re bill190 - Thanks for that link to the spec for DISEQC 1.2 ( and 2.0 ) commands - I now do know more of what's going on in the comms between the PC+card and the devices down the line. I'm do now give the units more time to initialize and so on and haven't been unplugging the
DISEQC switch every morning after the first two days.
Meantime, the
QPH031 arrived - it didn't have "which way is up" or which way is 0 degree skew, marking on it, unlike the ULN01, which did have such markings to help me set up things for skew ( for ME, there is a satellite dead south of me, at 105 so the reference skew is 0 degree skew. Its easy to guess "heavy end down" but I hate guessing. So I used the meter, which suggested sideways was best - but I could not believe somebody would design something like that - it didn't make sense.. so I installed it with heavy end down as 0 skew.
Skew matters much more for linear polarization satellites I'm told - when it came to giving the LOF values to the software, again no numbers on the QPH021 or in the 1 page guide- the ULN1 has something nicely labelled LOF 9.75/10.6 Ghz.
Most people in the forums suggest 10750000 as LOF1 for standard linear - that didn't work for me - what did work was LOF1= 9750000, and LOF2=10750000 - Strange but there it goes.. I had read up on the mapping process that goes on with these LOF1 and the QPH031 has its range given as 1075/11.25ghz.
The circular polarity LOF setting of 11250000 worked just fine.
The MyTheatre software controls the motor just fine and also the DISEQC switch to switch to different polarity inputs from the QPH031.
DVBDream is still unable to control the motor or the switch - but setting ti to no switch lets me watch anything that on the satellite that I pointed to using MyTheatre and that is coming down port 1 on the switch !
I'm kinda done now I think - from the hardware side for sure - famous last words ?
-K