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Old 06-24-2007, 11:28 AM
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Mercury positioner numbers save location in ch. file.

This is advanced "geekyness" stuff....

[Warning: Do not attempt to modify your channel file unless you have done this type of thing before, realize that this could possibly cause your reciever to become useless, the receiver would not be covered under warranty, and you would need to buy a new receiver.]

I found the location in the Mercury II channel file where the diseqc positioner numbers are stored for positioners such as the VBox II.

The location in the channel file is (hex) 0xE200.

Note that I am using Mercury firmware version V0145. It is possible that this data is in a different location for other firmware versions or that it may be moved/changed with future versions.

The stored satellite position numbers on my Vbox II appear on the VBox display as.

P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P10, P11, etc.
The above is decimal.

The positioner numbers stored at 0xE200 are hex...
P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P0A, P0B, etc.

The hex number stored at location 0xE200 corresponds to the first satellite in the satellite list on the Mercury with the listing set to default (not sort by position). So...

1st satellite in list = location 0xE200
2nd satellite in list = location 0xE201
3rd satellite in list = location 0xE202
etc.

So for example I could store 01 to location 0xE200. Then I could download the modified channel file to the Mercury and go to the first satellite in the default (unsorted) list and it would move the dish to Vbox position P01. Or store 1E to the same location and it would move the dish to Vbox position P30. (Assuming that these positions have already been stored in the Vbox.)

With a blank channel file where no satellite positions have been saved, FF is stored at each location.

This explains the problem of deleting satellites in the satellite list and then getting the wrong corresponding VBox positions for some or many satellites. When a satellite is deleted from the list, all of the remaining satellites below that satellite move up the list one. But this is not done with the stored position numbers apparently.

So...
Sat 1 = P01
Sat 2 = P02
Sat 3 = P03
Sat 4 = P04
Sat 5 = P05

Then delete Sat 2 from list. Then you get...

Sat 1 = P01
Sat 3 = P02
Sat 4 = P03
Sat 5 = P04

I wanted my Vbox to number the satellites P01, P02, P03, etc. in order from east to west. But when I first got my Mercury, I did not save the satellites in this order. So now I was able to do factory reset on the Vbox, save all the satellites in order using a new clean mercury channel file, then go back to my existing channel file and switch the position numbers to the new numbers. Now they go P01, P02, P03, etc. east to west and I can look at the Vbox and know where the dish is pointed.

I found this location in the channel file using a clean channel file and saving the satellites as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. on the default list starting at the first satellite in the list. Then I searched the channel file for data: 01 02 03 04. There was only one location with this data.

Then I wrote down the positioner numbers (decimal) for my existing channel file satellite list (default sort) and converted these to hex (32 31 0A 10) and searched for these in that file. Same location! (0xE200)
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Old 06-24-2007, 02:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bill190 View Post
...
I found the location in the Mercury II channel file where the diseqc positioner numbers are stored for positioners such as the VBox II.

The location in the channel file is (hex) 0xE200.

Note that I am using Mercury firmware version V0145. It is possible that this data is in a different location for other firmware versions or that it may be moved/changed with future versions.
THanks! That seems to work for firmware 133 also. Wish I knew this a few weeks ago. My motor was already set up with sat locations from another receiver, and I wanted to have a way to just move those locations over to the Mercury, rather than searching for each sat again. This would have saved me some time.
I didn't bother looking for this data in the downloaded .bin file, because it didn't appear in the channel editor program, so I assumed that it wasn't being downloaded, but apparently it downloads (upload in Fortec speak) it, but doesn't use it.
Anyway THANKS, that will be useful.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bill190 View Post
The stored satellite position numbers on my Vbox II appear on the VBox display as.

P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P10, P11, etc.
The above is decimal.

The positioner numbers stored at 0xE200 are hex...
P01, P02, P03, ... P09, P0A, P0B, etc.

The hex number stored at location 0xE200 corresponds to the first satellite in the satellite list on the Mercury with the listing set to default (not sort by position). So...

1st satellite in list = location 0xE200
2nd satellite in list = location 0xE201
3rd satellite in list = location 0xE202
etc.

So for example I could store 01 to location 0xE200. Then I could download the modified channel file to the Mercury and go to the first satellite in the default (unsorted) list and it would move the dish to Vbox position P01. Or store 1E to the same location and it would move the dish to Vbox position P30. (Assuming that these positions have already been stored in the Vbox.)
I think you're saying the same thing that I observed, but just to clarify. What I saw, is that when I saved DiseqC1.2 positions via the remote, the Mercury just starts at 1, and then the next sat I save becomes 2, and the third sat I save becomes 3, etc, etc. These positions aren't in any order, it's just a matter of where those sats are in the default list.
One thing I was interested in, was what would happen when you try to assign 2 satellites to the same DiseqC1.2 position. Ie, for example if you have G11 and Nimiq-1 both at 91 deg, I was guessing that the Mercury will waste a DiseqC1.2 sat position, and store 2 different numbers for that one position, and sure enough, I just tested that, and it does. Ie I just saved the same sat location for two different sats, and it used two different sat location numbers, which is a waste. Ie it would be better to be able to save the two sats both with the same location number, if they are at the same longitude. With the Lifetime and Ultra, you can do this. I'm a bit nervous to try putting the same number in this data file just yet, ie it might really mix it up when it goes to try finding the next available number to save the next sat in. Perhaps it saves somewhere else, the last number it used. Also might be interesting to see what happens when you delete a sat already saved, and then save another. Ie say you have 20 sats saved, and delete number 10, then save another. Ie does the new one become 10 or 21.
Anyway, this is a nice discovery, and it will be interesting to investigate this further.
Thanks!
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Old 06-25-2007, 04:35 PM
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I wrote a short VB program that extracts the satellite names and DiseqC1.2 satellite numbers as per the discussion above. Real short & simple, not fancy.
Program is at : http://wejones.ftdata.com/bjbinview.zip

This version is just for viewing, if it proves to be safe, future versions may allow editing.

As an example of what it does, the output from what I have in my Mercury right now:
*****************
1 IA5 Ku ...............10
2 IA5 C .................11
3 Galaxy10 Ku.......... 8
4 Galaxy10 C ............---
5 Amazonas ............---
6 AMC 1 ................---
7 AMC 2 ................6
8 AMC 3 .................7
9 AMC 4 Ku............... ---
10 AMC 4 C............... ---
11 AMC 5 ...............4
12 AMC 6 ...............---
13 AMC 7............... ---
14 AMC 8............... ---
15 AMC 9 ...............5
16 AMC 10 ...............---
17 AMC 11............... ---
18 AMC 12............... ---
19 AMC 15 ...............---
20 AMC 16 ..............---
21 Anik F1............... ---
22 Anik F2 ...............---
23 Echostar1/2 .............---
24 Echostar 3.......... ---
25 Echostar 4 ..........---
26 Echostar 5.......... ---
27 Echo 8/10.......... ---
28 Echostar 7.......... ---
29 Echostar 9 ..........---
30 Galaxy13/H1 ..........---
31 Galaxy 3C ..........---
32 Galaxy 11 ..........---
33 Galaxy 14 ..........---
34 Galaxy 15.......... ---
35 Galaxy 16 ..........---
36 Hispasat ..........---
37 IA 6 ...............---
38 IA 7.......... ....---
39 IA 8 ................9
40 IA 13............... ---
41 INTEL705 ..........---
42 INTEL805 ..........---
43 INTEL905 ..........---
44 INTEL907.......... ---
45 Nimiq 1 ............---
46 Nimiq 2............. ---
47 NSS7 ..............---
48 NSS806.............---
49 PAS 1R .............---
50 PAS 3R Ku.......... ---
51 PAS 3R C ..........---
52 PAS 9 Ku.......... ---
53 PAS 9 C..............---
54 SatMex 5 ............---
55 SATMEX 6.......... ---
56 SBS 6 .................3
57 SOLIDAR 2.......... ---
58 T STAR11.......... ---
59 T STAR12 ..........---
60 AMC-6KU ............2
61 BJ-NEW .............---
62 G25-C ..............---
*******************
{EDIT I had to insert a bunch of "......." since this forum doesn't like multiple spaces. }

The above is the default sat list plus a couple I added. The numbers after the sat names are the DiseqC1.2 sat numbers as defined by the Mercury, so if you switch to another receiver, you can just assign those numbers to the various sats, rather than searching again for each sat. The sats followed by "---" have not had DiseqC1.2 positions assigned in the Mercury yet.

As you see, the sat numbers seem to be in random order, but the order is the order in which I saved the sats. I started out using the Mercury slaved to my analog receiver, but have switched it over to being used with my 90CM dish. I obviously haven't finished loading all the sats yet. I don't use the Mercury much.
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Last edited by wejones : 06-25-2007 at 04:40 PM.
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Old 06-26-2007, 08:27 AM
bill190 bill190 is offline
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Yes I don't think it would be too much work to design a program to edit the settings for each satellite. However due to the current problem of deleting sats and all locations below that sat in the list being re-assigned different locations, I would imagine Fortec might fix this in the future. (And then such a program would need to somehow be able to tell old channel files from new.)
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Old 06-26-2007, 10:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bill190 View Post
Yes I don't think it would be too much work to design a program to edit the settings for each satellite. However due to the current problem of deleting sats and all locations below that sat in the list being re-assigned different locations, I would imagine Fortec might fix this in the future. (And then such a program would need to somehow be able to tell old channel files from new.)
When I read your first message, I didn't understand correctly, what you were referring to, relative to the deletion problem, in fact I thought you were saying that it was a problem with your VBOX, not the Mercury. However, on looking at the output from my program, I noticed that some sats that I had never programmed were listed as having DiseqC1.2 sat numbers, and sats that I did program didn't (and I checked this by scrolling through with the remote on the receiver). So I did an experiment, deleting a sat as you described, and now I see what you're talking about. Ie basically, the DiseqC1.2 satellite numbers stay in the same place in the data file, however the satellite Names,
My setup is completely mixed up now, although I think I see a relatively easy way to get things back as they were. I thought that I could "insert" a new satellite at the location that I had just deleted, but I couldn't get that to work. I'm a bit confused, because I had somehow managed to do this before, but I'm not sure how I did it. I thought I had done it using the yellow button. Ie in the menu item where you ADD a satellite, after you spell out the name, there is a yellow button that says INSERT, but I can't get the Mercury to respond to that button now. It's possible that I didn't insert before, but instead changed the name of an existing sat, I'm not sure. But I have some new sats that I've somehow added at the top of the list, and some that I've added at the bottom of the list, and the thing is all confused. I'll probably reset the thing to factory and start over eventually, but I'm just playing with the thing now to see what happens when I do different things.

One interesting thing though. When you DO delete a satellite, and IF as is my case, some of the satellites have DiseqC1.2 positions and others don't, it causes sats which have positions to lose their position number, however they still have DiseqC1.2 listed in the Antenna setup page, while the satellite which previously didn't have a position, now has a position, however positioner is turned to OFF in the Antenna page. Makes me wonder just where the dish is going when I select a sat which is set to DiseqC.12, but has never been assigned a position. These low (first 25 or so) numbers, are pre-assigned on my SG2100 to European satellites, but I don't know if there are actual positions in the motor.

Another thing I noticed. The 15th byte in each 32 byte segment srarting at 8000 also seems to resemble the diseqc sat #s, but are numbered different. Not sure yet what these numbers are.

Anyway, this is interesting, and I agree that the Fortec software is all messed up. I never liked what the Fortec software was TRYING to do, and now I find that it isn't even able to do the wrong thing right.
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Old 06-26-2007, 02:35 PM
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It's right in the users manual:

整个亚洲对能源强劲增长的需求,加强了对于动乱中的中东之能源供应的依赖,因此使能源安全问题变得非常紧迫 。时下的政策都不太可能解决能源的安全问题。这些政策都是建立在传统的基于需求的经济模型,以及过于狭隘的 “能源”概念基础之上。此论文展示了一种在自然科学中广义“能源”概念基础上的崭新构架,就是对能源和经济 增长进行并行思考。它将经济行为视为现今的太阳能源和过去储备的太阳
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Old 06-27-2007, 08:41 AM
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It Works! Hacking The Mercury.

Well, I did a bit of experimenting. Looking at the output of my program from MY Mercury above, notice that before I deleted a channel near the top, I had the following:

6 AMC 1 ................---
7 AMC 2 ................6
8 AMC 3 .................7
9 AMC 4 Ku............... ---

ie AMC3 had it's location stored in DiseqC1.2 position #7, and I didn't have any position stored for AMC4-ku.
I then deleted a channel above these, and ended up with the following:

6 AMC 2 ................---
7 AMC 3 ................6
8 AMC 4 Ku.............7
9 AMC 4 C................ ---

Ie, the DiseqC1.2 sat numbers stayed in the same location in memory, but the sat names moved up one, because one sat was deleted above.
I put the Mercury on AMC 3, which cause it to actually move to the AMC2 position. Then, I hooked up the dish to another receiver (Twinhan), and told the motor to go to DiseqC1.2 position #7, and AMC3 came in.

Went back to the Mercury changed to another AMC3 channel, and the dish went to AMC2 again. I went into the Antenna setup, and turned the AMC3 positioner setting to OFF . Then went to AMC4-ku and turned the positioner setting to DiseqC1.2 { I did NOT SAVE anything, I just turned it to DiseqC1.2 and backed out of the menus}. I then went to an AMC4 channel. The dish moved to AMC3, although nothing came up because I was tuned to an AMC4 channel. I then went to an AMC3 channel. The dish didn't move, because I had positioner turned off, so it stayed aimed at AMC3. The AMC3 channel came up!
So anyway, for anyone who runs into this problem, this is a workaround to tune in channels until you have time to fix the situation.

So at this point, convinced that the Mercury didn't care what numbers were in that area of data, I decided to use a binary editor to change the DiseqC1.2 sat numbers back to where they should be. I corrected the numbers of about 5 sats which had been changed by the deletion, then brought the file up in the channel editor, and downloaded them to the Mercury. BINGO. Everything worked. I turned AMC3 back to DiseqC1.2, changed to an AMC3 channel, and it came right up.

So editing this area of memory DOES WORK. I can't guarantee that there might be some unforseen problems caused by the editing, but so far, so good.

I think that now I'm going to use the channel editor to delete all the sats I don't need, which will mess things up again, then go in and re-edit the file with the binary editor to get the sat names aligned with the DiseqC1.2 position numbers.

What I am a bit afraid to do, however, is to insert all the satellites I had previously saved with another receiver. Ie I had all the sats saved, using numbers from #20 through 60 or something like that. These positions are already on the SG2100, so it would save me a LOT of time if I could just plunk in those numbers with the binary editor. However what I'm not sure of, is what the mercury will do if it sees say sat positions 2-11 saved, and then 12-19 not saved, and then 20-60 saved. Ie it seems to find the biggest number saved, say it's 60, and then use the next position when you save a new sat, but if the maximum diseqC1.2 position has been reached, then, the Mercury wouldn't be able to save any more sats, even though there were numbers not used (another bug in the Mercury software I think). Eventually I'll try this, but I want to think a bit first.
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