MSG migration to the new Eurobird satellite

EUMETSAT have moved the satellite carrying MSG EUMETCAST data from Hotbird 6 at 13^o E to Eurobird 9 at 9^o E, this requires some new computer settings and for your dish to be moved.

These instructions are for complete Timestep systems with computers also supplied by Timestep.  If your system is not, then we recommend you use the Eumetsat instructions by   clicking here.

There are three basic steps

•  Load new software and check its operation on the original satellite

•  Move the dish

•  Fine tune the system

If you do not feel confident to do this, seek the help of a professional satellite installation engineer, one that you local Sony or Panasonic shop recommends.  If you are not sure about the software installation, return your computer to us to re-configure it for you.

You do not need anything but this web page, a stick and a pen!

The following assumes that you are capable and perfectly confident to move your dish and set up the new software

• It is very important that you follow these instructions.
 

• Do not go onto the next stage if the current task has not been completed perfectly.
 

• Please do not read anything into what we say.  What we mean, is what we say!

•  Changing the software

1.  The first step is to set up the new software before moving the dish!

2.  Download to an area where you know where it is EpgData.zip, right click here and select "save target as" to download it.

3.  Download to a area where you know where it is EpgData.mdb, right click here and select "save target as" to download it.

4.  Copy both the above files into
            C:\Program Files\TechniSat DVB\DB\

5.  Click on the little satellite symbol on the bottom right of your screen, it will probably be the second next to the time. This should start the program Setup4PC, select the Options tab which is in the top middle and then click Restore button in the Database Options area.

6.  Accept the warning message, then close the program and re-boot the computer.

7.  Run Setup4PC again and in the satellite window and select Eurobird 9, see fig 1

8.  Close Setup4PC

9.  Right click on the satellite icon that is Setup4PC and you should see something like Fig 2.  Select Eurobird 9E as Fig. 3 then Exit.

10.  Re-boot your computer, then right click Setup4PC to check that Eurobird is still ticked.  Exit

11.  Left click the satellite icon for Setup4PC and select Data Services, make sure it looks like Fig. 4.  If not, repeat the above stages until it shows up repeatedly after two consecutive reboots.

12.  You are still on the original Hotbird satellite and these new settings, if they have been performed correctly, will in fact receive (but not decode) |Sky data, if it does, you are half way there!  Pres OK and go back to the first screen of Setup4PC, click the Status button on the bottom left, you should see |Sky and 013 East as Fig 5.  If you do, then this is milestone event!  If not go through the above steps again.

13.  Re-boot the computer, left click on the satellite Icon to start Setup4PC, click the Status button and see if you have |Sky, if not repeat the above steps.

14.  WARNING, it is absolutely essential that you try re-booting and that you instantly get under Status |Sky, DO NOT proceed further until you have.

•  Moving the dish

15.  We are going to re-set the dish now.  You only need set the azimuth (rotate on the pole).  The elevation, the up-down movement WILL NOT change.  Looking at the LNB, looking into the front of the dish, the left hand edge needs to be pushed away from you, so that it points further West, in the direction the sun sets.  But before you do this, you must mark a pole with a strong felt tip pen so that if you get lost, you can easily and quickly return to the Hotbird and |Sky data (for comfort).

16.  Get a long stick, you may have to go to B&Q to get a 2M length of 15mm square or something; if you don't do this right, you may ruin everything!!

17.  Put the stick on the wall, or something solid behind the dish, as if it was a long ruler and you were measuring the front left hand edge of the dish from the wall.  The stick should be in the middle of the dish (top to bottom) Mark the point on the stick where the edge of the dish is with a pen.  See Fig 6  & 6a

Note: Our illustrations show the marking slightly off this dish for clarity, you need the marking to be exactly on the dish.

18.  Now with a ruler mark a point 35mm nearer the wall with the pen.  Now rotate the dish so that in the same way, the left hand edge of the dish is lined up with the new mark that is now 35mm nearer the wall or pole.  See Fig. 7.

19.  You may be tempted to optimise the dish with a satellite finder, this is a VERY risky business.  There are at least two problems  1. The satellite finder may not be sensitive enough to read on Eurobird as it has so few active transponders and its power density is very small.  This has confused many people.  2. Your satellite finder may not let the high band 22KHz tone through, and hence it may not see any transponders at all.

20.  Having used the stick method only, make sure you do not have any satellite finder at all in circuit, even one that used to work once.  Take them all out.

21. You should now see  a Purple Tellique symbol and a green satellite on the bottom right of you screen, if so it is working.  Go to Setup4PC and select status, you should see Fig. 8 and it should be a similar strength to your previous system but identifying as MEDIA BROADCAST  and 009.0 East.

•  Fine tuning your system

22.  There will now be every data stream there is coming into your computer, it simply will not handle it.  So go to Setup4PC and select Data Service, look in the Data Services and you should see Fig. 9  Un-tick Hexadecimal, highlight one PID at a time and select remove until you only have 100 and 300 as Fig. 10.  Select Apply and exit the program.

23. Re-boot your computer and Go to Setup4PC and Data services, you should see Fig 11, if not repeat the above steps.

24. Your system will now work exactly as before the satellite changed.  Sit back, have a coffee!!  If it is working perfectly, then leave well alone!

•  Adding a Ramdisk  (optional)

25.  A Ramdisk can significantly improve the performance of your system.  However it can be troublesome to set up.  Many people have had problems, but if you follow this procedure you should be OK.  You need 1MB of RAM, if you do not have 1MB of RAM, you cannot continue.

26.  Download to a area where you know where it is, the Ramdisk setup.exe, right click here select "save target as" to download it.

27.  Run the Ramdisk setup.  On the General tab select  Automatic and Emulate a local hard disk.  Leave the drive letter Z.  See Fig. 12

28.  On the Geometry tab, set 128MB and leave everything else as it is.  See Fig. 13

29.  Reboot your computer and click on My Computer, you should see the Ram drive as Fig. 14.  If not repeat the above steps.

30.  Now all that remains is to set up the MSG capture software to write to the new and very fast Ramdisk!

31. Go to C:\Program Files\T-Systems\BusinessTV-IP and find recv.ini . Open it with Notepad and add/change the following lines

32.  Whilst in C:\Program Files\T-Systems\BusinessTV-IP and delete all files recv.log.1 to 30 (or however many there are.  Delete recv.log as well.

33.  Re-boot your computer and you are now finished!

Issue 02  4 January 2009

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