Yes I know Kaffeine is SORT OF abandonware, and Mageia hasn't bothered compiling the LATEST (old) version with some bug fixes FOR YEARS. If I
knew how to do it without messing up my current install, I'd do it
myself, by it's too involved, and I need Kaffeine for recording other stations.

Now one TV station I watch has recently changed to a new transponder,
that transponder does not show any of the channels in then scanned list,
as if it doesn't exist.

Before anyone tries to say check the dish etc. you can clearly see the
end of the cable that connects to the computer, has excellent power and
Signal Quality and is displaying the missing station on the tester, so
it's not the dish end.

http://www.dski.net/misc/Satellite%20settings%20missing%20transponder%20on%20Kaffeine.jpg
Kaffeine is supposed to scan "blind", doesn't look like it. That's the
second transponder I can't find on the same satellite.

Kaffeine has an "Update scan Data over internet" option, but that
doesn't work. It's supposed to be fixed in the latest version of
Kaffeine, but as I said, Mageia hasn't compiled it for years. It's not a guarantee of fixing the problem.

Any ideas how to get it to work?

Thanks.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.7 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: - (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 16/3/26 06:09, Ar wrote:

Yes I know Kaffeine is SORT OF abandonware, and Mageia hasn't bothered compiling the LATEST (old) version with some bug fixes FOR YEARS. If I
knew how to do it without messing up my current install, I'd do it
myself, by it's too involved, and I need Kaffeine for recording other stations.

I run "w_scan2" which will produce several compatible tuning info files
It will scan terrestrial cable and satellite sources.
I'm limited to terrestrial at my location and I use the scan data with VLC
It may produce a Kaffeine compatible file

regards


--
faeychild
Running kde on 6.6.120-desktop-1.mga9 kernel.
Mageia release 9 (Official) for x86_64

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.7 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 18/03/2026 21:14, faeychild wrote:

I run "w_scan2" which will produce several compatible tuning info files
It will scan terrestrial cable and satellite sources.
I'm limited to terrestrial at my location and I use the scan data with VLC
 It may produce a Kaffeine compatible file

Hi, this has been a real head scratcher, and I get one step forwards and
a dozen backwards. And the problem still isn't solved.

It's made harder because I have a multi-reception card, and I use them.
That is, I have and use DVB T and T2, and three satellites on a DiSEqC
switch for S and S2, and analogue (when it was still broadcasting).

And to top it off, the documentation and any examples for w_scan are appallingly bad and virtually non existent. So I've had to attempt to
run commands, fail, and amend it, fail, and so until the right
combination works. Of course, that wasn't documented as nobody in what I searched has multi satellite reception.

Before your post I ran in to w_scan, about the same time as your message
I found w_scan2 which I had to install. For future reference, this is
what I ended up running:

w_scan2 -f s -s S28E2 -D1c -L > ~/Astra2Playlist__vlc.xspf

D1c for Astra2 satellite position on the DiSEqC switch. That's a number
1 not letter l) .. and c for "committed" as it is definitely on that
position, the scan screws up replacing c with u for uncommitted.

w_scan2 -f s -s S13E0 -D2c -L > ~/HotbirdPlaylist__vlc.xspf

DC2 meaning second DiSEqC switch position, for my case Hotbird


So next problem is VLC will only run the Astra2 list, as it doesn't
understand DiSEqC, no such information is put in those lists.

However, I did look in a text editor for the channels it did find, and
it did find the one I cannot get Kaffeine to find.

<track>
<title>0759. TVP Polonia</title>
<location>dvb-s2://frequency=10930000</location>
<extension application="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/playlist/0">
<vlc:option>dvb-polarization=H</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-srate=30000000</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-ts-id=12100</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-modulation=8PSK</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-rolloff=20</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-fec=2/3</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-lnb-low=9750000</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-lnb-high=10600000</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-lnb-switch=11700000</vlc:option>
<vlc:option>dvb-satno=2</vlc:option>
<vlc:id>760</vlc:id>
<vlc:option>program=16953</vlc:option>
</extension>
</track>

So for whatever reason, Kaffeine has a problem in not seeing this entry

I manually added the entry in to Kaffeine's sqlite.db, but the database
entry needs a blob which contains I don't know what (I can't find any description of what it stores). If you null the blob when you restart Kaffeine it will remove your entry. I cannot find what is written in the
blob, I just copied the old frequency for the TV station and amended the frequency, SID etc.

Trying to watch that channel, Kaffeine doesn't crash, but it shows
nothing despite the correct MANUAL entries (other than blob). It does
not want to show correct data for video or audio.


So the next idea was to install the latest one version higher (obsolete) version of Kaffeine 2.0.19 but using flatpack to hopefully not mess up
my current install.

The application installed and ran okay, I scanned Hotbird, but again, it
still did not find the missing TV station.


This is driving me mad, how does it find all the other stuff on the same satellite, but not this one TV station?

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.7 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: - (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 23/3/26 07:17, Ar wrote:

So the next idea was to install the latest one version higher (obsolete) version of Kaffeine 2.0.19 but using flatpack to hopefully not mess up
my current install.

The application installed and ran okay, I scanned Hotbird, but again, it still did not find the missing TV station.

This is driving me mad, how does it find all the other stuff on the same satellite, but not this one TV station?

You have gone well beyond my pay grade
Does Mythtv still have a presence on line?
They are probably the last of the expert knowledge
--
faeychild
Running kde on 6.6.120-desktop-1.mga9 kernel.
Mageia release 9 (Official) for x86_64

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.7 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 22/03/2026 20:17, Ar wrote:

I found a "debug" option to run Kaffeine, and a way to send the output
to a text file and on screen. Kaffeine seems to have found the frequency
of the transponder, but creates an unspecified error of can't tune it.

05-04-26 23:00:47.800 [Debug ] kaffeine.dvb: Transponder 90/135
05-04-26 23:00:47.800 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: Using LNBf type EXTENDED 05-04-26 23:00:47.800 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: tune to: S2 10930000 H

30000000 2/3 AUTO 8PSK

05-04-26 23:00:47.800 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: frequency: 10930.00

MHz, high_band: 0

05-04-26 23:00:47.800 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: SEC: set voltage to 13V 05-04-26 23:00:47.850 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: DiSEqC TONE: OFF
05-04-26 23:00:47.867 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: DiSEqC command: e0 10

38 fa

05-04-26 23:00:47.954 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: DiSEqC TONE: OFF
05-04-26 23:00:47.956 [Debug ] kaffeine.dev: L-Band frequency:

1180.00 MHz (offset = 9750.00 MHz)

05-04-26 23:00:49.094 [Debug ] kaffeine.dvb: tuning failed on

10930.00 MHz


I don't know why it can't tune the transponder, it locks on weaker ones
than this, and with a new satellite cable, the signal is even better
than before.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.7 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: - (2:250/1@fidonet)