Quick Question

[dardruba]

Looking at the back of my Comag SL55 are two coax sockets, on the left one its marked IF Out and the other, the inner one, its marked IF In.

Which one do I connect my incoming LNB cable to.
I've no manual so I presume it should be IF In and the loop coax to the Pace analogue box should go to IF Out. In my test I've got incoming LNB cable to Comag and scart to TV, a direct line, But I get no pictures and 'Signal is weak' whether the loop to analogue is connected or not.

But when the incoming LNB cable goes to IF Out and the loop to analogue is connected, the analogue box switched on but no scart connected, I get a strong signal and good pictures on fta Hotbird, Astra 1 and Astra2 on the menu. This seems odd.

[BGonaSTICK]

I think the complexity of the analogue box is clouding the issue here. Drop it out of the equation altogether for now.

In the Comag, the IF in and IF out are clearly connected internally for the signal to be passed through the STB.

The coax from the dish I would expect to go to IF in. Just connect that, the power lead and a single SCART cable to your TV. It sounds like that's what you've done above, but just to check I'm understanding you correctly.

'Weak signal' or not?

If weak signal, unplug the mains power to the Comag, swap the coax from the dish to IF out. Power up. What do you get now?

It could be that the connectors on the receiver are marked up incorrectly :?

Can you take a picture of the back of your box and upload it here if you suspect that could be the case, and we can compare it.

Alternatively, it could be a defective LNB IF in socket on the receiver. Have a really close look at the center of the socket. Does it appear that the socket would make good contact on the signal core of the coax? Does it look identical to the IF out socket? Cut up a spare piece of coax and rip the center out. Push it into the center of the socket. Do you feel some resistance? Is it gripping the wire?

Some sockets get tired, and sometimes the center piece of the socket either breaks off, or gets pushed too far into the box. It could be as simple as that. You could try refitting the F connector on the dish coax, and leaving a longer signal core wire protruding.

STICK

[dardruba]

Well thanks for the response but theres no change.
I've remade all the F Connections and made sure the wire seats in the socket, including both connections on the Twin LNB

Unplug power to Comag, LNB coax to IF In, power on, signal is weak, no picture of racing car and no menus.
Unplug power, LNB coax to IF Out, power on, same negative response.
Unplug power, with LNB coax inIF In, loop coax to analogue box but no scart, power on or power off, no change just 'signal is weak'.
BUT unplug power, LNB coax to IF Out, loop coax to analogue box as above, power on both boxes and Comag is live. power off analogue box and Comag screen dies and shows 'signal is weak', power back on and all Comag menus and stations are restored. Hmmm.

In my previous post I'd said the two sat boxes went into an either/or switched scartbox. The scart lead out went into the Freeview box.
In the above test my Comag scart went direct to the TV. So I've repeated the test putting the Comag scart into the Freeview box and got the same result.

Between the two tests I'd been watching the Vuelta cycle race on analogue. I'd disconnected all Comag cables, put the LNB coax into the analog box and the scart into the Freeview box.
The Freeview, Pace analog and digi Comag boxes all run on AV1 in the TV/VCR combi.

[BGonaSTICK]

Mmm.

Quite simply, assuming that everything else is fine (SCART cable, TV SCART socket and so on), then your Comag is very sick and any other problems you have will probably be rooted here.

If you can get it to work by faffing around with piggybacking other boxes etc. then you've had a result!

I certainly wouldn't expend any more energy trying to make any sense out of it. Just be glad you can get some extended life.

STICK

[dardruba]

Thank You Doctor
Now you see my setup do you think the Smart Scart Box might simplify things for me, or should my birthday present request be for a Sky Star 2 PCI Card or similar?

[BGonaSTICK]

LOL, no competition.

Normally SCART cascading is no problem, so I got around buying an expensive box. I think you may have unpredictable results either way.

If the present-buyer's feeling flush, ask them for a Dreambox. If they're pleading poverty, ask for a Skystar 2.

[Jimdefruit]

And if they are really generous and the TV and pc are in different rooms, get both.

[dardruba]

Well Doctor
I did a Google on Dreambox and the first line read
'The Dreambox 7000 is pretty impressive, but its not for those people who want a simple consumer box that works without configuration effort.'
That sure sounds like me.

[BGonaSTICK]

Then you don't want a Skystar 2 either. Similar things in different sized boxes

However, either can be driven by a complete beginner if you don't mess it about too much.

[Jimdefruit]

The dreambox is just like a pc and as such you can get allow a trusted m8 access via wan to help you sort out any problems. You cant do that with a comag as far as I am aware.

If you want an out of the box receiver that does not require any user input then, in the UK, you are stuck with a digibox.