Big Dish Needs Help

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melro

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Dec 11, 2008
30
2
I have an old big dish with Motorola 920 hooked to General Instruments 4DTV receiver. I use NPS for programming. All of a sudden I can't get CNN on G5 channel 5. All of G5 is black but I get audio? I've gone into options, installation, change dish setting etc. to no avail. I've tried to manually tune it in. I used my TI filter because it's analog. Still no picture. I think my dish drifted off and the auto finder for satellites sure didn't work. Do you think one of my LNB's went out? There has got to be a way for me to sync on 125 degrees W. And help would be greatly appreciated. I'm paying for programming, I'm not getting. I get all the digital channels just fine.
 
Could be

Could be the LNB and you might want to check to make sure The VCII board is working correctly...I guess you have tried other satellites? Check all the connections...I have had to reinsert my VCII board before several times when it sit for long periods of time without being used or having power connected to it...I think sometimes the connections just get dirty or something...could be the battery on the board...
 
check everything

If he's getting audio on CNN most likely the VC2 is locking on the signal. Still might be a good shot to try unplugging, remove vc2 board, clean contacts with eraser and re-insert it..hope that doesn't wipe the 920's memory.
Would check to see if he's getting other channels on same satellite, same polarity, then the opposite polarity too. Prob something minor, or even an uplink glitch, if the other channels are working on analog.
 
Thanks to all. What's a VC2 board? It seems like something I could do. And I think it might be the problem. I have a parrot...dust, dust, dust. If someone could tell me where the board is, I've cleaned contacts before. My receiver is probably full of feathers.
 
VC2 board

OK I looked around and found that it's the video cipher 2 board that descrambles analog? I've yet to find where it is. Thanks.
 
OK got it. It's all a pink box. And on the back of my receiver it says open ejector arms before inserting VCR module. So I unplug take back off pull out pink module clean it up and put it back where I found it after opening some sort of ejector arms correct?

I'm not too worried about this, I've put together circuits on boards before albeit a long time ago.

Thanks again. This looks like something I might have to do once in awhile anyway with a parrot.
 
Thanks

Learn something new everyday. It'll be my weekend project.
 
Be forewarned about a dead battery BEFORE YOU DO THIS!
I've still got to replace mine but I have mine in a 1000VA UPS "just in case"...
Just do a search on "4DTV battery replacement"
 
melro - There are some very IMPORTANT warnings that have been posted, and are worth repeating..

Turbosat said - "Still might be a good shot to try unplugging, remove vc2 board, clean contacts with eraser and re-insert it..hope that doesn't wipe the 920's memory." .

Do not try to remove and re-insert the VC2 board with the power plugged in - it'll blow up the VC2 board for sure, and most likely will take the 920 with it too. Make sure that the receiver is unplugged from power before removing the board.

There's also the note to hope that it doesn't wipe the 920's memory.. There is a battery in the receiver from the factory that keeps the unit ID in memory. Over time the battery goes dead and if the receiver is unplugged for more than a few seconds, it can lose it's ID - at which point the receiver becomes a good analog receiver and dish mover, but it cannot be subscribed because it has lost it's identity.

What you may want to also take into consideration is that the Motorola Access Control Centre will no longer authorize that analog VC2 board after December 31 of this year.. CNN/HN/TNT/Weather will all be available in digital at that time supposedly..
 
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