270 replies to this topic

[rhinoceros]

The Positioner plugin is not the most maintained part of the image and leaves quite some wishes for improvement. I have spent some time to rework this and add missing features that are badly needed but I would like to know if there are still people that are interested in this. If you are, please react here.

[hemertje]

it's always good to maintain and update software with it's common features

so dont hesitate to post your patches

[Rob van der Does]

If you are, please react here.

I'm very interested indeed. And I know that especially in the UK a motor is very often used.

[zackmuc]

I use motor but with my dm800 it seems the motor does not work i have to use my kathrein box to us usals.

[Robinson]

Motorised installations are used in Poland, too, not only in the UK.

[Jeroensky]

I have a rotor here,.(unfortanately with a dish that is too low to receive signals with a building in lign of sight, but that is another story).
The Positioner Setup is indeed a plugin that most of the time don't work.
I've had it working twice, after a fresh pli flash a few weeks ago. But as soon as i get a update, it's not working anymore.
Would be nice if the plugin can be updated. Because it seems to be nice (service searching). But the rotor does nothing. (it does work when setting a channel on rotor position, or when using satfinder plugin.

[TVBlock]

I'm still using my motor. On my Gregorian dish. So any improvement on that end would be more then welcome.
My setup does not use the Usals.

Its a h2h mount/motor connected to a so Called V-box.

But its working fine to me if I select a sat position the dish moves .

[zackmuc]

where do i find this plugin

[Jeroensky]

It's located in menu at:
Menu > Setup > Service searching > Positioner setup.

if you don't see it, then install the plugin:
Menu > Plugins > Download plugins > systemplugins > Positionersetup

But at the moment it's not working here on usals supported Jaeger SG2500A rotor..

Edited by J3r03n5ky, 13 February 2012 - 19:55.

[jaSalta387]

I use a rotor too. I just one had an issue that the rotor will not respond after a day of not using it. I had to climb to the roof and press the reset button... since then, no issues and everything working smoothly.

I support development of any improvements.

[rhinoceros]

OK, here it is. Please check my comments below.

First, a thanks is in order to the PLi team for using open source. Remember that work like this is possible only because we have access to that. With closed-source, developments like these would be very difficult to do if not impossible.

Second, thanks to the original developers of the Positioner Setup plugin and all other bits and pieces that are needed. I kept the original screen designs as much as possible. The rotor calculation is just copied from the existing source with only slight modifications. The logging module is copied from the xmltv plugin (EPGImport) also with slight alterations. A thanks to all those developers as well.

Third, this is software, therefore there are bugs. Please have patience and tell me about them.

Installation:
If you want to restore your present system, make a backup of these files since these will be overwritten:
/usr/lib/enigma2/python/Screens/Satconfig.pyo
/usr/lib/enigma2/python/Components/NimManager.pyo
/usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/PositionerSetup/plugin.py

Install the attached package and restart e****2. Done.

This package is only for testing purposes. The changes to the first two of the above files should be done by the PLi team if and when this plugin is accepted. Diff's are in the zip.

One word of caution. Don’t use Power Measurement if your box does not support it. The ET9X00 or its drivers apparently do not support Power Measurement.


Changes:[list]
[*]The motor index field now allows numeric input instead of just a selection which was cumbersome to use with indices going up to 50 or so.
[*]There was a performance issue with the tuning screen as it was using the scanner screen. The required code is now isolated and tuning selection works much faster. The disadvantage is that there is some code now in duplicate. But this is only the satellite parameter section which is fairly static anyway.
[*]The tune screen now correctly points to the satellite and transponder of the currently playing service. Previously, the default was manual transponder and on change to predefined, you had no idea which transponder had been used. The tuning screen now identifies the correct transponder as predefined – if indeed it is.
[*]The motor index field is now correctly filled-in after selection of the satellite. Previously you had to go through the tuner setup screen, work your way to the bottom and find out what your motor index was. Switching screens this way is time consuming as it reallocates the tuner and channels each time.
[*]Fields are added to specify an X coordinate for the gotoX command. This field is automatically set according to the satellite tuned but can, of course, be filled in manually as well.
[*]A gotoX command is added under the yellow button (USALS use).
[*]The auto-focus function is added under the red button.
[*]USALS calibration is added under the red button.
[*]Additional parameters are added in the advanced satellite section of the tuner setup screen to specify the detailed characteristics of the rotor is use. The parameters are global, i.e. the same for all satellites. (Only one rotor supported.)
[*]A log function is added under the ‘info’ button to log the details of all steps and measurement values, including the exact diseqc parameters. All actions are also shown to the user in the screen.
[/list]

Some words as user guide. The rotor parameter defaults are for the rotor I use, but I believe these are reasonably universal. If you don’t know yours, leave them at the defaults. The rotor speeds are in degrees/sec and are only used to estimate the movement time. The ‘step size’ is in degrees/step and is more critical as it determines the actual resolution used in the position calculations. Use your own if you know it.

The requirement for using auto-focus is that you have a signal that the tuner locks on. The stronger the better. The search range is artificially limited to +/- 5 degrees on the orbit. The calculation is fairly accurate. It uses the weighted average, not the maximum signal position. If you don’t trust it, press the ‘info’ button, look at the signal levels measured, draw a plot and judge for yourself. There should not normally be more than 1 step between the center of the beam and the maximum signal position. Calculate the auto-focus position and store the result in the motor index. There is no bias in the search directions as that is randomised. If you recalculate the auto-focus position several times in a row you should find the same position each time. If not, you have hysterese on the rotor which probably means wear and tear. Consider replacement of the rotor.

The gotoX (USALS) command is really a benefit. Previously, the only way to use gotoX was to set a satellite to use USALS, start a manual service scan, abort and make sure your position did not move. That works much easier now with direct support for gotoX. Just fill-in the coordinates you want and press the button.

The USALS calibration is a way to determine a misalignment – if any – on your rotor installation. Especially useful if your rotor setup is difficult to reach as it is in my case. You will need at least three measurements, one on each opposite side of your rotor range and one in the center. If you have significantly different readings on the opposites, there is something wrong with you setup. But even if your elevation is fine and your pole is quite vertical you might still have a longitude shift. What I do is check if I have the same deviation on each end of the rotor range and – if yes – apply the opposite shift to the site longitude. That way I am spot-on over the entire range and the USALS position is just the same as the manually determined auto-focus position. I now have a calibrated range from 45 E to 45 W using USALS only.

The requirement for using the calibration is that your target is within +/- 10 degrees on the orbit. A totally artificial limit, of course, but just to prevent inadvertent full-scale moves. Again no bias in the search directions.

Lastly, the present plugin has a license that I am not happy with as it favours one company in particular. I would not agree to publish my modifications under exactly that license since I would not want to name any company in particular. Everyone the same rights or no one any rights. The mention of this company in the license file is legally speaking meaningless anyway.

Please, consider this version of the plugin as a test version and let me know your experience.

Attached Files

•  PositionerSetup.zip   76.12KB   197 downloads

[rhinoceros]

P.S. There is something in Diseqc called Re-calculate. This is largely undocumented by Eutelsat and does not seem to be implemented in most rotors. Even if it would, I believe I would not want to use it anyway. I therefore abandoned the idea to support it. If you think it is useful for you and you would like to use it, let me know, please.

[demotic]

Be interested in installing this as for whatever reason my satellites will not store for me in.positioner setup ( press green store but it goes back to the default transponder). Could someone point me in the right direction on how to install this. I've installed ipk packages before but not sure on this.

Edited by demotic, 14 February 2012 - 13:55.

[rhinoceros]

@demotic. Maybe I should not have put it in a zip file. You need to extract the .ipk file from the zip file, put it on a stick and ask your box to install a separate ipk package. Does that answer your question?

[demotic]

Yep done thanks for the instructions

[Dimitrij]

@rhinoceros
Take a look at this version of the module */Screens/Dish.py
I would like to integrate it with openPLi.

[jaSalta387]

Thanks @rhinoceros. I will give it a try one of these days and post my experiences. I guess that if we want to uninstall your positioner Setup plugin we just revert the backed up files. Is thos correct?

[mirakels]

@rhinoceros
Take a look at this version of the module */Screens/Dish.py
I would like to integrate it with openPLi.

Nice!
We need to figure if this should replace the current Dish or if it should be a user setting. What do dish users think?

Furthermore a few remarks:
- do you really think moving a dish takes up to 24 hours? I guess it should take couple of minutes at most?
- I think the location on screen is a bit to intrusive. Can we move it to be a bit more in the upper left corner (e.g. something like position="86,100"?
- please do not use construct like "if something: return". Put the return on a new line.
- Oh and if possibel could you create a git diff (git format-patch) file with a proper change description (so you get full credit for your work).

[mirakels]

OK, here it is. Please check my comments below.

Installation:
If you want to restore your present system, make a backup of these files since these will be overwritten:
/usr/lib/enigma2/python/Screens/Satconfig.pyo
/usr/lib/enigma2/python/Components/NimManager.pyo
/usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/PositionerSetup/plugin.py

Install the attached package and restart e****2. Done.

This package is only for testing purposes. The changes to the first two of the above files should be done by the PLi team if and when this plugin is accepted. Diff's are in the zip.

Good work rhinoceros!

I see your ipkg also contains the modifed NimManager.py and SatConfig.py. So the diffs do not need to be applied to the openpli repository yet.
I also have a rotor but did not look at its config for ages... But if the positioner setup plugin can be improved we can certainly include in the repo. So if you move out of the 'testing' phase we can move it in. So rotor/motor user please test!

[rhinoceros]

I guess that if we want to uninstall your positioner Setup plugin we just revert the backed up files. Is thos correct?

Yes, entirely correct. Sorry I was not clear enough. We will look forward to your experiences.