Freesat query

[NY]

The F connector

is the standard connector between the downlead(s) from a satellite dish to a satellite receiver.

A single dish may have several "aerials" in it. These are called LNBs (low noise blocks).

An LNB shifts the frequency of a selected part of the received signal from the satellite into a lower frequency which is less attenuated by the downlead. Because of the way that satellite signals are received, an LNB needs to be configured by the receiver (eg the TV or recorder) to select i) horizontal or vertical polarisation, ii) low or high band; this is done by the receiver generating a pilot tone of 22 kHz (presence or absence selects low/high band) and by using one of two different DC voltages to select polarisation.

It is normal for a dish to have 2 or 4 different down cables (4 would give you all combinations of high/low, horizontal/vertical) so different receivers can simultaneously record/display channels which happen to be in different quadrants of the band/polarisation combinations. If you have two cables going into the recorder, you will be able to record two channels simultaneously, barring the relatively unlikely case where two different channels happen to be broadcast in the same multiplex on the same frequency when both can use the same LNB, downlead and port on the receiver, and the other LNB can record a third channel.

185 channels is very small. That's more the number of channels that a Freeview receiver would detect on a terrestrial (via aerial) signal. My setup, using a Raspberry Pi with a PCTV 491e DVB-S2 USB tuner, has 1025 services. Some of those will be near-duplicates (regional variations of BBC1 and ITV) and your Manhattan box may filter out the majority of those, though in order to do that it needs to know your postcode to give you the "correct" region - and you haven't been prompted for a postcode.

My gut feeling is that the Manhattan is not sending the correct switching signals to the LNB so it is stuck in one of the four quadrants and you are only seeing the multiplexes and therefore the channels in the quadrant. There may well be configuration parameters which can be defined for the Manhatten.

Maybe. We all have to start somewhere. I knew sod-all about satellites until we moved to a house two years ago that had a dish and I gradually picked up some of the details.

I suggest you ask you question in uk.tech.broadcast and/or uk.tech.digital-tv where people like Bill Wright (username: williamwright) may well be able to help you.

Good luck.

[SH]

It sounds like he has a wideband LNB?

S.

[SH]

P.S.

This probably occurred as the previous owner had a Sky Q system, and these use Wideband LNBs on a Sky dish.

The wideband LNBs are not compatible with many Freeset boxes (In fact I've not come across a Freesat box that can work with Wideband but yes some can work with SCR LNB's)

What the Op needs to do is:

1. change the Wideband LNB to a standard Quad LNB.

1. Get a Wideband Multiswitch that has legacy outputs

2. Get a Freesat 4K HD box as this supports wideband LNBs and Arris have the sole manufacturing rights to make Freesat 4K boxes. (Arris (USA) bought Pace who were one of the big manufacturers of set top boxes)

See

and

[Clive Arthur]

<snipped>

You got it. I called a local installer, he came round to have a look and said just that. A new LNB would be £135 fitted, but with a new dish too that would be £145, and as the existing one was rusty, that's what I went for.

All sorted in under an hour!

[williamwright]

That's a bit dear.

Bill

[SH]

yeha I thought that too....

swapping the Wideband LNB for a Quad or even a SCR LNB would be far cheaper but would require the home owner to have some basic tools and possibly a ladder too (depending on dish lcoation)