Need new decoder, considering Strong 4653X 4658X

[drunkntigr]

Well here's the story:

1. I'm a newbie.

2. The motor on what I believe you guys call the atenuator is dead, 2.3M mesh satellite dish won't turn, therefore we're locked to AsiaSat3.

3. The little box that I believe controls the motor is also broken, no LED display.

4. Our Strong SRT 4610 decoder works, but now since a lot of the channels churned ot he new ChinaSat 6B we can't watch them cause I can't get the damn satellite to move (I'm not sure if I even need it to move?)(+I have no idea how to add the new satellite, I'm guessing just press move in the GUI of the Installation menu in the decoder till I get a signal?)

5. So honestly I'd like to do things myself now and buy a new decoder just for fun, then get the atenuator fixed or buy one myself along with that box that controls the motor.

I'm in Melbourne, not sure where I can buy these decoders cheap, and which one is best.

From what I've seen the Strong series what I have is reliable but SLOW, been ebaying and seen the 4653X/4658X.

Any places in Melbourne where I can buy them cheap? Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

+ Anything else I might need to know when buying these? Like these cards etc? And how do they connect to my computer?

[big mick000]

well, if there is absolutely nothing from the actuator control box, i think it may need to be replaced, if a new one won't move dish properly when set up correctly, you also may need a new motor. setting up a whole new decoder to work with everything you have, and all the satellites you have stored may be a bit of a challenge and will take time. the 465Xx series is very nice in my opinion and worth every dollar, i have a 4658x and it is quite fast indeed. it sounds like most of the work is done for you as you seem to day that the dish is already set up to track satellites. i would start with a new actuator control box first, just to confirm if the motor needs replacing or not, then if everything is working properly then i would get used to using the menu, scanning in new channels, and moving the dish from the box. then after that you may consider getting a new box. but in the end it is up to you. good luck.

[Apsattv]

Well here's the story:

1. I'm a newbie.

2. The motor on what I believe you guys call the atenuator is dead, 2.3M mesh satellite dish won't turn, therefore we're locked to AsiaSat3.

3. The little box that I believe controls the motor is also broken, no LED display.

4. Our Strong SRT 4610 decoder works, but now since a lot of the channels churned ot he new ChinaSat 6B we can't watch them cause I can't get the damn satellite to move (I'm not sure if I even need it to move?)(+I have no idea how to add the new satellite, I'm guessing just press move in the GUI of the Installation menu in the decoder till I get a signal?)

5. So honestly I'd like to do things myself now and buy a new decoder just for fun, then get the atenuator fixed or buy one myself along with that box that controls the motor.

I'm in Melbourne, not sure where I can buy these decoders cheap, and which one is best.

From what I've seen the Strong series what I have is reliable but SLOW, been ebaying and seen the 4653X/4658X.

Any places in Melbourne where I can buy them cheap? Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

+ Anything else I might need to know when buying these? Like these cards etc? And how do they connect to my computer?


Take the actuator off and manually repoint the dish to the correct elevation angle. Set the receiver to some strong signals on 6B slowly rotate the dish. Until you find it then set the locking bar in place until your replace the actuator.

[drunkntigr]

OK basically how do set the settings of the new satellite, now I'm trying this at my friends house, on the controller, I'm assuming at 107 means 107 elevation, so to get ChinaSat 6B at 115.5E, I manually turn the controller box to 115.

Once done, I set position locked in the receiver. Now the point where I'm at is what values do I put the frequency at and the symbol rate to get a frequency. If I use the same symbol rate and frequency as AsiaSat3S I get a 90% signal, but it only detects 4 channels which are on AsiaSat3S.

Am I doing the right thing here? If I put any other frequencies and symbol rates in ChinaSat 6B I get no signal.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Ocean]

You need to do some reading to learn the basics as your guesses are wrong !

The 115 degree figure is the position of longitude for the satellite over the equator....all geostationary satellites you are concerned with are at various positions of longitude over the equator, and the direction from your dish to these satellites is dependent on your location. The mathematical function of calculating the direction your dish should point for a given satellite is very complex, a correctly set up Polar Mount does most of this work for you and you should only need to drive the actuator in azimuth to locate any satellite. To actually find a satellite requires a satellite finder, satellite meter or a receiver correctly tuned to an active transponder in use on the satellite you seek.

The satellites appear in an arc across the sky toward the north if you are in the southern hemisphere, and the closer they are toward true north from you the higher in elevation they are. You will note that your dish points highest in the sky the closer it is pointed to true north - assuming you have a Polar Mount (likely, if the system is motorised).

If the dish system was working previously do not change any settings at the dish until you know what you are doing, other than the removal/loosening of the actuator as previously suggested, otherwise you will have a big task resetting the system. You will need to learn and understand declination, azimuth and elevation.

Enter the correct information for an active transponder into your receiver, then move the dish slowly until the receiver shows an indication on its Quality meter....you have probably done this already, but must realise you need to move the dish slowly to give the receiver time to respond to any signal found.

[drunkntigr]

You need to do some reading to learn the basics as your guesses are wrong !

The 115 degree figure is the position of longitude for the satellite over the equator....all geostationary satellites you are concerned with are at various positions of longitude over the equator, and the direction from your dish to these satellites is dependent on your location. The mathematical function of calculating the direction your dish should point for a given satellite is very complex, a correctly set up Polar Mount does most of this work for you and you should only need to drive the actuator in azimuth to locate any satellite. To actually find a satellite requires a satellite finder, satellite meter or a receiver correctly tuned to an active transponder in use on the satellite you seek.

The satellites appear in an arc across the sky toward the north if you are in the southern hemisphere, and the closer they are toward true north from you the higher in elevation they are. You will note that your dish points highest in the sky the closer it is pointed to true north - assuming you have a Polar Mount (likely, if the system is motorised).

If the dish system was working previously do not change any settings at the dish until you know what you are doing, other than the removal/loosening of the actuator as previously suggested, otherwise you will have a big task resetting the system. You will need to learn and understand declination, azimuth and elevation.

Enter the correct information for an active transponder into your receiver, then move the dish slowly until the receiver shows an indication on its Quality meter....you have probably done this already, but must realise you need to move the dish slowly to give the receiver time to respond to any signal found.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I actually figured this out yesterday night as said in my other post, perhaps in a most layman way.

I figured that the satellite was alright locked in terms of latitude as the E-W fine tune button on the positioner I assumed would the satellite longtudinally (excuse the english here). Therefore the satellite was moving in one line tracking an arc across the sky where the satellites are all moving in an arc or geostationary orbit, basically how I term it, although not accurate, got it working hte end end anyway haha.

So basically how I approached this, I got the figures of the satellite, e.g. AsiaSat2 which was at 105.5 for example, and AsiSat3 at 109.5 (not correct values). Then found the corresponding values on the positioner so say 100 and 124. I found that for every value on the Satellite page, 1 degree in there was equal to the positoner moving 6 degrees in value. Therefore I calculate the positon of ChinaSat 6B via this method, knowing that it was 115.5 I just did simple maths, multiplied by 6 till I got the appropriate figure on the positioner e.g. 127, then locked in that position to the ChinaSat 6B. Then worked out the appropriate transponder freuqnecy and pulse rate wateva and then woo, alls good.

***Now I also realised this morning that I can remove the actuator safely as it only controls the direction in one plane therefore I can easily just swap it over with the new actuator without mucking up the stallite direction, which was one of the problems initially when the satellite guy left as one of the larger bolts kept on coming lose and the satellite woudl move in high wind, eventually he came in and welded it in place.

Anyhow, still waiting on my receiver which will come in 1-2 weeks as I chose the wrong slow payment method, then going to pop down and get myself a new actuator and postioner.

Thanks for the help guys, been of great help!

[Ocean]

Hi,


So basically how I approached this, I got the figures of the satellite, e.g. AsiaSat2 which was at 105.5 for example, and AsiSat3 at 109.5 (not correct values). Then found the corresponding values on the positioner so say 100 and 124. I found that for every value on the Satellite page, 1 degree in there was equal to the positoner moving 6 degrees in value. Therefore I calculate the positon of ChinaSat 6B via this method, knowing that it was 115.5 I just did simple maths, multiplied by 6 till I got the appropriate figure on the positioner e.g. 127, then locked in that position to the ChinaSat 6B.

What I wrote still stands ! In your case - where the dish did not have to move far - you can roughly align a dish by estimating the azimuth angle vesus pulse count. This error in azimuth angle versus pulse count changes across the range - as I said it's not a linear relationship. If you were to guess the location by pulse count for, say, Intelsat 10 way around at the western end of the viewable arc, you would have no hope ! At the extremes of azimuth the degree of dish rotation versus pulse count changes by a factor of maybe 3 or 4 to 1 as the mechanical advantage changes dramatically. Just to confuse you further, the way this factor changes is determined by which side of the mount the motor is mounted.

Anyway, you have it working !

[blackcrusader]

If you were to guess the location by pulse count for, say, Intelsat 10 way around at the western end of the viewable arc, you would have no hope ! !

My mates in Argentina and NZ, nd my sister in Canberra are watching Intelsat 10.... pity they don't have any dishes though :eek: :D :D