VU+ Duo set up - help!

[astra19]

Hi all,

I got myself an easter present of a new box as I wanted something to tinker with. Well let's say I'm not disappointed! I know I was warned but by gum it's complicated.

After crashes and failures, I am using OpenATV on the box and I'm online.
I have a motorised dish, so I went through the setup wizard on the Positioner and set my lat/long. The dish is moving around happily but I have no idea where it seems to think it is. Every site I look at says I should aim for south and then go from there but I can't see that option at all in the settings. The box seems to have made its mind up where the dish should be and I can't change that. I'm able to do fine tuning, so for example I was able to move the dish to Astra 19 and got a good picture/signal, but there was no way for me to save that as the correct position. I turned off the settings of the motor and set the box to a single LNB, and that works fine. But the moment I try to change the settings to allow the positioner, the dish starts moving and I don't seem to have control over it.

I'm already kind of going out of my mind and I've only been at it for a few hours. I wanted this box as an upgrade to my dinky Edision but setup for this Vu box is proving a real nightmare. I feel like I'm missing something?

 

[Mickha]

You have two methods, to set up a motor:
1. USALS, you enter your Latitude, and Longitude, into your receiver, remembering that negative Longitude readings = West, Positive = East. Your True South position is your Longitude location, so when you have your dish/motor/LNB set at 0, you use your receiver, with your USALS set up, to tell your dish to go to a suitable satellite, like 1W. You then physically move your dish, to get the strongest signal, on 1W, and 0, on your motor scale, should then be pointing at your Longitude location.

2. Diseqc 1.2, this allows you to move your dish, with your receiver, peak the signal, then store the position, at a unique number, e.g. 1W at 1, 2E at 2, etc.
You do this by going into the tuner menu, selecting the Advanced option, and setting all your satellites up, one at a time, to numbers you want to save them as.
You then go into the Positioner setup option, and use the options to move your dish, peak the signal, then store it at the chosen position, you set up in your tuner menu, earlier.

Once done your dish will automatically move, when you select a channel.

Do you mean you have bought a VU+ Duo 4K SE receiver, or the very old VU+ Duo model?

I prefer Open Black Hole, on my older VU+ Duo 2, but you can select from a number of images, including OpenATV and OpenVIX.

 

[astra19]

Thanks for the response. Yes, sorry it's a VU+ Duo 4K SE.

By physically move the dish, I take it you mean get up on the ladder! I have my old receiver, maybe I could move the dish that way? My longitude is 3.77 West.

I changed my coordinates because it seemed like the receiver was about 1 degree out. When testing on 28.2E that got me from poor signal to almost 100% by telling the receiver I was at a different longitude (2.77W). I'm not sure if that will work for all satellites in the arc just by fudging the coordinates though?

And one more question. The box came loaded with OpenATV and that has a bunch of bouquets. That's fine for now but I can't seem to find an easy way to get rid of them. I also don't seem to be able to access the channel list apart from these bouquets. When I'm scanning, where does everything go if it's not in one of these bouquets?

 

[Mickha]

A Bouquet is just a favourite folder.
OpenATV should be similar to other images, so once you enter your channel list, by pressing the up/down arrows, on your centre console, you should have the option of pressing the red/green, or other button, for satellites, All Channels, Favourites.

If your dish is set up correctly, then don't move it, use your receiver to get it aligned correctly. If you're experiencing problems with USALS, try setting it up manually with the advanced Diseqc 1.2 options.

 

[astra19]

Thanks again.
Genuinely, I see nowhere to view channels other than in bouquets. And since I've just scanned two sats, the "previously scanned" bouquet doesn't have all of my channels in it. I can browse to a channel number, but there is zero way for me to view it in the EPG or view a list of channels that aren't bouquets. I'm so confused. This came with a bunch of bouquets but I'm not able to change them at all.

Also, I can't seem to find out how to do a blind scan. I'm trying to get the multistream channels on 5W and although the Italian ones are coming through A-OK (in spite of not being able to see them in the EPG at all) it doesn't look like the frequencies are stored for the French ones.

 

[Mickha]

If you're using a PC download DreamboxEdit, a useful tool, for Enigma 2 receivers. It allows you to download your channels, and Bouquets, from your receiver, back them up, edit them, and then re-upload the saved list, to your receiver.

I didn't like OpenATV, when I tried it, but it should be the same as other images. Have you tried pressing the up arrow, on the centre of your remote? This should bring up your bouquets, and offer you the option of using the coloured buttons, on your remote, to navigate to all the channels. By using the menu button, when in the channel list, you also find other options.

Which version of OpenATV do you have loaded? If you go into the menu you should have an information option, and About option, to view your image, and skin, details.

 

[astra19]

I'm on OpenATV 6.4. It was uploaded at point of purchase so it's the most recent build.
I appreciate your help so far.

The only option I get is to cycle through bouquets. I can't see anything to get outside the bouquets. I have Autobouquetmaker installed. I don't see anything in the settings to let me change the use of bouquets though. I've scanned a bunch of satellites but I have no way of getting to the channels at all.

Unfortunately I don't normally use a PC but I can get access to one. It seems a bit crazy to need to do it on a PC though.

 

[Mickha]

You don't have to use a PC, or laptop, but it makes it a lot easier, and quicker.
What are you using to post on the forum? Do you own a Mac instead of a Windows 10 device?

 

[astra19]

Yes I use Macs for most things. I have a Windows machine for work but it's not mine.

I don't mind using the remote to do things; it's just that I don't seem to have any option to. I have bouquets for the German Sky network, which I have no use for, but can't edit or delete them no matter where I look. And I've successfully scanned the Italian Multistream, but they're nowhere to be found on the EPG. If I could I would just start from the beginning but I'm not even sure how that would work.

The amount of things you seem to be able to do with the box is fantastic and why I bought it, but the fact I can't seem to do the simplest thing at all (open up a channel list and select a channel) makes me want to run over it with my car.

 

[Mickha]

Do you have things set up, on your VU+, that you can't do yourself?
I don't use a Mac, due to it's limitations, but it would be interesting to know what software can work with it, that you might require, in the future.
Check if some useful utilities like Filezilla, a free FTP program, for your Mac, and other utilities, like DCC, Dreambox Control Centre, and/or VUCC, VU+ Control Centre, dreamset, or other enigma 2 channel editor.

 

[astra19]

Sorry I don't understand that first question. I just want to be able to view a list of all my channels and I don't seem to be able to.
There is some paid software for Mac it seems, but I'll use a PC to try one of the free programs. But my worry is that even if I edit the bouquet to customise it, I still won't be able to see all channels once I do a rescan.
Maybe I should just change image altogether. I can't find anybody online with the same issue, but at the same time in all the screenshots and videos I don't see any indication of being able to view a channel list that's not a bouquet.

 

[Mickha]

Those programs, I've listed, are free, and you should be able to download them, if there is a mac version.
I did a quick search, for Filezilla:

https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?platform=osx

By pressing the up/down centre buttons, to gain access to your bouquets, then the red button, to display all channels, you should access your channel list, unless auto bouquet maker has caused a problem.

This is what I get, when I press the up/down button, on the centre console:

 

[astra19]

I'm taking a look at the box's IP in the browser. That gives a lot of good options, including the ability to see all channels! I can delete bouquets in there so I'm getting there.

But still no option to view all channels in the main EPG. I've attached a screenshot to show what I mean. I can change the bouquet and scroll between them with the remote, but there is no way to not be within the bouquets.

 

[astra19]

If I could get the view that you had I'd love it! But I seem to be trapped in some kind of bouquet limbo!

 

[Mickha]

That's because you're using the EPG. There are various EPG options, you can download, and skins, that might give you the options you want. Personally I just navigate to a channel, on any satellite, and press the guide button, for the EPG, but you can also use various shortcuts. A lot of times you might have to navigate to the satellite, and the channels, to get the EPG to download.

Once in the general channel menu, and not the EPG, if you press the menu button you should have the option of adding it to a Bouquet, if in the favourite menu, Blue button, and press the menu, you should have options to add a new bouquet, rename a bouquet, or delete it.
You have to keep checking what options you have, and you might want to search for an OpenATV forum, you can search for guides.

 

[astra19]

I'm going to have to try to download a different skin.
But I feel like I'm going crazy that this isn't an option. It is impossible for me to navigate to channels that aren't in bouquets. There is no way to search, and no way to display all channels. So I scanned in the Italian multistreams on 5W, and then they appeared in my "recently added". Once I did another scan, they disappeared and I can't get them back. So I can't get to adding those channels to bouquets because I can't navigate to them in the first place.

I don't have any of the coloured options. I've scanned through the hotkey settings as well as EPG settings, and there is nothing that I can do directly to channels or bouquets, it's all general settings.

 

[Mickha]

Recently Added, or in my case, Last Scanned, only shows the last scan, you completed. There must be a method of displaying all channels, without the EPG, or any program guides.
I would usually advise you to load a different image, OpenVIX, or Open Black Hole, but your experience, with Enigma 2 based receivers, is limited, and setting up can be difficult, but also greatly rewarding. To do this you would need to download the latest image, for your particular receiver, open it, using software like Winzip, or Winrar, and load the vuplus folder onto a FAT 32 formatted USB stick.

As I stated a PC is far more friendly, than a Mac, and would allow you to interact, with your receiver, download, and edit your channels, and bouquets, as well as do many other things.

There is a Dreambox channel editor, developed for Macs, which might be helpful.

Also found dreamboxedit site, which claims to have an editor for the Mac Operating System, but I don't know how old it is.

https://dreamboxedit.com/en/macos-2/

 

[astra19]

I'm trying a bunch of different skins, and none of them give me the option of displaying all channels. What skin are you using? I'm going out of my mind. I have spent hours on this today and still can't get a list of channels using the remote.

I've gone into the web interface and deleted all bouquets, and I've also uninstalled autobouquetmaker. Now when I turn on the box, I'm unable to select any channels at all beyond those which happen to be in the last bouquet I was using. Numbering has also become completely random, with most channels showing as 167. I can browse to channels outside of that using the web interface, but I cannot do anything with the box.

Something seems seriously wrong. I might need to get in touch with the retailer.

 

[Mickha]

My skin was developed for the latest Open Black Hole, as it runs Python 3, and not Python 2, which I think is what OpenATV is.
I think your image is the problem, but if you load a different image you would lose everything already set up on it, and I don't know what your supplier set up.

There are videos, online, showing how to set up OpenATV, but they might be out of date.

 

[astra19]

I’ll probably try a different image. I am married to a developer and I also work in IT so I should be able to figure it out! I might have had a bad build of OpenATV.

Would you recommend Blackhole? I have another weird issue that might be related to my image where I can get the Italian multistreams perfectly fine but the French ones don’t seem to work at all. I had seen people online recommending Blackhole especially for multistream but I assumed that nowadays it would have been much the same.