Ebay Coolsat 5k maybe not such a bargain

[JohninSD]

Well the title pretty much says it - I bought an allegedly functional Coolsat 5k off Ebay for about $30 with the shipping. Unfortunately I can't get it to do anything useful. When it's connected to TV with A/V cables it seems to go into an endless loop. What looks like a channel info bar for an encrypted channel flashes briefly on the screen at the same time that the display on the front panel of the Coolsat flashes a single digit number and lights up the "Remote" indicator. Then the front panel display shows four hyphens or dashes and the TV goes blank. After a few seconds the cycle repeats. Power and channel up/down buttons the front of the Coolsat have no effect and neither does the remote. I think the remote is OK as it works with my TV. I've downloaded the Coolsat loader and the FTA firmware to my PC but can't load anything to the Coolsat as I can't get it out of its endless loop.

Anyone have any suggestions? Or do I just have something for the recycling center?

thanks,

John

 

[funkypc]

I have seen similar problems where the CS5000 will not boot. I have never had a problem using the loader to load the factory software, or the software from http://ftafirmware.freehostia.com
You don't have to press the power button on for the loader to upload the firmware. But if it loops as soon as you plug it in, then you may be out of luck...

 

[Long Hair]

if it's a bad flash,you may need to jtag it.

 

[JohninSD]

Got it working

I'm too embarrassed to state the exact problem - suffice it to say that operator error was involved. I bought this unit to use at the dish with a small TV to make alignment easier - it looks like it will work well for that. And maybe it will go along in the camper to watch PBS in the middle of nowhere - if I can find a dish/tripod setup that will pack down somehow to fit in the limited space of a truck/camper - maybe I can carry the dish on the roof with the kayaks -

 

[turbosat]

Go ahead and spill, somebody else may goof up the same way!

 

[funkypc]

I think I might know. No channels scanned into the CS? Possibly combined with the fact that it was not hooked up to the TV?

And also a note - you can't JTAG the Coolsat 5000.

 

[JohninSD]

What I did

What I did was I forgot that the DB25 connector on my laptop is connected to a parallel port rather than an RS232 port. I used to know that and now I know it again. Anyway, my antique desktop PC has an actual RS232 port and using that worked fine to load the new firmware and satellite list (thanks to Iceberg for posting those). Now I just need to take the time to learn the idiosyncrasies of the Coolsat.

 

[Mr Tony]

sweet
glad you got it working. The CS5000 is a nice receiver for SD only

 

[AcWxRadar]

Well the title pretty much says it - I bought an allegedly functional Coolsat 5k off Ebay for about $30 with the shipping. Unfortunately I can't get it to do anything useful. When it's connected to TV with A/V cables it seems to go into an endless loop. What looks like a channel info bar for an encrypted channel flashes briefly on the screen at the same time that the display on the front panel of the Coolsat flashes a single digit number and lights up the "Remote" indicator. Then the front panel display shows four hyphens or dashes and the TV goes blank. After a few seconds the cycle repeats. Power and channel up/down buttons the front of the Coolsat have no effect and neither does the remote. I think the remote is OK as it works with my TV. I've downloaded the Coolsat loader and the FTA firmware to my PC but can't load anything to the Coolsat as I can't get it out of its endless loop.

Anyone have any suggestions? Or do I just have something for the recycling center?

thanks,

John

What I did was I forgot that the DB25 connector on my laptop is connected to a parallel port rather than an RS232 port. I used to know that and now I know it again. Anyway, my antique desktop PC has an actual RS232 port and using that worked fine to load the new firmware and satellite list (thanks to Iceberg for posting those). Now I just need to take the time to learn the idiosyncrasies of the Coolsat.

John,

Whatever you do, don't put that receiver on the scrap pile!

I know the Coolsat 5000 and 6000 models pretty well and I can recover it for you or guide you through the recovery process. As long as the hardware is not the problem, there is always a way to restore the Coolsat operation.

I will present one handy "back-door" tool at this point for you to use. There is a "hidden" menu for factory use that you can utilize for a few specific last resort measures. One being the NVRAM CLEAR function. But, you have to get to this menu in order to apply it. This can be troublesome if the box won't boot properly in the first place, but if you are patient, you can get there.

Here are the methods to access this diagnostic menu when things are working fairly well.

From the STANDBY mode (no channel being viewed – just the clock displayed):

DIAGNOSTIC MENU: Press channel UP button on front of STB and hold, then press power button on front of STB and hold until menu appears, then release the power button and then release the channel up button.

STB COPY – FIRMWARE: Press power button on front of STB and hold, then press channel DOWN button on front of STB and hold until menu appears, then release the power button, then release the channel down button.

STB COPY – CHANNEL DATA: Press power button on front of STB and hold, then press channel UP button on front of STB and hold until menu appears, then release the power button, then release the channel up button.


From the ON mode (STB fully powered up and channel being viewed):

DIAGNOSTIC MENU: Press power button on front of STB and hold, then press channel UP button on front of STB and hold until menu appears, then release the power button, then release the channel up button.

STB COPY – FIRMWARE: Press channel DOWN button on front of STB and hold, then press power button on front of STB and hold until menu appears, then release the power button and then release the channel down button.

STB COPY – CHANNEL DATA: Press channel UP button on front of STB and hold, then press power button on front of STB and hold until menu appears, then release the power button, and then the channel up button.

NOTE:

The DIAGNOSTIC menu has the NVRAM clear function within it. If you wish to clear the NVRAM, once you are in the diagnostic menu, just use the volume and channel buttons on the remote to highlight the NVRAM Clear box and press OK.

If the system is very corrupt, you may have to turn the rear switch OFF and hold down a combination of these front panel buttons and then swich the power on. This may require an assistant unless you have three or more hands. Ha Ha!

Give it a try with a working Coolsat so that you can become familiar with the access techiques. I have some other tips that you can utilize via your PC if you need them. Let me know and I will type out the instructions here.

Good luck and best wishes.

RADAR