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One Hummy box - Two different sat dishes. Is it possible ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rizla1_uk
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Rizla1_uk

Hi. I have a question for the more techy minded here. I have two satellite dishes here and i read in that other place that the Hayes fight was FTA on 19.2 at the weekend, and i suddenly thought "Ahhh, i could've just moved the dish on the shed roof and connected that temporarily to the Hummy and VOILA, the fight for free (unfortunately it was after the event i found out)". Then i got to thinking, would it be possible to connect two dishes to the Hummy (pointing at different sats obviously) and be able to recieve both transmissions ? I'm aware that i would lose the dual record facility of Freesat and possibly also the Freesat EPG ('er indoors would come round eventually i think ;)) but the possible benefits would be good (apparently a lot of boxing / Sport is FTA on RTL ?). Does anyone know if this is indeed possible ? Have you tried it ? Does it work ? Will it blow my Hummy into oblivion ? I'm not in a position atm to go down the motorised route. I'm really tempted to try this, and was indeed going to 'till i thought "I wonder if any of you guys / gals have attempted this and found problems ? ) Forewarned etc etc sprung to mind.
Any info appreciated.

Keith
 
Not a problem all you need is a cheap diseqc switch and a bit of inside info. :) (plus the second dish of course).

http://foxsat-hdr.wikispaces.com/DiSEqC

You may even be able to fit a second lnb (offset to your existing dish). Perhaps swap a zone 1 Sky mini dish for a 60 cm instead.

You don't lose the dual recording capability at all, you just need to use non-freesat mode which will let you view channels from any satellite you have a lnb pointing at.
 
Hi Graham, Thanks for your reply. So let me see if i've got this right. I get one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/aerial-switch-17808 (or similar) and simply connect one Freesat feed to LNB 2 on the Hummy and the other Freesat feed to the switch along with the feed from the 19E then connect the switch feed to LNB 1 of the Hummy then follow the guide you kindly posted a link to. That's definately on my agenda for the weekend. My Freesat feeds come from a sky mini dish (quad LNB feeding Hummy x 2, Kitchen Bush SD Freesat & 1 bedroom cheap B&Q Ross box) The dish i will use for 19E is on the shed roof (the B&Q 60cm leftover from the Ross box) currently staring at 28E and feeding an unconnected cable. I'll let you know how i get on, and TYVM for your help

Keith
 
Rizla1_uk said:
Hi Graham, Thanks for your reply. So let me see if i've got this right. I get one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/aerial-switch-17808 (or similar) and simply connect one Freesat feed to LNB 2 on the Hummy and the other Freesat feed to the switch along with the feed from the 19E then connect the switch feed to LNB 1 of the Hummy then follow the guide you kindly posted a link to. That's definately on my agenda for the weekend. My Freesat feeds come from a sky mini dish (quad LNB feeding Hummy x 2, Kitchen Bush SD Freesat & 1 bedroom cheap B&Q Ross box) The dish i will use for 19E is on the shed roof (the B&Q 60cm leftover from the Ross box) currently staring at 28E and feeding an unconnected cable. I'll let you know how i get on, and TYVM for your help

Keith
Click to expand...

Nearly right the switch you refer to is a manual switch not a diseqc switch. The satellite tuner operates a proper switch selecting the correct lnb for the channel you wan't to watch. It's completely automatic.

Heres one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DiSEqC-Sa...onEle_SatCableFreeview_RL&hash=item230cf5a697
 
Thanks for the info, i just bought it of ebay, thats even cheaper than the Maplin one :D And i won't even have to push a button ! this gets better all the time. Really appreciate your help, Thanks.

Keith
 
Rizla1_uk said:
Thanks for the info, i just bought it of ebay, thats even cheaper than the Maplin one :D And i won't even have to push a button ! this gets better all the time. Really appreciate your help, Thanks.

Keith
Click to expand...

Just bear in mind that using non-freesat mode and freesat mode are mutually exclusive. You can't record a freesat channel while in non-freesat mode nor set a recording timer in non-freesat mode. Recordings made in this mode have to be started manually. There are ways round this using Raydons modified firmware and Mogies Channel editor. This allows the addition of non-freesat channels to the freesat epg and manual recording reservations to work.
 
I thought i'd lose those options, but i'll have to live with that. I only really want 19E for when i can get some sport (Boxing / Footy etc) so the Hummy will most likely be in Freesat mode 99% of the time. I've succcesfully moved the dish today and am recieving 19.2 on the Ross box with good results (RTL @ 76% Strength & 50% Quality) which is fine for what i want. Just waiting for the postie to deliver the switch i ordered now and i'll be all done :)
 
Could someone please explain what diseqc is and what it does that you can't do without it, for mortals like me?
 
Have you looked at Wikipedia? The description there is quite good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiSEqC

It's basically a communication protocol which allows the satellite receiver to request that the connected device do things, such as switch source or move. A DISEqC switch is a multi-input device that listens to the DISEqC messages coming from the receiver and switches inputs accordingly.
 
af123 said:
Have you looked at Wikipedia? The description there is quite good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiSEqC

It's basically a communication protocol which allows the satellite receiver to request that the connected device do things, such as switch source or move. A DISEqC switch is a multi-input device that listens to the DISEqC messages coming from the receiver and switches inputs accordingly.
Click to expand...
Yes, I read the WP article but was none the wiser.

So, isn't that what the Foxsat does anyway? It tells the dish to switch an LNB from one polarization/band configuration to another. What I don't understand is what is new. What can I now do that I couldn't do before?
 
It lets you connect more than 1 lnb to a single input on the Foxsat. Say for example you have a quad lnb aligned on 28.2E with two connections to the Foxsat and a third lnb on 19E. Using a diseqc switch you can connect one output of the 28.2 input and the 19E to tuner 1. Using non-freesat you can add all the channels at 19E and 28.2E. When you select a 19.2E channel the diseqc switch connects the 19E lnb to tuner 1. The normal tuner band/polarisation switching now works on the 19E lnb. Selecting a 28.5/28.2 channel simply selects the other lnb.

Example

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DiSEqC-Satell...onEle_SatCableFreeview_RL&hash=item230cf5a697
 
Hi Mike, i'm not sure this will answer your question (i'm not as techy as a lot of the others here, but i'm learning). What it will enable me to do is to connect 3 LNB feeds to the Hummy to enable me to tune to Dual Freesat & also Astra 1 @ 19.2 and tune to (in NON Freesat mode) a different satellite to view FTA footy etc on Astra 1. This is not a new feature of the Hummy that i'm aware of and yes, you could have done it before.

Graham beat me to it and said it better :)
 
Rizla1_uk said:
Hi Mike, i'm not sure this will answer your question (i'm not as techy as a lot of the others here, but i'm learning). What it will enable me to do is to connect 3 LNB feeds to the Hummy to enable me to tune to Dual Freesat & also Astra 1 @ 19.2 and tune to (in NON Freesat mode) a different satellite to view FTA footy etc on Astra 1. This is not a new feature of the Hummy that i'm aware of and yes, you could have done it before.

Graham beat me to it and said it better :)
Click to expand...

It's not new, both the Foxsat-HD and FOXSAT-HDR have had diseqc and usals since launch in 2008. Before you ask :) USALS drives a motorised dish to a satellite location so rather than using multiple lnb's you use one and move the dish to point at a different satellite.
 
Now you're making me think about gettin a Hummy HD and a motor for the shed roof ! LOL 'er indoors will kill me :eek:
 
Rizla1_uk said:
Ha hahahaha Mmmmmm now theres an idea ;) Just found this http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product.asp?ProdRef=10070&cat=stb although i know the reply will be "I WANT MY HOLIDAY" :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Joking apart, if you don't want HD then there loads of generic fta sat boxes that will work costing much less, some with pvr recording to a usb drive. You do need a dish location with a Southerly aspect with a view from East to West as wide as possible.

Goto www.dishpointer.com. Enter your postcode and select a satellite. Zoom in and drag the end of the line to your dish location. Select satellites across the arc, the line gives you the azimuth, the elevation is in the table. There is also an obstruction identifier. Type in the distance it will tell you how high it has to be to stop you seeing the bird. Notice the further East or West of due South the lower the elevation.
 
Rizla1_uk said:
Hi Mike, i'm not sure this will answer your question (i'm not as techy as a lot of the others here, but i'm learning). What it will enable me to do is to connect 3 LNB feeds to the Hummy to enable me to tune to Dual Freesat & also Astra 1 @ 19.2 and tune to (in NON Freesat mode) a different satellite to view FTA footy etc on Astra 1. This is not a new feature of the Hummy that i'm aware of and yes, you could have done it before.

Graham beat me to it and said it better :)
Click to expand...

Sorry, I am lost again. Is it what the firmware hack does, then? Allows you to add Sky News to the Freesat menu? Or are there lots more channels in non-Freesat mode on Astra 1 that can be tuned in? If so, is there a list somewhere?
 
WoW i should be able to get loads ! From my reckoning, if i can see 28 & 19 from where the dish is now (on shed roof out the back and pointing over the roof of the house, Freesat dish on front of house ) Back garden is just miles of fields, No high rises for miles here (in the stix as one says) Thanks for that link, added to my Favs. I think i would go down the HD route though, and my Hummy is a great bit of kit, so .... I can always record on the HDR, and catch up on my lappy if needed.
You are a wealth of information Graham, Thanks
 
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