DSR922 - Procedure to return to service ??

[tekjunkie02]

I will have a C-Band dish again soon.
My DSR922 was removed from service about 3 years ago!
I want to make sure it's ready before I hook it up again, I'm not sure what I need...
--Can I just hook it up and go? Or, do I need to prepare it somehow?
--It was removed from service before the "big change", so I'm nervous about powering and hooking it back up.
--I removed the VCII module a year or so ago, worried that the battery would leak, It looks good, as does the 922.

Is there a guide/tutorial somewhere that will show me what I should (and should not) do?

And, is anyone still selling 4DTV subscriptions?

Thanks,

 

[azcoder]

I will have a C-Band dish again soon.
My DSR922 was removed from service about 3 years ago!
I want to make sure it's ready before I hook it up again, I'm not sure what I need...
--Can I just hook it up and go? Or, do I need to prepare it somehow?
--It was removed from service before the "big change", so I'm nervous about powering and hooking it back up.
--I removed the VCII module a year or so ago, worried that the battery would leak, It looks good, as does the 922.

Is there a guide/tutorial somewhere that will show me what I should (and should not) do?

And, is anyone still selling 4DTV subscriptions?

Thanks,

If your unit was in working order, just hook it back up. You might want to get as close as you can to the satellite you were on when you took it out of service. DO NOT DO A MASTER RESET! You can find subscriptions here: http://www.programming-center.net/ They will be on available on X4. You should also look at the discussion on this forum for the free 4DTV Mapmaster restoration program and the the maps that are available. First though, if you have not replaced the battery, do so as soon as possible. Good luck and welcome back!

 

[trinidex]

The above is all correct and the way to go.

Most important is to check the UnitID.

The number on-screen must match the ID on the back of the receiver, else you can't sub.

 

[waylew]

Plug it in,hook a tv to it,after it goes thru the warm up go to OPTIONS 6-5,if the unit id # matches the label on the back of the receiver you're good.You do not have to have it connected to a dish to check this.
While you have it on you can see what sat it was on before it was disconnected,but unless you're hooking it back to the same dish in the same place,you're going to have to reprogram the sats and limits anyway.
The VCII is virtually worthless,toss it don't reinstall it.
Call up X4 (it still doesn't need to be hooked to a dish) what is the highest channel #?If 941 you're good,if it stops in the 850's you'll need a MapMaster.
You will have to convert to the HITS provider stream to subscribe but we can worry about that after you get it up and running.
If it's a Motorola 922 you're relatively safe (for a little while) on the battery,if it's a General Instrument 922 the battery should be replaced SOON.
Oh,and if the numbers (unit id) don't match,it's already toast,not subscribable.It still could be used as a dish mover and get some "free"DCII stuff,with a new battery.

 

[wallyhts]

Here is the rate card for SRL.

 

[tekjunkie02]

Also, I've read thru info to replace the battery, I have a few questions...
-- Is there any problem with running 2 batteries in parallel for a few minutes while replacing?
-- How about just using clip leads to attach/connect a 2 battery socket/holder, fasten it securely to the frame, put 1 battery in it, and remove(cut out) the original battery? Then, whenever the battery needs to be replaced again, just put the new one in the empty side of the battery holder, and remove the old one? -- simple, quick, easy, no soldering

Am I missing something, some reason not to do this?

thanks for all the great info,

BTW, I hope my receiver didn't die in storage.. LOL, that would be a shame.
I'll be plugging it in to verify soon.

 

[primestar31]

You solder in the new battery FIRST, in parallel as you said. You then cut the battery wires on the old battery, close to the body of it. It doesn't hurt to have them paralleled during that time, it's a requirement. Just don't accidently mix up Plus and Minus when you do that.

I personally wouldn't use a battery socket such as you are talking about, as there is too much potential to losing connection, which means you will lose your Unit id fairly quickly. I've seen it take almost two minutes of battery removal before the unit id (on Videocipher modules at least) gets wiped, BUT, I wouldn't count on having even seconds before it could be wiped.

 

[tekjunkie02]

Good point, but,( I know... here he goes again! LOL) I cannot solder the way I used to, anymore. One eye is now almost blind, very bad for depth perception. And the other is weak. So, I was trying to avoid soldering, thinking it to be more dangerous, for me. I could use the AA size battery holders with a velcro strap to keep the batt(s) in place. I guess I could manage to solder leads to the existing battery tabs, that might work ok. Let me know what you think, please.

My 922 was a factory refurbished Motorola, so I think I've got a couple years of battery life left.. I'll just leave it alone for now and think about it.

Ready to power it up now, anything available FTA on Ku DCII ?

 

[tekjunkie02]

Plug it in,hook a tv to it,after it goes thru the warm up go to OPTIONS 6-5,if the unit id # matches the label on the back of the receiver you're good.You do not have to have it connected to a dish to check this.
While you have it on you can see what sat it was on before it was disconnected,but unless you're hooking it back to the same dish in the same place,you're going to have to reprogram the sats and limits anyway.
The VCII is virtually worthless,toss it don't reinstall it.
Call up X4 (it still doesn't need to be hooked to a dish) what is the highest channel #?If 941 you're good,if it stops in the 850's you'll need a MapMaster.
You will have to convert to the HITS provider stream to subscribe but we can worry about that after you get it up and running.
If it's a Motorola 922 you're relatively safe (for a little while) on the battery,if it's a General Instrument 922 the battery should be replaced SOON.
Oh,and if the numbers (unit id) don't match,it's already toast,not subscribable.It still could be used as a dish mover and get some "free"DCII stuff,with a new battery.

The Unit ID is in row "A", does not appear anywhere i can see on the box physically.
Receiver number is "B", it matches label on rear of receiver
Auth status ZK
current version: ...EC
trip counter 0 , Channels 4993
powered up on W3-24

on X4, last channel is 856

What else we need from this?

Can I hook my Ku LNBF to it and get anything?

thanks again,

 

[waylew]

Okay the "B"# matches the number on the label so you should be good there.
Your"Channels 4993" is high which can cause problems trying to convert to the HITS stream,under 4800 would be okay.
X4 856 is bad,way old maps,it can work that way but you'd be missing some channels and the channel numbers would be wrong for the ones you get.With the high channel count and the old maps,it really needs an update with MapMaster.
There really is nothing on ku for a 4D,except maybe a stray temporary analog feed,lotsa luck trying to find one of those anymore,or the Canadian stuff and you do NOT want to go there,will overload the memory.Speaking of which,goto Options 6-0-5,right arrow to Diagnostics G,what is the 5th number on the top row?If it's 1920 you're already overloaded.
Read up on MapMaster and if you think you're comfortable doing that,get the BDM board and have at it.If not it would be best to send it off to ATS and they can redo the maps and install a new battery.Shipping could get rather spendy tho.

ATS Electronics, Inc.

 

[Bongu]

The problem with the battery holders is that they will oxidize over time and cause the battery voltage to the receiver to drop. This can be a slow process, but when dis-similar metals touch there is a galvanic reaction that is hard to predict.

Sent from my Timex Sinclair 2K using SatelliteGuys

 

[nhulst]

DO NOT DO A MASTER RESET!

Can someone explain the rationale for this? I don't understand why it should matter. If it is desired to have everything under the sun mapped, one can always MapMaster the box, and if it's only desired to have the channels that can be subbed, you should be able to get that over the air on W5. What am I missing?

 

[tekjunkie02]

The problem with the battery holders is that they will oxidize over time and cause the battery voltage to the receiver to drop. This can be a slow process, but when dis-similar metals touch there is a galvanic reaction that is hard to predict.

Sent from my Timex Sinclair 2K using SatelliteGuys

Okay, I'm convinced, no battery holder!

How about solder new batt leads directly to old batt tabs, then, clip out old batt?? That's my last try

 

[Bongu]

Okay, I'm convinced, no battery holder!

How about solder new batt leads directly to old batt tabs, then, clip out old batt?? That's my last try

That is the way I would do it. Make sure the soldering iron has a true isolated tip. I used a butane soldering iron to do mine.

Sent from my Timex Sinclair 2K using SatelliteGuys

 

[waylew]

Okay, I'm convinced, no battery holder!

How about solder new batt leads directly to old batt tabs, then, clip out old batt?? That's my last try

You can,but you have to be really careful not to melt the solder where the leads go thru the board.Or drop a blob of solder somewhere where it shouldn't be.
Oh and did you check the TDT number,the 6-0-5 screen G thing I mentioned in my last post?

 

[tekjunkie02]

According to my s/n, mine is from 300th day of 2001. I bought it as new, factory refurbished, so I don't know if the s/n is from original manufacture, or after being refurbished.
Anyway, I'll replace the battery, I'm confident I can do it, I was professionally trained to be an electronics technician and worked as one for many years until the micro computers started coming out, then, I became a computer technician for many years... sooo, I know what I need to do, and how it should be done. Only problem I have now is that parts are too small, and lights are not bright enough...LOL!! But I'll get it done.

Waylew, I don't have it hooked up now, and I didn't check the TDT number, but I believe it was somewhere around mid 1700's. I've got the dish (Sadoun SD180PM) arriving tomorrow. I've been focusing on getting ready to set it up.

My big question now is:

Do I need to change my maps? I'm still on EC firmware, my highest listed channel on X4 is 856.
If I use it just the way it is now, what will happen?
-- will anything change, like maps, and firmware without me doing anything? Is that bad, or good?
-- If I get a small sub, will i then be able to get all the freebies, or can I without a sub?
-- Please explain how this all works, I've been cramming, reading tons of info about this, but I just need it laid out in simple basic terms, like, do zzz to prevent yyy, or don't do xxx, or else ???...etc.

Thanks,

 

[trinidex]

Tekjunkie I know how you feel with what should/shouldn't do.

My 2c....

Freebies typically require a unit that has at some point been subscribed

If you don't re-map but do sub, channels will work but be in the wrong place

What I did....I have a bunch of 922s which I keep subbed, for most I did a "soft remap" which doesn't turn it into a brick and useless as a dish mover, but provides accurate mapping, for a couple I used MapMaster from this great site to update the maps, IMHO this provides the best of both worlds.

 

[primestar31]

Here you go Tekjunkie, I have to use one now also: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130749383657?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

With it, I can solder two hairs together, lol.

Oh, yeah, maybe somebody here can do the remapping for you if you ask.

 

[tekjunkie02]

Trinidex, thanks. couple more questions if you don't mind..

How many sources are there now for programming? I'm seeing several names, but they all seem to be the same.

Mine had been subbed about 3-4 years ago, will it still get the freebies?

So, even though I don't have channels higher than 856 on X4, those higher channels I can still get but on different numbers/tiles... is that right? I won't be missing any, just have to know where to find them?

And, I can still use it as the dish mover, just have to know where I'm going, right?

I could live with that..

I'll keep an eye on the Map master project and if/when I think it's worth it, then I'll get it.

Let me know if I'm missing something, and thanks again.

 

[tekjunkie02]

Prime*, yes, I need one of those, I've been thinking about one, just keep forgetting
Do you reccomend that one, from that dealer, or was that just for show?

PM me about the map loading, please...

If I could just load the maps, that's one thing, but buying that cable, that kind of puts it in the "only if I have to" category..LOL!!

Thanks,