From being completely clueless about Xtraview and asking many silly questions to finally completing my first Xtraview installation. I would still have been stuck on the starting line were it not for the patience and guidance of some very informed and helpful people on this forum. I cannot thank you guys enough.
@Lupus - Thanks for bearing with me and responding to my numerous PMs. Big ups to you.
@grav80 - Thanks for simplifying what initially appeared (and later turned out to be
) a daunting task.
@Smurfatefrog - Your guidance close to the finish line was invaluable. Thank you.
@Luke7777 - Thanks for broadening my knowledge about things like SATCR, etc
Anyway, its not like I won an Oscar or something
Got everything setup and called MC (They are missing a trick if they are not getting a kickback from the networks for the minutes of airtime they gobble up when you call the callcentre). After a 30 minute call, all the settings and activations were completed and Xtraview was enabled. Checked my phone and since starting this Xtraview process two weeks ago, I had spent 83 minutes on the phone with MC:wtf:
To the question of whether the signal quality differs between the two decoders. The answer is a resounding "YES".
(1) Primary Decoder linked with new cables to LNB : Horizontal : 87% and Vertical : 84%
(2) Secondary Decoder linked with old cables to LNB: Horizontal : 76% and Vertical : 78%
(A caveat to these numbers is that I discovered earlier today that there is one of those very old splitters/Cable connectors attached close to the old cable going into secondary decoder. It appears that the guys wanted to move their decoder but found that the existing installed cable was too short. So they made this connection to another piece of cable and attached a F connector and connected it to the LNB input on the secondary decoder. This fairly archaic connection and the general wear and tear on the cable is no doubt the reason for the difference in the numbers.)
Looking at those numbers more closely it is quite interesting to note that with primary decoder, horizontal > vertical, but with secondary decoder it is the other way around. Since they both attached to the same dish, surely this cannot be explained by dish or LNB misalignment. If that was the case the trend would have been consistent on both decoders (H > V or V > H). IMO it probably speaks more to the cabling issues of the secondary decoder than anything misaligned.
The closing out step for me now is to follow Smurfatefrog's advice and tape up the connectors on the LNB as a means of waterproofing. His notes refer to "rubber tape" but I am unable to look for or purchase that today. Gonna stick to old fashion insulation tape. When I bought the dual LNB, it looked rather flimsy and actually had gaps between the pieces of plastic holding the unit together. I decided to use some silicone to close the gaps as they were certainly wide enough for water to get into the LNB. The LNB also came with what they call a "rain cover". I am sure you guys must have encountered this before. To my mind it did not look it was gonna keep out much of the rain, perhaps inadvertantly collecting some! Insulation tape will be going there too.
That will finalise things outside as the ladder needs to go back to the rental guys tomorrow (I already booked it one day more than was planned)
Had a huge purchase recently and along with it came loads of expenses. Paying an installer (for the 4th or 5th time) was not going to be one of them and I am happy that in this case I managed to save quite a bit, learn a heck of a lot and meet some cool people online.
PS:
I at one point hilariously spent 30 mins on the phone with MC Callcentre to get the decoders transferred to my name. This was while I was sitting at a consultants desk at their N1 City branch. The consultant did not want to do the transfer with out a letter and copy of ID of the previous owner while the CallCentre was willing to do it if I provide them with certain information. In essence I was forced to call MC while being at MC. Then had to be the middle man between the two consultants as the one was trying to pawn off work on to the other. After having enough of this madness, I handed my cell ph to the consultant sitting across from me and told her to speak to the CallCentre dude herself and sort the matter out. Once again, they missing the the kickback option. lol
So I ask the in-house consultant why the Callcentre are allowed to transfer decoders without the need of an ID or a letter and she says that the CallCentre records all calls received but since I am walking into the branch, they cannot record what I have said. I tried pointing out that they had cameras recording my every move in the place, but it did not help
. Rules are rules hey. Made absolutely no sense at all. If I had stolen the decoder, would I be coming to MC to register it onto my name?
