Stuck newbie

[Daggasalmon]

Hi,
Seems like many helpful people here. None of the other site forums respond to my simple questions - Hoping for some help . I am in the southern hemisphere (Lat -26, Long 28 deg). Down here we are stuck for choice - PAS7 Ku band mainly. I want to try to pick up Telstar (15W), specifically dmc (Cry***works). According to lyngsat, this is on the Europe/South Africa beam - EIRP = 46.7dBW. Questions:
1. Will I have a useful signal with a 90cm dish+universal Ku lnb ?
2. What receiver will I need/get & from where?
3. Do I need to patch the receiver itself for crypto?
4. Do I need to buy a separate cam (e.g. Dragon)?
5. Is Cerebro of any use?

Many thanks for any advice

[BGonaSTICK]

Hi there! :welc1:

LOL, those other forums are so rude!

Well, my geography sucks, so I'll go check out the location, beam etc in a bit, but as far as DMC is concerned, it's still open - just checked. If you're in the SA footprint you should be OK on that front, although I'm well within the European beam and many of the transponders are giving me a very low signal level. That could just be down to a minor dish re-alignment needed here! Some of them are pretty strong.

As far as getting it, you can use a PCI card (like the Skystar), a Linux receiver (like the Dreambox), a patched STB (like the Technomate) or the Dragon/T-rex CAM. It's really your choice, based on what you can get hold of.

What kit do you have at the moment?

[Daggasalmon]

Hi,

WOW!! That was quick - was only going to check tomorrow for reply.
I'm in the SA footprint for Telstar12 (15W). Here, we receive the PAS7 Ku band multi*oice (lyngsat) - many channels but generally lots of repeats. Hardware is available locally for this (60 - 90cm Ku band dish + uEC decoder made locally, specifically to pick up this transmission). In fact, when "don't panic" came (and disappeared as quickly leaving subscribers stranded after ~2 months), it was accessible using the uEC receiver. After moans + lawsuits, multi*oice has restricted their decoders to receive only their own transmission, disabling certain features via software upgrades. In SA, there are some private ops doing C band with mighty big dishes + imported receivers (Fortec Star, Manhattan, Humax (small), Dalsat, Wiztech - no Technomate). Which receiver/brand is worth looking at besides Technomate? On the PCI side, there are some DVB cards (Compro etc.) - haven't researched this as yet.
Not much activity on the satellite front in my country. I currently own a 90cm dish, universal Ku LNB, uEC receiver + valid subscription (I got interested in satellites at the wrong time: irdeto1 to irdeto2 :roflmao. Looking to invest in something - don't know what yet.

[BGonaSTICK]

OK, I really can't advise on what sort of signal you would get - it looks good on paper, but I have no experience or reports to fall back on, so you'll be winging it a bit.

Assuming your existing receiver would at least register a signal for 15W, you could have a play to see what sort of reception you can get. Just mark your current dish position so that you can put it back when you've finished playing!

Now, some of those receivers I don't know, but the Fortec, Manhattan and Humax boxes should take a Dragon CAM (now known as a T-Rex CAM) if they have a CI slot, and I guess you can get one that will have CI.

There are a few combinations of receiver and CAM that just don't work, but you'd be unlucky to hit one. Again, you just have to accept the risk, and the fact that you may have to go cap-in-hand back to the place you bought it for a refund/swap.

The other way is via Dreambox or PCI card. The latter is probably best to have a play with. Cheap to buy, you could probably get one shipped from Germany for a very reasonable price. They have excellent support worldwide. Can be tricky to pipe the output to your TV - but the best value piece of sat-TV kit money can buy, especially if you're OK watching on your PC or using it as a test rig.

Have a think, have a read through the forum (the search function is pretty good), and maybe have a play with your dish to see if you can find something up at 15W.

Let us know if and when you need to know any more

[Daggasalmon]

Thank you very much for your assistance - much appreciated. On my side, I'm going to do the following:
1. Try pointing my dish at 15W - check signal strength.
2. Find out more about models and capabilities of receivers available locally i.e. CI slots, etc. Save on import costs/backup etc. I checked the Compro PCI card - only has FTA capability - don't know much else.
Question: Which receiver (Humax, Fortec Star, Manhattan ST120, 350, 550) is the most user friendly (patchability ease, frequent updates etc.)? I know from some forums that support for some receivers have dried up.
3. Also, do I still need Dragon CAM or will a patched receiver suffice for 15W (nudge nudge wink wink)
Will report on these in due course - but thanks for giving me direction

[BGonaSTICK]

To be honest, the support is not there for patching any of those receivers, so I wouldn't waste your time. The support for the dragon on the other hand is superb, and as long as it physically works in the CI slot (which it's very likely to, but as I said, there is some risk on your part) then you should be laughing.

There is a list of receivers which are Dragon compatible here, but it's far from exhaustive.

Don't worry about a PCI card only being FTA, the decryption is done in the software, but the Skystars are the most widely supported cards and therefore the ones to have. Have a look at www.progdvb.com and see which other cards it supports. If it ain't listed, it ain't worth having AT ALL!

Some cards are going to be unbranded clones of others though.

A Skystar2 from Germany is around £40. Don't know how that converts and what other shipping or import taxes you'd be hit with.

STICK

[Daggasalmon]

Thanks once again!
Would you know - I plucked the courage to ask one of the local suppliers about 15W (hesitant to talk on phone about encryptions etc.) - he already supplies a patched box (Fortec Ultra) for dmc!!! - checking price now
Will keep you posted!

[BGonaSTICK]

Good, that probably confirms that it's possible at your location. He'll be able to advise better on dish size too.

Be warned though, that the support is generally poor for the Fortec Star's. My advice would be to get one with a CI slot so that if the patches etc. did dry up, then you can always add a CAM. It may well be possible that you can change keys within the patch using the remote too, so might be worth asking that before you buy.

Some unscrupulous dealers charge for supplying/applying a new patch every key change.

Anyway, overall, a good result!

Keep us posted.

[Daggasalmon]

Thanks! Will follow your advice!! Had the most success/feedback on your forum and I am very grateful (I'm sure I'll have many questions in future - being a new satellite junkie and everything!).

[BGonaSTICK]

Cool. Glad you found us