Tuner problem Solo2

[leonskaja]

Hi,

I wonder if someone can point me in the right direction because I think I may have set up my Solo2 with VIX badly. The problem is that I noticed when I am recording a program on one channel I am suddenly unable to tune into some others (not all). It gives me a message that that channel cannot be tuned into (or words to that effect). I was under the impression that I could actually record as many as 4 channels and still be able to watch others, but now only one???

My setup is as follows:
--2 satellite dishes, each aimed at a different satellite, each with a head that allows two receivers to be attached
--the cables from both satellites are combined so that two cables arrive at the receiver but each cable carries the signals of both satellites (as far as I know)

The tuners of the Solo2 are setup as follow:
Tuner A: DiSEcQC A/B with the two satellites the dishes are aimed at listed
Tuner B: DiSEcQC A/B with the two satellites the dishes are aimed at listed

If this is the wrong way to go about it, please let me know.

[abu baniaz]

Whn you start a viewing/recording, that tuner is locked onto the transponder of the channel. Channels not available will be greyed out. This is normal. YOu will geta message saying someting along the lines of "no free tuner available"

Sounds like you have setup your receiver correctly. You can verify by disabling (set as not configured) one tuner at a time and check that you can view channels on both satellites.

[Rob van der Does]

Moved to this section.

Please read this thread HERE (http://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?33154-ALL-MEMBERS-PLEASE-READ!-New-method-of-posting-in-ViX-Support-Section-coming-soon!)


Please use the build-in satfinder to see if both tuners actually receive all they should.

[leonskaja]

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum.

I am not sure what to make of both answers. It is "normal" that channels are not available when recording when you have two satellite dishes? That makes no sense. And what do you mean, Rob, by both tuners receiving "all they should"?

[Rob van der Does]

- A tuner tunes to one frequency (=transponder; just like any old fashioned radio). So if two recordings are active on services on two different transponders, watching channels is limited to channels that are on those two transponders.

- If you go to Satfinder, you can choose the tuner and the satellite. Just have a look around there to see if both tuners can receive all transponders on all satellites. This is just for making sure your setup (both in the configuration as in the physical world) is fine.

[leonskaja]

Thanks for the explanation, but does that answer my question. My problem occurred when recording ONE program only. Surely the second tuner should then still be available, no? So why do channels disappear?

I did as you suggested and here are the results. They appear normal to me, but perhaps we should assign Astra to one tuner and Eutelsat to the other?

A Tuner settings
Config mode simple
Mode DiSEqC A/B
Port A 19.2 Astra
Port B 28.2 Eutelsat

B Tuner settings
Config mode simple
Mode DiSEqC A/B
Port A 19.2 Astra
Port B 28.2 Eutelsat

Sat Finder
Tuner A
19.2E Astra
15.2 Db
SNR 94%
AGC 82%
BER 0
Lock yes

28.2 Eutelsat
15.0 Db
SNR 94%
AGC 82%
BER 0
Lock yes

Tuner B
19.2E Astra
13.8 Db
SNR 86%
AGC 82%
BER 0
Lock yes

28.2 Eutelsat
15.0 Db
SNR 94%
AGC 82%
BER 0
Lock yes

I just did a quick check and started a recording on Arte HD which is on Astra only to find that many stations suddenly report "Tune failed!". These are stations not just on Astra (e.g. EinsPlus HD, Einsfestival HD, BVN) but also on Eutelsat (like movies4men, ITV4)? Several others have pictures but no sound. How can that be explained?

[abu baniaz]

The golden rule is software config must match hardware setup.

The dedcution I have drawn from your description is as per this diagram. Could you kindly confirm that your hardware setup is as pictured? Incorrect setup would result in tune failed (excluding mislaignments/channel data being incorrect).

Simplest test:
Stage 1: Disable tuner 1. Check a channel on 19E, check another on 28.2E. Do you receive channels from both satellites?
Stage 2. Enable tuner 1 & Disable tuner 2. Check a channel on 19E, check another on 28.2E. Do you receive channels from both satellites?

[leonskaja]

Yes, I believe this is how my 2 dishes are connected (it was done professionally for me). I will run your tests later on, but if this is indeed my setup have I correctly set up the tuners?

I just noticed that in my present setup the channels that give me a tuning error are not on one satellite either: some are on Astra 19.2, some are on Eutelsat. Very strange.

[leonskaja]

I checked in the way you suggested and disabled first tuner a and then tuner b. In both cases all channels were received without a hitch.

[Rob van der Does]

'Tune failed'' literally means what it says: the tuner tries to tune but it doesn't get a signal. So either the setup (config) is wrong, or there is a hardware failure (connector/coax/LNB).

You should do some more tests: In satfinder you found both tuners to receive both satellites. But you should see the results of all 4 'quadrants' on both tuners on both sats, as it is very well possible that an LNB is partially defect.

Explanation: part of the tuning process is done by the LNB, namely Frequency High/Low and polarization Hor/Vert.
So transponders in all 4 quadrants should be chosen to be sure all works well.

[leonskaja]

Thanks Rob, if only I understood what you meant! :-). How do I check to see if all four quadrants are received? What ARE quadrants anyway? And what could be wrong with the configuration (see above)?

[Rob van der Does]

I think the config is OK.
And the 'quadrants' I explained above. In satfinder itself you see the specs of the pre-defined transponders, so switching to others reveals their polarisation and frequency.

[leonskaja]

I went through many of the predefined transponders and all appear to be ok (all between 15 and 17 dB). I then did a manual rescan of both tuners and both reported finding over 1200 free channels. I then disabled the A tuner and started a recording on ITV2 and found that as long as the recording ran I could only watch that channel and ITV4. I then tried the same thing with tuner B with the same results. Is it normal that despite having two tuners in the Solo2 and double connectors on the LNBs you still cannot watch all channels when recording one? In other words, do I have a problem or is all as it should be?

[abu baniaz]

Once a tuner is viewing/recording a channel, that tuner can only view the channels on that frequency. This is normal as mentioned in post 2. The number of channels on a frequency varies. If you have two tuners, then you will be limited to two frequencies available to the tuners.

Last time I scanned 28.2 there were over 960 channels. I have just scanned 19.2, 1636 channels were found.
Perhaps there is something wrong with your setup on the hardware side (not the receiver)? Not knowing where you are based, the above number may be affected by reception availability.

Could you scan each satellite individually and see how many channels you are getting on each satellite. Make sure you toggle type of scan to "Single satellite". Post back results for each satellite.
Menu > Setup > Service searching > Manual scan

[Rob van der Does]

I went through many of the predefined transponders and all appear to be ok (all between 15 and 17 dB). I then did a manual rescan of both tuners and both reported finding over 1200 free channels. I then disabled the A tuner and started a recording on ITV2 and found that as long as the recording ran I could only watch that channel and ITV4. I then tried the same thing with tuner B with the same results. Is it normal that despite having two tuners in the Solo2 and double connectors on the LNBs you still cannot watch all channels when recording one? In other words, do I have a problem or is all as it should be?
OK, so you have proven that both tuners work fine (given the scan results).
If one channel is being recorded: are other channels then 'greyed-out' in the channel list (meaning that E2 thinks they can't be watched meaning that something is wrong in your tuner config), or do they show normal in the list but give no picture?