Foxtel recently replaced one of our iq boxes because the old ones dont allow the use of catch up tv etc and that is advertised in our plan. Anyway I noticed the new box is 12v with a transformer so I thought that would make it suitable for vanning.
Foxtel GO or Mobile Foxtel Airplay & AppleTV
- Thread starter LUK77Y
- Start date
the box you are talking about is silver, and is the iq box. however just because it runs a 12 volt supply. this does not mean that the 12 volt can be wired into the box directly. you still have to use 240 volts. why you may ask??? the 12 volt supply from the battery is 12 volts when just running from the battery, however when you cannot to the mains - the charging circuit takes over and the voltage steps upto 13.8 volts or more. most of the time the device cannot handle this for long periods and will destroy the interal power supply of the box.
I would still be hooking it up to a pure sine inverter as it is a delicate electronic device, I am sure that would be OK. The new boxes are much smaller as well. For me the Foxtel can stay at home, however for those with old boxes and old connections, Foxtel will upgrade it if you let them know and I think the newer boxes look better suited to taking away in a caravan.
Love some of your mods Adam. Have you found a supplier on the Peninsula for double pole power points, I would like to add a couple in my van.
Cheers Geoff
Love some of your mods Adam. Have you found a supplier on the Peninsula for double pole power points, I would like to add a couple in my van.
Cheers Geoff
it does not matter if you use square or sine wave for the foxtel unit, as long as you are connecting it via its power supply and not the 12 volt source. we run a small foxtel standard and foxtel iqhd big black box as well. about to put a third box standard in there now. the hd boxes need 2 antenna connections. but as you could see from my pics you can get a 4 channel unit for the dish. we also run a splitter in the van for the standard boxes. this is so that when we travel with friends, they can plug into our dish as well. i get my power points from jayco dealer in seaford. thats where we bought the van also. i am about to add another double point in the kitchen. as one is used for the coffee machine and the other for the toaster. this leaves another spare. also another outside one, as the standard one is used for the tv. so we need a spare for the sandwich maker.
But isn't there a circuit that could be built that ensures the box only ever receives nothing more than 12 volts?
there are many 12 volt regulators that would do the job. it would have to rated at the same ampage or more than the existing power supply.
i use a 240volt 500 watt inverter to run all my small electronic devices. it just keeps things simple and neat. if a 12 volt regulator fails on the road, it is very hard to find one somewhere, but small inverters you can get almost everywhere.
I'm about to get a sat dish so I can take my foxtel iq in the van.
Just wanted to ask guys that are doing the same how do you have 2 cables connected to the iq box from the dish?, I believe one is for receiving data the other for sending.
Do I need to buy a specific LNB for the dish?
thanks
Mike
Just wanted to ask guys that are doing the same how do you have 2 cables connected to the iq box from the dish?, I believe one is for receiving data the other for sending.
Do I need to buy a specific LNB for the dish?
thanks
Mike
The Satellite transmits some channels on a Vertical signal, some on a Horizontal signal. The Foxtel box switches this automatically as you change channels.
The IQ foxtel boxes have the ability to watch a channel while recording a different channel, chances are that one channel will be Vertical and one will be Horizontal, hence why it has 2 cables running into it from the sat dish. If you were only going to watch channels and not record, you would only need the one cable.
If you want to watch and record while travelling, you will need a Dual LNB, and run 2 cables from it to the foxtel box.
If you do a search in eBay on "Dual LNB foxtel" it brings up a few options, less than $30.
Jason
Gday Jason,
Thanks fort the info.Much appreciated.
Ive spoken to a mob in Brisbane and also itech world in Perth and itechs system seem to be half the price of the mob in Brisbane but both systems look almost identical. Are guys using the itech system happy with their setup? Dont see the need to pay double if I dont need to.
Cheers
Mike
Thanks fort the info.Much appreciated.
Ive spoken to a mob in Brisbane and also itech world in Perth and itechs system seem to be half the price of the mob in Brisbane but both systems look almost identical. Are guys using the itech system happy with their setup? Dont see the need to pay double if I dont need to.
Cheers
Mike
your half right about the dual cables. if you are running a iq box or standard box, you do not require both cables. if you are running a hd iq box, then you must run both cables and not though a splitter. if you do not, then you can only watch standard def channels. the other cables enables you to watch full hd channels. i run 3 cables, one of them is split into 2 - this runs 2 standard boxes, but the iqhd box must have 2 cables direct from the dish. as for the tv with the 12 volt connection supplied. if a tv have a 12 volt connection supplied then it is designed to be run on 12 volts and can handle the charging voltage. however foxtel boxes that have a external 12 volt power supply from the main cannot run of the battery directly, other when the battery starts to charge the voltage will jump up to around 13 or 14 volts. the foxtel box will not like this for long periods of time and will fail. this is due to that the internal regulator is designed to regulate from 12 volts not a higher voltage, so it will become hot and fail, as it has to disapate more heat. and the boxes are designed on a budget and do not have suitable heatsinks or cooling inside to handle the excess heat.
hope this helps with some of peoples questions...
hope this helps with some of peoples questions...
your better with a 4 port lnb rather than a dual. i have had ports go down before on them and its better to have spare ports for backup or future uses.
Gday Adam,
Thanks for your post, you have enlightened me on a few points. I had a word to Jaycar today and they recommended me this 12v regulator,
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZV1634
Havent gone into the specs of this regulator yet so not sure if its suitable.Ive had a cursory look at ebay and you can buy a Ku band dish for about $40 and a dual port lnb for $25. Pretty cheap to set up but dont know how good this setup would be compared to the ones from the tech shops.
Cheers
Mike
Thanks for your post, you have enlightened me on a few points. I had a word to Jaycar today and they recommended me this 12v regulator,
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZV1634
Havent gone into the specs of this regulator yet so not sure if its suitable.Ive had a cursory look at ebay and you can buy a Ku band dish for about $40 and a dual port lnb for $25. Pretty cheap to set up but dont know how good this setup would be compared to the ones from the tech shops.
Cheers
Mike
the dish / lnb/stand / cables/connectors can be ebay or shop - it does not matter. it is the sat finder that you need that is setup just for foxtel, otherwise you will be finding all different sats and never be able to find the right one. i cannot remember the one i have now. but i will post apicture later. one one that works and one that does not.
as for the regulator. the jaycar one i just checked your link is just for the regulator. it needs to be built into a proper circuit. not just the regulator. you need filter caps/heatsinks and so on to make this work correctly. you cannot just use the reg and hope it works. jaycar should have a kit form already. i will have a look later and post it if i can find it. but it wont be until late tonite.
as for the regulator. the jaycar one i just checked your link is just for the regulator. it needs to be built into a proper circuit. not just the regulator. you need filter caps/heatsinks and so on to make this work correctly. you cannot just use the reg and hope it works. jaycar should have a kit form already. i will have a look later and post it if i can find it. but it wont be until late tonite.
That would be great Adam. I didn't realise that the sat finder was specific to a satellite.
found a regulated 12 volt cig plug power supply on 12voltshop not too expensive. Not much info on efficiencies tho.
Also this,
http://www.solarpanelxpress.com.au/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=201
found a regulated 12 volt cig plug power supply on 12voltshop not too expensive. Not much info on efficiencies tho.
Also this,
http://www.solarpanelxpress.com.au/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=201
just tried to find a regulator, ebay and jaycar. cannot. not one that will output just 12 volts regulated. i would use a inverter and then the existing power supply for the foxtel unit. skip the dc to dc regulator idea. i circuit can be made but if it fails - it could either destroy your devices powered off it and then be very hard to fix/replace. inverter is simple, sure you loose some efficiency but the downside to that is very small. pic coming later for the sat finder. nothing on ebay will suit the job correctly. they will work, but find all sorts of sats.