My Review of the Skybox S12 Micro-HD receiver

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I wanted to see how the new Micro-HD receivers performed so I purchased a Skybox S12. This receiver is about 6 inches wide, 4 inches deep, and about an inch and a half in height. The power supply for this receiver is mated to the wall plug, and there is not a display or any buttons on the front of the receiver. The RS232 port is 4 pins on the back of the receiver so an adapter is required to use the RS232 port.
You may post any questions you have about this receiver in this thread. I plan to post some pictures and comment on what I find out about this receiver after I have ran it a bit. EB
 
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Just got mine as well EB, micro definitely describes this unit. I'm going to swap out my power adapter from my s9 and test it out before reporting back.



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2 pics, one on power up and partial European sat list. Starts at T12 at 15w and descends into eastern European sats:



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Just did a blind scan on Galaxy 17 at 91w, scanned in 140 tv channels and 55 radio channels in about 2 1/2 minutes.
 
I found it quite odd that the CW channels scanned in on Galaxy17 on a blind scan. There isn't any audio or video as pid numbers didn't scan in- keep trying to see where I can insert them but no can do.
 
The price is about the same for all Openbox receivers.
IMO, the S12 should be about 40 dollars less because of its size and missing hardware.
 
[TABLE="class: MsoNormalTable"]
[TR]
[TD]
Connector 1​
[/TD]
[TD]
Connector 2​
[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3"]
Function​
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 2[/TD]
[TD] 3[/TD]
[TD] Rx <-------[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD] Tx[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 3[/TD]
[TD] 2[/TD]
[TD] Tx -------->[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD] Rx[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 5[/TD]
[TD] 5[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3"] Signal ground[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Connector 1 represents the DB9 connector pins for the computer's serial port.
Connector 2 represents the pins on the S12 receiver.
Only three pins are needed to make the RS232 connector work.
The diagram shown above got the RS232 working on my S12. EB
 
Very user friendly receiver and remote. I think I prefer its colourful menu to the s9 and its blind scan is definitely quicker then the s9 with the the latest files. I had a slight issue trying to save a couple of sats on the list and had to reboot(no 0/1 button) the receiver by unplugging power cord- worked like a charm. I will report all issues that arise but right now I'm still scanning in sats and I have quite a few to go.
 
With the external power supply is this micro box running cool? and what is the software dated as in the information menu?
 
I haven't checked the s12 for heat issues yet, I'll report on that later once I keep it on for a while. The software is dated for July 14.
 
I've had the unit powered up for almost 2 hours and just a bit of heat near the middle of the box but nothing to concern oneself with.
 
The tip of an usb stick gets warm, about 120 degrees (Fahrenheit) when you leave it in the S12 for a while. This is nothing to be concerned with.
The S12 firmware is nothing special. It is S10 firmware.
 
I just finished scanning all my sats, 41 in all. I noticed when I powered off today and repowered on that 2 of my last sats which I had saved were totally erased, not quite sure why but I think I'll leave this on at all times. I havent noticed any screws, I'd like to open it up and have a look.
 
Can we get a dump of this firmware for the file section... even though it may be S10 software..It would be nice to have it off a confirmed S12 box.
 
To disassemble the S12:
1. Turn the receiver upside down.
2. Remove the four hole plugs or feet(4).
3. Remove the screws under the hole plugs(3).
4. Remove the bottom lid.
5. Remove the screws in the circuit board(2).
6. Remove the board from the case

DDR = HY5DU121622DTP-D43 Hynix(2 chips)
Tuner = Sharp
It takes 3 minutes or less to disassemble the S12. The S12 is the cheapest fta receiver that I have disassembled to date. I doubt there is 2 dollars worth of parts in it. EB
 

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I think the remote is improved over previous versions. But I do not worry about remotes much anymore because the universal learning remotes are better and cheaper. EB
 

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The S12 contains the Ali M3501 chip. This should allow the reception of DVB-S2 QPSK/8PSK/H8PSK/16APSK. More information on this can be found in the link. EB

Code: 
http://www.ali.com.tw/index.php?option=com_product&view=product&cid=12&id=21&Itemid=8
 
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