Seca cam and french channels help!

[Martial]

Hi everyone!

I have installed a motorised satellite with the precious help I have found on this website and have been able to get channels from Astra 3a, hotbird 1-6 atlantic3 and Thor 1-2. However apart for France24,Arte,and TV5 channels I can't receive any other french channels such as TF1, France 2-3,M6 as they are all scrambled.
So I decided to purchase a Seca 2 cam and insert it into one ofhe slots of the Manhattan st100 plaza receiver but couldn't as it is too big for it.
Here is my question: Do i need to open the case of the receiver and install the cam or is my cam of no use as the receiver is only an FTA receiver?
Also on Lyngasat it says that TF1, France 2-3,M6...are free to air channels but unfortunately they are all scrambled, why? I tried a frequency search on atlantic 3 from 11505 Htp KB8 to 12732 Vtp KA6 and got hunderds of new channels but none of the ones mentioned.
I have taken Thor on 1 degree west as my main point. What am I doing wrong? Should I search them as TP channels?
I hope my questions are not stupids.:-worship
Many thanks

 

[JTA]

if your seca cam does not fit into Manhattan receiver, then this receiver is NOT equipped with common interface. If probably just has a card-slot where you can insert a credit-card size subscription card. You would also find such a card-slot on your seca-cam as a cam doesn't normally "open" any encrypted channels without a valid subscription card.
Your seca card is probably meant to be used with TPS, and should have a system for entering the TPS keys manually. 3 problems, though :
1. your cam doesn't fit into the receiver --> new receiver ?
2. TPS changes its keys every 20 minutes, so it's impossible to keep up with these key changes unless your cam is also auto-update
3. All TPS channels are currently black as they seem to have changed something in their encryption scheme. If and when the picture returns is still unknown, and when it does your cam will probably need to be updates.

now about the FTA channels on AB3 : I see FTA digital, FTA analogue and encrypted digital channels, and you're well inside the footprint, so I suppose this shouild not be any problem. Look at 11591 V for the FTA digtal channels.
The only TF1 I can find is an encrypted mpeg-4 one and an FTA analogue one, so unless you have an analogue receiver you will have little luck receiving that one on 5 West.

 

[Martial]

Many thanks JTA. I have contacted Aston, the manufacturer of the astoncrypt 2 cam and they replied that although it is technically compatible with Manhatthan plaza st100 it has never been tested.
Now my main issue is: Is it worth taking the risk of opening the reveiver case and trying to insert the cam inside or would it be a complete waste of time and probably will I be damaging the receiver?
If anyone knows let me know. In the meantime I will try to contact the maker for the receiver and find out.

 

[rolfw]

The receiver needs a CI slot to be able to accept the CAM, if it hasn't got one, then opening the case will be of no advantage.

You can get France 2, 3, 4, 5, Arté, LCP, on AB3 11591 V 20000 2/3

For TF1 ans M6 on AB3, just get a cheap secondhand analogue receiver and use it on the loopthrough.

 

[Martial]

Many thanks Rolfw. there are 2 slots but all I can insert is a (viewing) card the size of a credit card. Is Technomate 1000 series a good receiver and will it have a cam slot for a direct connection (plug and play type?) or do you have any other model in mind that you could suggest.
If I connect the analogue receiver using the loopthrough should I connect it to the Manhattan receiver or to the satellite motor?

 

[keepo]

First, you cannot insert a cam into your receiver because it's an FTA. Second, a SECA cam would not work without an active provider's official card. And last, I doubt that your dish is pointing Atlantic Bird 5ºW, there aren't hundreds of channels there, but you do have FTA France 2-3-4-5 (digital), TF1,M6 and TMC are also FTA but is analogical, France 2-3-4-5 also send analogical (an analogical receiver costs only 25 euros at Pixmania.com)

 

[Martial]

Many thanks for this. I was strongly thinking that I wasn't pointing at 5W. Now my problem is that when I am searching for 5W the signal is very strong as I fine tune the dish. I think that I have to reset my dish and search again. A lot of head scratching in perspertive with my compass and sat system