motorised setup with only a pc

R

RobTi

Member
My Satellite Setup
none
My Location
Scotland
Hi i will need to set up my motorised satellite by pc and was wondering if anyone can recommend the software to do it with?

Thanks

Robert
 
Which satellite PC card do you have?
 
What satellite card are you using?
 
Most satellite pc cards are not really capable of driving a motor directly through the lnb connection ...though some claim to do this ..
The reason being that the current drawn/required by the motor is quite considerable compared to the current throughput of the on board Tuner..
Check your cards spec to see if it is claimed to be suitable ...and whatever you do ...don't overload the motor by hanging an overlarge heavyweight dish on it ...
If the motor struggles to move a heavy dish ..then more current may be drawn through the pc cards tuner ..resulting in its eventual demise..

A good sign the card is designed for this purpose would be an extra power connector independant of the pci slot..
rgds
VS
 
Power is not an issue with most DVB cards if OP is running a Vbox and 36V actuator.
 
Thanks all

Its a tbs 6981 and it has the extra power supplies and i just in the middle of replacing my 36v h-h mount and v-box and going with a dark motor.

I have been using the system for the past 10 or so years and decided to do a reinstall and moved the dish alonng my wall and as the motor has been up for a few years with the wind loading i decided as it was down to renew it.

So new motor new lnb,dish and brackets cleaned and touched up where needed,now i need help setting it all up again to find the start of the arc.

So i get the bracket up perfectly plumb then set the angles on the motor and then go to Atlantic 5w for my true south ( my Longitude: -4.0758°)

Then i use some sort of pc software to tune into a sat and try to find that channel.

Any more ideas, as its been years since i last did it

Robert
 
As per the other posters, what dish (size) will you be attaching on the motor ?

The current drawn by both the motor and LNB is what should be considered.
 
RobTi said:
Sorry its a 1m dish with a inverto ultra lnb,

Robert
Click to expand...

...and what material is the dish made from ..?
For example I drive a TD110 ..which is steel.. on a darkmotor ..
Very heavy indeed...
BUT the motor is driven by a set top box which is designed to supply a greater moter/dish/lnb load ..
I'd _never_ consider driving this via any pc sat card..on a permanent basis.
A 1mtre or 90cm in ally ...well ...maybe..if the card had the extra power connector.
rgds
VS
 
RobTi said:
Well i can give it a go and if not start saving for a receiver

Robert
Click to expand...

Good luck Rob ..
It may well drive it ok at first and for a while ...but if too heavy the loading may well generate a lot of heat on the pci card ...and _could_ eventually cause component failure on the card ..
A word of advice fwiw ...
Don't drive the dish/motor too frequently in windy conditions ..as this will add to the loading ..and current drawn through the card..
rgds
VS
 
On the other hand I've been using a 1m aluminium dish on a Motek 2100A for 6 years, first off using a Skystar 2 and now a Prof card driving the motor directly. I'm in an exposed location and the dish takes a battering from the wind, so much so the motor is just about shot but I've never had a problem with either card. The only precaution I have taken is to install a PC slot fan that sits above the card to extract as much heat from it as possible and vent it out the case.

Software, TBH it's probably down to personal choice or whatever is the most stable on your system. I've tried quite a few different DVB programmes and it's never hard to make them crash but I've found the best mix of stability and features (for me anyway) is DVB Dream. There's an OEM version of 1.5e that ships with the 6925 so you might have it on disk with yours? Smart DVB is another one worth looking at, the only reason I don't use it more is because of my familiarity with Dream but it has some nice features. ProgDVB, buggy as hell the last time I used it, tried most of the others too but didn't like the 'feel' of them.
 
Aceb ..makes a good point re the extra cooling fan...
I too use this method ..
Also just to add Recent versions of DVBviewer works very well with the 6925..
Not as much control over the scanning of a satellite ...but I scan with Easy Blind Scan ..and import the results to DVBviewer ..
It works well enough for me ..and has diseqc 1.0 1.1 1.2 and usals control..
rgds
VS
 
Thanks all for the replies i have a fan pointed at card at the moment (was using old sky dish for 28E and the motorised for 19E), i really only need help on setting it up at the moment, then worry about scanning and storing satellites

Robert
 
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