Aardvark VANSAT Raven User manual
Raven Installation and Operation Manual
(mandatory reading for both the installer AND customer)
The Easy To Use Fully Automatic Satellite TV System
© 2014 Aardvark Electronics
2 Maple Drive
Mackay QLD 4740
Ph 07 49555879
Fax 07 49556216
Web : www.vansat.com.au
(Abbreviated)
Power – DC 12 > 24V
Current – Typically 1 amp during normal operation and 4 amp temporary
for search (search time varies but is normally 1 > 2 minutes after power on)
LNB Type – KU Band. High Gain Dual Polarity (V/H), TWIN OUTPUT &
Automatic Skewing
LNB LO Frq – 10700 MHz (10.7 GHz)
Reflector (Dish) – High Gain Offset 65cm Powder Coated
(performs in our tests as an equivalent 80cm)
Dimensions (Folded) - Length 90 cm x Width 65 cm x Height 19 cm
Dimensions (Raised) - Length 90 cm x Width 65 cm x Height 88 cm
Weight (Rooftop Unit) – 14 Kgs
Gear Boxes – Steel Gearing
Wiring Loom – 8.5 Meter Length with pre-fitted connectors (3.5M loom
from dome with an additional 5M extension cable included if needed)
Control Box – Multi Satellite with Adaptive Search. Upgradable Firmware
Elevation Range – 30 > 70 Degrees (Full Australia Wide Coverage)
Mounting Plate – Aluminium. 33cm Square (each side), roof attachment
bolt holes 30cm apart (side to side – may vary by a few millimeters)
Vansat Raven Specifications
* 19cm Ride Height When Folded
* Auto Shut Down Feature
(must be wired to enable this)
3
Satellite DVBS1 and DVBS2 Compliant
Roof Space Required – Refer to the Below Figure. To Calculate for
Maximum Elevation (how far back the dish will pivot at the northern tip of
Queensland) measure outwards a distance of 30cm from each side of the
Mounting plate. From this point measure upwards 21cm. This point in
space will be the maximum angle the rear of the dish will ever go back.
Should you not have the necessary rotational area to fit the system, simply
“pad” the base plate the unit sits on to give it more height and therefore
more clearance to suit your installation.
Origin of Manufacture – Europe (final assembly and testing in Australia)
Warranty – Two (2) Years
30cm ↑
↑
↑
33cm
↓
↓
↓
33cm
↑
↑
30cm
↓
↓
Mounting Plate 33cm Square.
Mounting Holes 30cm Apart.
The Grey Circle shows the
Rotational Field of the Dish. This
field Pattern is measured at 30cm
from the outside frame of the base
starting at a Height of 21cm. You
must ensure you have clear space
ABOVE 21cm at a distance of
30cm from all sides of the Base
Plate. Obstacles BELOW 21cm
at a distance of 30cm from the
Base Plate WILL NOT be of
concern.
30cm
↑
30cm
↓
Mounting Plate
Rotational Field
(21cm up)
4
ROOFTOP ASSEMBLY
DISH CONTROL UNIT
(12/24V – can also be mains
powered by optional adapter)
VAST HD RECEIVER
PAY TV DECODER
(only applicable for pay subscribers otherwise ignore and use VAST)
* If you don’t have a separate VAST Decoder connect your PayTV (if applicable) directly to Coax Cable 2 *
Battery / DC
Power Source
Power Source
Coax Cable 2 to
VAST (or Pay TV)
Coax Cable 1
Rooftop Loom
Coax Loop Cable
(
only
if applicable)
Wiring Diagram – All cables and
connectors are supplied with the
Raven system and are factory
fitted with plugs and sockets.
The Rooftop Assembly sources
its power via a Loom connecting
to the Dish Control Unit.
VANSAT RAVEN WIRING DIAGRAM
5
ROOFTOP MECHANISM INSTALLATION
Safety First – Have you read and understood our Safety Warnings on Page 5 ??
Pick an area anywhere on the roof of your mobile home that will allow the unit to
be mounted as flat and level as possible with good support that will permit the
dish, once fitted and raised, to have a full 360 degree rotation and elevation range.
Thoroughly clean the area where the base of the assembly will be affixed of all
dirt, debris and wax using methylated spirits. The mechanism preferably should
be fitted so that the dish is pointing rearward on the vehicle when it is in the
shutdown position. If however space dictates that this is not feasible, the unit can
be mounted across the vehicle ONLY in the rear 1/3 of the rooftop. Do NOT mount
the unit across the roof (ie left to right) in the front 2/3 of the vehicle. Should no
other space be available other than across the roof in this area then you will need
to fit a wind break to the roof. Please contact us at support@vansat.com.au as we
have (for purchase) a variety of optional jigs available for difficult installations.
Carefully transport the rooftop mechanism to the roof supporting it by its
base only. DO NOT carry it by lifting the rotating mechanism or dish. THIS
IS IMPORTANT. Failure to transport the mechanism correctly can result in
damage to the internal workings or deforming of the satellite dish.
IMPORTANT
–
Support the
mechanism by slipping your
hands under either side of the
stainless base.
(see arrows on left picture)
DO NOT carry or attempt to
turn the revolving part (the bit
with the white cover). DO-
NOT carry by, or attempt to
move the dish. Damage may
result if incorrectly handled.
Rear End of Vehicle
Front End of Vehicle
WIND WIND
6
Mark and drill the four bolt holes. The assembly should be positioned over ceiling
battens. Apply a generous amount of the supplied adhesive to the underside of
the base, remembering to also apply in and around the bolt holes. You have two
options of attaching the unit. (1) You can simply affix using coach screws directly
into the battens or (2) using the four supplied affixing bolts (ensure loading
distributing washers and nuts are fitted inside if using the bolt method). Any
excess bolt length can be trimmed. Apply adhesive to the bolt heads to prevent
water ingression. Either method is acceptable as long as the unit is secure!!
The bump stop should now be installed. This device provides additional
support to the dish if the vehicle is driven on rough terrain.
Bump Stop
Base of Unit mounted.
Note that only two of
the mounting bolts are
visible in the picture.
Your unit will be affixed
with four (4) bolts and
Adhesive (Glue) under
the steel Base plate.
7
Apply adhesive to bottom of the stop and affix to the roof using the supplied
stainless screws (cover the tops of the screws also with adhesive).
The completed job should resemble the below (except yours will have
adhesive on the bolts and screw heads of course).
Bump Stop fitted
at the end (top) of
the satellite dish
Dome fully
fitted to the
Rooftop
8
Cable Entry and Wiring Configuration
Position the Junction box as far away from the revolving mechanism
(dome) as needed to ensure the cable will not foul as the unit rotates.
Some thought should be given to positioning the junction box over an
internal cavity like a cupboard. The cable length from the dome is 3.5M.
Drill a 1 inch hole to allow easy insertion of the wiring loom and signal cables.
IMPORTANT - DO NOT permanently seal the cables/loom into the roof/wall cavity.
They should be fitted in such as fashion as to allow them to be easily removed (by
feeding through) should the rooftop mechanism ever require servicing.
Junction Box with
the loom from the
dome entering a 1”
hole into vehicle.
Wiring loom
shown from inside
the vehicle. DO
NOT seal them
permanently in the
roof cavity.
9
If the 3.5M dome cable is long enough to reach the MOTOSAT control unit
without using the included 5M extension cable please skip this step:
When using the extensions cable carefully click the two black connectors
together (take care you do-not bend any of the pins when doing this and
that none of the wires “sneak” out the rear of the connectors). For the two
coaxial signal connectors (thin cables), gently tighten BOTH PLUGS with
pliers holding the plug and socket at the same time. Do not allow the coax
cables to twist as you tighten these plugs as damage may occur.
The junction box can now be secured (using the supplied stainless screws)
and glued to the roof of the vehicle.
The Junction Box fully
assembled and fitted
to the vehicle roof
(adhesive not shown)
If using the
supplied 5M
extension cable
ensure that when
joining the two
Coax Cables that
the plugs are not
allowed to twist as
you tighten them.
10
INTERNAL MOTOSAT CONTROL UNIT INSTALLATION
The control unit can either be flush mounted to a cupboard wall (on its side or
upside down is also fine) or simply left free standing. Do not however block
the ventilation holes. Screw either one of the two signal coax cables coming
from the roof (does not matter which one) to the rear of the MOTOSAT control
unit at the point marked ANT IN. Take care when affixing the coax plug that
the coax lead does not rotate causing damage to the lead. The other
connectors can then be attached.
Power is via 12V/24V DC only (a 240V adapter is available as an option for
purchase from us for mains operation). Wire for 12V/24V as follows:-
RED : +12/24 DC Volts (see note further down this page)
BLACK : Ground (or Negative)
BLUE : Vehicle/Car Ignition (IMPORTANT – while the unit will fully function
without this wire connected, the system will not auto-close on vehicle startup.
Note also that 12V/24V must be present on the RED cable for this to work)
The system Power Loom.
Do not bypass or leave
out the fuse on the lead.
Use thick cable for the positive
and negative connections.
Do-not use a Cigarette Plug.
MOTOSAT Control Unit with
wiring looms shown. On the
back left you will see a
connection labeled “Loop
Out” (next to ANT IN). This
socket may be used later
depending on your installation
and number of decoders.
Never cut and “split” the coax
cables from the roof using a
splitter as this will cause signal
degradation and may prevent
the system from locking.
11
NOTE: Why thick cable? The power consumption is very low in normal
operation but during the search (typically 1-2 minutes) the current draw is
around 4 amps. If you use light power cable the unit will search slower and
may even stall with an ERR message on the display. Low battery voltage
will also cause this. Hard wire to your van and do not use a cigarette plug.
(cigarette plug is fine for the VAST decoder however if applicable)
RED/WHITE/YELLOW AV Cable (or HDMI digital cable): In the packing that the
MOTOSAT control unit was shipped in is an AV cable and a HDMI cable for
connecting the MOTOSAT control unit to the television (use either one but
NOT both). Please always connect this to the tv even if you are using a
separate decoder (like Vast or PayTV) for reception. The reason for this is if
you ever have a problem with the unit it will allow the technician to receive
feedback from the MOTOSAT control unit on where the problem may be
located. INSTALLERS PLEASE DO NOT SKIP DOING THIS!!
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Before powering on the control unit ensure that the dish has clearance
above and around it – ie no obstacles in its path of travel, and that you
have a clear view of the sky.
Switch your television on and change the input to either AV (maybe called
composite) using the “Source” or “AV” button, or if the connection was
made via HDMI then to HDMI in the input/source menu. Fit batteries to the
control unit remote and press the RED power (standby) button at the top.
The dish will begin to lift and perform a search.
AV
Cable
HDMI
Cable
12
Pressing the SAT button will allow you to specify which satellite you wish
to view (hint – 99% of people want C1/D3 for VAST & PayTV services):
Reception of the following FOUR Satellites is possible in most areas of
Australia:
Optus C1/D3 (VAST & PayTV)
Optus D1 (some ABC/SBS channels)
Optus D2 (foreign language and Christian channels)
Intelsat 8 (various programming)
System
Remote
Control
13
The following two satellites may only be visible over the eastern side of
Australia and reception will be difficult in many areas:-
Asiasat 4
NSS6
(channels, satellites, broadcaster and/or government policy changes,
products, platform changes affecting service availability now and in the
future are beyond the control of VANSAT)
The initial search time may take as long as 20 minutes before the satellite
locks and a picture appears BUT subsequent searches will be much
quicker (generally around 1-2 minutes). The reason for this is that the unit
is adaptive. It will begin the next search using the last successful search
as the starting point. This way if you travel from point A to point B, the
system will start using the location information from point A as a quick
start. For the initial “out of the box” search it will use point A, which of
course was our factory in Mackay!
ADDING AN EXTERNAL VAST DECODER OR PAYTV DECODER
To access the full suite of channels available you will to connect an
external decoder. In most cases this will be either a VAST or PayTV
decoder (PayTV subscribers should read the disclaimer further down).
Below is an example of the rear of an external VAST Decoder. Connect the
spare white coax lead from the roof to the SAT IN port on the rear of the
VAST Decoder.
Connection to your TV can be made via the YELLOW/WHITE/RED cable OR
preferably a HDMI cable. The HDMI connection will give you superior
picture & sound quality so if your decoder & TV both have this fitting we
would recommend purchasing a HDMI cable. This will also have the benefit
that it will free up an AV port on the TV. Many modern TV’s only have the
one AV port which may be taken up with the connection to the VANSAT
MOTOSAT control unit. Switch your TV to HDMI (or AV) to watch the
external decoder.
14
USING AN EXTERNAL PAYTV DECODER AND A VAST Decoder
For installations where the customer has both a VAST Decoder as well as a
PayTV decoder, connect the spare white coax cable from the roof to the
VAST decoder as above. For the PayTV decoder connect the short loop
coax cable (supplied) from the “Loop Out” socket on the rear of the
MOTOSAT Control Unit (see earlier pages for the location) to the LNB input
on the users PayTV decoder.
PAYTV DISCLAIMER
Using Your Satellite Pay TV Service With The VANSAT System May Violate
Your Providers Terms and Conditions. Aardvark Electronics (Producers of
the VANSAT System) encourages Pay TV subscribers that are considering
travelling with their service to contact their provider to check the OK
regarding the use of their equipment and service outside of the place it was
installed into.
CLOSING THE SYSTEM DOWN
Pressing the power (standby) button on the remote will cause the dish to
rotate home and lower. Before travelling, the dish should be visually
checked to confirm this has taken place. DO NOT rely solely on the ignition
signal as a guarantee that the dish has lowered.
15
MAN V/S MACHINE (optional)
Ok, so the machine is automatic. Fancy you can do the alignment better than the
electronic brain? On the remote control for the MOTOSAT Control Unit ress
FUNC and go down to “Manual Adjust” and ress OK. In the screen that a ears
you will see “Level” and “Quality” bars at the bottom. Using the
left/right/u /down arrows you can ste the dish in various directions. The LNB
twist (Skew) is adjusted with the RED and GREEN buttons on the bottom of the
remote. Each skew number corres onds to a roximately 4 degrees of twist.
Looking at the ma below you will see the Skew angle for O tus C1/D3. For
Brisbane the “official” skew is +40. So the machine skew is +10 (40 divided by 4
=10). For Derby at the to of WA the “official” skew angle is -16 so the machine
skew is -4 (16 divided 4 = 4). Don’t worry if you mess things u , sim ly switch
the machine off and back on again and it will auto-align.
16
UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES (good bits we’ve added)
Viewing the Mechanical & Electronic positioning – while the system is searching if
you press INFO on the remote it will show you the mechanical (and electronic)
values the system is currently searching. The Skew value is the LNB twist.
System Default to Factory Settings – someone had a play with the remote and
muddled up the channel list or altered the search settings? You can restore to
factory default. Press Menu and then the left arrow to SYSTEM – Press OK, go
down to Service – Press OK. Here you can RESTORE the system to the out of the
box settings using the RESTORE feature. DO NOT backup your own settings (with
the BACKUP option) as you will overwrite our factory programmed settings and
you may render your system unstable or non-operational
.
Pause Rotation – to pause the mechanical operation during the search press the
“PAUSE” button on the remote. Pressing it again will resume the search
sequence. For normal TV viewing the pause button will “freeze” the picture.
Arcade Action! – Ok, everyone complains that there is never anything good on TV.
We’ve added some retro style games to relieve the boredom. You will find them in
the Menu Options under “Games”.
© 2014 Aardvark Electronics
2 Maple Drive
Mackay QLD 4740
Ph 07 49555879
Fax 07 49556216
Web : www.vansat.com.au
Got a great icture of your
van/motorhome with the
dish in a great location?
Please email them with
your name to
and we will ost them on
our website! HAVE FUN !
