Dual tuner card

[backer]

All

If I purchase a dual satellite tuner card, am I able to connect 2 separate dishes to each of the inputs?

I know the original intent of a dual tuner is to watch/record two different freqs at the same time but I was wondering if you could control and watch two different dishes (i.e H-H KU dish and motorised C BAND dish on the one card).

Any one tried such a setup? Or is the only real proper way is to use two separate tuners one for each dish?
It sounds like it would work in theory BUT there might be driver issues to make it work smoothly.

At the moment I have 2 USB tuners one for each dish, but I thought it would be nicer to buy a PCIe dual tuner card and plug both into it.

[mtv]

I haven't seen a dual tuner card that works the way you described.

Not to say one doesn't exist, just that I'm not aware of one.

Combining dishes on a multiswitch would likely be the solution.

[tristen]

I agree with mtv's comments but why don't you check the various manufacturers' websites, such as , and the Twinhan range.

[Smacca]

I would say yes, this is a possible way to use dual tuners. I've had a few over time and the software I've used (like DVB Viewer, MePo, DVB Dream...) see these cards as two separate tuners with their own settings sections. You should still check and make sure, but I've always assumed this kind of setup is pretty common.

You could even go one better and tune both satellites to each tuner if you add two disecq switches and use two dual LNB's This would allow you to watch/record two things from two satellites at the same time

[cmoore]

I have a TBS 6983 dual tuner card that does exactly that.

I have one tuner conected to my C Band dish and the other input conected via a 4 way disequilibrium switch to my Multi KU band setup on D2. C1, D1 and Int19 Ku. I can independently watch two tuners using a software based programs such as DVB Dream etc. just instal 2 versions of the softwRe on your PC.

This tuner is around $270Aust and is PCIe based. There are heaps of different versions including a quad tuner version and ones that allow CI modules to be used.

The model I quoted is a high end version allowing for multiple format reception though there is little 16apsk services viewable and has been replaced by the TBS6903.

here in Aust.

Here is the website

I've also purchased the USB version for laptop monitoring.

There are other companies you can choose , this is only my recommendation.

[backer]

Thanks for the information.
For LNB power, is there an internal power lead that needs to plug into the PC's power supply (or it is supplied by the PCIe slot)?
If it uses a power connector is it the older 4 pin or the SATA power type?

It will need to power my H-H KU motorised setup (as well as power to the CBAND LNB).

I have been looking at the cheaper TBS6902 but I have concerns over the speed of the blind scanning. I already have 1 TBS5980 and 1 TBS5922 USB tuners. The 5922 has both Blscan and Blscan2 which is HW based much faster. The 5980 is more accurate but much slower. I like having the choice.

[tristen]

There is an "F" connector on the card for connection to the LNB.

The card supplies power to the LNB in the same way that a normal satellite receiver does.

If contemplating the use of an H/H actuator, be sure to check the card's specifications to ensure that it is able to supply sufficient current to both the actuator and LNB.

[cmoore]

Interestingly the TBS range of sat cards do not show the LNB voltage current limits. If you were concerned I would prob look at getting a small V Box positioner that would handle the current load and just use the sat card to send the disceq commands to it. I use a titanium ASC1 positioner to move my C Band H to H mount. A small Vbox will set you back $50 and handle the small Motek style H to H mount fine.

[backer]

They don't give power outputs but I did see something on the TBS6903 which showed a power cable that you connect from the PC's power supply to the card, I assume this how it provides enough power for it's dual coax inputs.

I already have a VBOXII for my Cband motorised setup. I would prefer to power the H-H Ku dish via the tuner (as I currently do with the USB TBS5980 tuner).

Hopefully they do provide enough power for both the LNB/H-H motor via the coax.

[backer]

All,

Just an update I received my PCIe TBS 6902 dual tuner card yesterday. I decided to purchase the cheaper card and not the professional one (TBS6903) since the cost and usage difference for me wasn't worth it. So far I am very happy with it. (I also built a new pc server to run it, using the low end Intel Pentium G4560 cpu and GT1030 GPU).

I connected the additional power lead to the card (from the PC's power supply) I'm not sure if it had to as I think some PCIe slots might provide enough power, but since I was connecting my H-H motor I wanted to ensure it would work correctly.

Both C BAND and KU band dishes are connected and working fine. I can blind scan with EBSPRO and use DVBViewer as I did before. I removed my 2 x USB tuners and this card replaces these. The both tuners operate interdependently. The speed to switch from KU to C band is very fast much faster then my 2 x USB tuners was.

[cmoore]

Interestingly after all these years of having the card I never really took note of the external power supply input on these units untill I saw your post and then took a look at a photo of the card. Did your sat card come with a power cable adaptor as it looks to be smaller then a normal Molex style, I might have to take a look in the box.

On a side note, I see someone is selling a couple of TBS6983 on EBay for $235 Aus plus $10.85 not bad value if you can afford it, considering the Aust dollar value against the US$ If you brought one new from Singapore/China which would set you back $320 aprox.

[backer]

Yes there was a 4pin molex adaptor in the box. I'm not sure if the PCIe slot provides enough power to drive the H-H Ku motor but i plugged it in anyway just to be sure. Anyway it works. Both motors on both dishes are able to be moved!

Perhaps one day I will purchase the more expensive card perhaps when DVB-S2X is widely used and sat cards chipsets can decode it!

[nic55]

Might want to check out
Bit complex to setup but once going you can stream your DVB-S/T/C channels over your wifi, to your TV's (with Kodi or smart-tv iptv client), over the internet to other people or to your phone/ipad etc.