My Pansat 9200HD is worse than ever with the latest '1226' firmware and DVB-S2 Plus tuner module installed. As we have discussed in other threads the issues concerning this abomination of a satellite receiver, it does have it's positive attributes.

In recent email exchanges with Pansat USA's Customer Service Rep Mr. Hugo Montenegro, he explains that a larger dish is necessary for the proper function of this receiver with the new DVB-S2 Plus tuner module. I do agree that it may not work as well with smaller C-band dishes so I have installed a 10.5 ft dish that has no increase on the performance. In fact my 8 ft solid BUD works better in spite of what they say. At this point, all of the problems I've been experiencing are not associated with DVB-S2 signals yet Mr. Hugo Montenegro insists it's a dish size problem.

I'm not having any DVB-S2 signal problems to emphasize, there are other issues concerning the PVR function, the time setting modes and the PVR timer settings and DVB-S problems that I have itemized to Mr. Montenegro. I wrote to him 2 days ago again explaining these other issues and he replies with the same response of it being a dish size problem. Well, I gather the fact that he must not have read my email thoroughly as he did not even mention the PVR and timer issues. I wrote back asking him to read my message again and still awaiting his reply.

The PVR functionality is worse than ever, the option to set the clock manually is disabled, no way to set it up in 'User mode' and the PVR recording timer is useless if I can't set the clock to my time because time varies with individual TP's and not to mention the other malfunctions of the timer.

When watching any channel either it be DVB-S or DVB-S2 signals I occasionally get a "No Signal" pop-up message in spite of an uninterrupted and a perfect audio/video with any quality signal regardless if it's 70% or 99%, it doesn't matter, I watch more SD channels than HD. This doesn't occur with other receivers tested on the same line feed. Since all the new problems I've experienced with the new DVB-S2 Plus tuner module and the '1226' firmware, I've hardly used this stb for any recordings due to the frequent malfunctions. I find it necessary to frequently reboot the stb with a full power-off cycle to hopefully clear any congestion in memory prior to any recordings and/or playback.

To my surprize, I successfully recorded a recent movie on FMC without any glitches. Later that day after rebooting the stb and giving it a few minutes to stabilize I started the playback and within 2 minutes the stb froze up with the video image that I have posted in the photo, this has occured more than once. It was necessary to power off the stb as it was not responding to any local or remote commands. I restarted the playback and this time it played successfully. At this point I consider this box to be unpredictable and unreliable for any usage especially for PVR recordings and playback.

Unfortunately many of people have purchased this model and may be experiencing similar and/or other problems. I have been faithfully sending my reports of all issues to Panarex/Pansat USA customer service rep Mr. Hugo Montenegro asking for his assistance. My voice has little to no impact on them so I am asking and encouraging all 9200HD owner's to email Mr. Hugo Montenegro explaining your concerns. Let our voices be heard, if we consistantly and faithfully send our reports to them with our combined efforts then hopefully they will step up and do something.

It won't do us any good if we don't speak up, numbers mean something. Please, I don't want to hear negative replies about how futile this is because it's not, I didn't invest $500 for nothing and neither have you! It doesn't matter how insignificant the problem may seem, it's our voice that matters, United We Stand!

Please take a few minutes to write to Mr. Hugo Montenegro at Pansat USA and explain your issues and ASK for your deserving customer support. Customer support should not end after the sale, after all they did sell this box with a 2 year warranty and regardless of warranty, the DVB-S2 Plus tuner module is a whole new issue with it's related firmware.
Please write to: Mr. Hugo Montenegro pansatusa@cs.com

Thanks to all of you :)

I'm sorry to read your 9200HD is causing so much trouble. I have had only minor issues with my unit since acquiring it not quite two years ago. I do not use the PVR features, however. I started with the original DVB-S2 board and found it nearly useless, but the replacement Plus board has worked perfectly for me. My only quibbles with the 9200HD are:

1. Lack of DVB-S sensitivity compared to other tuners
2. Occasional freezes (once or twice a month)
3. Klutzy GUI
4. Overvoltage supplying vertical polarization (I fixed this)

All of these are merely annoyances to me and may simply reflect my belief that the unit could have been executed better. This is hardly unique to most things in my life. I don't know whether your problems are caused by a different usage pattern than mine, but you may simply have a defective unit.

Maybe I shouldn't even post because I don't have this receiver. However, I do own Pansats although older I have seen that screen or similar on mine. Firmware sometimes doesn't seem to take all the way even though it says it did and I'd have to re-install the firmware. I know you know this already but it might not hurt to try and re-install the newer firmware or roll back to an earlier version and then upgrade again? I know this may sound silly and you've already thought about it, more than likely. Really you shouldn't have to even consider it but with Pansat it's almost a certain they have a glitch in their firmware in some cases.

Very sorry you're having issues with your Pansat and hope you get them resolved very soon. That's a lot of money spent on something that doesn't do it's job as expected and dang well should! They should at least offer to exchange with you to help resolve the problem.

When watching any channel either it be DVB-S or DVB-S2 signals I occasionally get a "No Signal" pop-up message in spite of an uninterrupted and a perfect audio/video with any quality signal regardless if it's 70% or 99%, it doesn't matter, I watch more SD channels than HD.

Wish there was a way to suppress that silly pop-up message. The AZ-BOX may be the best "work-around", haha.

pendragon & Ironsides, thanx for your reply. First of all if I may ask pendragon, could you take a look at your 'time settings' and see if you can adjust the clock in the 'User mode' because mine is either disabled or I'm missing something here, like my marbles, LOL. The only mode I can adjust is the time zone but not the time, this option is displayed in the menu but it won't open as if it's dead, disabled or malfunctioning. I don't recall but I think it worked with earlier firmware.

And to Ironsides, yes, I went through that repeatidly when I initially installed the S2 Plus tuner and 1226 firmware. That's when I had serious problems, it took me days to upgrade the firmware, the receiver was very, very slow to respond to commands and took hours to change screens or even one channel at a time. Yes you heard right, after getting it all set up, it took hours to change a single channel. It's a long, long story but it cleared up with time. I have reinstalled the F/W many times and I may just try it again and hope it doesn't go through the same thing again.

In spite of the usual glitches I do like this unit when it performs correctly that is most of the time and it has an excellent audio/video. Now that it appears to work responsively, blind scans good, changes channels good and navigates the menu's well, it still has PVR issues. At this time, my issues are equal to pendragon's if I exclude the PVR problems and if you don't use this feature then you can't experience the same as I have. Over the past month or so I recall many other's who have reported similar issues with and without the PVR functionality issues. These owner's were not happy to say the least. You may recall them as well.

I would hope to hear reports of other PVR user's of this model and ask for their support in reporting to Mr. Montenegro at Pansat. I have corresponded with this man through my entire ill experience regarding this S2 Plus module installation and the new F/W. I have saved all of the emails which are many. The main subject has been primarily the S2 mod and F/W with little emphasis on other problems.

What gets me stirred is the fact that I recently wrote to Mr. Montenegro and described the PVR issues and his response was this:

"Dear Mr. _ _ _ _ _ ,
After receiving enough feedback from television station engineers,
local installers, and a few distributors that buy our unit on a regular
basis we believe that your unit may have to be inspected since they
seldom find any type of problem like the one you mention with your unit
and when they do they are able to fix the problem either by increasing
the size of the dish or adjusting the symbol rate sometimes. Thew
signal that is being sent on the S2 format is weaker than the other
signals, therefore, many stations tend to use a larger size dish. This
is not a receiver problem but a weak signal problem on this particular
format. If you read page #31 of the new March edition of "TV
Technology" about the similar problem TV Globo had with their signal
and needed assistance from DSI RF Systems to fix the problem you will
then see and understand the reason why those problems occur and a
larges size dish is needed.
Best regards,
Hugo / Panarex"

Notice that he speaks again of the dish size issue. This seems to be is only recourse and he never once inquired as to what dish size I use, how can he say this with no knowledge of my setup? He's obviously not reading my last message thoroughly in which I never mentioned anything other than the PVR and time settings. How on earth do these issues have anything to do with the size of my dishes? I just recently installed a 10.5 ft mesh with no increase of perfromance, in fact my 8 ft solid Channel Master outperforms the 10.5 footer. I made certain to inform Mr. Montenegro of my setup and the new installation of my 10.5 ft dish.

Again I emphasize that it's NO LONGER a S2 issue, I'm happy with it's performance and I'm getting the channels I wanted but I just can't rely on the PVR recorder for stability, it's totally unpredictable. I constantly reboot before watching TV and before using the PVR and I have described these things to Pansat. I even sent Mr. Montenegro a photo of the screen image, I have yet to hear a reply from him. :confused:

Wish there was a way to suppress that silly pop-up message. The AZ-BOX may be the best "work-around", haha.

You have a point there! LOL

I agree about how buggy the 9200HDs are. Mine also pops up the random "no signal" in the middle of the picture. I use it mainly for scanning. I do not have the PVR setup for mine since it needs a component repositioned on the circuit board because mine is an early unit. However I have used it with mine DVD/ PVR recorder and can't trust it not to suddenly switch to "bad or scrambled channel" and record 2 hours of that message. I don't remember the SW level but it's not the latest.

My trusty Pansat 2700A is far more stable and scans in just as well. Lately I have been using that for scanning.

First of all if I may ask pendragon, could you take a look at your 'time settings' and see if you can adjust the clock in the 'User mode' because mine is either disabled or I'm missing something here, like my marbles, LOL. The only mode I can adjust is the time zone but not the time, this option is displayed in the menu but it won't open as if it's dead, disabled or malfunctioning. I don't recall but I think it worked with earlier firmware.

When the clock is in "User Mode", I can change any of the settings for time/date/time zone and they take effect.

When the clock is in "User Mode", I can change any of the settings for time/date/time zone and they take effect.

Just to chime in. I also can change these settings with the latest firmware and DVB-S2 Plus tuner module installed.

Clint

I really hope you get this resolved, Pansat used to be very good and made a decent box. In the past it was known to be one of the best on the market.

I know I shouldn't say this on this topic but my experiences with Pansat and others. Is exactly why a couple of years ago when my boss asked me if I wanted a good fta box; I took his advice and went with a Dreambox 7020 with internal hd, had him purchase it when he went home to England. I realize Dreambox has a bad rep with many people here and the States for several reasons.

That said, I can honestly say even being several years old now it is still one of the best FTA open source receivers on the market imho. A lot of people don't like them because they aren't user friendly. I admit with my recent questions concerning loop out and connecting up to my Uniden Analog C-Band I was flustered. However, The recording, networking, streaming just say to me it was well worth the learning curve and time. It has never failed to record and never failed to stream for me. After learning and I still have a lot to learn I find it to be the best fun I have when I am working with it! At this Time, Sorry I brought this into the conversation but I felt it necessary to say in this way, I have shared your grief with Pansat and others...

I do very much think in your case, that Pansat should offer to exchange your unit with a new unit or refund your money. After all the problems you've had it would suggest it has a major problem. After reading of your troubles with a simple firmware upgrade they should have saw then a need for replacement.

It shouldn't be an issue to upgrade the firmware as it's in the design and should have been a very easy task.

Again I am very sorry and hope others will take the time to read your requests and complain to Pansat and this guy who cares nothing for his customers by the lack of response. Or should I say the correct response because clearly he hasn't taken time to read your issues.

Thanks to you all, being that you who can change the time clock settings manually indicate to me that I should try to download the firmware again and see what happens, it's worth a try. I do appreciate your informative replies. :up

Well I just read Montenegro email that you posted and indeed like pendragon suggested , at the beginning he mention that "the unit may have to be inspected" suggesting it could be defective. I think you should try getting it fixed or replaced under warranty. Just a thought.

That happens to me often I just reboot the reciever no big drama

Well I just read Montenegro email that you posted and indeed like pendragon suggested , at the beginning he mention that "the unit may have to be inspected" suggesting it could be defective. I think you should try getting it fixed or replaced under warranty. Just a thought.


That happens to me often I just reboot the reciever no big drama

Well it may not be big drama to some but it sure is to me and other's who want their $500 investment to operate as advertized.

I went ahead and reinstalled the firmware and can now adjust the time clock manually, this is an improvement but the 3 main issues still exist, (1) being the freezing with a scrambled video, (2) being the frequent "No Signal" message and (3) being the recorder timer will not record the specified channel. The first 2 issues occur in any mode on any signal and any channel while either watching or recording.

I've been testing the PVR functions today and the timer turns on and turns off at the specified times but somehow records another channel. This has always been, it has done this from day one, nothing has changed here.

This unit does not need repair, it's working just the same as others now and the current issues are firmware related.

Maybe Mr. Montenegro hasn't replied because he can no longer suggest a larger dish.

I have the S2+ bd installed but most viewing is SD. I deleted unused/ unwatched channels and transponders and my freezing ( identical screen as yours ) has improved drastically. It will only very rarely freeze while watching a channel. Before the clean-up, I was about to put it on craigslist, or the trash. Now, freezes are usually caused by me being too button happy.
One problem I have, every time, is when selecting a different audio stream on a video channel, the new audio stream comes through, but the video quits and just shows the stupid blue screen. I can sit on it forever, doesn't come in, but changing channels, then back, all is well. I haven't yet played with the PVR function. But maybe a clean-up of unused, channels and TP's , will help.
Pendragon, How did you fix your polarization problem? I have the same issue, fixed with a diode inline of the LNB in an aluminum box . Have no way of knowing if this has adversely affected its performance though. Did you do something a little more professional?

I will not buy another pansat product again after owning the 9200. Mine overheats like crazy, Constantly is buggy and wont tune to channels even tough they are locked in. Heck it wouldn't play the Access America feed yesterday even though I had 52 percent quality! It constantly gets rebooted for issues with feeds, or it wont even swich resolutions correctly. The S2 portion locks most signals on my 7 1/2 foot Bud, but wont lock easy ones like HBO mux or the Disney Mux.

A user cant even program all the satellites in on the arch without running out of positions when using diseq 1.2. It wasn't until the recent event of the channel editor that it got solved, and even that is unofficial. Between all the bugs in the software and the lack of proper support in English from pansat, has left a very bad taste in my mouth about pansat. In the future I will go with Fortec Star or a different brand. At least with fortec star I know that my unit would be worlds ahead of any pansat product.

How did you fix your polarization problem? I have the same issue, fixed with a diode inline of the LNB in an aluminum box . Have no way of knowing if this has adversely affected its performance though. Did you do something a little more professional?

I popped the unit open and found the regulator that supplies +13V for vertical polarization selection. From memory, it's located near the back of the primary circuit board, not too far from the DVB-S IF input. I also recall that this was a LM317, which is a variable regulator set by a resistive divider. I simply calculated the resistance required to parallel what was already there and come out with the right ratio. It seems Pansat set this a little on the hot side, or perhaps they had a manufacturing issue.

I have the S2+ bd installed but most viewing is SD. I deleted unused/ unwatched channels and transponders and my freezing ( identical screen as yours ) has improved drastically. It will only very rarely freeze while watching a channel. Before the clean-up, I was about to put it on craigslist, or the trash. Now, freezes are usually caused by me being too button happy.
One problem I have, every time, is when selecting a different audio stream on a video channel, the new audio stream comes through, but the video quits and just shows the stupid blue screen. I can sit on it forever, doesn't come in, but changing channels, then back, all is well. I haven't yet played with the PVR function. But maybe a clean-up of unused, channels and TP's , will help.
Pendragon, How did you fix your polarization problem? I have the same issue, fixed with a diode inline of the LNB in an aluminum box . Have no way of knowing if this has adversely affected its performance though. Did you do something a little more professional?

Thanks for the suggestion, :up I have already taken this approach and it seems to help quite a bit but it won't hurt me to run through the list again and do some weeding.

I will not buy another pansat product again after owning the 9200. Mine overheats like crazy, Constantly is buggy and wont tune to channels even tough they are locked in. Heck it wouldn't play the Access America feed yesterday even though I had 52 percent quality! It constantly gets rebooted for issues with feeds, or it wont even swich resolutions correctly. The S2 portion locks most signals on my 7 1/2 foot Bud, but wont lock easy ones like HBO mux or the Disney Mux.

A user cant even program all the satellites in on the arch without running out of positions when using diseq 1.2. It wasn't until the recent event of the channel editor that it got solved, and even that is unofficial. Between all the bugs in the software and the lack of proper support in English from pansat, has left a very bad taste in my mouth about pansat. In the future I will go with Fortec Star or a different brand. At least with fortec star I know that my unit would be worlds ahead of any pansat product.

I hear ya man, this is the last Pansat I'll own in my lifetime.

> Heck it wouldn't play the Access America feed yesterday even though I had 52 percent quality!

I have had this problem as well. The answer is to press the mute button, switch to the Access America radio channel from another radio channel, and then press the mute button again. The audio should then pop in. The 9200 software seems to be the worst written product since Microsoft wrote Millennium Edition.

I popped the unit open and found the regulator that supplies +13V for vertical polarization selection. From memory, it's located near the back of the primary circuit board, not too far from the DVB-S IF input. I also recall that this was a LM317, which is a variable regulator set by a resistive divider. I simply calculated the resistance required to parallel what was already there and come out with the right ratio. It seems Pansat set this a little on the hot side, or perhaps they had a manufacturing issue.

pendragon, what's this polarization issue about anyway? at first glance I'm wondering if it could be the cause of the frequent "No Signal" pop-up message. I've noticed that it occurs on either V or H.

> Heck it wouldn't play the Access America feed yesterday even though I had 52 percent quality!

I have had this problem as well. The answer is to press the mute button, switch to the Access America radio channel from another radio channel, and then press the mute button again. The audio should then pop in. The 9200 software seems to be the worst written product since Microsoft wrote Millennium Edition.


Yea I eventually got it to play after switching from an encrypted radio channel and back to access america. Even deleting and rescanning transponders wouldnt fix it. I even tryed deleting the entire radio list, and then rescanning and that was a no go.

Another issue I have is Ill go to Antenna setup, move the motor over to AMC 15 (example) Veryify im on the bird, and then Ill go do a blind (smart) scan, and the blind (smart) scan doesnt happen, instead the line will screach across the screen and say that it found no transponders. Ill have to exit out of everything and then go back in and retry.

pendragon, what's this polarization issue about anyway? at first glance I'm wondering if it could be the cause of the frequent "No Signal" pop-up message. I've noticed that it occurs on either V or H.

If you see "No Signal" on both H & V, I doubt the vertical voltage problem is the cause. However if you see this on V only, that's another story. The basic problem is some 9200HDs appear to output a voltage a bit on the high side for vertical polarization. This can cause LNBs and/or switches to flip to horizontal polarization. As this voltage is in "no man's land", the result can be erratic and the polarization may switch back and forth unpredictably. The solution is to lower the voltage by tweaking the 13V regulator.

Thanks pendragon for your explanation and goaliebob99 for your informative input. With this further information I can only conclude that it must be firmware related.

Another annoying issue I neglected to mention is the "wait for playback" message that sometimes won't terminate after starting playback of a recorded movie unless I reboot each time before using the PVR.

I'm not sure if heat has much influence but I certainly consider it. One would hope that if Pansat is aware of any 'heat' induced problems they would have offered a solution rather than offer more revenue making products with the lack of a neccessary solution.

I did some research hitting different sites I found on google some of which is older information and maybe some info you don't want to know about.

I am not suggesting this would fix your problems but it might give you some ideas.

From what I read the computer you are installing your firmware from can cause problems depending on the operating system. I don't know why, I just read that...It was suggested to use an XP based machine or even a WIN2K machine rather than WIN7 or Vista box. That does not always help but some claim this solved their problems. Here again I am not sure why that makes a difference but a lot of people sure claim it does.

Ok here this is something I do not condone but I read on and some people use a "3rd Party Firmware and loader" because they feel the Pansat Firmware is filled with bugs that caused the box to not work as it should. Some of the issues you are having was solved when using the other firmware. Over heating and other problems was discussed and being you are having some of the same issues maybe you can search this out for yourself. Again I DO NOT CONDONE OR AM I SAYING FOR YOU TO USE A 3rd Party FIRMWARE. Just relaying some of the information I read last night. Not all the information I read pertained to your receiver but a wide range of Pansat receivers.

I am not even sure how you update the firmware on your box so anything I read might not even work and was a waste of my time. I was just trying to help you.

I am not sure any of this would help you but hopefully you can find something that will. It would be my advice to return it and Make them repair it as clearly something is wrong. Over heating can be related to firmware but that would be something I would make them fix. If it's under warranty I diff would send it back and diff would not use a 3rd party firmware. If it isn't under warranty then you can make your own mind up...

Thanks Ironsides, I use Windows XP Pro and all I do is download the file to the USB stick which is the device used to install the firmware. I've also used hash file comparison software utilities to check the integrity of the file before downloading.

I have been there and done that prior to the DVB-S2 Plus tuner module installation but unfortunately this new module (hardware) leaves us no choice but to use the Pansat latest '1226' firmware for proper functionality. Previous Pansat f/ware and 3rd party hackware do not support this hardware. We are now at the mercy of Pansat unless I remove my $130.00 investment and toss it just to use other f/ware. But I already know that wouldn't help either because these common issues were here before this S2 install. Other's can vouch for it.

I once had small fans installed for cooling but had to remove them with the installation of this new module and with the possibility of having to return it for warranty repair. I am seriously considering adding another cooling system but will plan it more carefully for optimum effectiveness.

Thanks again for your concern and research, you have revived some things I've forgotten about. :)

Ok here this is something I do not condone but I read on and some people use a "3rd Party Firmware and loader" because they feel the Pansat Firmware is filled with bugs that caused the box to not work as it should. Some of the issues you are having was solved when using the other firmware. Over heating and other problems was discussed and being you are having some of the same issues maybe you can search this out for yourself. Again I DO NOT CONDONE OR AM I SAYING FOR YOU TO USE A 3rd Party FIRMWARE. Just relaying some of the information I read last night. Not all the information I read pertained to your receiver but a wide range of Pansat receivers.

I read the same and thought about installing 3rd party firmware on my unit to see if it fixed some of the problems. But I also read that if you have to send your unit for repair and 3rd firmware is found on the unit your name is (required by law) forwarded to Dish. Some say that even if you reinstall the Pansat firmware traces of the 3rd party firmware still remain. Also the warranty is voided. So needless to say I did not install eye patch firmware on my 9200HD.

I doubt that anything remains on a Flashrom...It's possible I guess but Idk...I don't use it anyway and don't condone it's use. It does void the warranty that's in the owners manual. I guess if it got into the bootloader that might cause it to stick in the memory??


SO USB stick is the only method of firmware updates? If that is the case that sucks! Can you not use an RS232 cable?

That would be best if you could...

Well unless I researched the wrong thing you can Use RS232 to update the firmware which would be best. Nothing Like a direct connection to fix those bugs...

I do wonder though if this has a 1st stage bootloader and a 2nd. If it has a 1st stage it is possible this has become corrupted and would give you lots of troubles...

dude I would try using the RS232 cable and reinstall the firmware directly to the pansat from the pc.

Thanks, Pendragon, I'll have to check that regulator.

If you see "No Signal" on both H & V, I doubt the vertical voltage problem is the cause. However if you see this on V only, that's another story. The basic problem is some 9200HDs appear to output a voltage a bit on the high side for vertical polarization. This can cause LNBs and/or switches to flip to horizontal polarization. As this voltage is in "no man's land", the result can be erratic and the polarization may switch back and forth unpredictably. The solution is to lower the voltage by tweaking the 13V regulator.



I once had small fans installed for cooling but had to remove them with the installation of this new module and with the possibility of having to return it for warranty repair. I am seriously considering adding another cooling system but will plan it more carefully for optimum effectiveness.


Having seen these two comments, I wouldn't spend 10 seconds working on the receiver before I'd double check the LNB voltages! - :eek:
As there are many different switch 'n LNB configurations possible, it's impossible to predict how a wrong voltage would affect operation!
(Obviously, some problems you've described would not be related, but others . . . . ) - :rolleyes:

As for heating, that's often improved by placing a laptop cooler under the receiver.
When that's shown to work, I'm happy for the user.
However, as a technique to test overheating, it leaves a lot to be desired! :rolleyes:
The only way for heating to be discounted, is to remove the receiver from wherever it's currently located...
... remove the cover from the receiver...
... set up a large fan to blow copious amounts of cool air over the receiver continuously for testing.
Only if that helps, may you then cut back on the cooling to determine the amount needed.

Of course, it's possible there are other electrical failures within your single sample.
I'd double check all the voltages provided by the power supply, to see if they look reasonable.
Often, the expected voltage is printed on the main receiver board, or the power supply board.
Visually check the power supply - sometimes older electrolytic capacitors will be leaking or appear bulging.
If you have an oscilloscope, checking the voltages for ripple (switching power supply noise) may be revealing.

I doubt that anything remains on a Flashrom...It's possible I guess but Idk...I don't use it anyway and don't condone it's use. It does void the warranty that's in the owners manual. I guess if it got into the bootloader that might cause it to stick in the memory??


SO USB stick is the only method of firmware updates? If that is the case that sucks! Can you not use an RS232 cable?

That would be best if you could...

Well unless I researched the wrong thing you can Use RS232 to update the firmware which would be best. Nothing Like a direct connection to fix those bugs...

I do wonder though if this has a 1st stage bootloader and a 2nd. If it has a 1st stage it is possible this has become corrupted and would give you lots of troubles...

dude I would try using the RS232 cable and reinstall the firmware directly to the pansat from the pc.

I don't know about a 1st or 2nd stage bootloader on this model but Pansat does offer a bootloader download which I've done also, believe me... I've covered almost every step and possibility but I'm making some progress which I'll tell you about shortly in another post.

There is a serial DB-9 port but I don't use it, it's a real pain in the rear to disconnect all the cables to do it, so I use the USB and I seriously don't think it had any ill effect with the problems.

Having seen these two comments, I wouldn't spend 10 seconds working on the receiver before I'd double check the LNB voltages! - :eek:
As there are many different switch 'n LNB configurations possible, it's impossible to predict how a wrong voltage would affect operation!
(Obviously, some problems you've described would not be related, but others . . . . ) - :rolleyes:

As for heating, that's often improved by placing a laptop cooler under the receiver.
When that's shown to work, I'm happy for the user.
However, as a technique to test overheating, it leaves a lot to be desired! :rolleyes:
The only way for heating to be discounted, is to remove the receiver from wherever it's currently located...
... remove the cover from the receiver...
... set up a large fan to blow copious amounts of cool air over the receiver continuously for testing.
Only if that helps, may you then cut back on the cooling to determine the amount needed.

Of course, it's possible there are other electrical failures within your single sample.
I'd double check all the voltages provided by the power supply, to see if they look reasonable.
Often, the expected voltage is printed on the main receiver board, or the power supply board.
Visually check the power supply - sometimes older electrolytic capacitors will be leaking or appear bulging.
If you have an oscilloscope, checking the voltages for ripple (switching power supply noise) may be revealing.

Well, GOOD NEWS Anole.... it dawned on me what could be causing the "no signal" pop-up message I constantly get on a couple of channels so I put my thought to work and just finished testing it. All I did was tweak the frequency and SR numbers a bit by lowering them one digit and so far I'm not seeing the pop-up message. I've only tweaked one channel so far and I'll continue to test it for a while and see if I need to tweak more.

I hope other 9200HD owner's who experience this "no signal" pop-up message will read this and try it. There may be nothing wrong with the stb itself except it's a little quirky.

So far it looks like I'm getting the bugs worked out except for one and that's the PVR issue of recording channels other than the one specified in the timer settings. This bug must be f/ware related cuz I can't see how anything else would effect this.

All of you who have posted have been of great help and support and I thank you :up :)

Yea, it could be that your LNB or your receiver are a bit off frequency...
... or maybe both, and in opposite directions...
but it's still strange that once locked on, you can't track the signal.

Try offsetting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 mhz each way and see where you lose the signal most readily.
Choose the middle ground.
Some people actually set their LO frequency off a little to do the compensation.
I don't know if all receivers support that idea, and it might not a good one if you use multiple lnbs. - :rolleyes:

Yea, it could be that your LNB or your receiver are a bit off frequency...
... or maybe both, and in opposite directions...
but it's still strange that once locked on, you can't track the signal.

Try offsetting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 mhz each way and see where you lose the signal most readily.
Choose the middle ground.
Some people actually set their LO frequency off a little to do the compensation.
I don't know if all receivers support that idea, and it might not a good one if you use multiple lnbs. - :rolleyes:

Thanks for the tips Anole. I suppose a little here and a little there can add up and especially when blind scanning, not all receivers scan in the same numbers and even if this stb scans in a certain number it may not neccessarily like them either. In my exchange with Mr. Montenegro at Pansat he mentioned that some customers who use these stbs professionally at TV stations, etc, use this technique for sorting out certain issues but he wasn't specific. His statement got me thinking and this is how I got the idea.

Well it looks like that little bugger "No Signal" message is conquered, I haven't seen it in hours of viewing that same plagued channel.
Now I getting somewhere with this 9200HD :)

Hey Congrats on getting that No Signal Problem worked out!

DB9 connection or RS 232 port vs the USB upgrade method. It has been my experience when doing Firmware updates it is by far better to connect directly to the STB. Some Folks will disagree with that but where you run into problems is how your computer formats your USB stick and how it writes information to the stick. Several other issues are discovered when using the USB stick to transfer your new firmware. I don't understand them all but I know from trail and error I have less problems with Firmware when I go directly to my computer and go to all the trouble to hook that cable up.

At this point in the game it's worth trying the RS232 and see if that helps.

I would guess also the 9200 does have a 1st stage boot loader and I would bet it can be corrupted. I am not sure because I've only recently been reading about this box. Being it uses a Flash Rom I would bet it does have a stage one and two. I would guess also your write data to stage 2.

Hey Congrats on getting that No Signal Problem worked out!

DB9 connection or RS 232 port vs the USB upgrade method. It has been my experience when doing Firmware updates it is by far better to connect directly to the STB. Some Folks will disagree with that but where you run into problems is how your computer formats your USB stick and how it writes information to the stick. Several other issues are discovered when using the USB stick to transfer your new firmware. I don't understand them all but I know from trail and error I have less problems with Firmware when I go directly to my computer and go to all the trouble to hook that cable up.

At this point in the game it's worth trying the RS232 and see if that helps.

I would guess also the 9200 does have a 1st stage boot loader and I would bet it can be corrupted. I am not sure because I've only recently been reading about this box. Being it uses a Flash Rom I would bet it does have a stage one and two. I would guess also your write data to stage 2.

Thanks for the info Ironsides, every bit helps with these issues. Don't recall if I mentioned it but I did download a fresh copy of the bootloader file along with the latest f/ware a few times to make sure it saturated.

At this point in time it doesn't appear to have any issues with the download method using the USB, I'm sure Pansat would have recommended using the serial bus instead. The final issue now is the common malfunction of the PVR event timer recorder, it won't record the specified channel, it somehow switches to another channel and records something else every time. Other user's and myself have witnessed this problem even before the f/ware upgrade, it's an inherent issue with the coding of the f/ware. Pansat has not fixed this bug yet and this is what I'm currently addressing with Pansat.

I would be pleased to hear from other user's about their experience with this issue. Any 9200HD PVR tester's out there? :confused:

...Now I getting somewhere with this 9200HD :)

The rug has been pulled out from under you, however. This receiver is now discontinued, according to a discussion on Sattalk last night. By agreement with Dish Network. More info soon...

The rug has been pulled out from under you, however. This receiver is now discontinued, according to a discussion on Sattalk last night. By agreement with Dish Network. More info soon...

over my head.... what's this have to do with my statement? can you explain?

over my head.... what's this have to do with my statement? can you explain?

Shouldn't have quoted you, my bad. Just noting that the receiver is now gone. And I would suspect with it any support for functions that don't function.

Shouldn't have quoted you, my bad. Just noting that the receiver is now gone. And I would suspect with it any support for functions that don't function.

Cool, no problem, I know that they are discontinued like so many other's. support for this stb never existed anyway, not many get support these days which is sad but one never knows and can only hope for an upgrade. You'd think if Pansat can rewrite their f/ware for the S2 Plus module then they could rewrite it for bug fixes but I guess that's asking too much :rolleyes:

Cool, no problem, I know that they are discontinued like so many other's. support for this stb never existed anyway, not many get support these days which is sad but one never knows and can only hope for an upgrade. You'd think if Pansat can rewrite their f/ware for the S2 Plus module then they could rewrite it for bug fixes but I guess that's asking too much :rolleyes:

It's frustrating. I'm waiting now for the 4:2:2 box that people feel is best, after all the dust has settled. Not sure where we are at with what's in the pipeline vs. the available now AZ Box.

Pansat should take time to fix the bugs even if it is discontinued....

I have a Dreambox 7020 it's several years old and I can still contact Dream Mulitmedia and get answers to questions.

As for that RS 232 dude Pansat didn't fix the bugs they certainly aren't going to tell you to use something that might help you out. LOL! I have an older Neusat and It uses that USB stick trick as well and Certainly it works but I can honestly tell you the cable works much better. I have a Pansat 2700 and 2500 and a couple of other boxes and a couple more that use USB or CS Cards to update...Always the dang cable works better and less errors on the firmware.

You know I can use several images on my DB and I have tried updating using the network and saw errors with an image that didn't show error when using direct connection... That being said your cable would be worth trying...

I guess if they are not supporting the product any more, that just means the next one that comes out I wont be purchasing. A shure fire way to go out of business, Not that they already are! Its obvious that pansat had one market in mind and that was the hacking market. I think the s2 board was a ploy to have the image that they were legit! Its obvious by the lack of support they dont care about their product.

I have obtained a second Pansat 9200 (this time with the Pansat DVB-S2 Plus kit) on Ebay and remounted the heat-sinks in it also. I have added pics and more definitive heat sink removal info at the following site: Remount Heat Sinks 2 (http://personal.linkline.com/trimble/pansat)

As the MPEG-2's decoder heats up the reaction of the receiver to the remote slows and then as soon as cooling is applied to the MPEG-2 decoder heat-sink it resumes full speed. The ARM processor appears to have a built in capability to slow itself when it gets hot to avoid its own destruction much as the newer computer cpus have.

Apparently, variations in the heat sink mounting quality and in the sample to sample variations in the heat generation capability of the ARM MPEG-2 chips, some receivers have problems and some not. The manufacture dates of the two I have are June 2008 and Sep 2008 and both originally had severe slow down and freeze problems before I remounted the heat-sinks.

A little bit of air movement is still necessary but the freezes or slow downs are now virtually non-existent.

It would be my assumption that the overheating of these decoders could present a wide range of problem symptoms beyond simply that of freezing.

That is an awesome mod and clearly you can see the burn from the pics! I would bet that would make anyones butt cheeks pucker up though removing those heat sinks. You would think ANY electronics engineer would never agree to using a damn glue on a heat sink. That is just pee poor cheap get'er done todays world I don't care about my product practice.

Hopefully this will solve issues for a lot of people using the 9200!

I have obtained a second Pansat 9200 (this time with the Pansat DVB-S2 Plus kit) on Ebay and remounted the heat-sinks in it also.
. . .
A little bit of air movement is still necessary but the freezes or slow downs are now virtually non-existent.

Isn't it amazing that the manufacturer couldn't make this discovery and come up with a field repair?
Frankly, the heatsinks were marginal to start with, and they saved the dime better ones would cost.
The crummy attachment may have been a manufacturing shortcut, though.
You'd think it would have affected the reliability of the unit for the hackers, and if those were the main market, why no fix?

I've developed complex products before, and you design it to work regardless.
Then you make yourself available to manufacturing to be certain no shortcuts are taken.
When there is negative feedback from the field, you find the cause... and fix it.
Sounds like a heck of an example of, "I don't give a damn"!
Makes me embarrassed for the entire discipline of engineering!

Very unprofessional. I they'd been Japanese, I'd recommend Seppuku - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="image"><img alt="Question book-new.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppuku). - :rolleyes:

You all have valid comments that can be useful and especially the Heat Sink mod which is definately a solution. I believe that Pansat is in it only for the $$$ and their engineers have a specific timeline that they have to produce a product, everything outside of that timeline is ignored and forgotten as long as the product hits the markets regardless of bugs or malfunctions or ill-design. Support ends after the sale from experience.

Regarding Heatsinks, why not use larger heatsinks? and why not use the kind with the thermal adhesive tape that many CPU heatsinks employ?

Digikey dot com has an extensive selection of heatsinks and every electronic device/component available on the market today.
24.5mm_X_40mm_X_40mm_heatsink (http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=ATS1328-ND)

They have hundreds of heatsinks to choose from. In fact at a quick glance/search I found the one I posted in the photo that measures 40mm X 40mm which appears to be the same dimensions of the 9200 and it's 24.5mm tall, this may be one to consider and it's about $10. There are many to select from and I'm sure there's available space for a much taller heatsink and maybe room left to mount a thin fan atop.

I would also like to share this web page, a heatsink guide, I haven't spent anytime searching it yet but it looks like it can offer tips and answers to questions. Heat_Sink_Guide (http://www.heatsink-guide.com/)

maybe I missed it somewhere but is it confirmed pansat is replacing the 9200 with a new model?

maybe I missed it somewhere but is it confirmed pansat is replacing the 9200 with a new model?

I think it's rumor, there's the new T-1000 model that is only a terrestrial tuner but supposedly has the adaptability for the DVB-S2 Plus tuner module that the 9200HD uses. If this is correct, then the T-1000 becomes a satellite receiver as well. There is one or two eBay sellers that claim it replaces quite a few models. Do a search and you'll see what I'm talking about, your guess is as good as mine. There's also a manual posted for the T-1000 model in the Receiver Manuals section of this forum.

maybe I missed it somewhere but is it confirmed pansat is replacing the 9200 with a new model? Yes in around 3 months or so.

The rumor is that they are stopping sales of the 9200 due to an agreement with DISH Network. We should hear more details of that over the next few weeks.

Yes in around 3 months or so.

The rumor is that they are stopping sales of the 9200 due to an agreement with DISH Network. We should hear more details of that over the next few weeks.

Scott, what's DN have to do with it? There's no current hack support for this model so why would DN be concerned or involved? Do you have a link to this source of info for our reading pleasure? Thanks :D

fwiw, i spoke to pansat today and was informed the tc1000hd will be replacing the 9200. with the optional module, it will be able to do atsc, digital cable and dvb. I'm not saying they might also be coming out with a new model, but thats just what i told.

fwiw, i spoke to pansat today and was informed the tc1000hd will be replacing the 9200. with the optional module, it will be able to do atsc, digital cable and dvb. I'm not saying they might also be coming out with a new model, but thats just what i told.

Good info mr3p, I'm waiting to see a review on the new TC1000, it ought to be interesting in camparison to the 9200 Hord of Disasters :eek:

I guess I got the only one of these (9200HD) that works as intended. It's still using software version 1205...yeah, yeah I know -it won't record w/ that version. Big deal. I use it to watch live sports, news, etc in HD. Never had a need to record anything off the FTA system anyway...'cept maybe a few TVU music videos, but that's SD and my DVD recorder handles that just fine. Live sports and news feeds, to me, are best watched live. Especially breaking news...:rolleyes:
The only "glitch" it's ever had, is every once in a while, if you reset the time after a power outage, it'll display some goofy number like 223:244 or something. A quick flip of the main power switch takes care of that and it'll be months before it does it again. It's still my favorite receiver, and I've got quite a few of 'em here to compare it to! :D

Eurosport84;
You are not the only one with a 9200HD that 'works'. I got one off ebay last fall, with Illuminati module. I don't record from it, as I have no desire to, just use it to feed the TV distribution system in the house. So it is on 24/7, and I have not had any problem with overheating, even with the module. I did take the module out a few months ago, as I never found it to be useful to receive anything. It runs cool for me and has been reliable. I think this one was manufactured in late 2008 and might be version 1206. The time on it doesn't seem reliable, but I don't use it for a clock or a timer, and this may be due to local power outages. Maybe we're just Lucky!

Eurosport84;
You are not the only one with a 9200HD that 'works'. I got one off ebay last fall, with Illuminati module.
Yeah, that Illuminati board was strictly intended for stealing Dish Network signals. Totally useless for true FTA. I'm glad to know another 9200 owner is pleased with it! :D:up
I bought mine from a member here and it's been a good one...:)

> The rumor is that they are stopping sales of the 9200 due to an agreement with DISH Network.

Will the S2 board remain available? Or should I buy one now?

> The rumor is that they are stopping sales of the 9200 due to an agreement with DISH Network.

Will the S2 board remain available? Or should I buy one now?
Although my Coolsat 8000 handles the DVB-S2 chores for me, this is still a good question. :):up
If they're going to stop making the S2 boards, I'll buy one too, just to have it.

Why would they stop production on the S2 Plus module if it's an accessory to their new TC-1000 model? That wouldn't make sense IMO

Pansat USA has certainly made some changes recently, I went there today to download a manual for my 2700 as I have misplaced mine. First thing is a pop up concerning signal theft. That being said anything Pansat does at this point would not surprise me even if doesn't make any sense at all. For them to stop making parts or add-ons would Not surprise me.

Pansat USA has certainly made some changes recently, I went there today to download a manual for my 2700 as I have misplaced mine. First thing is a pop up concerning signal theft. That being said anything Pansat does at this point would not surprise me even if doesn't make any sense at all. For them to stop making parts or add-ons would Not surprise me.

Here ya go, a copy of their warning, lol
Looks like DN has Pansat scared to death. Like I stated, the S2 Plus tuner module is an accessory. It's a money maker for them, it seems to me that they most likely made the new TC-1000 model to promote sales on the tuner module being that it doesn't come with one, it may be another marketing strategy and a way to protect themselves from DN by not marketing a ready-to-hack model. This could be a clause in their agreement. Just my thoughts on this.

What am I missing here? Has Dish Network or Nagrastar been hacked? Is DN suing Pansat for signal theft? Last time I looked you could not even get NASA off a DN sat and thats a true FTA channel.

I have a Pansat 2500HD with the Plus board and the newest factory bin and I have to flip the power switch off and on probably twice a day to unfreeze it. Freezing almost always happens when I'm changing channels. The day after I received it, I sent it back to Panarex for repair but they said there was nothing wrong with it and they don't have any freezing problems. They blamed me for "user error". What the he?? did I do wrong by hitting the channel button or switching to another sat?

searay

What am I missing here? Has Dish Network or Nagrastar been hacked? Is DN suing Pansat for signal theft? Last time I looked you could not even get NASA off a DN sat and thats a true FTA channel.

I have a Pansat 2500HD with the Plus board and the newest factory bin and I have to flip the power switch off and on probably twice a day to unfreeze it. Freezing almost always happens when I'm changing channels. The day after I received it, I sent it back to Panarex for repair but they said there was nothing wrong with it and they don't have any freezing problems. They blamed me for "user error". What the he?? did I do wrong by hitting the channel button or switching to another sat?

searay

Welcome searay, I suppose you mean that you have a 9200HD stb, and for Pansat and DN it seems that there's an issue between the two. Considering Pansat's latest model receiver (TC-1000) that isn't a satellite box unless the user installs a S2 Plus tuner module may indicate there must be something preventing PS from marketing a full functioning satellite Rx. Although the 9200 isn't used for hacking today, there are other older PS models that are from what I've been reading unless something has changed recently or I misread something. I can't think of anything else that would bring DN down on PS. This may be the best that (PS) Pansat can do to stay in business otherwise they should go into the scrap metal trade. This could be another reason why support from PS is nonexistant for full functioning sat boxes, they seem to be encouraging people to send their stb's in for repair, maybe because they want to inspect them hoping to find clues of hacking usage so they can prosecute. And personally, I find their "Piracy Warning" to be somewhat rude by the way it's presented.

I think there is some misunderstanding regarding the optional satellite tuner card for the TC1000. Pansat is calling it the S3 to differentiate it from the current S2 board sold for the 9200. They are not the same board. The S3 card should give the TC1000 the same functionality as a 9200 with S2 card. I was also informed that it will not support 4:2:2.

I think there is some misunderstanding regarding the optional satellite tuner card for the TC1000. Pansat is calling it the S3 to differentiate it from the current S2 board sold for the 9200. They are not the same board. The S3 card should give the TC1000 the same functionality as a 9200 with S2 card. I was also informed that it will not support 4:2:2.

I believe the misunderstandings are caused by typo's. Last I looked, Pansat doesn't make an S3 tuner, no such thing. Then when I looked around for info, I found other sellers who copied the typo's in their product descriptions and some had it correct. If you shop for the S2 tuner, you'll also see that seller's claim it fits the TC-1000 terrestrial receiver. I thought the same as you at first, I even asked questions here on this forum and after hours of researching I came to this conclusion. Do some more research and you'll see what I mean. Now if there's something new that we missed be sure to post your findings. :)

I believe the misunderstandings are caused by typo's. Last I looked, Pansat doesn't make an S3 tuner, no such thing. Then when I looked around for info, I found other sellers who copied the typo's in their product descriptions and some had it correct. If you shop for the S2 tuner, you'll also see that seller's claim it fits the TC-1000 terrestrial receiver. I thought the same as you at first, I even asked questions here on this forum and after hours of researching I came to this conclusion. Do some more research and you'll see what I mean. Now if there's something new that we missed be sure to post your findings. :)

I will repeat myself as I'd prefer that factual information be conveyed.
The "S2" board is for the 9200
The "S3" board is for the TC1000.
The TC1000 with S3 board will not decode 4:2:2.
I was informed the above directly from Pansat and specifically that the S2 and S3 boards are not the same product.
I have no affiliation, relationship, or agenda regarding Pansat products.
I encourage you to call them to verify rather than just make statements based on what you can find from "sellers" or a personal websearch.
I think calling it "S3" is confusing but thats what they are calling it (for now) and is even referenced on their website.
Please have a look for yourself rather than add to confusion of others ;)

I think there is some misunderstanding regarding the optional satellite tuner card for the TC1000. Pansat is calling it the S3 to differentiate it from the current S2 board sold for the 9200. They are not the same board. The S3 card should give the TC1000 the same functionality as a 9200 with S2 card. I was also informed that it will not support 4:2:2.

More of a reason to get an AZBOX over another pansat product. Do not buy pansat unless you like buggy, cheaply produced products! Glue on the MPEG 2/4 heat sinks come on! I have done a fan mod on mine also, and it has cleared up alot of my issues, but the customer shouldn't have to personally mod there products to get it to work right.

I will repeat myself as I'd prefer that factual information be conveyed.
The "S2" board is for the 9200
The "S3" board is for the TC1000.
The TC1000 with S3 board will not decode 4:2:2.
I was informed the above directly from Pansat and specifically that the S2 and S3 boards are not the same product.
I have no affiliation, relationship, or agenda regarding Pansat products.
I encourage you to call them to verify rather than just make statements based on what you can find from "sellers" or a personal websearch.
I think calling it "S3" is confusing but thats what they are calling it (for now) and is even referenced on their website.
Please have a look for yourself rather than add to confusion of others ;)

Is Pansat selling this S3 board?

More of a reason to get an AZBOX over another pansat product. Do not buy pansat unless you like buggy, cheaply produced products! Glue on the MPEG 2/4 heat sinks come on! I have done a fan mod on mine also, and it has cleared up alot of my issues, but the customer shouldn't have to personally mod there products to get it to work right.

So true! :D

Is Pansat selling this S3 board?

I asked about availability and was told the add-on cards are about a month away.
Pricing information was also not available at this time.
While it has its share of issues, which I'm optimistic will be resolved by firmware shortly, I went with the Azbox Ultra and have no regrets :)

OK, where's the best place to buy one of these AZbox ultras? When I say the best place, I mean the cheapest reputable dealer, or, should I just go to Ebay?

searay

> Heck it wouldn't play the Access America feed yesterday even though I had 52 percent quality!

I have had this problem as well. The answer is to press the mute button, switch to the Access America radio channel from another radio channel, and then press the mute button again. The audio should then pop in. The 9200 software seems to be the worst written product since Microsoft wrote Millennium Edition.

THANKS for this tip! I have been trying to listen to the Access America station since I got this reciever (about 6 months ago)! I did the mute trick and IT WORKED! Many, MANY thanks! I just figured that maybe there was a bad TP on the sat or something on their end wrong. It is funny that when listening to the station, I get a 'Scrambled or bad channel' pop up window. But the audio works.
I like the reciever, but have to re-boot about 1-2 times a week. It seems to happen after scanning in looking for wild feeds. I haven't had any problems using the PVR, but I don't use the timer function, I just enjoy recording the off-the-wall wildfeeds I find. :)
-cowpres-

It is funny that when listening to the station, I get a 'Scrambled or bad channel' pop up window. But the audio works. -cowpres-

That pop-up message is one of the glitches with this model, it's also happens to me on 95.0W [3744 V 2206].

It seems to happen less frequently since I did the heatsink mod and added a big cooling fan. I also tried changing the frequency number a few notches up and down but it still occurs occasionally. I'm still trying various frequencies and hope to find a solution.