Used equipment: useful or not?

[Pepper]

I spent $2.19 this afternoon for a Hughes DirecTV Plus "Silver Edition" HIRD-E1. No remote, no card. Based on what these are going for on ebay, looks like I paid three times what it's worth

Is there anything this is useful for or is it not worth the effort? What would it take to make it actually work, i.e. get the "info" barker channels? It powers on and tells me to insert card but I haven't actually bothered connecting an antenna yet. Maybe as-is it could function as a signal strength meter or do I need a card even for that?

I guess will hang on to the receipt for tax time (charitable contribution to the goodwill store).

 

[colofan]

If you want music like for your stereo or different room that would be what I would use it for. I mean all the music is in the 800 channels and after you got the receiver in the range the channel up and down on the front of the unit is all you would need. Of course you could got to RS and get a universal remote.

 

[boba]

It will cost you $20 to get a card from Directv and at least $10 for a universal remote to give you minimum functionality. You don't know if the receiver will actually work and it is an old receiver. For $50 you can buy a new receiver,remote and card with a warranty if you need an additional receiver.

 

[Stargazer]

What if someone buys a used DirecTv receiver and wants to activate it and it does come with a P4 card? Do they always send out a new card and does the receiver have to have a clear balance and have to be cleared off the previous account just like the Dish Network receivers have to be?

 

[CablerMN]

Access cards are non-transferable. Different account, different card. Receivers on OTH, unlike Dish, do not carry the previous owner's balances. The newer receivers with a RID may cause a minor problem if the previous owner did not have the CSR release it from their account. Barking your way to level II tech support will usually fix any problems with that regard.

 

[mcsj]

Another good use of this old box is to trade it for free cable when they have satellite dish buyback.

 

[Stargazer]

I have people giving me DirecTv receivers (or selling them to me very cheap) some with the P4 cards lately that work and some like brand new. I figure if I didnt have to go through the runaround to get them activated that I may be able to find a use for them or sell them/install them for customers that want DirecTv service and make some money that way in which may not want a commitment (unless DirecTv requires that with all new activations).

 

[stevesmall]

access cards are not transferable, but if directv trys =to charge 20 dollars for card to activate, tell them never mind and let them know you arent going to pay for the card, they will send you the card at no charge

 

[charper1]

I bought my 2nd HD unit, a Zenith HD-SAT520, used off of ebay and the card was transferred to me and is being used right now. This card had been activated before, so it can depend on who you get and what they find when they punch up that card number. This was also just done in August.

 

[Stargazer]

Does it have to be the new P5 (or new 1 version that they have) in order to get it transferred to you or can it be the P4 as well that can be transferred?

 

[charper1]

mine was a P4 card.

 

[Stargazer]

Do they require you to have a phone line hooked up in order to keep them activated?

Do they require a contract everytime you add a receiver to an account?

Do they ship you a free triple-lnbf dish and require a contract for that to tune in your locals if you just signed up for service or do they have to come out to install it?\

Can a second DirecTv dish be hooked up to a switch to receive the locals or does the triple-lnbf dish have to be used? (For those areas that need the triple-lnbf dish for their locals).

 

[hdtvtechno]

Stargazer

No

Yes

Yes, U can install it yourself for free

Yes, But it would be easier to have the triple-lnbf dish.

 

[meStevo]

I bought my 2nd HD unit, a Zenith HD-SAT520, used off of ebay and the card was transferred to me and is being used right now. This card had been activated before, so it can depend on who you get and what they find when they punch up that card number. This was also just done in August.

This isn't possible in the system. Maybe the item was misrepresented or he swapped in a new access card, but once a card has been activated there is no possible way to move it to another account. That account owns it and you need a new (or old and unactivated P4 or newer) card.

 

[charper1]

This isn't possible in the system. Maybe the item was misrepresented or he swapped in a new access card, but once a card has been activated there is no possible way to move it to another account. That account owns it and you need a new (or old and unactivated P4 or newer) card.

Dude! They can do anything they want and you know nothing about my system, its purchase or the person I got it from. I have no reason to lie or mislead another user about my experience, nor does the previous owner.

I bought a used, 10mo old, D* receiver with the card that came with it when the original owner bought it and HAD ACTIVATED while he owned it. When I got the receiver from him, I called D* and the activated that SAME CARD for me the day it arrived.

The fact is D* DID reactivate this card. If that CSR made a mistake then that was her fault, but it CAN and DID happen.

 

[Stargazer]

So if someone gets cards from DirecTv for their receivers then it would be like a credit card in which they could use in any other receiver that they would get if that person would want to swap a receiver?

 

[DTV-T2-Tech]

There is no way to tranfer a act. card to a diffrent account, not possible in the system.

 

[charper1]

zzzz..

 

[fkostyn]

I work at a retailer, and the cards can be "reactivated" but, they do require the newer cards.

 

[Stargazer]

The receivers I have either have no card or the P4 card (with the exception of one that has the HU Football card). Is the blue P4 card considered the newer card or would I have to have a newer card in order to have a chance of getting them activated?