How to: First Time Set Up for your plaza ST

[Realist]

This how to, is to cover some things not explained fully in the owners manual. Hopefully by now, you have familiarised yourself with the basic set up instructions in the manual, and various menu's on the ST. This is not a complete re-write of the manual. Just the things it does not tell you on setup.

I am using an ST 500 - 1.5 metre dish - 36 volt jack.

Firstly, the way not to do it is by selecting every sat there is from 42 east to 42 west. I'll explain why. The receiver requires some info in the user database to keep it's bearings, the more info it has - the more accurate it can work. This is best done adding a little at a time and getting the centre part of the arc, where the dish is best balanced on its axis. Going to extreme limits creates a greater margin for error and puts more strain on the motor due to dish weight. Particularly a 36v jack, that may be worn. My jack is 10 years old for eg, but if you consider the life span to be about 4 years - two years would mean it is half worn. I have no experience relating to DisQ motors, but assume there are some similarities.

Check you have the latest software version installed before you start, otherwise you may need to start over at a later date.

If your old receiver is still connected, park the dish on Hotbird 13 east. Connect the ST while the dish is in this position.

If you have connected the ST and the dish is not on hotbird, use the manual move mode on the receiver - menu - Install - Channel Search - select hotbird on the satellite line - move down to positioner and select DC manual - move the dish untill the green bars light up. Move down to start and press okay - the receiver should now find some hotbird channels. Once this is done, check that these channels are the ones on hotbird.

Now do a Master Reset.

Once the ST has restarted, go to the positioner set up menu. You will see the current position for Hotbird is 5000. Manually move the dish to to get an East limit that is just past Astra 28e. Store that, and get a west limit just past Hispasat at 30 west. Do not drive the positioner to it's max limits at this stage. If your motor or reed is worn, it is more likely to slip and lose some counts at the extremes, and everything will be out before you start. The dish is usually heaviest at the east limit, and this puts most strain on the motor.

Once you have set the limits, store, and you will be in the positioner 2 menu. Move the dish back to 5000, select hotbird as the satelitte and the green bars should light up. If they don't your motor has lost count - start again. One the green bars are on, select the middle sat position on the menu and press okay. It should now say Hotbird. Now manually select Astra 28 east on the sat line, manually move the dish until the bars turn green, fine tune, and selct Astra 28 as your east sat. Now do the same again for Hispasat as your west sat. Then store.

Now, your dish should be on Hispasat. Go to channel search and press start. It should now find the 30 west channels. Once that is done. Manual move back to 5000, select hotbird in the channel search menu and press start. Hotbird channels should now be found. Finally do the same for Astra at 28 east.

Using the menu button (OK) you should now be able to switch between those three sats. If all is well, park back on hotbird.

A good idea now, for accuracy purposes, is to manually find Thor at 1 west and find some channels. This is the centre of the arc and a good reference point for the receiver.

Now you are ready to auto search the sats, but again, not all at once. This is because some are too close to each other and the signal bleeds over. 4 and 5 west is a good example of this. Also some sats at 21 - 23 - 26 east may give you a weak signal, the receiver may latch on to 23 east intead of 21.

Once you have the above info in the user database, the ST now has something to refer to when it auto searches.

To search sats in auto you have to do this:

Go to the search channel menu.

Where it lets you select the number of sats 1-40, you select 1.
Then scroll down to the next bit and select the lnb number. This will be 1. (unless you have more).

Then scroll down to the next bit and select which sat you want - say Astra 19 east.

Then start again, but this time you select 2, then the lnb number again. This is still 1. It is 1 every time you do this.
Then the next sat, say 8 west.

You have to do this over and over until you have programmed all the sats you want it to find. So if you want 20 sats - you will end up on number 20, select lnb 1, select sat.

Then scroll down to positioner and select DC Auto.
Then select START and press ok.

On this first auto search, I would avoid finding sats that have another close to them, they are:- 21 - 23- 10 - 5 east and 4 - 7 - 11 - 24 west. Look for those on another run. Some of these close ones are really best to find manually tho'.

Each time you do an auto or manual search it is best to check that the channels found are the ones that are supposed to be on that particular sat. A good place to check this is the Kingofsat site or Lyngsat. IF any sats are in the wrong position, you can manually reset the position by moving the dish a bit.

The ST should do all this to a resonable degree of accuracy.
Reasons for error are likely to be:
Pilot Error.
Motor Error
Loose or sloppy bolts on Dish or Mount.
Dish too Heavy (above 1.5 metre)
Receiver faulty.

Now once all this is working okay, you can extend the limits if you want to get 42 east or 42 west. Go back the the positioner menu, and manually move the east limit out a bit more, then the same for west. Then store. You will now be in the positioner 2 menu - just press store and exit. You now go to the channel search menu, and manual search on 42 west or whatever. Once you have found the sats you want do this:- Go back to positioner 1 menu and just press store - then, when it puts you in positioner 2 menu - you can change your east and west sat to the new ones you have just found. Press store and exit. The other sats will not have altered their positions by doing this - as was the case with older receivers. Moving the limits used to alter the way some receivers counted. The ST does not do that.

Hopefully, everything is covered here. Now, write down your east and west limits - along with all the sat positions for further reference.

other info

The TPS keys have to updated daily at the moment. So you will soon get bored with that. They can be found in the Keys Only Keys section under viaccess.

To enter the keys, on the remote press:

menu - red - green - blue - okay

Then use the blue to scroll to the via menu.

To pre-empt your next Q. You must be on an MV channel. Enter ID code

007c00*01* then key - then press store.

Without exiting then enter

007c00*02* and second key. press store.

exit menu - go to fta channel - then back to MV and it should open.

The Mrkeys file in the key section contains all the other keys
Edit/Delete Message

Laters


Thanks go out to Mumbles of Alsat forums for the above tutorial. Without people like him, the satellite world would be a lost cause.

[imported_plasma]

Can you tell me how can i put manual keys in the plaza st 300. It´s new and i don´t now in very well.did you think i had a good buy?
Thanks a lot

Originally Posted by plasma

Can you tell me how can i put manual keys in the plaza st 300. It´s new and i don´t now in very well.did you think i had a good buy?
Thanks a lot

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hi plasma.
before you can add the keys you have to patch your receiver.
if you have patched the receiver, then this is the way.
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press menu>red>green>blue>ok.
the hidden menu will appear, all instructions are there.
you have to set the v-cam,you do this with the blue button.
IE:to enter keys for tps/multivision you set the v-cam to via
then do this:- enter this way.[ident 00-7c-00] 01 and 02 key.
this is how to do it.
00-7c-00--01- enter the first set of eight pairs of keys>store>green button.
00-7c-00--02-enter the second set of eight pairs of keys>store>green button
you enter the second set of keys over the top of the first set,
exit menu and change channels and they will open,
for tps/multivision you must enter daily to view these chns:
for other providers IE: you set the v-cam to there system/nagra/seca/biss,etc:different providers have different idents.
there is a key finder on the forum to find the daily keys.

[imported_plasma]

Thanks Clipper!
Now i need to know d+ id and introduce the keys nagra.
the plaza st 300 accepts N2 keys?

Originally Posted by plasma

Thanks Clipper!
Now i need to know d+ id and introduce the keys nagra.
the plaza st 300 accepts N2 keys?

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hi plasma,
you cant enter d+ on this patch, they are nagra 2 on this patch
you can only enter n1 keys,
i have read that a new patch will be out in the next few days
and every one has asked for nagra 2 to be added to the patch
then we can uo-date d+ and polsat.
if you have a dragon cam you can use that to open d+
i have one to use while waiting for up-dates.

[imported_plasma]

Hi Clipper!
I gone wait for the new patch.
We can see him in our forum,no?
Thanks a lot for the help.

Originally Posted by plasma

Hi Clipper!
I gone wait for the new patch.
We can see him in our forum,no?
Thanks a lot for the help.

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hi plasma, i hope we do but if i get the patch first i will let you know.
i have the st550 they are great receivers.

[FIXEDPLAN]

HELP can i use these setting and guide for my plazza xt-m or do i have to find the right ones, if so can you let me know where too look ps.

[floodi]

thank you

[hrakli]

Hi did you find an answer to your question:did you manage to enter any keys on your xt-m?