I gotta be honest, buddy. I never had any interest in radio equipment before. Even though I used a broad variety of Harris radio equipment in the Marine Corps, I only thought of them as tools, never a hobby. But watching your videos, especially the one where you break down how the ISS sends images through radio, has made me really enjoy messing around with radio equipment myself. I am currently waiting for my General operators license to be finalized. I passed the test with a 95% :)
use an oscilloscope to see which pins look like serial data. they could either be RS-232, RS-232TTL, or even RS-422. The blue rj45 to DB-9 is a Cisco console cable, they have a different pinout to the IBM console cables.
@@MrRaineth Agreed. Definitely try to get a logic analyzer on at least TX and RX, and all the pins available if possible. It's possible your adapter may not be bringing up CTS or DTR or DCD or something else that tells the UART on the brainboard to actually wake up. I did a project recently and only found out that "TX" and "RX" were labelled backwards on the silkscreen by following the traces from the connector jack to the MAX232 serial interface chip. Visually tracing the pins on the jack to chips may indicate what the others do.
I did that on my dog and it works great. He's much better at taking commands now, and I can control the barking with my phone. I might try it on my wife next.
Also try sniffing the USB traffic for clues. Wireshark can do it via USBPcap, there's also USBTrace, SniffUSB and others. Also there's a custom power inverter/injector for this unit that has DIP switch settings on it which may indicate commands sent across the coax somehow.
@4:46 common cost cutting measures for electronics is to make one board that does everything and depopulate areas or dont enable certain things. So the GPS and stuff was probably for the more expensive units
Hey bro As others have suggested - using the USART is a good idea, you need to buy a FTDI USB to Serial convertor, Arduinos have them pre built into them for example. Now just a word of caution, they have very bad driver support for Linux. I couldnt get mine to run on Linux lol. They work fine on windows. Now using the USART, you can do anything from serial communication, terminal to even using it to flash new firmware, or read the EEPROM. You will need to see the microcontroller you have there, what all it supports and the rest. Now this in my opinion, is too complicated because we arent here to reverse engineer their embedded system. A much better option is, figure out the pin out of the steppers, find a compatible driver for the steppers, a power supply and use an arduino (uno/nano) and connect everything together. I would recommend against using a pi because pi is not an embedded system, its a microprocessor. We need a microcontroller here. Its a bit more robust when it comes to doing purely hardware stuff. Plus the drivers and current needed to run steppers is much higher than the pi safe limits. If there is a short or a surge, it will fry your pi. Arduinos are a dime a dozen (figuratively), a few pins on the IC might die but thats all. If i was doing this, i would take out all the electronics they have, switch it out for arduino or some microcontroller i can easily use, with enough power. Next i would add sensors like magnetometers, altimeters, even a gps, to the setup. Maybe change the antenna to something my hardware is more compatible with. Then make presets for the dish, for example - varying area scan speeds, angles, you know better than me about that. Then have the system dump all this data to the PC or a pi (yes arduino can connect to a pi over serial), and see what you can do with it. WebSDR data + onboard sensor data. Area scans, tracking, just having it scan like movie military radars as a background prop lol.
UART is nothing to be afraid of, it's really just serial but with logic level signals. Just be careful with the cheaper USB UART boards, I forget the exact problem but it had to do with the 3.3 V mode not working right.
Dude I just started watching your videos and your videos are the bomb like I just started with all the radio and satellites and if not for you I wouldn't even know about them. Thank you!
I've just been binge watching a bunch of your videos and have really been enjoying it! Being able to take things like this apart and poke around with them just seems so cool! Hoping you're able to get something working over serial to control this, that would be insanely cool!
the cisco blue db-9 to rj45 cable is a "rollover cable" (aka null modem). it depentds on what the console expects here, and im guessing it differes from say a cisco swithch in how the dish exposes a "console" port.
An Arduino with stepper controls seems like a better option for full control without having to have a bunch of conversions. You can send step commands directly. I would think they are also doing some extra RF power stuff with the board, so you may have to do something there.
Hey a couple things, while not the exact same I reverse engineered a wineguard Wi-Fi extender which uses a very similar board. First your serial terminal speed might be too low I saw it at 9600 on mine I had to use 115200. I also have the login details for mine that might work the same for yours.
Definitely try the uart header, that's your best shot ! There is a video of Flashback team showcasing how they did it on a Wireless ap, you could take inspiration from there
i dont really know anything about sat stuff like this but if replacing propriety hardware is an option than it is probably the way to go. it just means you will have to supply your own function which could be a hurdle for some.
Find the TX, RX, and ground on both your cable and the connector on your device TX goes to RX and Gnd to Gnd. That might find a terminal. Hope it helps.
It might use AT commands, but it should return an error if you give it something else. Also, did you have local echo enabled in your terminal program? If not, then it is the board that's echoing back your input, which would mean the baud rate is correct.
a discord community will be a great thing for you to have when looking for answers :) i also wanna say thanks for all the good content you are putting out :)
The CPLD JTAG silkscreen, based on the name, is probably the jtag programming/debugging interface for the CPLD (Complex Programable Logic Device, basically a FPGA with non-volatile memory), which leads me to believe the CPLD is the brain and of the entire thing or acting as some signal processor
It may be that it speaks some higher form of DiSeQC to control the motors. That was always contemplated with DiSeQC, but not sure too many actually implement it.
That is what the USB A is, just to update firmware. The JTAG is for the EEPROM to read and write that EEPROM for adding a new satellite location. In the 90s and early 2000s the motor was controlled through a 9 pin serial port on the receiver to find the correct satellite
@@MrBarcode the JTAG will allow reading the software out but I don't think it will help. When the dish was controlled by the 9 pin serial port on the receiver, there was a box in the RV that it plugged into and the motor control wires went straight to the dish motors. Now, the dish has the built in controller What I saw was the satellites were written into the software as an XML file. The controller not only sees the 950 to 2150 frequencies to identify that it is seeing a satellite, but each satellite has a pilot signal that it transmits that identifies itself. So the controller is reading that XML list and it locks onto a Ka circular satellite and reads it's ID Then it looks at the XML file and tells which satellite it is and where it is, the degree location. It then moves off that satellite towards the one it wants. So if it finds 129 it then moved east the number of degrees and raises the elevation to find the main satellite for the provider. So, 101 for DirecTV, 110 for DISH. You actually have to load the provider you are using into that file. The RV manufacturer or dealer loads that XML file that says what provider, which satellite it is supposed to use. And the secondary satellite. Usually the company that makes the dish sells it loaded for the provider. So the dealers or manufacturer of the RV doesn't have to do anything. They order either DISH or DirecTV dish, but it is the same dish just a different XML file. I saw some that came with just the 2 or 3 satellites used by the provider for the region of the country it is sold. DISH has 3 sets of satellites. One set that is on the eastern horizon, on set on the western coast and the main ones at 110 and 119 I worked with the channel maps for DISH for a customer who wanted the Tennis Channel and I couldn't get the RV to receive it from any of the 6 satellites. I still don't know why. But I worked with DirecTV and they only had a couple receivers that could control the dishes with the older controller. DRD-222 was the one that I liked the best. I tried loading the 222 software onto other models that had the 9 pin serial port but didn't have the additional software to control the RV. These dishes are specifically made for mobile vehicles like boats and RVs and are designed to control themselves. Not to be a jerk, but seeing people who can't change a lightbulb or pump their own gas but an RV for 1.5 million dollars, I had a lot of tough nights. RVs are extremely complex. The number of subsystems and electric equipment and electronic equipment, and the chassis 12 volt and the house batteries, the inverter, and the 120 volt A/C, I just cried. They knew nothing about how a car worked. Let alone a diesel pusher 44 foot RV. They couldn't figure out how to turn on anything. And they had no patience for anything I would not get paid for weeks worth of highly skilled work over and over. I remember those days. I still have nightmares
RV work sounds like boat work! One of those things I never want to do for someone else. It's hard enough just trying to fix all the "improvements" the prior owner made to my current project boat. Guy had something against torque wrenches and a phobia about wires of more than 18" in length 😂
You have reply so it is working. Try start command with backslashes or slashes (\?). I can't see one on your footage but maybe a jumper is hidden somewhere. But yes, nothing on the internet, it seems controlled by itself, preprogrammed to get signal from specific satellite. A raspb and/or arduino will help you much more (and maybe you will finish by motorize a human sized array :D). Step motors from 3D printers or CNC machine will works great I think
Pretty sure your blue cable that goes from RJ11 to serial is for a computer switch. My co worker has several of them that have various other ends on them for talking to our acient switches we have around the town.
To get the dish going easily I'd go with the custom controller board approach. Whack in a 3D printer driver board and a Raspi to drive it, either with the original 3D printer firmware on it or something custom with the Easystepper Arduino Library
I actually haven't kept up with him in the last few years, he keeps coming out with more books in the post-apocalypse-renfest series and I lost track of the plot after a while. The ones where Nantucket goes back in time were fun!
Firmware updates on some devices use the USB port and a thumb-drive, like the playmaker dish. If you do find a firmware file (I haven't) run "strings firmware.bin" you may/will see commands and other text in it.
I've used an arduino uno as a USBUART adapter before, I think I tied reset to ground, 5v on arduino to 5v on the router I was trying to connect to, gnd on arduino to gnd on router uart, and I think it was tx to tx and rx to rx but it might have been the other way around. Then I just connected it to my computer, and ran the "screen" linux command with a bunch of different baud rates until I was dropped into a linux shell. Only to later find out that the router supports connecting via ssh :P
I'm looking to get a dish tailgater or similar to use as a microwave camera thing as you did, out of all the types you have used which one was the easiest to control?
The 2014 tailgater with a USB "A" port inside it was the easiest (and so far the only one I can reliably do much with). I have some info and close-ups of the inside here: saveitforparts.wordpress.com/2023/03/29/a-cheap-and-relatively-easy-microwave-imager-radiotelescope/
you should be able to get something done through the uart port or the jtag port. you should be able to use arduino for the uart, then i think you need a specific device for jtag...
Try 115200 of baudrate, 9600 is maybe too slow ; Else, different parameters, lenght, etc ; After seeing the comments, probably use wireshark to sniff Else, try to use a cheap logic analyser since you can see a RX and TX led
I recall you saying you didn’t know how to use the debugger pins maybe using a usb debugger and try to figure out something that could help you out. I don’t know if it could work tho I’m an engineer not a programmer
You did not mantion and as i can see from your screen capture you connected 9600-8-N-1 configuration on serial interface. Did you try to connect diffrent configuration than 9600 BPS ? it seems your computer seems recieving some signal from your device's serial port but your computer doesn't make any sense of that data.
I'll try a higher baud rate, I was kind of assuming since it's older that it would use a lower rate, but I don't really know that much about serial standards.
@@saveitforparts I suggest you to use Arduino IDE's serial monitor. It will show you any data scraps comming from the device even If the boud rate diffrent than 9600. You may see somekind of character on the monitor. Good hunting...
I have a rotary antenna that I lost the control for... The antenna looks like a flying saucer shape plastic shell and has a minature version of a yagi antenna on a styrofoam disk inside the plastic shell... The Yagi part inside the shell is about the size of a Frisbee Do you have circuit diagram for 3 wire rotating antenna control? Second and preferred option is to use a esp32/stepper motor setup... If I go with the esp, is there a way to send the power through the TV coax to the esp, and block the DC at the TV end of the cable? It would need the voltage required to power the esp and stepper motor..
Sorry I can't help with the antenna control, no idea! You can get DC injectors and DC blocks for sending power over a coax cable, I usually find those at my local surplus store.
I just came across a carryout g3 on a neighborhood curb. sure enough, you were one of the first hits when I started searching for info on it online! Looks like mine uses those star security bits to get into it. It didn’t come with anything but the dish , how do I inject some power into this bad boy? It just has 2 coax connections
Cool! Hope it works! You can find coax power injectors or "power inserter" online, or just build one. Usually the antenna wants between 13-18v, and will switch polarity on the LNB depending on voltage. I just use a 14V power supply and it works fine, I haven't worried too much about polarity. You can use one coax cable for power and one for TV / SDR depending on what you're doing with it. Or if you open it up, sometimes there are fun connections. I have another video where I managed to control a carryout g1 with a computer and serial port adapter, I bet the g3 is similar inside.
@@saveitforparts The G3 manual says 24v power supply to the inserter which are included in the box. Probably not included with the "Curb-side" model. :^)
I've got a Pi stepper HAT somewhere that I used for an auto-turret project. I think I stole the Pi for another project though, and those things are hard to find now!
Gabe! Greetings & Salutations from Texas! I love your channel and have been binge watching your videos. I’ve been trying to find some auction sites for electronics. Would it be possible for you to give me the name of any you use? I’ve seen the Ax-Man site but I don’t think it has all of their inventory. Any help will be greatly appreciated and thank you very much for sharing!
I don't know about Texas auctions, just midwestern ones. If you search online there should be something near you, auctionguy.com has some and you can filter by state. Hope that helps!
Hi there everyone! I've been watching a lot of vids like this lately and I have now got a huge question for all the fellow DIY electronics stuff. How does one actually get into being good at it? How do you get the inspiration for new projects and the knowledge necessary to complete them?
I'm still learning, so I'm not necessarily an expert at it! I get plenty of suggestions and ideas from the comments (like trying different baud rates etc). My inspiration is usually some weird gadget that I found in the trash or at a surplus store or an estate sale, and I want to know what I can do with it! Then I start trying to research and poke around online to see if anyone else has messed with the same device, or if there are any interesting projects on hackaday or other forums along the same lines.
When you click "connect" you're just turning on the COM port, or in this case, the virtual com port that runs through USB, there is nothing in RS-232 that provides any kind of "sign of life" indication. Unplug it from the dish, and it will behave exactly the same. I spotted one of these for sale, and was going to pick it up, but a landslide closed the highway between me and it so I can't go get it!
@@saveitforparts ah, okay. It’s probably one of the flow control signals receiving voltage, but it’s most likely not a coherent signal. There is no standard for RJ11 serial ports, so the chance your cable has the right pinout slim. And is it an “RJ11” (6P4C; 4 conductors) or is it a 6P6C (6 conductors)? But the easier answer is to look on the PCB for an RS232 transceiver IC. If you can’t find one, it doesn’t have a regular serial port. It might have a TTL serial port, an oscilloscope would make finding that easy.
@@saveitforparts i feel your pain i get peeved off when i want to hack things to make it better too when they say no. I dont know why they should care since i paid for it LOL.😂😂🤣🤣
i would try UART. its not so difficult. set the UART USB Adapter to the right Voltage (mostly 3.3V) connect the Adapter with Cables to the Device Device vcc to vcc UART - USB Adapter Device gnd to gnd UART - USB Adapter Device rx to tx UART - USB Adapter Device tx to rx UART - USB Adapter and use putty to communicate with the Uart Terminal.
I try not to pay more than $50 when I find them, usually they're on Craigslist or Facebook for $100-$150 but if they've sat a while you can often haggle with the seller. I've also seen them at surplus auctions from RV places going out of business, or old stock or whatever. I think some of the manufacturers are located in the Midwestern US, so maybe they're more common around here?
@@saveitforpartsYeah I think you're on to something. Middle of Sask just doesn't have a large hub of that activity. I'd be interested in the pan/tilt function as a solar tracker.
keep it simple.. look at the IC, get datasheet, read pinout... THEN start to hookup stuff.. hint: that boardcom chip looks very similar to whats portet to openwrt, maybe start over that site...
I'm not skilled enough yet to make heads or tails of a data sheet or pinout. I can sometimes find my way around a serial port. I learn best by just trying the simple things first and learning how it relates to the more complicated stuff.
I'll have to go back and check. RUclips is terrible for finding old comments or replies. If you want to email me you can use gabe (at) saveitforparts.com, that might be more reliable!
Maybe I can stick one in the social media section, I always forget about that option on the page. Or you can email me at gabe (at) saveitforparts.com if you want!
Very COoL. I love these devices (for other uses of course - I do excel at dreaming:). I didn't realize about the "motor type" between brands™ Blindly I would opt for the steppers. GR8T TIP, thank you. Definitely a SUB-worthy video. ⒸⒽⒺⒺⓇⓈ from So.Ca.USA 3rd house on the left (please call before stopping by).
![Digital Circus Episode 4 [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/abZtsmMUbJo/mqdefault.jpg)
I gotta be honest, buddy. I never had any interest in radio equipment before. Even though I used a broad variety of Harris radio equipment in the Marine Corps, I only thought of them as tools, never a hobby.
But watching your videos, especially the one where you break down how the ISS sends images through radio, has made me really enjoy messing around with radio equipment myself. I am currently waiting for my General operators license to be finalized. I passed the test with a 95% :)
use an oscilloscope to see which pins look like serial data. they could either be RS-232, RS-232TTL, or even RS-422. The blue rj45 to DB-9 is a Cisco console cable, they have a different pinout to the IBM console cables.
There are some cheap (
@@MrRaineth Agreed. Definitely try to get a logic analyzer on at least TX and RX, and all the pins available if possible. It's possible your adapter may not be bringing up CTS or DTR or DCD or something else that tells the UART on the brainboard to actually wake up. I did a project recently and only found out that "TX" and "RX" were labelled backwards on the silkscreen by following the traces from the connector jack to the MAX232 serial interface chip. Visually tracing the pins on the jack to chips may indicate what the others do.
Even though you didn't get the results you wanted, I still really enjoyed seeing your process.
Would love to see a video on the process of bypassing the brain and manually replacing it with a raspberry pie!
I've got that on the to-do list!
I did that on my dog and it works great. He's much better at taking commands now, and I can control the barking with my phone. I might try it on my wife next.
Doh !!
@@The_Cakeminator 😅
@@The_Cakeminatorayo 😮
Also try sniffing the USB traffic for clues. Wireshark can do it via USBPcap, there's also USBTrace, SniffUSB and others. Also there's a custom power inverter/injector for this unit that has DIP switch settings on it which may indicate commands sent across the coax somehow.
@4:46 common cost cutting measures for electronics is to make one board that does everything and depopulate areas or dont enable certain things. So the GPS and stuff was probably for the more expensive units
Try changing the baud rate for the serial connection, could easily be any of the standard ones up to 115200
From my experience most commercial devices speak very slow cereal. Try 900 baud, or whatever the slowest option in your terminal is
@@MinorLG most devices work 9600 or 115200
@@StanIvanov right, but I've had to dip to 1600 and 900 a couple times.
@@MinorLGSlow cereal, that's just made my day 😊
Hey bro
As others have suggested - using the USART is a good idea, you need to buy a FTDI USB to Serial convertor, Arduinos have them pre built into them for example. Now just a word of caution, they have very bad driver support for Linux. I couldnt get mine to run on Linux lol. They work fine on windows. Now using the USART, you can do anything from serial communication, terminal to even using it to flash new firmware, or read the EEPROM. You will need to see the microcontroller you have there, what all it supports and the rest. Now this in my opinion, is too complicated because we arent here to reverse engineer their embedded system. A much better option is, figure out the pin out of the steppers, find a compatible driver for the steppers, a power supply and use an arduino (uno/nano) and connect everything together. I would recommend against using a pi because pi is not an embedded system, its a microprocessor. We need a microcontroller here. Its a bit more robust when it comes to doing purely hardware stuff. Plus the drivers and current needed to run steppers is much higher than the pi safe limits. If there is a short or a surge, it will fry your pi. Arduinos are a dime a dozen (figuratively), a few pins on the IC might die but thats all.
If i was doing this, i would take out all the electronics they have, switch it out for arduino or some microcontroller i can easily use, with enough power. Next i would add sensors like magnetometers, altimeters, even a gps, to the setup. Maybe change the antenna to something my hardware is more compatible with. Then make presets for the dish, for example - varying area scan speeds, angles, you know better than me about that. Then have the system dump all this data to the PC or a pi (yes arduino can connect to a pi over serial), and see what you can do with it. WebSDR data + onboard sensor data. Area scans, tracking, just having it scan like movie military radars as a background prop lol.
I'm definitely more interested in seeing this hacked than replaced with a pi
True content right there
UART is nothing to be afraid of, it's really just serial but with logic level signals. Just be careful with the cheaper USB UART boards, I forget the exact problem but it had to do with the 3.3 V mode not working right.
Did you try different baud rates and bit settings on the serial connection?
Exactly what I was thinking. I wonder if there's a script out there that can sweep the baud rate until it makes a connection?
Dude I just started watching your videos and your videos are the bomb like I just started with all the radio and satellites and if not for you I wouldn't even know about them. Thank you!
I just love the look of this and it screams to be hacked. Don't give up. Greetings from the kingdom of Eswatini
I've just been binge watching a bunch of your videos and have really been enjoying it! Being able to take things like this apart and poke around with them just seems so cool! Hoping you're able to get something working over serial to control this, that would be insanely cool!
the cisco blue db-9 to rj45 cable is a "rollover cable" (aka null modem). it depentds on what the console expects here, and im guessing it differes from say a cisco swithch in how the dish exposes a "console" port.
im exided for this hope we have more projects with this. here from canada
Can you post a high resolution photo of the board someplace?
An Arduino with stepper controls seems like a better option for full control without having to have a bunch of conversions. You can send step commands directly. I would think they are also doing some extra RF power stuff with the board, so you may have to do something there.
Hey a couple things, while not the exact same I reverse engineered a wineguard Wi-Fi extender which uses a very similar board.
First your serial terminal speed might be too low I saw it at 9600 on mine I had to use 115200.
I also have the login details for mine that might work the same for yours.
Im not sure how best to contact someone on RUclips but if you have an email I’d be happy to reach out and provide what I know
Interesting! I'd love to hear more, you can email me gabe (at) saveitforparts.com (email should also be in the "About" tab on my channel). Thanks!
Thanks will send you an email!
It's worth a shot. A very wise man once said...."No Guts No Glory!"
All the best!
Boot the unit with serial plugged in. Perhabs also controlleble trough DISEQC over the coax
Definitely try the uart header, that's your best shot ! There is a video of Flashback team showcasing how they did it on a Wireless ap, you could take inspiration from there
UART is what you want.
If you can identify the chip that the USB and/or RJ45 go to that might help. It's probably the big one on the left, unless there are chips on the back
We want to see more sattelite stuff ❤
i dont really know anything about sat stuff like this but if replacing propriety hardware is an option than it is probably the way to go. it just means you will have to supply your own function which could be a hurdle for some.
Find the TX, RX, and ground on both your cable and the connector on your device TX goes to RX and Gnd to Gnd. That might find a terminal. Hope it helps.
Did you try different baud rates? That could could be why the rx is flashing but you aren’t getting anything in the console.
These are designed for RVs. Class A Motorhomes.
Usually for in motion viewing.
I had to work on them and they are a nightmare to fix.
It might use AT commands, but it should return an error if you give it something else. Also, did you have local echo enabled in your terminal program? If not, then it is the board that's echoing back your input, which would mean the baud rate is correct.
a discord community will be a great thing for you to have when looking for answers :) i also wanna say thanks for all the good content you are putting out :)
The CPLD JTAG silkscreen, based on the name, is probably the jtag programming/debugging interface for the CPLD (Complex Programable Logic Device, basically a FPGA with non-volatile memory), which leads me to believe the CPLD is the brain and of the entire thing or acting as some signal processor
It may be that it speaks some higher form of DiSeQC to control the motors. That was always contemplated with DiSeQC, but not sure too many actually implement it.
you could also try a usb data logger in line with your usb cable. ?
That is what the USB A is, just to update firmware.
The JTAG is for the EEPROM to read and write that EEPROM for adding a new satellite location.
In the 90s and early 2000s the motor was controlled through a 9 pin serial port on the receiver to find the correct satellite
Yeah came here to say hed probably have more luck hacking these if he soldered a header to the pins and used a JTAG programmer
@@MrBarcode the JTAG will allow reading the software out but I don't think it will help.
When the dish was controlled by the 9 pin serial port on the receiver, there was a box in the RV that it plugged into and the motor control wires went straight to the dish motors.
Now, the dish has the built in controller
What I saw was the satellites were written into the software as an XML file. The controller not only sees the 950 to 2150 frequencies to identify that it is seeing a satellite, but each satellite has a pilot signal that it transmits that identifies itself. So the controller is reading that XML list and it locks onto a Ka circular satellite and reads it's ID
Then it looks at the XML file and tells which satellite it is and where it is, the degree location. It then moves off that satellite towards the one it wants. So if it finds 129 it then moved east the number of degrees and raises the elevation to find the main satellite for the provider. So, 101 for DirecTV, 110 for DISH. You actually have to load the provider you are using into that file. The RV manufacturer or dealer loads that XML file that says what provider, which satellite it is supposed to use. And the secondary satellite.
Usually the company that makes the dish sells it loaded for the provider. So the dealers or manufacturer of the RV doesn't have to do anything.
They order either DISH or DirecTV dish, but it is the same dish just a different XML file.
I saw some that came with just the 2 or 3 satellites used by the provider for the region of the country it is sold. DISH has 3 sets of satellites. One set that is on the eastern horizon, on set on the western coast and the main ones at 110 and 119
I worked with the channel maps for DISH for a customer who wanted the Tennis Channel and I couldn't get the RV to receive it from any of the 6 satellites. I still don't know why.
But I worked with DirecTV and they only had a couple receivers that could control the dishes with the older controller. DRD-222 was the one that I liked the best.
I tried loading the 222 software onto other models that had the 9 pin serial port but didn't have the additional software to control the RV.
These dishes are specifically made for mobile vehicles like boats and RVs and are designed to control themselves.
Not to be a jerk, but seeing people who can't change a lightbulb or pump their own gas but an RV for 1.5 million dollars, I had a lot of tough nights.
RVs are extremely complex. The number of subsystems and electric equipment and electronic equipment, and the chassis 12 volt and the house batteries, the inverter, and the 120 volt A/C, I just cried.
They knew nothing about how a car worked. Let alone a diesel pusher 44 foot RV.
They couldn't figure out how to turn on anything.
And they had no patience for anything
I would not get paid for weeks worth of highly skilled work over and over.
I remember those days.
I still have nightmares
RV work sounds like boat work! One of those things I never want to do for someone else. It's hard enough just trying to fix all the "improvements" the prior owner made to my current project boat. Guy had something against torque wrenches and a phobia about wires of more than 18" in length 😂
I have the same dish but mine had an unpopulated mini USB port on it. I soldered one on but haven't had a chance to try to put yet.
You have reply so it is working. Try start command with backslashes or slashes (\?). I can't see one on your footage but maybe a jumper is hidden somewhere. But yes, nothing on the internet, it seems controlled by itself, preprogrammed to get signal from specific satellite. A raspb and/or arduino will help you much more (and maybe you will finish by motorize a human sized array :D). Step motors from 3D printers or CNC machine will works great I think
Pretty sure your blue cable that goes from RJ11 to serial is for a computer switch. My co worker has several of them that have various other ends on them for talking to our acient switches we have around the town.
To get the dish going easily I'd go with the custom controller board approach. Whack in a 3D printer driver board and a Raspi to drive it, either with the original 3D printer firmware on it or something custom with the Easystepper Arduino Library
I wonder if a cable or controller from an older telescope mount (meade, Celestron, etc)would do anything.
you really like that stirling author
I actually haven't kept up with him in the last few years, he keeps coming out with more books in the post-apocalypse-renfest series and I lost track of the plot after a while. The ones where Nantucket goes back in time were fun!
If you can find a firmware update, you might be able to flash it via the JTAG interface. Also, possibly modify firmware to enable features.
Firmware updates on some devices use the USB port and a thumb-drive, like the playmaker dish. If you do find a firmware file (I haven't) run "strings firmware.bin" you may/will see commands and other text in it.
Your channel content is fantastic , please keep up the great work 👍👍👍
You should learn more about uart protocol, it will allow you to access the firmware
stacksmashing has great videos on how to do it and even access it as root
did you try all baud rates on the RJ/11 serial and send a break at each rate?
6:10 reminds me of the early days of computers back in the mid-80's and text-based computer games.
Try "Open Door" or "Use Shovel" or "Speak Alien."
"You can't get ye flask!"
don't give up!
you should run that thing off a pi, would be able to track any sat both stationary and orbiting.
I've used an arduino uno as a USBUART adapter before, I think I tied reset to ground, 5v on arduino to 5v on the router I was trying to connect to, gnd on arduino to gnd on router uart, and I think it was tx to tx and rx to rx but it might have been the other way around. Then I just connected it to my computer, and ran the "screen" linux command with a bunch of different baud rates until I was dropped into a linux shell. Only to later find out that the router supports connecting via ssh :P
I'm looking to get a dish tailgater or similar to use as a microwave camera thing as you did, out of all the types you have used which one was the easiest to control?
The 2014 tailgater with a USB "A" port inside it was the easiest (and so far the only one I can reliably do much with). I have some info and close-ups of the inside here: saveitforparts.wordpress.com/2023/03/29/a-cheap-and-relatively-easy-microwave-imager-radiotelescope/
it might need some caps replaced on the board depending on how old the unit is
did you probe the board with an oscilloscope ?
i know its not a modem or baseband modem, but does it respond to AT commands?
No idea, I'll have to look into that!
You might try an "Echo on/enable" command...
At 6:20, a hammer, when in doubt 🔨 😁
you should be able to get something done through the uart port or the jtag port. you should be able to use arduino for the uart, then i think you need a specific device for jtag...
Attify Badge
Try 115200 of baudrate, 9600 is maybe too slow ; Else, different parameters, lenght, etc ; After seeing the comments, probably use wireshark to sniff
Else, try to use a cheap logic analyser since you can see a RX and TX led
why is this unlisted?
You've found one that's not published yet!
Cool
Ramps board from a 3D printer is cheap and very very easy for stepper control
I recall you saying you didn’t know how to use the debugger pins maybe using a usb debugger and try to figure out something that could help you out. I don’t know if it could work tho I’m an engineer not a programmer
You did not mantion and as i can see from your screen capture you connected 9600-8-N-1 configuration on serial interface. Did you try to connect diffrent configuration than 9600 BPS ? it seems your computer seems recieving some signal from your device's serial port but your computer doesn't make any sense of that data.
I'll try a higher baud rate, I was kind of assuming since it's older that it would use a lower rate, but I don't really know that much about serial standards.
@@saveitforparts I suggest you to use Arduino IDE's serial monitor. It will show you any data scraps comming from the device even If the boud rate diffrent than 9600. You may see somekind of character on the monitor. Good hunting...
I have a rotary antenna that I lost the control for...
The antenna looks like a flying saucer shape plastic shell and has a minature version
of a yagi antenna on a styrofoam disk inside the plastic shell...
The Yagi part inside the shell is about the size of a Frisbee
Do you have circuit diagram for 3 wire rotating antenna control?
Second and preferred option is to use a esp32/stepper motor setup...
If I go with the esp, is there a way to send the power through the TV coax to the esp,
and block the DC at the TV end of the cable?
It would need the voltage required to power the esp and stepper motor..
Sorry I can't help with the antenna control, no idea! You can get DC injectors and DC blocks for sending power over a coax cable, I usually find those at my local surplus store.
How about s DISEQC control box or FTA satellite receiver? Not sure what version of DISEQC would work though.
I tried Diseqc and another motor standard with a few of these dishes, but they didn't seem to be compatible.
I just came across a carryout g3 on a neighborhood curb. sure enough, you were one of the first hits when I started searching for info on it online! Looks like mine uses those star security bits to get into it. It didn’t come with anything but the dish , how do I inject some power into this bad boy? It just has 2 coax connections
Cool! Hope it works! You can find coax power injectors or "power inserter" online, or just build one. Usually the antenna wants between 13-18v, and will switch polarity on the LNB depending on voltage. I just use a 14V power supply and it works fine, I haven't worried too much about polarity. You can use one coax cable for power and one for TV / SDR depending on what you're doing with it. Or if you open it up, sometimes there are fun connections. I have another video where I managed to control a carryout g1 with a computer and serial port adapter, I bet the g3 is similar inside.
@@saveitforparts The G3 manual says 24v power supply to the inserter which are included in the box. Probably not included with the "Curb-side" model. :^)
I’d go at it with a Pi or similar inexpensive device. You’ll need the motor controllers too.
Much higher quality hardware to work with otherwise.
I've got a Pi stepper HAT somewhere that I used for an auto-turret project. I think I stole the Pi for another project though, and those things are hard to find now!
is it possible to use one of those as an rc transmitter for an rc plane?would it have a longer range?
They're not really designed for transmitting, but maybe? I haven't tried something like that.
Gabe! Greetings & Salutations from Texas! I love your channel and have been binge watching your videos. I’ve been trying to find some auction sites for electronics. Would it be possible for you to give me the name of any you use? I’ve seen the Ax-Man site but I don’t think it has all of their inventory. Any help will be greatly appreciated and thank you very much for sharing!
I don't know about Texas auctions, just midwestern ones. If you search online there should be something near you, auctionguy.com has some and you can filter by state. Hope that helps!
Thank you so very much for your rapid reply. Auctionguy has indeed set me on the right path.
Hi there everyone! I've been watching a lot of vids like this lately and I have now got a huge question for all the fellow DIY electronics stuff. How does one actually get into being good at it? How do you get the inspiration for new projects and the knowledge necessary to complete them?
I'm still learning, so I'm not necessarily an expert at it! I get plenty of suggestions and ideas from the comments (like trying different baud rates etc). My inspiration is usually some weird gadget that I found in the trash or at a surplus store or an estate sale, and I want to know what I can do with it! Then I start trying to research and poke around online to see if anyone else has messed with the same device, or if there are any interesting projects on hackaday or other forums along the same lines.
@@saveitforpartsThanks for the advice!
What equipment are you using for the power supply
I think I just had a DC injector and a 13v wall power supply. Stuff from the local electronics surplus store.
Some serial devices will respond to three !!!
try getting into the mainframe database
When you click "connect" you're just turning on the COM port, or in this case, the virtual com port that runs through USB, there is nothing in RS-232 that provides any kind of "sign of life" indication. Unplug it from the dish, and it will behave exactly the same.
I spotted one of these for sale, and was going to pick it up, but a landslide closed the highway between me and it so I can't go get it!
It actually throws some errors when I unplug it, so it seems like it's doing something with the dish.
@@saveitforparts when you unplug it from the usb port or unplug the DE9?
If I go USB->DB9->RJ11, Coolterm won't connect until the phone cord is plugged into the dish. If I unplug the RJ11 it pops up an error message.
@@saveitforparts ah, okay. It’s probably one of the flow control signals receiving voltage, but it’s most likely not a coherent signal.
There is no standard for RJ11 serial ports, so the chance your cable has the right pinout slim. And is it an “RJ11” (6P4C; 4 conductors) or is it a 6P6C (6 conductors)?
But the easier answer is to look on the PCB for an RS232 transceiver IC. If you can’t find one, it doesn’t have a regular serial port. It might have a TTL serial port, an oscilloscope would make finding that easy.
Try changing baud rate in the software.
115200
Did you try HELLO or HELO ? ;-)
Have you tried contacting winegard ?😀😀
I'm a little afraid to, I assume most companies hate it when people use their stuff wrong 😅
@@saveitforparts i feel your pain i get peeved off when i want to hack things to make it better too when they say no. I dont know why they should care since i paid for it LOL.😂😂🤣🤣
Its missing an important dingus!
cool video
Hook a flipper to it.
i would try UART.
its not so difficult.
set the UART USB Adapter to the right Voltage (mostly 3.3V)
connect the Adapter with Cables to the Device
Device vcc to vcc UART - USB Adapter
Device gnd to gnd UART - USB Adapter
Device rx to tx UART - USB Adapter
Device tx to rx UART - USB Adapter
and use putty to communicate with the Uart Terminal.
Let us know if you get it working😎😎
Having a hard time sourcing one of these in Saskatchewan. Any idea what I should be paying if I find one?
I try not to pay more than $50 when I find them, usually they're on Craigslist or Facebook for $100-$150 but if they've sat a while you can often haggle with the seller. I've also seen them at surplus auctions from RV places going out of business, or old stock or whatever. I think some of the manufacturers are located in the Midwestern US, so maybe they're more common around here?
@@saveitforpartsYeah I think you're on to something. Middle of Sask just doesn't have a large hub of that activity. I'd be interested in the pan/tilt function as a solar tracker.
115200 baud RJ11 Connector
For your hacking delight, you might consider getting a Bus Pirate. It's about thirty bucks 😉
Gandalf.....what is the Elvish word for Friend?
keep it simple.. look at the IC, get datasheet, read pinout... THEN start to hookup stuff.. hint: that boardcom chip looks very similar to whats portet to openwrt, maybe start over that site...
I'm not skilled enough yet to make heads or tails of a data sheet or pinout. I can sometimes find my way around a serial port. I learn best by just trying the simple things first and learning how it relates to the more complicated stuff.
Just wondering if you replied to my questions on your other videos. THKS
I'll have to go back and check. RUclips is terrible for finding old comments or replies. If you want to email me you can use gabe (at) saveitforparts.com, that might be more reliable!
Maybe you can find a legitimate device which can control it and intercept communication between them?
Toss up a high resolution photo of the PCB here. I can take a peak at it and give you some ideas.
Maybe I can stick one in the social media section, I always forget about that option on the page. Or you can email me at gabe (at) saveitforparts.com if you want!
CAT CAMEO
I waiting when you make video with skystar/skygrabber. Greetings!
This is only for TV.
5:38 meow
6:09, I'd ask chatgpt some commands to try lol
I had connected a keyboard over USB.
They make free screen capture software.
I've tried a few and they've all been inconvenient and buggy. I'll see if I can find something that works better.
@@saveitforparts OBS Studio should be fine using Ubuntu
@@saveitforparts Yeah.. I've had similar challenges. Still enjoy the content, IDK how much it affects most people.
--h or --help?
torx? common tools screw heads, the star screw
btw on the earlier note, you could replace all the motors with separate drivers, so you could drive it at same time as imaging/recording
or just diy the whole thing from scratch, as microwave radio radar scanner imager device
Haha, should've tried hacking the Chinese spy balloons
I wanted to, but it drifted down to Iowa so they could spy on the corn 😂
@@saveitforparts Hahaha, too bad that you couldn't
Indian use
Why not just google it? instead of wasting everybodys time who thought that we were going to see a interesting video.
Third xd
Very COoL. I love these devices (for other uses of course - I do excel at dreaming:). I didn't realize about the "motor type" between brands™ Blindly I would opt for the steppers. GR8T TIP, thank you. Definitely a SUB-worthy video. ⒸⒽⒺⒺⓇⓈ from So.Ca.USA 3rd house on the left (please call before stopping by).
@saveitforparts >>> 👍👍