Positioning SG-2100 Motor with DVD Dream and Skywalker-1

[lingshu8]

I've got a 90cm Fortec dish + Invacom QPH031 Quad LNBF mounted on a SG-2100 Motor and am trying to position the motor with a Genpix Skywalker-1 through DVB Dream's positioner software. The SG-2100 has a green light when connected to the Skywalker and will respond to east/west movement commands from DD. However, the "Goto" function doesn't seem to be working accurately. For example, if I enter "GoTo Angular Position: 44.4 deg W" (according to GAAPS, this is the angular position for 119 at my long/lat), the motor kicks in. But when I go look at the motor, I see that it stops at 30-some degrees W, not 44.4 deg W. When I try to "goto" an arbitrary large degree (75 west), the motor only moves to 60+ degrees.

I've checked to make sure that hardware limits on the motor are not engaged. I cleared the software limits in DD. I moved the motor back to zero deg and pressed the factory reset. I uninstalled and re-installed DD.

Any ideas?

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[jerryt]

Try using raw commands;

Cut and paste from an earlier post, note this;
"Go to XX" depends on your Lat and Long, but you can get the raw commands from SS2Diseqc1.9 plugin"

"No plugin needed for motor control with Genpix USB module.

Enter the raw diseqc command in satellite "diseqc" settings;

Sg2100 Raw Diseqc commands (From SS2Diseqc1.9)

Save position 1 = E0 31 6A 01
Save position 2 = E0 31 6A 02
Save position 3 = E0 31 6A 03
Save position 4 = E0 31 6A 04
Save position 5 = E0 31 6A 05
Save position 6 = E0 31 6A 06
Save position 7 = E0 31 6A 07
Save position 8 = E0 31 6A 08
Save position 9 = E0 31 6A 09
Save position 10 = E0 31 6A 0A
Save position 11 = E0 31 6A 0B
Save position 12 = E0 31 6A 0C
Save position 13 = E0 31 6A 0D
Save position 14 = E0 31 6A 0E
Save position 15 = E0 31 6A 0F
Save position 16 = E0 31 6A 10
Save position 17 = E0 31 6A 11
Save position 18 = E0 31 6A 12
Save position 19 = E0 31 6A 13
Save position 20 = E0 31 6A 14
Save position 21 = E0 31 6A 15
Save position 22 = E0 31 6A 16
Save position 23 = E0 31 6A 17
Save position 24 = E0 31 6A 18
Save position 25 = E0 31 6A 19
Save position 26 = E0 31 6A 1A
Save position 27 = E0 31 6A 1B
Save position 28 = E0 31 6A 1C
Save position 29 = E0 31 6A 1D
Save position 30 = E0 31 6A 1E

Go to position 1 = E0 31 6B 01
Go to position 2 = E0 31 6B 02
Go to position 3 = E0 31 6B 03
Go to position 4 = E0 31 6B 04
Go to position 5 = E0 31 6B 05
Go to position 6 = E0 31 6B 06
Go to position 7 = E0 31 6B 07
Go to position 8 = E0 31 6B 08
Go to position 9 = E0 31 6B 09
Go to position 10 = E0 31 6B 0A
Go to position 11 = E0 31 6B 0B
Go to position 12 = E0 31 6B 0C
Go to position 13 = E0 31 6B 0D
Go to position 14 = E0 31 6B 0E
Go to position 15 = E0 31 6B 0F
Go to position 16 = E0 31 6B 10
Go to position 17 = E0 31 6B 11
Go to position 18 = E0 31 6B 12
Go to position 19 = E0 31 6B 13
Go to position 20 = E0 31 6B 14
Go to position 21 = E0 31 6B 15
Go to position 22 = E0 31 6B 16
Go to position 23 = E0 31 6B 17
Go to position 24 = E0 31 6B 18
Go to position 25 = E0 31 6B 19
Go to position 26 = E0 31 6B 1A
Go to position 27 = E0 31 6B 1B
Go to position 28 = E0 31 6B 1C
Go to position 29 = E0 31 6B 1D
Go to position 30 = E0 31 6B 1E

"Go to XX" depends on your Lat and Long, but if you can get the raw commands from SS2Diseqc1.9, the Genpix USB module will operate the motor as "Go to XX" USAL.

Motor raw commands not working with Skystar2 and Twinhan for me. SS2Diseqc1.9 works fine with Skystar2 by it's self."

[lingshu8]

Now, are these positions saved in the motor hardware, or in DD software?

Does this mean that if I enter the raw "go to position" commands for each satellite under that satellite's properties settings, then enable "Auto drive on Channel change," then when I switch channels DD will automatically move the satellite to the proper position?

stored in the motor memory

yes, it should automatically move to the sat when you enable that option

[lingshu8]

stored in the motor memory
yes, it should automatically move to the sat when you enable that option

I'm still having trouble with this. I enabled "Auto-drive on channel change" and entered the raw commands under the properties for each satellite (eg E0 31 6B 02, E0 31 6B 03, etc), but when I change channels nothing happens. Under preferences, I selected "Always force to resend diseqc commands" and set diseqc repeat ount to "5." Still no go.

What's more, in the Positioner window, simply entering the raw diseqc command (eg E0 31 6B 02) and clicking "SEND" does nothing. The only way I can get the DD positioner to work is if I first click "Goto Reference Position" (sending the motor back to 0) and THEN enter the raw command E0 31 6B 02. This is a pain in the butt, but it seems to be the only way I can move this motor without going outside into the 20 degree night air and manually pushing the East/West button!!!

Am I missing something here?

[jerryt]

In order to use the go position 3 command, you first have to use the Save position 3 command first.

Try this; manually move your motor to a known satellite. In Raw diseqc switch settings (Not positioner panel) for that satellite enter a Save as position X command of your choice. Try position one. Select a couple of channels on that satellite so the command is sent. Now change the command from Save as to Go To.

Move the dish manually from that satellite and select a channel on that satellite again.

Does the dish move now?

[lingshu8]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, jerryt.

In order to use the go position 3 command, you first have to use the Save position 3 command first.

I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I did first manually position the motor on a satellite and then I entered the "Save position" command.

This morning I went ahead and "re-booted" the motor. I set the motor to 0 and pressed the hard re-set button on the motor for a couple seconds. I then manually moved the motor to get a good signal on a satellite, entered the Raw diseqc "Save position" command, and repeated with a couple more sats. When I tested this new setup by entering the raw diseqc "Goto position" commands in the positioner panel, the motor kicked in and moved to the appropriate position. So far so good. After work today I'll try entering the Goto commands in the sat properties panel and enabling "move with channel change" in the positioner panel and see if it works now.

Thanks again for your help!

[jerryt]

You can also use the USAL raw commands, which don't require you to save any positions.

[MAY04]

You can also use the USAL raw commands, which don't require you to save any positions.

I have been using a motor SG2100 with Fortec Lifetime, Viewsat Platinum and Coolsat 5000 with no problems with 2 Invacom Lnbs. Circular LNB on Port 2 and KU LNB on Port 3. Now I am trying to get it to work with Skywalker 1. I followed the instructions to save in raw disecq but it is not working for me because i do not understand how to keep all the satellites. Do I need to bypass the switch? Need help

[lingshu8]

I'm still having lots of strange problems. If I set DD to "Auto Drive on Channel Change" (of course, only after saving sat positions with raw diseqc commands and entering the goto position commands under the appropriate satellite properties) when I change channel either:

1) the program freezes and/or crashes
2) the motor moves over to an arbitrary point (about 69°W) and stops. Curiously, this is not a location that I've set for any sats (I've been testing 119, 110, and 82 W). The motor is now "stuck" at 69°W until I restart DD and use the Raw diseqc command to manually send the motor to another location.

Also, although I have selected "Confirm Motor Driving" in the Positioner Window, DD *never* asks for confirmation for motor drive (it used to; I'm not sure when it stopped).

Now a new problem has arisen. If I change channels on Nimiq 2 at 82.0°W, the motor kicks in and moves over to that abitrary fixed spot at 69°W that I've never set. This is bizarre for 2 reasons

1) I have disabled "Auto Drive on Channel Change" -- why is DD moving my motor?

2) I'm already on Nimiq 2 -- I'm just trying to change to another channel on Nimiq 2 -- why is DD moving my motor?

I just erased the goto position command in the Nimiq 2 satellite properties box and this glitch stopped. But why?

Very confusing. Any ideas?

You can also use the USAL raw commands, which don't require you to save any positions.

jerryt, could you possibly walk me through how to do that? In the positioner window I only see a place to enter raw diseqc commands, not USAL.

[rel]

1) if you use raw commands, you should disable positioner (options->positioner)

2) otherwise dont use raw commands per satellite. Just save & assign the satellite memory position numbers to satellites with options->positioner dialog.


and about USALS, it has a calculation problem, go-to-angular pos. won't work properly, bug reported.

I recommend you to test positioner dialog in a fresh install (or delete chlist.chl and settings.cfg)

[jerryt]

You can also use the USAL raw commands, which don't require you to save any positions.

jerryt, could you possibly walk me through how to do that? In the positioner window I only see a place to enter raw diseqc commands, not USAL.

The Motor raw commands for "save as" and "Go to" are 4 bytes (Four pairs).

The USAL commands are 5 bytes. You can get the USAL command for a motor angle from SS2Diseqc110 or (maybe Altdvb).

You can find all your motor angles for your location by;
Go here; http://www.satlex.de/en/azel_calc.html
Enter your location and pick one satellite which you know can be received from your location.
Press calculate. Click link at the bottom of the page; "Export data in CSV format of all visible satellites at your location". Open the file in notepad or the like. one column is the motor angles for all avalible satellites.
Translate the motor angles to USAL raw commands with SS2Diseqc110.
Enter the raw USAL commands. Note Relocation's post about turning off the motor use, raw commands bypass the motor controls.

[ScanMan]

@lingshu8

Did you assign the stored positions in the motor to the accordant SAT-pos ?
If not, DD doesnt know where to steer to.

[lingshu8]

Thank you all for your feedback, and for all the work you've put into these programs!

1) if you use raw commands, you should disable positioner (options->positioner)

OK, I disabled the positioner. I didn't realize that one could move the motor just by setting the Goto commands (eg E0 31 6B 02) under each satellite's diseqc settings. I assumed that the positioner also had to be enabled.

Right now the motor is moving as I switch channels, but there seems to be a delay. For example, if I'm on 110 and switch to a channel on, say, 82, there is no response from the motor. But if I click on several channels on 82, the motor eventually kicks in.

Under preferences I enabled "Always force to resend diseqc commands" with a diseqc recount of 5. I have not set any delays in that window.

Any suggestions? Would I be better (or worse) off using the positioner?

2) otherwise dont use raw commands per satellite. Just save & assign the satellite memory position numbers to satellites with options->positioner dialog.

I used the positioner console to save positions to motor memory (eg E0 31 6A 02). Then I entered the corresponding Goto commands under each satellite (eg E0 31 6B 02). If I don't use the raw commands per sat, how would I go about setting them up in the positioner console? I see where I can select a sat from a drop down list, and then there are buttons for "Modify" "Send" and "Clear." In positioner, how do I associate a particular sat with a particular motor position and then get the channel change to move the motor?

Sorry for all the newbie confusion, but I can't seem to find any documentation for these functions anywhere.

Thanks again for all of your help and hard work!

[ScanMan]

@ rel
@ lingshu8

Please take a look to this thread:

http://www.dvbdream.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1698

[tifozi]

and about USALS, it has a calculation problem, go-to-angular pos. won't work properly, bug reported.

I recommend you to test positioner dialog in a fresh install (or delete chlist.chl and settings.cfg)

I recently tried to switch over to the Genpix as the complete replacement for an STB, using USALS through DD. Initially i had it slaved to a Merc II and could get signal/channels from all Sats(Linear/Circular) through the loop-out and correct LNB LOF/22 KHz settings in the Merc II AND Diseqc menu in DD.

With only the Genpix connected to the 22KHz switch(Genpix in Master mode), controlling the motor, i was able to move the dish to certain circular sats only using RAW USALS ( hit green check box next to satellite location, found this after playing with settings for a long time!). i am still debating if it's a bug in DD or something that i am doing wrong but i am unable to watch linear sats by trying to move the dish using USALS because i can't get any signal.

Hopefully the enhancements are coming in future releases! Thanks for all the work.