What is DiSEqC and the difference between 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0?
DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) is a communication protocol that lets a receiver control switches, LNBs, and motors over the existing coaxial cable. DiSEqC 1.0 switches between up to 4 satellite positions/LNBs, DiSEqC 1.1 extends this to up to 16 positions via cascaded switches, and DiSEqC 2.0 adds two-way (bidirectional) communication so devices can report status back to the receiver. It is an open standard developed by Eutelsat.
DiSEqC works by superimposing a 22 kHz-based data signal on the coaxial line, allowing the receiver to send addressed commands to specific devices. This replaced older, cruder tone/voltage-only switching and enabled complex multi-satellite installations on a single cable run.
Beyond the basic switching versions, DiSEqC 1.2 and USALS (1.3) control motorized dishes to point at different satellite positions. Version 1.0 is the most common for simple 2- or 4-LNB setups (like combining two satellites), 1.1 handles larger switch matrices, and 2.0 layers two-way messaging on top of 1.0 functionality. For most home installs, DiSEqC 1.0 is sufficient; 1.1 is used when many satellite positions must be combined.