Xbox One Tuner System

Xbox One Tuner Enclosure

This project contains the STL files for printing a set of enclosures that will house multiple Xbox One tuners and provide a convenient means of easily connecting these to a host system.

Why so many tuners?!

Here in the UK, the major channels are broadcast on 6 MUXES, because this number is reasonably low, we can use a tuner per mux and pre-tune each tuner to a specific mux, the upside of this is that when a TV channel is requested, the tuning is already completed and the stream can be provided very quickly.

Another benefit of operating a system in this manner is that there is no limitation on the number of or combination of channels that can be recorded at the same time, every station could technically be recorded at the same time.

Print Information

It is recommended that the files are printed using a filament that is not likely to soften under heat.  Using PETG filament or better should ensure that structural integrity is maintained.

There are no specific requirements for printing (support free!), it should be obvious when loading the STL files into your slicer as to the correct orientation that the parts should be printed in.

The Design

The system was designed to allow the system to be neatly packaged in an attractive way and to prevent a neverending cycle of cable spaghetti, the tuners obviously need to accept a feed from the antenna, but apart from that a single 5.5mm by 2.5mm power jack to provide power to the USB hubs and a single USB-C connector to connect the hubs to the main PC.

The Tuner Enclosure

Each tuner enclosure can hold 5 Xbox One tuners, a tuner "blank" is provided if not all slots are required.  There is sufficient space inside each enclosure to coil the cables into small enough stubs to pass through just enough cable to connect the tuners to the hubs.

Each enclosure includes a hole on either side to allow cables to enter and exit the enclosure, this allows enclosures to be butted up to each other and have the actual USB connectivity completely hidden.

Each tuner is held firmly in place by an appropriately sized compartment and lips are used to ensure that the tuners stay inside the enclosure, so there is no worry of pulling the system apart by tugging on a wire!

For any position that is not to be populated, a "tuner blank" model is provided that matches the dimensions of the real tuner (it is not exactly the same, it has been reduced in size in places to prevent filament waste).

An M3 threaded insert is located in each corner of the bottom enclosure part to allow a strong connection to the top case.

The Electronics Enclosure

The electronics enclosure ties the whole system together, it consists of a number of other sub-assemblies to provide a robust and easy to connect system.

The Cradle

The cradle part helps keep the USB hubs in the correct location, as the wiring is completed they may move around and become difficult to work with, so the cradle stops these problems from occurring and provide a controlled way to route cables.

The USB clamp

As I used USB 3 hubs in the design, I wanted to make sure that the path from the hubs back to the host is at USB 3 speeds, I was unable to find a reasonably priced panel mount connector so used a USB 3 to USB C "coupler", and using a printed clamp that securely holds the coupler.

Threaded inserts are used on one half of the clamp, an M3x7 cap head screw is used to tighten the clamp to a force that prevents the coupler from moving.  The coupler should be positioned in the clamp so that it is flush to the outside bottom of the main electronics enclosure.

A notch exists on the top that allows the cables from the power jack to connect to the power supply module.  The clamp is designed to be as close as possible to the top of the enclosure, so the notch is necessary to feed the cables.

The power supply

The main enclosure requires a power supply to allow the hubs to power all the tuners at the same time, the step-down converter allows a wide DC input range to be regulated down to the 5V which is then available via 2 USB-A female sockets.

The Hubs

If you have more than 3 tuners, then the hubs should be placed so that the tops of the hubs are touching and at 180 degrees to each other, this allows the power cables to be routed far easier to the 2 USB A sockets that the step-down converter provides.  The hubs are then cascaded so that one hub is connected to the coupler and that hub occupies one of the USB sockets on the other hub.   By chaining the hubs in this manner, we only require a single USB connection back from the tuner system to the host PC.

Software

My configuration uses a Linux distribution that runs the Tvheadend.  Tvheadend provides streams across the network to any client that wishes to watch a live channel.  My particular configuration is such that Tvheadend is not directly accessed, instead, I use Emby media server's live tv functions which provides an m3u file containing all the channels that Tvheadend has discovered, emby is then responsible for either directly passing the stream to the client if the media is support, otherwise it will transcode the live tv stream to a format that the client supports.

Parts

The following table lists the parts required to complete a system.

• <total tuners> this value is the total number of tuners that you wish to have available, each additional tuner will add more recording capabilities to the system as a whole and depending on the service, will set a limit on the number of simultaneous recordings possible.
• <required tuner enclosures> the tuner enclosure is what holds the tuner and the excess cable for each tuner.  Each tuner enclosure can hold up to 5 Xbox-one tuners.
• <required electronics enclosures> the electronics enclosure is where everything is bought together.  All the cables from the tuner enclosures will terminate here into a port on the powered hub.  The enclosure can hold 2 USB 3 hubs, so depending on the number of tuners you have in your system, you may need more than one electronics enclosure.  The hubs are cascaded so that a single USB-C port provides the connection between the host PC and the box.

• note 1 : the total number of these parts will change according to a particular configuration, you will need to check the exact amount that you require of any given part.

Threaded Heat Inserts

The threaded heat inserts are used to interconnect various parts that are to be connected with a screw.  Threaded head inserts are a much nicer and cleaner solution to using nuts or square nuts as they require nothing other than a post with a hole of the appropriate diameter, they are incredibly strong because they fuse with the plastic.

It is recommended that you use specific ones that have a smaller diameter neck at one end which can be used to locate the insert into the desired location, I generally use 0 tolerance and because the neck is a very short stub, a small tap with a nylon hammer sets the insert into the correct place ready for the heat insertion.

You can use a normal soldering iron tip, but be aware that any solder on the tip combined with the shape, may result in the insert getting stuck to the iron at exactly the wrong moment, you can easily ruin a print in a couple of seconds if this occurs.

It is recommended that a specialist tool is used designed for the job is used instead, these are readily available on the internet and can be found on sites such as eBay for your locality.