Skystar 2 motorised ?

Rod Hulls Aerial

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Errr.. thats it.
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Hello all..
I currently only have the one LNB on a fixed dish pointing at Astra 19.2
as you can tell my viewing is rather limited at the moment !!
To make matters worse if I want to re-align my dish it means I have to
climb onto a rickety roof and set up a tv or laptop within sight so I can see what I'm tuning in !
I know a satellite meter would be a good start but I'm now just thinking a motorised dish is the answer.
Can I get some advice please from your good selves as to the cheapest way I can get my SS2 motorised ? which models will do the job and do I need anything other than just the motor with my existing 80cm mesh dish LNB & cable ?
Also is it true I'll need a diseqc 1.0 or 1.1 enabled motor ? will a 1.2 not work ?
Finally wheres the best place to buy the motor from ?
Thanks for all your help in advance.

Emu
 

Channel Hopper

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Cheapest may not be the best

A simple DiSEqC motor fitted on the back of the dish will allow single wire connection and reception of a number of satellites, but this will limit you to a dish of around 1m maximium (less if you are in an area where there are high winds).

The better (but more expensive ) alternative, would be a true polarmount dish, and a DiSEqC converter box. Almost any size of dish can then be fitted, giveing you access to the majority of channels up there. With a Skystar system MPEG 4.2.2 recpetion is possible, and the larger dish option makes this a more versatile system.
 

s*t*a*r*m*a*n

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Could you explain please Channel Hopper what the difference is with MPEG 4.2.2 reception? i always see this on lyngsat but never quite understood it.

My skystar 2 card setup is using a 90 cm dish which is bolted on to the motor and from there i got a hole drilled into my window and put the cable through it and then connected it to a programmer box which has 128 programmable positions for satellites. I had to move the dish in small increments while tuned to a satellite channel in the clear on for example 1 degree west and when i new i had that channel i moved the dish in small increments again until i found the next satellite on the arc which for me was at 3 east "telecom 2a" etc. I used a cheap and nasty satellite bleeper firts though which connected to the lnb on the dish (while up the ladder) and then the other end would connect to the main cable going into the pc from outside and through an earpiece i could hear a high pitch noise when i was directly on 1 west satellite and as long as that satellite is aligned right and the sat dish is leveled correctly when installed then when the motor moves the dish it should position exactly on the satellite arc where each satellite can be found. It is a irritating to set up at first and i really think i need to slightly align my dish now but i hate doing it as its a nightmare to get back again without a decent meter. The motor controls the dish in my setup and the lnb cable is connected to the lnb input on the skycard 2 where i tune in the channels for each satellite. It works for me. I havent looked at this deseq stuff but i think my motor does the basic diseq 1.1 or something. How can i use the diseq in this setup? surely the motor cannot be moved from the pc alone? do i really need my sat programmer?
 

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Rod Hulls Aerial said:
Hello all..
I currently only have the one LNB on a fixed dish pointing at Astra 19.2
as you can tell my viewing is rather limited at the moment !!

SNIP

Emu
If you want it cheap, a wee diseqc 1.2 motor like the Moteck SG2100 will work fine with your skystar2 card. Apparently (according to the Technisat blurb) the card does not support diseqc 1.2 (only 1.1 if memory serves), but with the right after-market plugin, it does the job just great.

That's what I'm running at the moment, and I'm really pleased with the channels I can get for the money I've spent.

As has been said, keep your dish size under 1M, as they're not built to withstand much wind loading...

Other than the motor, all you'll need is a coax patch lead. Your existing coax/f connector goes to the motor, then the patch lead goes from the motor to the LNB (both ends f connectors also).
 

denpar

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Hi I am living by the spanish cost. I have diseq 1.2 and a wallbounted 1.2m dish. It´s attached to the southern wall of the house and stands the wind very good.I can receive
most of the usual sats.
So mounted in the right place there is no problems with 1.2m.
Denpar
 

Rod Hulls Aerial

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Errr.. thats it.
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Thanks Bgonastick, I've seen these motors on E-bay for £70 so I'll get one ordered, having said that if anyone on the forums wants my trade I would rather use one of my "brethren" so please get back to me on this forum within the next 24 hours and if the price is right we shall do business.
One question, where do you download this 1.2 plugin or patch ?

Many thanks all for your help so far.

Emu
 

s*t*a*r*m*a*n

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i think the plugin you are looking for rod hulls aerial can be found here :)
http://multidec.host.sk/en/download_b2c2.html

ps. love the name and the pic :D

that link to the plugin seems dead actually but they now have an official domain name that now appears to be http://www.dvbsoft.net
i expect it can be found here somewhere.

i suggest you do not click on there banner ads as they can lead to sites full of trojans and dialers etc.
 

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@denpar - Ive no doubt that any size dish within reason will work with DiSEqC motors, but the receiver has only a small amount of power to play with when pushing voltage through the tuner to the LNB, and therefore the gearbox, bearings and other components in the DiSEqC motor have to be rather light to prevent the receiver from showing a short circuit. Consequently, there is a direct relation between the size of dish hanging on the motor, and the amount of use it can take before things go wrong. A windy area is going to shorten the times between callouts, and a larger dish will do the same.

I admire your courage though.
 

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Rod Hulls Aerial said:
Thanks Bgonastick, I've seen these motors on E-bay for £70 so I'll get one ordered, having said that if anyone on the forums wants my trade I would rather use one of my "brethren" so please get back to me on this forum within the next 24 hours and if the price is right we shall do business.
One question, where do you download this 1.2 plugin or patch ?

Many thanks all for your help so far.

Emu
As it's small and uncontroversial, I hope the mods won't mind me posting it here.
If I'm out of order, I apologise.

This is the actual one I use, so you're pretty much guaranteed that It'll work on your setup. Check the readme file for instructions.
 

rolfw

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Rod Hulls Aerial

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Errr.. thats it.
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Cheers BIG Stick, I'm still open to any motor salesmen for the next 12 hours or so ! and if not I'm ordering one come what may..
 

Rod Hulls Aerial

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Errr.. thats it.
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Righto got me an SG2100 ordered, I'll no doubt post on the motorised system forum if I do have any drama's with the installation.

Out of interest BgonaStick what satellites are you recieving with your current setup and smaller dish ?
 

BGonaSTICK

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Well, firstly some irriot mounted the dish on the side of my house, so I can only see as far east as Astra 1.x (19.2E), and then some complete plank built a house next door, so I can only see west as far as Intelsat901 (18W).

I could move it (my dish that is, not the house next door...), but it's nicely out of the way where it is, and I get to see everything I want except 42E and 30W.

Between those two points, I can get a good signal off most satellites except the following:-

Sirius 3 at 5E
Thor 3 at 1W
Nilesat at 7W
Amos 1 and 2 at 4W

and obviously some extreme eastern beams etc.

All the main sats, including Sirius 2 and Thor 2 give me a nice strong signal, irrespective of the weather.

I live on the south coast, which helps, and have the Triax 88cm dish and the excellent Invacom 0.3db LNB (which I can highly recommend at around £25 if you don't get the results you want straight off).

:D
 

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I think i am gonna dive into motorising my 90cm dish.

Which diseqc motor do u guys suggest?

How easy was it to connect and install to your skystar2?

How did ya go about pinpointing each satellite?
 

Rod Hulls Aerial

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Errr.. thats it.
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Hi HomerJay, I now have my Motek 2100 motor, unfortunately you'll have to wait for my comments on installation as I've decided to wait until I move house, I cannot see the point in setting it all up and having to take it all down again !!

House is on the market and we hope to be in a bigger property by May-june, for now my dish will stay parked on Hotbird for obvious reasons !!
Don't worry, it will be the first thing I do when I move in !!
 

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homerjay said:
I think i am gonna dive into motorising my 90cm dish.

Which diseqc motor do u guys suggest?

How easy was it to connect and install to your skystar2?

How did ya go about pinpointing each satellite?
1) See above.

2) It was easy with the help of the good folks here!

3) Just align on 1deg W with your pole exactly vertical in both planes. Set up your basic angles from a couple of sat tables, and off you go! Just a bit of minor tweaking and tinkering to max your signal then required. A sat meter definitely helps, and is a good investment if your gonna do this more than a couple of times!
 
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