SG2100 gets out of sync :-(

[wejones]

Well, I had been using my new 90CM/SG2100 for a couple weeks on part of my available arc with no problem. However, after noticing that the dish had slipped down the pole, I raised the dish, re-aligned it, and a couple days ago started to program in all the sat positions using DiseqC 1.2 . I started with AMC6 and worked east. I got over to about AMC4, with multiple checks back to the previously stored sats, and each time it went back to the stored sats fine. So I quit for the day.

Then yesterday, I came back intending to finish the few western sats I can see before my garage gets in the way. I programmed in 2 or 3 more sats, then went to check back to make sure I could still get back to the previously stored sats. Tried going to AMC3...... no-go.... nothing there???? I moved the dish around the area, and found AMC3 about 5 or 6 clicks (on TSREADER) WEST of it's stored position. I saved that position, and tried another sat... same thing... 5 or 6 clicks west of where it had been before. So I decided to go back through all the sats again. Started at AMC6, headed west. Every sat was about 5 or 6 clicks west of where it had been before. Obviously, I should have done a "re-sync", but I was hoping that just a few sats were out of sync, but it turned out that every sat I had done the day before was out of sync, and the sats I finished up the next day were OK.

So yesterday, going back through all the sats, I got through all the sats I could see between my pine trees and my garage.... I think I got out to somewhere near 119 (unfortunately couldn't see G10, which was just below the roof of my garage.... :-( )

Soooo... when I finished up, I wanted to watch something on AMC3, so I sent the dish back to AMC3..... yep .... NOTHING THERE !?!?!
This time, after I checked, I found it 5 or 6 clicks EAST of where I had just saved it ????? Ie, this is pretty much right where it had been a couple days before, ie before I went through and re-saved all the positions.

I'm going to have to experiment with this thing a bit more, but right now, I'm pretty confused. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong that is sending this thing out of sync, or if the 2100 loses sync whenever it gets pretty far to the west or something.... perhaps I am going past the limits or something. The program I used to program the sats in doesn't have a re-sync command, so I'm going to have to hook it up to my other receiver so that I can try the re-sync to see if that cures it.... or perhaps issue a goto zero and then try going to the sats.

Anyway, this darn motor is giving me problems. I don't know if the motor is defective or if I mixed it up when programming it. I DID do something which probably isn't normal, and that is, I re-programmed a couple of the "pre-programmed" positions. Ie I started AMC-6 on DiseqC 1.2 position number 23, which is normally used by the Intelsat at 34 deg. Perhaps I should have started at 27, which is the normal "user" area. It just seemed like a waste to have those pre-programmed sat positions un-used, so I was determined to try to use them. But maybe I confused it.

OR... maybe my receiver {I've been doing this from my PC based Twinhan} isn't putting out enough power though my long 250' coax, and the motor isn't moving as far as it should.

Any ideas?

[satnutwillb]

Have you tried changing it when on a H polarity.I read where some say it sends more power and might help some.Just a thought.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by satnutwillb

Have you tried changing it when on a H polarity.I read where some say it sends more power and might help some.Just a thought.

Thanks. I was thinking that exact thing, but I couldn't remember which was 18 and which was 13. It's also possible that I might not have this problem if and when I switch to using a STB instead of going through the Twinhan, because perhaps the computer power supply isn't capable. I know that until I upgraded my PS, the Twinhan couldn't even switch a DiseqC switch.

[Vorg]

I have heard several times the Twinhans and other budget cards have problems driving motors. They don't have the power and can burn out trying to drive them. Nexus-S I know does work. Some FTA's I've heard also have problems but don't know which ones. Maybe older models.

[Sadoun]

18V = Hor = LH
13V = Ver = RH

When you use the TwinHan card, you will need to have the latest driver and 450mA+ power supply in your PC.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by Sadoun

18V = Hor = LH
13V = Ver = RH

When you use the TwinHan card, you will need to have the latest driver and 450mA+ power supply in your PC.

Thanks.

I'm not sure if I have the latest driver, but it's not the one that came on the CD.

Re the power supply, I originally was under powered. I put together my PC from parts, and I bought a power supply that was "advertised" as being a 450W (not sure re milliamps, but it "should" have been capable of that if I hadn't overloaded it). However, I found that all power supplies are not rated the same, ie some are rated for their peak power and some rated for continuous. My 450W supply was really only a 325 W if I remember right.
I put an oscilloscope on the coax, and I could see all sorts of noise on the line that was about the same freq as the DiseqC signals, and the Twinhan card couldn't switch a DiseqC switch at all.

However my power supply finally burned out, and I got a "real" 450W power supply, and now the Twinhan does switch DiseqC switches, etc, and I have connections to spare on the power supply {before I was using "Y" adapters to provide enough connectors for all my drives, etc (that should have been a clue) }.

Yesterday, I switched the new motor over to my Fortec Lifetime again, and started going through sats again. Some sats were off a bit east, some were off a bit west, but they seemed closer than they were when I was using the Twinhan. I intend to re-save all the sats with the Fortec, and experiment a bit more. Maybe the problem WAS that the Twinhan wasn't driving the dish properly, but it will take a few more days of experimentation to figure that out.

Thanks


I'll have to put a voltmeter out at the dish to see what kind of voltage I'm actually getting out there.