Old timer needs system help please.

[Tony Daly]

Hi Everyone.

I have a motorised system which I haven't used for some time.
1.2Mt Echostar off set dish with 18" actuator.
Technomate 7102HD-T2 main receiver + a Technomate F3/5 which I used for feed hunting.
I also have an Alsat GBOX attached to the Technomate 7102 for moving the dish.
The dish is fitted with an INVERTO Ultra Twin Dual Output Satellite LNB.
I can get satellites from 45' West to 45' East easily.
All this was purchased around 2014.

The dish is probably about 30 years old but is still perfect. I cleaned up all the fitting when I set up the system again in 2014 after a house move.

I did buy a Gigablue receiver a couple of years ago but sold it again after a short time because my interest in the hobby wained.

I booted up the system yesterday & it does work although some of the Satellites & Transponders are well out of date.
My problem is I find the Technomate 7102HD hard to work with as its old tech now & even entering a new satellite or changing an old one is very convoluted.
I downloaded William-1's Transponder list & I updated the Satellites, Transponders & Channels from 1' West to 45 West (Slowly) . I then made a mistake trying to enter a new satellite which undone all my good work over many hours & put me back to the start
Now I have to put them all in again

After all that my question is, Can I swap out the Technomate 7102HD for something more modern & keep the Alsat GBOX & the other gear without much expense ?
The 7102 was pricey in its day. I don't want to spend a fortune as I know there's not an awful lot left unencrypted out there but I would like to keep the system going if only to use it once in a while.

I'm in my late sixties now but I can muddle my way round most tech things even if its slowly one step at a time.

Any advice will be gratefully received but please explain it fully as it may take time for me to get my head around the information.
Apologies for the very long post but I tried to provide as much information as possible.

Regards.
Tony.
SW Ireland.

EDIT: I've edited the post because originally I made a mistake in the receiver information I provided.

 

[ozumo]

Octagon sx88+ (not the sx88) is the default recomendation these days and can be found for under £50. It will work with your GBOX the same way it did with your Echostar

 

[jeallen01]

SX88+ on the (UK) World of Satellite website.

 

[Tony Daly]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.
Isn't the Octagon sx88+ a LINUX receiver ?
Would it be difficult to get the hang of it & would it be easy to connect the GBOX to it as I can't remember how it was done on the 7102HD?
Are there any reviews or installation guides on the Octagon sx88+ available as I'll need all the help I can get.

 

[william-1]

No, the SX88+ is dead simple that is why I use it

 

[Tony Daly]

No, the SX88+ is dead simple that is why I use it

Ah yes but you have a reputation of being an expert on all of this

 

[Tony Daly]

These two receivers look the same but a different price ?

Octagon SX88+ SE H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + OTT IPTV Receiver

Octagon SX88+ SE H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + OTT IPTV Receiver only £44.95. UK stock, fast UK next working day shipping.

www.world-of-satellite.co.uk

Octagon SX88+ SE WL H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + IPTV Receiver with WiFi

Octagon SX88+ SE WL H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + IPTV Receiver with WiFi only £49.00. UK stock, fast UK next working day shipping.

www.world-of-satellite.co.uk

 

[jeallen01]

...
Are there any reviews or installation guides on the Octagon sx88+ available as I'll need all the help I can get.

See this thread on the SX88+ (Warning - it's a very long one )

 

[jeallen01]

The "WL" version has built-in WiFi, the one without "WL" does not.

Both versions have a conventional 10/100Mb Ethernet RJ45 connector.

 

[Tony Daly]

See this thread on the SX88+ (Warning - it's a very long one )

22 pages later & more confused than wise
It would be great if there were photos somewhere of how a GBOX is connected to the SX88+ or some installation guides showing the setup menus.
Its all part of learning I suppose ?
Does the SX88+ come with some sort of user manual or is it really as easy as William-1 says it is ?

 

[dreambox1959]

i had some tm7100 and 6900 in the past ! great receiver at old times !
now i have octagon sf8008 , a great and simple E2 receiver and fully compatible with diseqc positionner !!!
my friend CARDIFF has same set of devices .

 

[Mickha]

Does your GBox look like this, at the rear?


As you can see the 4 wires connect to your motor, your LNB, from your dish, goes into the LNB connector and a new, short, cable goes from the receiver connection, to your satellite receiver.
You then go into your receivers menu, tuner settings, and set up Diseqc 1.2, to match your GBox.
Hence if you have Astra 1, 19.2E, set as position 1, on your GBox, you set Astra 1, 19.2E, to position 1, on your receiver.
Although it might seem complex, it isn't, just repetitive, and once set up, that's it, you select a channel, on your receiver, and the dish will move to the correct satellite.
There are plenty of members, on the forum, to help you out, and possibly even video tutorials, available on the internet, that will help.

Have you got your dish set up yet? Have you checked that it's still locking on to the satellites?

 

[ozumo]

Sat receiver LNB connector -> GBOX receiver connector. GBOX LNB -> LNB on dish. If your motor cable isn't already connected or labelled then you will have to open the actuator and identify which 2 wires are for the motor and which two are for the reed sensor.

edit: beaten to it by Mickha

 

[ozumo]

Just to add it might be worth checking your actuator is still working before spending any money. You can do this by connecting it to the gbox and pressing the left/east or right/west button and seeing if the motor moves, no need for any receiver or LNB to be connected.

 

[jeallen01]

Just to add it might be worth checking your actuator is still working before spending any money. You can do this by connecting it to the gbox and pressing the left/east or right/west button and seeing if the motor moves, no need for any receiver or LNB to be connected.

I think Tony's earlier posts appear to confirm that the motor & dish combo does still move correctly between most sats.

 

[Tony Daly]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Everything has been connected for the past 6 years & is fully working.
Its just the Technomate 7102HD is old technology now & the menus aren't great, so I need something to replace it without breaking the bank to do it.
I'm just worried about setting up a new receiver with the GBOX correctly in the new receivers menus as its been 6 years since I set up the original system. I just don't want to be overwhelmed by the technology in the new receiver.

Tony.

 

[jeallen01]

I understand your position as something "totally new" like an SX88+ will inevitably be a bit of a challenge (but "True LINUX" based boxes like the SF8008 will be far more so!).

However, many of the forum members will be happy to try to help you through the setup, and especially getting the motor settings entered correctly in the "Installation" setup menus - therefore I suggest that you "take the plunge" and get a new receiver, and then we will aim to help you "take it from there".

 

[Lazarus]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Good "advice".

 

[Tony Daly]

Thanks for the advice lads.
Been out all day & just in now.
An Octagon SX88+ SE WL will be ordered tomorrow from World of Satellite.

Octagon SX88+ SE WL H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + IPTV Receiver with WiFi

Octagon SX88+ SE WL H.265 HEVC HD Multi-stream Digital Satellite + IPTV Receiver with WiFi only £49.00. UK stock, fast UK next working day shipping.

www.world-of-satellite.co.uk

I presume that's the right box to get ?
Should arrive some time next week & we'll see what happens then.

I'll do a search online for further information.
In the meantime if they're any tutorials that folks know about I'd be grateful for a link.

Thanks.
Tony.

 

[Lazarus]

I suspect you'll be pleasantly surprised and find much of it intuitive.