Monoblock on 4:1 diseqc switch?

[kamaleon]

Hi folks

A couple of months ago, in Portugal, I did an installation for a friend of mine. I got him receiving 28.2°E on one dish + 19.2°E + 13°E on a monobloc on another dish. This was all connected to a diseqc 4:1 switch from televes (can't remember the exact ref.). I didn't really figure out how the heck the monobloc lnb could be cascaded on the diseqc switch, but hey, it friggin worked like a charm!!
If I recall correctly the monobloc was on port 1 and the 3 lnb on port 3, and the receivers were a kaon and a cheapo tvcabo official one from back in the days.
Now I'm trying to do the same thing for myself but can't seem to do it, not even theoretically. I've got a spaun SAR 411 F switch, and an old recovered 0.6dB monobloc that seems to perform a lot better than my standalone lnbs I'm using altdvb which has plenty of options so on the other end bit it should be ok. Is there any trick to this?

TIA!

 

[CROSSBONES]

Maybe there`s a computability issue? Try using the same parts as your mates set up

 

[Robbo]

Theoretically you should be using an uncommitted switch (eg SUR 211) instead of another Diseqc1.0/2.0 committed one. That is of course if the receiver supports it.

There are a couple of other tricks, which have already been mentioned before on the forum ( neither of which I've tried personally):-

One of them is to connect the 1st two ports of the Diseqc1.0 switch together somehow (T-piece maybe) and connect the monoblock to that. The third LNB goes to port 3.

Theory is that when you select port 1, you get connected to port 1 of the Diseqc1.0 switch, but also to port 1 of the monoblock.

And when you select port 2, you get connected to port 2 of the Diseqc1.0 switch, which also goes to the monoblock which also gets switched to port 2 at the same time. Not sure if Diseqc repeat commands are required

 

[kamaleon]

alrightey, got any ideas on how to connect the two ports of the switch together? I cold try that but wouldn't that make a short circuit of some sort though?

 

[Robbo]

The details are already on the forum somewhere, one of the methods was to take the lid off and solder a wire accross. The original post was in the Portuguese section in Portuguese

Thought I read somewhere that a connector could be purchased specifically for this purpose otherwise. Also an idea would be to try a combiner, or you could rip its guts out and replace with wires.

Shorted, yes, but not to deck, so nothing too serious.

 

[kamaleon]

aiiite, me will do sum readin then

 

[kamaleon]

found the televes switch reference, apparently it's been designed for working with a monobloc

-http://www.televes.com/hojastecnicas/103169.pdf

 

[Robbo]

Excellent, that explains the mystery at least. Didn't know you could get 4x1 diseqc 1.0 switches for monoblocks, it has a slide switch inside that enables it to be selected for use in that manner by the looks of it.

Televes 7269. I'll make a note of that one.:-worship

 

[kamaleon]

yeah right so you mean this ain't common hey? it came with a pretty handy enclosure as well, I could nearly have got it for free from my mate 2

Here are the pics of the installation, he was getting freesat with the 80cm dish in south Portugal, rock solid. I could also get it marginally on the smaller 60cm dish. Try to spot the peculiar thing about the way that dish was set

 

[Robbo]

You used your shoelaces to tie the dishes to the drainpipe?


Yes, I think the Televes switch is unusual, never seen it mentioned on here before in the English section, and I usually just get the Technomates 4x1's myself.

 

[satelliteman]

Definitely worth noting that one, thanks

 

[kamaleon]

You used your shoelaces to tie the dishes to the drainpipe?

LOL, well spotted but that's not what I meant. My m8 was too skint to buy proper things (whatever you call them in english) from the diy shop, we got all the dishes, lnbs, switch etc for free from his mother BTW, it's rock solid it is...

What I meant was that the 28.2°E lnb skew is on the "wrong" direction - but I sware to you that's the way the signal was maximised!!! Also on the smaller dish when I tried it!!

Yes, I think the Televes switch is unusual, never seen it mentioned on here before in the English section, and I usually just get the Technomates 4x1's myself.

Yeah, I bet it's really not popular outside of the iberean peninsula, but I can tell you televes seems to make proper shi*!

 

[rolfw]

I have a feeling that the Televes LNBs are skewed strangely, I seem to remember having a problem with a 30W setup, the skew was way more anticlockwise than it should have been.

 

[kamaleon]

I beats me rolfw, anyway I was really astonished as to how that is so! Anyway, know what? I've just taken my motorised rig down yesterday and had a play with all of the lnbs I had around, and one of those televes 0.5dB lnbs, which comes bundled with the portuguese tvcabo dishes (like your equivalent to the cheapo sky dishes) is the ONLY one that gets me aljazeera sports at nile sat with a nearly 100% glitch free image

And believe me, I had handy a:
mti blue line twin 0.2dB
lidl porty dish
smart titanium 0.2dB
inverto silver tech 0.2dB single and a twin

also an old 0.6dB monoblock with no name gave me a nearly stable image on the same transponder , with my 85cm transparent dish

 

[kamaleon]

What's up with the little yellow screwdriver on the casing, what do you need it for?

 

[Robbo]

Maybe you poke it in a small hole somewhere to change the monoblock selection switch.

 

[kamaleon]

you're quite probably right, thanks ;)

 

[esc1996fan]

Hi!


I have a few questions when it comes to unifying Monoblock + Single LNB.

That's how my equipment looks like:

- Dish 1 >>> Monoblock (16E + 19.2E)
- Dish 2 >>> Single LNB (13E)


Question 1: I would like to unify both systems into a single cable, all 3 LNBs connected to the same tuner. Is this possible?

Question 2: I read that monoblocks have already an internal switch. So, can I use any kind of switch to unify the monoblock and the single LNB? Some people say that it may work only if I use "uncommitted" switches. What does "uncommitted" stand for?

Question 3: What configuration do I have to set at "System > Tuner configuration" if I buy a switch to unify monoblock + single LNB?: Toneburst? DiSEqC A/B? DiSEqC A/B/C/D? Advanced?

Is this how the configuration should look like?
- Monoblock 16E >>> Port AA
- Monoblock 19.2E >>> Port AB
- Single LNB 13E >>> Port BA


Any help will be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[PaulR]

As this was such an old thread I split your original question off into its own thread here Unifying Monoblock + Single LNB.

 

[Lazarus]

A dedicated Topic has been created for you here

Unifying Monoblock + Single LNB.

Edit: Snap!

I'll shut up now ....