ses me off more than having to fault find and repair a previously perfect working system that somebody who had no idea what they were doing had messed with.
 
Sorry, you are quite right. I missed the bit about being a predominantly French building so stuck with C
I was working on the assumption that it was Wallybot´s own stand alone system, not a community system. That would make a lot of difference.
Does the local installer not supply stb´s?
 
If you get a generic free-to-air satellite box most will only get now and next programme data rather than the full 7 day EPG.

Does anyone know if Freesat boxes will work with DiSEqC switches in normal Freesat mode? If so, this might be the easiest option for a full 7 day EPG and no fuss setup if Sky's encrypted channels are not needed.
 
You can get 7 day EPG on Enigma2 boxes using CrossEPG or similar addon. I know that presents another learning curve but there's lots of help on line.
 
Humax Foxsat Freesat HDR and the Foxsat Freesat single Tuner version ....the initial wizard setup will direct the Freesat signal and sets the DIseqc ... so in this case ....Freesat signal will be port 3 in normal Freesat mode ....

the 2 other sat Diseqc settings have to be done manually


Found this out by accident ....I also thought the Humax Freesat HDR would only work with Freesat signal on Diseqc port 1 !! ...
 
I almost sure my previous post ONLY apples to 1st Gen... Humax Foxsat Freesat HDR's and 1st Gen Single Tuner ......I don't think newer/latter version Freesat or freetime boxes can do Diseqc control .....
 
A few 2nd hand Humax HDR's are available on eBay UK.......HUMAX Fox-sat - HDR Freesat+ 500 Gb Digital Box twin tuners

Another handy feature of these Boxes ...is the loop thru from input 1 to input 2....So its possible to View and record 2 channels with only one cable input..!..(dependent on channel Polarity and Band)..!!
 
All you need is a DISEqC inserter such as those made by Emitor - no need to change receiver or mess with the communal system. Google -Emitor Diseqc (Inserter. Ver 2.0)
 
davemurgtroyd said:
All you need is a DISEqC inserter such as those made by Emitor - no need to change receiver or mess with the communal system. Google -Emitor Diseqc (Inserter. Ver 2.0)
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's what I was trying to get at in post #6! I thought someone must have made one.
 
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