[linux-dvb] Re: Newbie questions

[Bruno Prior <bruno@rpgd.uklinux.net>]

Gavin Hamill wrote:
> OK, next up is the DVB driver version.. if you're using a CVS from some 
> point, would you mind trying this one, since I know it to be sound.
>
> ftp://ftp.cadsoft.de/vdr/Developer/linux-dvb.2002-12-08.tar.bz2
I'll give it a go. But I upgraded to the 2002-12-29 CVS version and then 
the 2003-01-07 CVS version on advice from Holger Waechtler to use CVS 
rather than the older packages. Moreover, I'm having trouble keeping the 
different versions straight. Every version seems to need a different set 
of modules and devices. As the preferred location of the modules seems 
also to move about, this is making managing this a nightmare. Shall I 
wipe everything and go back to the original Mandrake 
kernel/modules/source and start again from there?

> Aside from that, are you use 505833 is really a BBC mux? You could always try
I'm not sure of anything, so please check my logic. The Freeview 
postcode checker suggests Crystal Palace or Hannington as my nearest 
transmitters (I'm near Slough) and says all channels should be 
available. ITC's Digital Transmitter Guide for Crystal Palace gives me:

Multiplex 1 BBC: 	 Channel 25, Offset -
Multiplex 2 Digital 3&4: Channel 22, Offset -
Multiplex A SDN:	 Channel 32, Offset -
etc.

For Multiplex 1 (BBC): (25 * 8) + 306 = 506MHz = 506000 kHz
Subtract 167kHz for negative offset, gives 505833.

This appears to be confirmed by the scan_uk-t.sh script with dvbtune, 
which uses the same frequencies as I had calculated. But please tell me 
this is wrong. I'll be delighted if it's something this simple.

> $ /dvbtune -f 505833 -qam 64 -cr 2_3 -i 
Isn't that just what the scan_uk-t.sh script does in series? As 
expected, this gives:

root@mars dvbtune]# ./dvbtune -f 505833 -qam 64 -cr 2_3 -i
Using DVB card "Grundig 29504-401"
tuning DVB-T (in United Kingdom) to 505833000 Hz
polling....
Getting frontend event
FE_STATUS: FE_HAS_SIGNAL FE_HAS_LOCK FE_HAS_CARRIER FE_HAS_VITERBI 
FE_HAS_SYNC
Event:  Frequency: 505833000
        SymbolRate: 0
        FEC_inner:  2
Bit error rate: 54
Signal strength: 12079
SNR: 59881
FE_STATUS: FE_HAS_SIGNAL FE_HAS_LOCK FE_HAS_CARRIER FE_HAS_VITERBI 
FE_HAS_SYNC
<transponder type="T" freq="505833000">
Nothing to read from fd_pat
Nothing to read from fd_sdt
</transponder>

> <clutching at straws>
Thanks for your persistence.

<rant>
I am getting the feeling that I have the technology equivalent of the 
black spot. Everything I have touched for the past 6 months has died (or 
at least not worked). My Radeon 7500 wouldn't work with Mandrake, my 
Audigy wouldn't work with Mandrake and the new motherboard, my Terratec 
DR Box 1 DAB tuner seems to have arrived semi-DOA, my fonts disappeared 
in OpenOffice and Konsole (separate events), my new UPS died within 
days, the NICs with bootROMs I bought from DisklessWorkstations were 
unusable with my motherboards, my Athlon XP 2200+ (which I bought to 
underclock to run cool) is hopelessly unstable if run at anything other 
than full-speed, so my "silent PC" is actually the noisiest machine in 
the house, the X-10 PC interface wouldn't talk reliably to my PC, my new 
WD 120Gb disks run so hot that I have to shut the server down overnight 
every night or one of them will seize up the next day, the Belkin KVM 
switch screws up the wheelmouse in X-Windows, which is unreliable enough 
under Mandrake anyway (as is supermounting CDs), I have spent so long 
downloading packages trying to get things like Office and multimedia 
software working that my latest phone bill is nearly £1,000 (never 
install DVD::Rip unless you have a _big_ pipe because the dependency 
list is never-ending), my tape drive broke just before I installed the 
new disks and the RAID upgrade barfed (even having got past Mandrake's 
screwed up RAID support), so I lost all my MP3s, which I have had to rip 
all over again. That's just the ones I can remember off the top of my 
head. I am a huge linux advocate and hate Microsoft, but I can tell that 
people think I'm mad struggling on with linux. And I have to admit, I am 
only carrying on out of principle, not practicality. I know everyone's 
experiences are different, but for me, linux *STINKS* on any practical 
assessment. My only consolation is when I try using other people's 
Windows machines, and they die on me too. Like I say - stay well clear, 
I have the black spot.
</rant>

Having said all that, I'd still like to figure this out. ;-)

Cheers,

Bruno Prior



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