Dead Pansat 3500SD

[Inno]

Before you get the wrong idea I am NOT trying to use this receiver for illegal purposes................but I suspect someone may have. I picked it up from a former co-worker who got it from a friend of his. The unit is completely dead, no lights on the display but I have metered the power supply and all required voltages are present. Also some of the ICs on the board get slightly warm after it has been plugged in for awhile which is a good indication that there's something happening. I'm wondering if anyone would know how to re-flash all the original software to this unit so it can be used for FTA? I've downloaded the software from the Pansat US site but when connected to the computer with the null modem cable, the progress meter just stays on 0% indefinitely. I even tried leaving it for 20min-1/2 an hour.
Any ideas?

 

[TreDEE]

JTAG it.

 

[WyrTwister]

Before you get the wrong idea I am NOT trying to use this receiver for illegal purposes................but I suspect someone may have. I picked it up from a former co-worker who got it from a friend of his. The unit is completely dead, no lights on the display but I have metered the power supply and all required voltages are present. Also some of the ICs on the board get slightly warm after it has been plugged in for awhile which is a good indication that there's something happening. I'm wondering if anyone would know how to re-flash all the original software to this unit so it can be used for FTA? I've downloaded the software from the Pansat US site but when connected to the computer with the null modem cable, the progress meter just stays on 0% indefinitely. I even tried leaving it for 20min-1/2 an hour.
Any ideas?

Do not know if the 3500 uses a straight or null modem cable ?

Try this:

Kill power to the Pansat .

Get the loader ready , choose the file , click the transfer icon and hold that icon down .

Turn power back on , to the Pansat .

Wait 3 seconds & then release the mouse button , to start the transfer .

This often works on a Fortec Ultra , if you mess up during a channel list transfer . The Ultra is the same as the Pansat 2500A . They use a straight through cable .

If this does not work , I have jtagged the Ultra . Have not jtagged a 3500 .

Wyr

 

[Inno]

I found a post on another site about j-tagging, wasn't sure if that was the accepted method in these cases. Where do I get the original file to flash back to it?

 

[GrumpyGuy]

With a 3500 SD you can remove the SD memory card from the receiver, write the factory bin to the card, reinstall the card in the receiver, and try flashing it that way.

 

[Mr Tony]

files are at www.pansatusa.com

 

[Inno]

Unfortunately I don't have an SD card reader/writer for my 'puter. That'd probably be the easiest way. Not sure if I really want to build a J-tag for it. Has anyone done that? How hard was it?

 

[LordAlex]

If you got the receiver for free then spending $25 for ready made jtag cable on ebay is still a deal.

 

[Pepper]

Maybe a SD-card based digital camera with USB cable would work? I don't have such a receiver or camera so this is only a wild guess.

 

[Inno]

If you got the receiver for free then spending $25 for ready made jtag cable on ebay is still a deal.

That's true, but I think if I go that route I'll probably build one. From the looks of it, the only place I see that I would assume is the j-tag "port" is right in the front left hand corner of the board to the left of the card slot. Looks like I could use an old hard drive ribbon cable to get started. Might not be so bad after all.

 

[mastermesh]

30 or so dollars should get you an external usb camera card reader that can do sd at Wal-Mart... Trust me, having the ability to use sd cards and stuff as external disks like floppies used to be is nice. You can pop cards in from cameras, carry your channel list from the pasat in to the computer to edit in channel master, use mp3s in the pansat, all sorts of stuff!

 

[Inno]

Very good point mastermesh, sure beats having to haul the receiver to the computer every time. That may be my best bet. Still wondering if this would work as opposed to J-tagging it. I guess there's one way to find out and either way, I'll probably have many more uses for an SD reader.

 

[rdel]

Here's a couple for a good price
http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&item=ACC10914
http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&item=ACC110022

 

[Tron]

Sams has a nice 25-in-1 external USB2 reader (Stratitec) for $15

 

[Inno]

I've just been doing some reading on the Pansat site. Looks like if the unit has a b-70 error then the SD function will not be available. I'm also not even getting a B-70 error or any other sort of indicator on the display.
Think I'm gonna try building a J-tag, seems like good Sunday project. Thanks for all your help and suggestions, I'll let you all know how it turns out...........or maybe I should be putting my dish up while it's still light out and worrying about the J-tag this evening...........

 

[Inno]

Alright, I've found the 20 pin connector and have a home-made j-tag built. Can anyone tell me which pin is which on the receiver??? I've searched and searched and can't come up with a pin configuration.