Findings after 3 days

[wbarrett]

I have tried the following images... VU+ factory, Blackhole, VIX and ATV. VIX is what I keep going back to but I am having enough issues that I am not ready to make this my primary box over the AzBox. I did find the box very sensitive to flash drive compatibility. Kept getting a UBIFS Updating error until I found the cheapest plain jane 2 GB flash drive the box decided it would work with.

I think I figured out a fairly reliable way to get past the PAL 50 Hz screen issue. I select YbYrYg and 480p at 60 Hz from the VFD. That allows a low resolution image through HDMI. After selecting ENGLISH I exit completely out of the set up wizard. Then go to menu >> setup >> A/V >> Automatic Resolutions to Automatic and save. That seems to let me change to HDMI and 1080 p and have it work.

I have mastered skins and DreamEdit and bouquets and backing up images. That is not too hard. Haven't tried picons but other issues make me want to see what other improvements are forthcoming.

I found the VIX image blind scan on A tuner to be ~80% accurate on Ku-band. USALS worked just fine. Sensitivity of the Ku receiver is way less than the AzBox though. I could not get NBC East or Cozi to lock in whereas both max out my AzBox and Manhattan.

On C-band, I found the blind scan to be buggy. Sometimes when selected the box crashes ... other times it seems hit and miss on finding transponders not in the XML file. I also discovered that you cannot chose DiSEqC 1.2 positions and have them sent to your ASC-1 or G-Box mover. If there is a way to send positions 00 - 99 I sure can't see how.

C-band sensitivity was also pretty poor. KBRK 3720 H 8702 on 99w was very sensitive to dish position and would lock only about 50% of the time. Other S2 transponders at higher frequencies were fine.

This box is fast though. I loaded up on some skins and set up a lot of options to see how performance was degraded. Saw none. I did set a 256 MB swap file on the HDD drive.

Man does this box get hot though. I think I could bake a ham on top of the Vu+Duo2 after an hour or two of running. I think I will be setting up the Vu+ Duo2 in my bedroom with a separate dish and USALs motor so I can work more on this learning curve and see if I can find an image more blind scan and c-Band friendly for my set up. I take it that Europe does not do much C-band with actuators as the interfaces and software support on that seems an after thought to me.

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Bill

[chewie]

Hello Bill
Which version of ATV did you installed? i HAVE 4.0 VER. on my AZBOX P+ and blind scan is getting faster every time and more accurate.
Regarding the signal strength, I noticed that on sat 105w the signal is low like 54% I can get the NASA channels but sometimes it gets the NBC channels but just for a short while.
To me the blind scan with the VIX image is very fast buy it misses transponders, I am not into fast scanning, I am used to my AZBOX but is getting better.
I like the box a lot, I am sure eventually it will be the box to have as Enigma images get better.
Regards.
chewie

[wbarrett]

I used 4.0 ATV as well.

I just have to wonder if the sensitivity is impacted by the heat in the box. Components just don't like being run that hot. One thing I am going to experiment with is using laptop cooling and see what that helps the tuners. I ran the box for about 6 hours yesterday and I went to physically move it and couldn't unscrew the F connectors as they were too hot to touch!

I agree with you Chewie ... accuracy is far more important than speed in blind scan. I am happy to start it and go off and do something else if need be

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Bill

[el bandido]

Have you set the internal fan? Menu--->System--->Fan Control. The fan needs to be set each time the image is changed because the default setting is too low. My Duo2 runs around the clock and never gets over 31-33C. This includes heavy use of the internal HD.

What tuner are you using for C band?
Signals on Cozi and C band are fine for me. My Duo2 receiver sensitivity is equal to or better than any other receiver I have.
Diseqc 1.2 commands work. My Duo2 controls 2 positioners automatically.

Post your antenna settings and what tuner is associated with each band. Then you will have a pattern to transfer to something else.

Here are a couple of screenshots. (Cozi is a bit low, but that could be contributed to sky conditions.)

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[eastof111]

Heat is a very subjective issue... I posted this on the BH site quite a while ago to see the coder's response...

"When I initially received my Duo2, the two dual tuners felt very hot at the F connectors. I had read on some forums that the tuner area temps were rather high for some other users too. Some said it was normal. For me, I felt the temps were too high to the touch at the F connectors. I measured the temps with a digital laser thermometer and decided I would install a fan to lower the temperature.

I added a small cpu fan by using a velcro strip on the motherboard and bottom of the fan. This way, both could be peeled off in the future without damage. It did lower the temps of both tuners at idle (no recording, transcoding, etc) by ten degrees (F) from a high of 108-112 degrees at the F connectors. Nothing fantastic, but every little bit helps; plus I am sure it will extend longevity and keep the gremlins away. Using the fan control plugin makes it easier to control the speeds (temp and noise) since both fans are hooked up to the same pin out. Noise contribution was not much of a factor to me.

I may add an additional heat sink to the cpu later as it's currently running at 125 degrees with the existing black heatsink at idle. Hopefully, the BH coders will add an overclocking feature to improve the blind scan speed. AND, add the blind scan as an integral part of the BH code, rather than a plugin. Also, allowing us to select lnbs for std or universal scans. Would be a great New Year's gift! If they do, I would definitely add a robust heat sink, since there is ample room for the addition.

The hard drive is running at 95 degrees which is adequate. All temps were measured with the cover off."

Lately, due to inserting and removing a usb stick in the front panel for testing purposes, I was concerned with a failure. I had an extra laptop cooler with a usb hub which I now have under the Duo2. The internal temperature is further decreased by another 2 C degrees by the eight inch, low 600 rpm, very quiet fan. Now the booting is accomplished from the hub and the picon usb stick is in front instead of the rear.

I have been using ATV 4.0 for the last two weeks or so. Considering it's a beta, it handles everything quite well. I had to do some tuner reassignments recently and found the quickest way to get back up and running was to do a manual scan first using the latest sat xml. Later, a blind scan and for the hard to find signals, I used the sat finder. Even with all the recent tuner changes, the picons transferred to the new settings quite well.

[wbarrett]

Heat and lack of sensitivity is definitely an issue for me. The Vu+ is without a doubt less sensitive than the AzBox and this is with a one piece spun aluminum 10 foot dish and a 1.2m GeoSat Pro dish.



I would appreciate the help on the DiSEqC 1.1 positioning. I cannot for the life of me get that working on VIX.

Tuner A is set as ADVANCED, DiSEqC 1.2 USALS with my lat & lon and this works fine except for the lack of sensitivity mention above.

Tuner B is NOT CONFIGURED

Tuner C is seat as ADVANCED
SAT 101w
LNB LNB1
Priority 1
LOF C-Band
Voltage Mode Polarization
Increased Voltage NO
Tone Mode ON (I need the 22 kHz)
DiSEqC Mode 1.1
Tone-Burst None
Committed DiSEqC Command None
Fast DiSEqC No
Sequence Repeat No
Command Order Committed, Tone Burst
Uncommitted DiSEqC Command None
DiSEqC Repeats None

Tuner D NOT CONFIGURED



When I go to POSITIONER SETUP, I see no way to enter my DisEQc 1.1 memory locations. I cannot edit the 01.

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Bill

[eastof111]

Here's a cut and paste of the article I posted a while back in the switches section.

1. DiSEqC 1.0 is for multifeed and/or multi-antenna systems with up to four LNBs/antennas. This expansion of Tone Burst can operate four to eight switches.

2. DiSEqC 1.1 is for multifeed systems with cascading multi-switches. This expansion of DiSEqC 1.0 can switch between up to 56 satellite signals. Control commands are repeated multiple times to guarantee that they reach every switch level. It is usually only used with larger antenna systems.

2. DiSEqC 1.2 drives H-H antenna motors so that all of your favorite satellites can be received. It has some weaknesses with regards to storing satellite positions.

3. DiSEqC 1.3 also drives H-H motors. With the position calculations built into the receiver, it takes full advantage of the DiSEqC 1.2 GoTo X commands. These receivers are labeled with USALS, DiSEqC 1.3 or GoTo X.

Here's a typical setting for Mode 1.1.

[wbarrett]

I am a bonehead. Thanks. I was thinking 1.2 = USALS and was not going past the 1.2 screen last line that said Use Usals = YES I changed it to NO and on the second page is the memory position entry. DOH!

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Bill

[chewie]

Hello Eastof111
Regarding the fan, I played with the control last night and the temp. in the front display is reading about 32C, I tough the Fan was off I could not hear it, I put a piece of paper towel and noticed the fan is blowing to the outside.
The equipment I work with they all have fans for heat and all the units I have worked on, the fans a blowing the air in from ambient, I wonder if the fan on the VU+ Can be turn around and see if it keeps things cooler.
I will open my box this weekend and see.
Regards.
Chewie

[wbarrett]

Eastof111... where did you get your picons? (Or did you create your own?) I am ready to tackle picons but all I have found so far are mostly Euro and some cable ones for encrypted channels like Nat Geo Wild.

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Bill