DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state.

Discussions about controllers used to position your dish and track the satellite arc.
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belter-one
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DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state.

Post by belter-one » Fri May 03, 2019 12:18 pm

Hello,

Last night, my positioner (DISEqC box) got stuck in a "Loc" state. The box will:
1. Not respond to the remote's "reset" button, which is astounding.
2. Not respond to the long "Satellite" up and down buttons.
3. Not respond to the "East" or "West" buttons.
4. Not respond to any attempt to enter a positon with the numeric keys and the "Enter" key.
5. Not respond to the "Cancel" button.
6. Not recover from this "Loc" state even after a "Err2" state was generated.

A. The dish is a 10 foot dish, with a 48'' actuator.
B. Photos of the DISEqC box are attached.

Power cycling, removing some and all the wires does nothing. I am able to move the dish along the arc using the box's onboard
left and right arrow keys,even though the matching "East" and "West" buttons on the remote do nothing. This positioner currently
does not have the coax cable from the satellite dish plugged into it. This DISEqC box does NOT have an on-board reset button,
only one on the remote, which worked before, but now does nothing. Any suggestions, including consulting the oracle at Delphi,
will be greatly appreciated.

A beautiful blue sky day,

belter-one

P.S. Just attached files to a message on this site, for the first time. This site rocks and is very well maintained. :thankyousign:
Attachments
DiseqC-too.jpg
For your viewing pleasure.
DiseqC-one.jpg
Another view.
Last edited by belter-one on Fri May 03, 2019 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state. ZGemma workaround.

Post by belter-one » Fri May 03, 2019 7:47 pm

Hello,

Using the Positioner window in the ZGemma, I have been able to work around this spurious "Loc" state that the DISEqC box is in when the remote control wand is used. Pretty interesting that the ZGemma H7 is able to communicate via the coax, and happily switch from Satellite and transponder, as needed. This receiver just saved my posterior from a whole lot of annoying trips to and from the DISEqC box. Perhaps a command can be sent from some of the fields in the receiver, to tell the DISEqC to reset itself to factory defaults, so that it responds as designed to its remote control wand? Anyone know if there is a coax-to-usb or coax-to-ethernet adapter that would allow one to communicate to the DISEqC's on-board operating system, if it has one?

Relieved and happy with the ZGemma-H7,

belter-one

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Re: DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state.

Post by tvroadmin » Fri May 03, 2019 11:57 pm

Unplug the box. It might need to reset.
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Re: DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state.

Post by belter-one » Mon May 06, 2019 1:35 pm

Hello,

Thank you for your suggestion. Unfortunately, I have tried that (unplugged its power for 20 minutes) to no avail. When this permanent "Loc" state occurred I noticed a button was stuck on board the DISEqCs remote control. The ZGemma's Positioner window is proving to be a great work around, as I enjoyed learning its details and am very comfortable with the ease of use.

A beautiful day,

belter-one

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Re: DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state.

Post by dishcrank » Tue May 07, 2019 1:44 am

If this is a vboxII or vbox7, your remote is LOCKED. To unlock it, press the lock button and within 3 seconds, press the enter button.

I think you can reset these units also. Unplug, press and hold the power button on the unit and replug. Should start counting and say reset when finished. If you reset, you'll have to re-enter you satellite positions.

Good luck...

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Re: DISEqC Positioner stuck in Loc state.

Post by belter-one » Wed May 08, 2019 3:14 pm

Hi Dishcrank,

Thank you very much. That worked perfectly. All up and running again, with a new appreciation of the capabilities of the ZGemma-H7's Positioner window. Now if I could only use Google Earth to remove a few trees that are in the way! :smile:

Keeping calm and carrying on,

belter-one

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