Hello all,
I know there is no hack talk here so all I need is some help on how to hook up my used VCII Plus Descramber (came with no instructions) with my brand new Motorola 4DTV922 satellite receiver. I don't like removing screws without knowing what I am doing. If someone could direct me to a read me in this forum (I did search first), I would really appreciate it.

Good to meet you all. This looks like a great forum!! I am brand new to C-Band. I will try not to "Newby" you guys to death.
Thanks
Bob

welcome :wave to the forum

if I recall, there is no VCII programming that can be subscribed to so I dont think the board is even needed. Anything you want to subscribe to the DCII "board" (brain) in the 922 takes care of it. That is built in

You don't need the board, that was for analog subs, there are no analog subs offered to c-band home users anymore so don't put it in, it helps keep the 4d running cooler. I still have mine in my 4d to lazy to go back there to pull it out :)

Question? where did you find a new 4dtv?

Thanks Iceberg and TFTi1 for your comments. I got it cheap so it is no big deal. Not doing anything is nice and easy.

I bought it off of Ebay for $345.00 + $20.00 shipping.

I still have my old VCII module in just in case...:D Even though we can't sub, there are still a couple active VCII channels up there.

If you do remove it, just make sure the receiver is unplugged.

Mine is still in there because ESPN, ESPN2 and The Weather Channel still can go FA at any time so it's like a perk when they do :)

Thanks for the info. Does anyone know a step by step procedure on how to install one? I am not what you call electronically gifted.

Remove the back cover

Slide in the VC2+ Module af far as it will go.

Replace the back cover and your done.

Remove the back cover

Slide in the VC2+ Module af far as it will go.

Replace the back cover and your done.

You missed a step Scott..

Step 1 - UNPLUG power to receiver :) Very important step. Attempting to install with power on will likely blow out the VC2 board and/or 4DTV receiver.

To Remove: Unplug unit, remove screws for cover & cover, grab 2 tabs on bottom of module, slide out, replace cover & screws, plug unit in wait for boot up and your done :)

Thank you to everyone!! This helps a lot. I think I can handle this.

Thank you to everyone!! This helps a lot. I think I can handle this.

Piece of cake :D

yep its pretty easy to do. Tore many VCII boards out of receivers before :)

I was at work when I read your comments. Now that I am home and ready to try, I am still a bit confused. Would it be OK for me to post a picture of the VCII module so you guys can see it?

Why not...

Thanks. I just wanted to make sure. I don't understand how this big bulky unit will fit with my 4DTV922 receiver. I may have bought the wrong one. Let me know what you think.
Thanks!!

That won't plug into your 4DTV, obviously. It's a commercial unit.

I thought OP was talking about a pink box, never seen one of those commercial decoders before

That's a commercial VC-2 to hook that up you would go baseband out of the 922 to the descrambler then run A/V leads to your tv.

The VC-2 module for the 922 is the picture I'm attaching.

Thanks everybody. Like I said, I got it cheap so it's no loss. The picture of the correct one helps.

Thanks again. This is a great forum!!!!

That's a commercial VC-2 to hook that up you would go baseband out of the 922 to the descrambler then run A/V leads to your tv.

The VC-2 module for the 922 is the picture I'm attaching.

Mine's Pink
I took mine out (as an experiment).
It turned out to be causing problems with reception. Don't ask me how, but I had troubles with it in and I took it out and don't have troubles now.

I have a pink unit in my 922. The 2 blue ones I have were given to me. Actually the one I took the picture of is brain dead (batt died and has been removed)

I wonder if that commercial VCII unit has a normal module inside it,
that would fit in the 4DTV? :confused:

I wonder if that commercial VCII unit has a normal module inside it,
that would fit in the 4DTV? :confused:

I don't think so because remember the consumer units had all the fancy graphics. The commercial ones didn't. I think the board is different.

I don't think so because remember the consumer units had all the fancy graphics. The commercial ones didn't. I think the board is different.
That's right...it probably is different.
It's been a long time since I've seen a commercial VCII! :D

Looking inside the thing (with a flashlight), it doesn't look like it will fit. However, I am not going to try to re-sale this thing so I guess opening it up would be a no risk thing. Maybe I will give it a try.

crack it open and take pics :)

I will go ahead and try to do that. I will get back to you guys.
Thanks for all your suggestions!!! I found the correct one on Ebay.

Here's a couple of that VC-2 RS without the battery I have for comparison. :)

Thanks TVRPRO. I appreciate your time. I have included 3 photos of this descrambler opened up. I removed one of the boards so it would be easier to see it. The ends of Component 2 slide into the gray connectors inside the box in the Component 1 picture. The third picture is the external battery. Obviously, this will not work with my receiver. But, do you guys see anything worth keeping? I learned along time ago that with these types of hobbies, you might throw a few bucks away while learning. No big deal. It's worth a few bucks to learn something. Is even the battery worth keeping?
Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
Bob

Cool pictures. :D First picture is the power supply, second is the VC-2 commercial descrambler. What caught my eye is how big the battery is on the board vs what they use for consumers.

If the thing still fires up and the unit ID is good you could use it with your 922 for FTA. It will have to connect up to the baseband out RCA jack on the back of the 922 to get signal. If you take a picture of the jacks on the back of the descrambler I can tell you what would connect where to interface it.

It did fire up before I tore it apart. TVROPRO, I am very impressed that you would know how to hook it up as is. Right now, I have a bid on Ebay to get the correct one. If I should lose the bid, I may take you up on that idea. For now, thanks so much for helping me with this. I may get back to you .

Ok, I got the correct descrambler today. It looks just like TVROPRO's picture. It fits perfect. But, my 4DTV receiver says: "Videocipher module cannot be found. Please check to make sure it is properly connected." I have slid the module out and back in twice. I even used rubbing alcohol to clean the connections. Does anyone have any suggestions? If it fits, it must be the right unit. I have an email into the guy from Ebay who sold it to me to make sure it was working when he sold it.
Thanks
Bob

Ok, I got the correct descrambler today. It looks just like TVROPRO's picture. It fits perfect. But, my 4DTV receiver says: "Videocipher module cannot be found. Please check to make sure it is properly connected." I have slid the module out and back in twice. I even used rubbing alcohol to clean the connections. Does anyone have any suggestions? If it fits, it must be the right unit. I have an email into the guy from Ebay who sold it to me to make sure it was working when he sold it.
Thanks
Bob

This might be silly, but make sure the metal levers are out on the 4DTV before inserting the board. They're used to hold the VC2 in place.

Not a silly question but I did remember to do that. But, thanks for the suggestion.

maybe the battery of the VCII is dead? just a thought

I was wondering the same thing John Popper. Maybe I can replace it.

Ok, I got the correct descrambler today. It looks just like TVROPRO's picture. It fits perfect. But, my 4DTV receiver says: "Videocipher module cannot be found. Please check to make sure it is properly connected." I have slid the module out and back in twice. I even used rubbing alcohol to clean the connections. Does anyone have any suggestions? If it fits, it must be the right unit. I have an email into the guy from Ebay who sold it to me to make sure it was working when he sold it.
Thanks
Bob

If you cannot get it to work out I have one you can have for shipping. Shipping should not be too much. I'm located in NW Nevada. Not sure if the battery is ok but it has been plugged into a receiver which is never shut off.

Thanks J.A.S. The guy from Ebay is going to replace it. If it doesn't work out, I may get back to you. Thanks again for the offer.

Welcome :)

J.A.S.,
Check you P.M. I sent you one. I am not sure it worked. Either way, I am interested in your VCII descrambler. The Ebay guy says he has no more.
Thanks
Bob(husker)

J.A.S.,
Check you P.M. I sent you one. I am not sure it worked. Either way, I am interested in your VCII descrambler. The Ebay guy says he has no more.
Thanks
Bob(husker)

Got it.

If any one is interested I have two VCII modules, one is a VCRS, the other is an older model.
The last time I checked they both still had close to 3v on the batteries, but that was over a year ago. I tried posting them on eBay at that time but there was no interest shown. If there is any interest I can recheck the batteries again...

Thanks to the generosity of “Just Another Sucker,” I now have a descrambler that my 4DTV 922 recognizes. Of course, I now have another problem. While on the G1 satellite, I press 9 and the receiver tells me to turn to the nearest analog station to view this menu. It says to turn to channel 21. I turned to 21 and pressed 9 again from the option menu and it says you now must turn to channel 20. Of course, when I turn to 20 and repeat the process, it tells me to turn to 21.

Any suggestions?
Thanks
Bob

Ignore the message. Go to G5 channel 9 or 14 or C3 channel 13 and you will be tuned to a VC2 channel.

Thanks TVROPRO. That confirms my unit is working fine. My system is now fully up and running. Hurray!!!!:)