One of these days i'll start moving it around the room again to find a new sweet spot so it will be off my chair.

That would be outside, at least 10' above the roofline.

I got my new one very promptly from Solid Signal. UHF is back. But..it did an odd power off to red light, power on, off to red a few times, stopped, and has been fine for many hours. My fingers are crossed..It acted like I just plugged it in, but power plug was secure.

My CM-7000 is failing the Flash Test in the diagnostic menu (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14588545&highlight=diagnostic#post14588545). The box seems to be functioning well in all respects otherwise. I'm wondering if anyone else who've received their CM-7000 recently is also having a Fail on the Flash Test.

My CM-7000 is failing the Flash Test in the diagnostic menu (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14588545&highlight=diagnostic#post14588545). The box seems to be functioning well in all respects otherwise. I'm wondering if anyone else who've received their CM-7000 recently is also having a Fail on the Flash Test.

Thanks for the diagnostic menu headsup...

Am doing said diagnostics on unit 1 of 3 as I type this...is this process really long & tedious? The audiobeep is taking like forever...:rolleyes:

The Audiobeep Test doesn't end on it's own - you can stop it by pressing the OK button. Whether you can hear it is the actual test - so it requires you to give it a pass. I don't know which button you'd need to press to fail it and see it turn red.

The Audiobeep Test doesn't end on it's own - you can stop it by pressing the OK button. Whether you can hear it is the actual test - so it requires you to give it a pass. I don't know which button you'd need to press to fail it and see it turn red.

Thanks, snuff. I redid the test and my unit gets the notorious "red" grade on the flash test...even with several reboots. No apparent problems though...but wonder if there are any available fixes to a failed flash test.:)

Beep Test doesn't seem to do anything. Flash, Ram and Tuner Pass. Video test goes to a 4 section black & white pattern until OK is pressed again, then shows Pass.

'Menu' exits, then any button reboots.

What am I missing?

With the audiobeep test I hear a repeating beep from the TV speaker. What build date does your box have in the setup section of the regular menu? Did you buy yours recently?

Beep Test doesn't seem to do anything.

If it helps, mine doesn't either out of the RCA audio output jacks.
Perhaps it is only on the RF modulator Ch-3/4 out?

If it helps, mine doesn't either out of the RCA audio output jacks.
Perhaps it is only on the RF modulator Ch-3/4 out?

Mine definitely work via the RCA jacks. But note that the level is fairly low compared to normal audio.

It would have been nice if they had alternated between left and right channels (with some sort of indication which was which on the screen.) Would help confirm that the unit was hooked up properly.

I had one of the tests fail on one of my boxes a while back. Can't remember which one - maybe the flash test. But I retested it a second time and it worked fine. Maybe a SECDED thing?

For those of you having problems with reception since June 12th, are these now VHF hi stations?

My CM-7000s, I have two, are almost unable to receive the 2 stations here that switched back to VHF hi. They break up or will sometimes read "no signal." This is the CM-7000's problem. On my other CECBs, the 2 hi VHF stations are the strongest stations I get. Only the CM-7000s have this failure. Since the CM-7000 has the best reception, by far, on UHF, this is really disappointing.

Oh, and I also have the problem mentioned above with intermittent blurry PQ, on my Ion station. With these two newly found problems, I drop the CM-7000 to a not recommended.

I'm just now re-hooking back up my CM-7000 since finishing my basement. To your comment, I find it interesting that my DirecTV H20 receiver will pick up FOX, now that it has switched over to hi band VHF (RF channel 7), just fine, but the CM does not pick it up at all. There's no way to manually add a channel, is there?

I suspect the issue may not be the CM.

I have freezes on pbs at 30 or 50.
Same on all units though.
An engineer told me to wait for them to troubleshoot.

There seem to be subtleties to transmission in digital.
My problem now is vhf 5 and 13.
I think an antenna issue.
I have some issues with one of two stations that are broadcasting off the same tower in uhf, nearly the same frequencies.
I had the same thing in analog sometimes.
It is something they are doing.

CM has scan and add.
Not sure about direct dial.

I'm guessing Channel Master and other companies are not manufacturing any more of their boxes. Am I right?

It looks that way. Stark says they still have three of them http://www.starkelectronic.com/cm7000.htmI'm guessing Channel Master and other companies are not manufacturing any more of their boxes. Am I right?

If production does resume, I think it will be a new slightly modified model that adds features not allowed under the CECB program. That unused jack on the back of the unit meant for SPDIF digital audio could finally be enabled. Clear QAM support might be a possibility and would be a growing market as cable systems convert to all digital operation. If there is a vendor that will continue to produce DTV converter boxes, it might be Channel Master because they are one of the few manufacturers left that supply products for OTA television.

Monday 07-27-09

I just hung up with Channel Master.

They will produce the CM-7000's for a few more months still.
The scarcity of them is only due to high demand they said.

They are available directly here
ChannelMasterStore.com (http://www.channelmasterstore.com/Set_Top_Boxes_s/27.htm)
$69.99 with FREE S&H

They also sell the Remote Control (http://www.channelmasterstore.com/product_p/cm-4513170.htm) separately,
in case you break/loose yours somehow.
It is $19.99,
also with FREE S&H

If production does resume, I think it will be a new slightly modified model that adds features not allowed under the CECB program. That unused jack on the back of the unit meant for SPDIF digital audio could finally be enabled. Clear QAM support might be a possibility and would be a growing market as cable systems convert to all digital operation. If there is a vendor that will continue to produce DTV converter boxes, it might be Channel Master because they are one of the few manufacturers left that supply products for OTA television.

They indicated on the phone that releasing a modified version for the last few months of production was highly unlikely....

They also sell the Remote Control (http://www.channelmasterstore.com/product_p/cm-4513170.htm) separately,
in case you break/loose yours somehow.

I'd like to do both on mine...;)

This damn CM remote is a pain to use.

Any preferred affordable learning remote you guys can recommend? :)

I'd like to do both on mine...;)

This damn CM remote is a pain to use.

Any preferred affordable learning remote you guys can recommend? :)


I have a Sony 8 function remote, RM-VL600. I like the layout with volume/mute on one side, and channel/recall on the opposite side. Amazon has it in black or silver. If you prefer silver, one of their alternate vendors has it for under $19 shipped. See link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-RM-VL600-8-Device-Universal-Learning/dp/B000F7JCRA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1249049716&sr=1-1

Silver, but they don't show the closeups like the link above:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YDGUIY/sr=8-2/qid=1249046017/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1249046017&sr=8-2&seller=

I'd like to do both on mine...;)

This damn CM remote is a pain to use.

Any preferred affordable learning remote you guys can recommend? :)

The Universal Remote Control R7 or R6 are good models. They are sold at Best Buy. Some remote controls it can't learn, notably the Roku Netflix player. I don't have the CM-7000, but it works flawlessly with all the other converter boxes I've tried.

This damn CM remote is a pain to use.

Any preferred affordable learning remote you guys can recommend? :)
I took a sharp razor blade and cut off the unused buttons flush with the surface. This makes finding the buttons that are used the most much easier to do in the dark just by feel. That remote is now one of my favorites to use! I also cut off the ‘subtitle’ and ‘audio’ buttons, since I never use them. And if ever I just *had* to use them, a pencil point would still be able to push the cut off buttons.

I still never understood why they put "unused" buttons on the thing. why not just leave them plastic-ed over like a lot of remotes do with unused buttons?

I still never understood why they put "unused" buttons on the thing. why not just leave them plastic-ed over like a lot of remotes do with unused buttons?

Perhaps, after the CECB brouhaha ends, they will find a use for these unlabeled buttons. Cheaper to cast new 'rubber' lables than change the case molding?

tom

Perhaps, after the CECB brouhaha ends, they will find a use for these unlabeled buttons. Cheaper to cast new 'rubber' lables than change the case molding?

tom

Gosh - there are only four unused buttons out of 34. (Option, PgU, PgD, and Text.) I have several remotes with far more unused buttons...

The CM-7000 does respond to "Pioneer cable box" codes. So lots of remotes will control a subset of it. (E.g., power, volume, channel selection - both up/down and channel entry.) I use a Panasonic, a Philips, and a couple of Sony remotes with my CM-7000s. None are 'learning' remotes.

The CM-7000 does respond to "Pioneer cable box" codes. So lots of remotes will control a subset of it. (E.g., power, volume, channel selection - both up/down and channel entry.) I use a Panasonic, a Philips, and a couple of Sony remotes with my CM-7000s. None are 'learning' remotes.

Am using a Samsung TSK3092WF on my CM, the Sammy remote has cable box codes 018, 020, 044, 074, 077 respectively...however, nothing seems to work.:confused:

Can anyone of you guys crack the code? Appreciate it greatly...:)

I have a Sony 8 function remote, RM-VL600. I like the layout with volume/mute on one side, and channel/recall on the opposite side. Amazon has it in black or silver. If you prefer silver, one of their alternate vendors has it for under $19 shipped.

Thanks for the tip, TR...I've been eyeing the Sony, but I'll see first if someone out there could crack the Samsung/Pioneer combination...

Am using a Samsung TSK3092WF on my CM, the Sammy remote has cable box codes 018, 020, 044, 074, 077 respectively...however, nothing seems to work.:confused:

Can anyone of you guys crack the code? Appreciate it greatly...:)

Obvious next question: Did you enable "Universal RC" in the CM-7000 Setup menu?

Obvious next question: Did you enable "Universal RC" in the CM-7000 Setup menu?

The univ RC was "On" ever since/default upon first use...never touched nor turned it off.

So obviously...yes.:D

Can someone explain how the favorites work on this unit, if they do?

Can someone explain how the favorites work on this unit, if they do?

The crazy favorites menu is, like you say, not really just the favorites. If you look at the bottom of the ‘favorites’ box, there are arrows saying something like ‘to see favorites, use the arrow key’. When you do, only the favorites will appear in the box. The CM box has by far the most sophisticated software running it, but along with that, it has a whole slew of oddities and bugs that just don’t make sense.

I can do that though until now I wasn't sure what button they meant.
Now what?
Is that all it does?
I wanted to be able to use a separate tuner list, not a menu.
Unless I'm missing something, it seems useless.
Can I set it as the selection list or do I always have to use that menu?

I still never understood why they put "unused" buttons on the thing. why not just leave them plastic-ed over like a lot of remotes do with unused buttons?

The good news is those unused buttons work on other boxes, Zinwell for one. It's convoluted though; there's a post or two showing the conversion, I believe on this thread or the Zinwell thread(s).

Can someone explain how the favorites work on this unit, if they do?

Mostly useless which you may have already discovered. Only works when you hit Favs, scroll down/select, hit enter...yaddi yaddi ya what's the point? Easier just to CH up/down or enter the #. They should have linked it into the CH buttons, or even better yet the big arrow buttons (ex: Zinwell). I take it CM is a top-notch HW company but with little SW expertise (the chips probably come with that "sophisticated software running it.").

Bizarre.
I was sure I was missing something.

Completely useless.

I would like to delete some from the primary list and access at random times.
But it won't do that.
All backward.

Bizarre.
I was sure I was missing something.

Completely useless.

I would like to delete some from the primary list and access at random times.
But it won't do that.
All backward.

Me too. The best I can do is use my Zinwell/VCR combo for the random ones and delete everything but my favs on my CM (main - S-video). I'm screwed while recording though.

Favorites:

To set up a few subchannels as favorites, go into the 'channel edit'->'all' menu. Check the subchannels that you want as favorites in the 'heart' column. Exit.

To select a favorite, press the FAV button. Then press the left or right arrow key. Press up or down to the desired entry and push the center OK button.

Useful if you live in a market with a lot of stations, but you mostly only watch a handful of them.

Useful if you live in a market with a lot of stations, but you mostly only watch a handful of them.

i usually delete all the lame channels. whatever is left is a fave! :)

"Favorites" was not a selection criterion for deciding what CECB to get, but the Zat favorites is so useful, I find myself turning on the Zat just for the favorites groups. The Zat lets me set up 8 different groups, which seemed like overkill, except that I now use 5 of them. The selected group works with both the channel up/down buttons and with the guide, so I don't have to do so much scrolling to see what's on for the channels I want to see. I have the groups set up so it's easy to remember what group is in which collection of channels.

With the CM, favorites is almost essential just so the rarely used channels can be accessible but not in the way.

i usually delete all the lame channels. whatever is left is a fave! :)

But you miss all the hot Mexican chickas on the Mexican stations during boredom breaks! :cool:

i usually delete all the lame channels. whatever is left is a fave!

But you miss all the hot Mexican chickas on the Mexican stations during boredom breaks!

Maybe those stations are on NordLoeweLabs's Favorites list.  We don't know which stations NLL considers lame.

Maybe those stations are on NordLoeweLabs's Favorites list.* We don't know which stations NLL considers lame.

Indeed. I'm used to my sub-layering of favs with my Zinwells; lots of Mexican stations down here in Tejas, I give them all their own group. One of 'em has a nice MTV-like music video sub-channel, in English no less.

So I have one more coupon that I can use. I wanted to pick up the CM because of the s-video and good picture quality I've read about. I do have the Apex 250 which also has s-video and it does provide a pretty nice picture but I think the tuner isn't all that great. Anyone know if the CM will appear again anywhere that I can use my coupon? Thanks.

Tiga

Anyone know if the CM will appear again anywhere that I can use my coupon?

Frys Electronics for one. There's a thread specific to your question a little further down the thread list.

Thanks - unfortunately there are no Frys near me and I didn't think they'll accept the coupon online. Or am I wrong??

Solid Signal has it - but they want $70. for it ($30. minus coupon - actually, $40. with shipping).

Solid Signal has it - but they want $70. for it ($30. minus coupon - actually, $40. with shipping).

Actually they're oos. I don't think they've had it in-stock for quite some time:( But I could be wrong.

Yeah, you're right. I think I need some sleep.

The Channel Master is worth finding,I lost all my coupons returning other brands
that were basically junk.The Zenith box was OK but it blended the stereo audio to mono.
The Channel Master CM-7000 is a winner for me when used with a 2-bay UHF antenna.
No other box I tried touched it for picture quality,the Zenith came close but would intermittently lose the signal and cut in and out.

I plan to travel to Altlanta next weekend and have scheduled couple of extra hours to hunt CM-7000 down with my last coupon in my wallet. Any one knows what can I do to have this endeavour better chance of success. Seems there are more than just couple of FRYs around the town. Any advice would be appreciated.

There are two Fry's in the Atlanta area. One near Duluth, and the other in Alpharetta on Highway 9. The Alpharetta store had a pile of CM7000s last time I was there, the first week in August.
If you get here on a Friday, Fry's was advertising sale items on the back page of AJC. They usually have a Sunday insert. I dropped my subscription the AJC a few months ago as I was tired of getting mad at the editorial page, so the information is a little old.
tom

There are two Fry's in the Atlanta area. One near Duluth, and the other in Alpharetta on Highway 9. The Alpharetta store had a pile of CM7000s last time I was there, the first week in August.
If you get here on a Friday, Fry's was advertising sale items on the back page of AJC. They usually have a Sunday insert. I dropped my subscription the AJC a few months ago as I was tired of getting mad at the editorial page, so the information is a little old.
tom

Tom,

Thanks, looks like it is not on sale this week.

Right about the time the Cowboys/Giants game kicked off (of course!) my CM went flaky, sort of an interline twitter effect. Lines and hash-marks were flashing like mad. Other images were all sparkly like when someone wears the wrong clothes patterns on TV (ex: certain dot and pinstripe patterns). Not pixellating. I spent the first quarter trying composite vs S-video, rescanning, then trying other boxes. After hooking it back up it worked fine so I suspect a hard reset (unplug) did the trick. I'm not 100% sure but I think I did cycle the power button during the cable madness.

I blame it on Jerry Jones and his gigantic scoreboard. :rolleyes:

Right about the time the Cowboys/Giants game kicked off (of course!) my CM went flaky, sort of an interline twitter effect. Lines and hash-marks were flashing like mad. Other images were all sparkly like when someone wears the wrong clothes patterns on TV (ex: certain dot and pinstripe patterns). Not pixellating. I spent the first quarter trying composite vs S-video, rescanning, then trying other boxes. After hooking it back up it worked fine so I suspect a hard reset (unplug) did the trick. I'm not 100% sure but I think I did cycle the power button during the cable madness.

I blame it on Jerry Jones and his gigantic scoreboard. :rolleyes:

I had a similar recovery experience. Over the span of about 5 minutes, mine slowly began losing color. It began to fade, and kind of flashed with red and blue tints as chrominance went to zero. Turning it off and on did no good, but after getting frustrated and unhooking it to try another box to rule out the TV, I hooked it back up, plugged it in and bingo, perfect picture. That was about 2 weeks ago, and it’s still hanging in there.

I had a similar recovery experience. Over the span of about 5 minutes, mine slowly began losing color. It began to fade, and kind of flashed with red and blue tints as chrominance went to zero. Turning it off and on did no good, but after getting frustrated and unhooking it to try another box to rule out the TV, I hooked it back up, plugged it in and bingo, perfect picture. That was about 2 weeks ago, and it’s still hanging in there.

I'm somewhat relieved to hear it's still hanging in there as mine just passed its warranty period. Otherwise they've been trouble free and I assume of better quality when I look at how it's constructed and the manufacturer. Somehow I wondered if it was triggered by something (or a change) in the broadcast since in my case it was live TV. At least we know what to try first rather than waste a bunch of time troubleshooting.

Turning it off and on did no good, but after getting frustrated and unhooking it to try another box to rule out the TV, I hooked it back up, plugged it in and bingo, perfect picture.Should check the cable, also.

... Somehow I wondered if it was triggered by something (or a change) in the broadcast since in my case it was live TV....

Not a far fetched idea at all. I used to have a MicroGEM (almost identical to Tivax STB-T9), and every morning at 8:00 (eastern), on the dot, CBS would send some kind of crazy signal to start their ‘Early Show’. Whatever it was (is) would crash the STB. It would lock up and go to a solid green screen and unplugging was the only way to clear the problem. I don’t have the MicroGEM anymore since if failed for good after only about 3 months. I’m now using the CM, but it’s unaffected by the odd CBS data.

every morning at 8:00 (eastern), on the dot, CBS would send some kind of crazy signal to start their ‘Early Show’. Whatever it was (is) would crash the STB. It would lock up and go to a solid green screen and unplugging was the only way to clear the problem.

What would happen if you weren't watching CBS at that time?

What would happen if you weren't watching CBS at that time?

It would not have crashed. In fact, I had gotten the habit of making sure I was on ABC at 8:00 to avoid that. It was definitely coming from CBS, and sometimes also at times other than 8:00 am too, but always at 8:00.

Not a far fetched idea at all. I used to have a MicroGEM (almost identical to Tivax STB-T9), and every morning at 8:00 (eastern), on the dot, CBS would send some kind of crazy signal to start their ‘Early Show’. Whatever it was (is) would crash the STB. It would lock up and go to a solid green screen and unplugging was the only way to clear the problem. I don’t have the MicroGEM anymore since if failed for good after only about 3 months. I’m now using the CM, but it’s unaffected by the odd CBS data.

Aha, so it is possible and therefore I'm not losing my mind!

Glad you told me about your MicroGEM as I see freeTVsignal just started selling those as they've run out of everything else.

It's a guess but CBS is generally the station that transmits the TVGOS guide data. TVGOS is sent out at various times during the day and it's possible?? that's what's screwing up your boxes. It would probably only happen if your were tuned to CBS since if you weren't on CBS the box wouldn't get the data stream.
CBS in ATL shut down their OTA TVGOS because according to them, the TVGOS signal was causing problems with a few brands of CECBs. Check out the TVGOS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17242887#post17242887) master thread.

It's a guess but CBS is generally the station that transmits the TVGOS guide data. TVGOS is sent out at various times during the day and it's possible?? that's what's screwing up your boxes. It would probably only happen if your were tuned to CBS since if you weren't on CBS the box wouldn't get the data stream.
CBS in ATL shut down their OTA TVGOS because according to them, the TVGOS signal was causing problems with a few brands of CECBs. Check out the TVGOS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17242887#post17242887) master thread.

Very interesting. I watch a lot of PBS too, but don’t think I remember it happening on other than CBS. I’m sure that’s it anyway though. I don’t remember it ever tripping up an RCA box I also have either. There are a lot of STB’s that use the same software and chipset the MicroGEM did, I’ll bet they all get hit by it.

In my case I was on NBC but it was a live NFL broadcast from a brand spanking new stadium. First and only time I had a problem with the CM.

That's too bad about the TVGOS in ATL, I hope it isn't a nationwide trend. Folks are paying extra CECB bucks for that function (ex: Artec TVG box). I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a DTVPal Plus, doesn't that one use TVGOS?

I read on the GA OTA thread the CBS response, which included the fact they were sending the guide equipment back. He suggested requesting another station to carry the guide.
My thought was what good did it do to suggest another broadcaster fire up the same equipment and crash the same boxes???

tom

Floydage, I was confused too but upon further reading it wasn't the CM box that had the CBS problem but was luminance with his MicoGEM CECB.
I've also had the rare occurrence like you did(with your CM) but usually when tuning to a .2 SD sub channel most notably our NBC WX channel.
Yes the DTVPal DVR uses the digital TVGOS signal but in the lack of a TVGOS signal it reverts to PSIP which is much inferior in features and days into the future.

In my case I was on NBC but it was a live NFL broadcast from a brand spanking new stadium. First and only time I had a problem with the CM.

Deja vu all over again. Flipped over from ABC to NBC to check the score and it started up with the twitter again, older stadium though :D. This time it self-corrected after switching to Fox and back to NBC. That makes me feel better as I've seen the NBC weather sub appear out of focus but clear up after an NBC retune (i.e. jumping around the subs doesn't fix it). Maybe it's just that the football broadcast makes the problem more apparent. Someone on these threads said the text/graphic nature of the weather subs makes them more suxceptible to tune issues.

Weird, my CM-7000 DTV converter box just recently added 11.1 11.2 and 11.3 to my lineup, without running a channel scan.

The channels are all blank with no reception, but there is a signal level there. PSIP says 11.1 is called "HD" with the 2 subs as SD. It just displays the Channel Master "no signal" splash screen.

Anyone else in CID see this? Is this a harmonic of 12.1 or a result of the new XX.99 subcarriers from IPTV?

Maybe it's just my converter box acting up.

Weird, my CM-7000 DTV converter box just recently added 11.1 11.2 and 11.3 to my lineup, without running a channel scan.

The channels are all blank with no reception, but there is a signal level there. PSIP says 11.1 is called "HD" with the 2 subs as SD. It just displays the Channel Master "no signal" splash screen.

Anyone else in CID see this? Is this a harmonic of 12.1 or a result of the new XX.99 subcarriers from IPTV?

Maybe it's just my converter box acting up.

Happens often to me. Sometimes it's just a physical channel being added because for some reason the virtual channel info isn't decoded. Other times it's a distant station that is received because of favorable atmospheric conditions.

The Channelmaster has an option for Pioneer remote codes.
Does anyone know what this does?
Would it have any effect on remote conflicts?
Does the original remote work when it is selected?
I can't find anything in the manual about it.

That must be in newer firmeware than my two.

It may be them addressing the oversight they made
by putting this unit out with a remote that also controls
their IR antenna rotor units in a conflicting way.

If you type in a three digit channel+sub,
their rotor's interpret it as a heading in degrees...

The Channelmaster has an option for Pioneer remote codes.
Does anyone know what this does?
Would it have any effect on remote conflicts?
Does the original remote work when it is selected?
I can't find anything in the manual about it.

I'm pretty sure the Pioneer codes are for using another remote to control the CM-7000. I use an old Dish remote to run my CM-7000 along with the TV it's connected to. I entered the Pioneer code into the Dish remote AUX to control the CM. The functions are pretty limited using the Dish remote (basically power, volume and channel change). The original remote works just fine with the Pioneer function enabled.

Indeed, it's a universal remote code. I use it in my RCA U-remote.

Potential good news, THX: I tried my RCA U-remote in CM mode (Pioneer code) on my Zinwell ZAT-970A and it didn't have any conflict, whereas the CM remote does conflict. Seems strange, I didn't expect it. Unfortunately the RCA only controls channel up/down and the number keypad so not a very thorough a test. Would be interesting to see what a more 'functional' U-remote or learning remote would do.

None of this will effect the CM remote and the CM is a fixed remote to the best of my knowledge (i.e. no codes can be put in it).

That's great news if it works.

The option shows up under Tools/ then Universal RC/

Pioneer Cable Code

Off
On

Enter to turn on Pioneer cable code support
_______________________________________

Version is

System katana2

S/W Version b7707_lpm
:52.5dc001

Built 20080616

Z_Corelib :0.4.0.3305

Z_ATSClib :2.1.1.3444

Z_DTVCClib :6.2.0.3327

on this box anyway.

The option shows up under Tools/ then Universal RC/

Pioneer Cable Code

Off
On

Ah, I get it now, that mysterious menu option. The manual sucks on explanations and doesn't even show the same list of options in the pic (that one is missing).

When I turn that option off my U-remote won't control the CM anymore. Therefore it looks to be a switch to turn off the ability for the CM to be controlled by a remote using a Pioneer cable code. So if you have a remote using a Pioneer cable code for something other than a CM then this other remote won't conflict with the CM.

You can still try a U-remote or learning remote to reduce conflict, just be sure to turn this option on (may not be required on a learning remote though).

My version info is identical. I think the build date is the date the software was released for production (i.e. not to be confused with the box mfg date).

I played with the remote settings and there is no conflict between my CM antenna rotor remote and CM-7000 remote. They work fine together.

It seems to hinge on what firmware the two have.
Sometimes it is the rotor remote that controls the box,
sometimes it goes both ways.

A few examples, search for more if interested.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=14873220&postcount=232

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=14880638&postcount=238

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14350873&#post14350873

Yesterday, I saw that the CM7000 was listed as available at the ChannelMaster Store website for $70 with free shipping and no coupon elegibility, but when I called in to order some, I was told that they had none and that there would be no more.

Yesterday, I saw that the CM7000 was listed as available at the ChannelMaster Store website for $70 with free shipping and no coupon elegibility, but when I called in to order some, I was told that they had none and that there would be no more.

In that case, read up on this box. Long-term reliability hasn't been established but from what I've read I'd say this is a good substitute for about the same price (it actually has more features than the CM).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1196160

$76
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220499432837&_trksid=e11010.m204&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D8&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:1348

In that case, read up on this box... I'd say this is a good substitute for about the same price...

What box? I'm going to be ordering five iNet SSR1921 boxes from EZDTV.com later today. That box has firm "power on" and selected channel memory, so I can put it in hotel headends. The price per box has gone up by five dollars since I first checked out this item a month ago.

Sorry, Mike, I forgot to add the link (doh!). Edited it back in above.

...I'm going to be ordering five iNet SSR1921 boxes from EZDTV.com later today. ...

"This domain name expired on 1/16/2010"

Hmmmm. I wish I has saved their telephone number, since their switchboard made them sound like they were a substantial distributor of some sort. Time to fish around for some inventory.

I just found the Tivax STB-8, which is supposedly identical to the iNetSSR1921 (but doesn't look like it in the pictures) available in quantity from The Twister Group (http://www.thetwistergroup.com/store/customer/search.php?substring=tivax%20stb%20t8) for $49.18 each. The ground shipping was steep ($51.76 for a shipment of four units) but the only other suppliers I found that could furnish it in quantity were looking for about $60 each.

BTW, the Channel Master online store site now says that they expect the CM-7000 to become available again in February, but I have had about half a dozen of mine fail, so unless these iNets ot Tivaxes start failing on me soon, I don't expect to be going back to the CM-7000s.

Any idea why the channelmasters died?
Were they early versions?
I have had no issues with mine.
I never turn them off.


The TRT is still for sale too.

Some of them were in environments with higher than average temperatures, but as I think I mentioned in a post earlier in this thread, several of them kept losing the audio on my local 7.1, which I could restore simply by touching any of the three panel buttons. I use them as channel sources for master antenna system headends in multiple dwelling units.

The TRT is still for sale too.

Does it have a firm memory that retains power-on status and channel selection after a ower interruption. I need that for tuners in my headends, and it is the reason I chose the CM-7000 and the SSR1921s.

They power up after a short power cut, but they come on on channel 5, the local nbc station.
There may be a default power up setting I can't find.
It seems like it hasn't always been this station.
It might be worth asking the factory.
If all the other stations are erased, it might be forced to come on on the right one anyway.

[I created this for someone via email but find it handy]

Here's some links to check on occasion for deals and inventory stock:

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=dp_brlad_entry?ie=UTF8&node=979935011

^The ones near the top that say "Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping" are sold by Amazon. I've bought from Amazon before (good seller) but I can't attest to the others shown on Amazon.

http://www.meritline.com/digital-tv-converter-box---c-7689.aspx

https://secure.freetvsignal.com/viewAll.php

http://www.solidsignal.com/cview.asp?mc=03&d=over-the-air-tv-antennas-supplies&c=Digital%20Converter%20Boxes

http://www.freedtvshop.com/fdtv/converters.php

http://www.digital-tv-converter.net/buydigitaltoanalogconverterboxonline.aspx

I bought from SolidSignal over a year ago and had no issues. I tried to buy from them again in DECEMBER 2009 and STILL have not received product. I've contacted them maybe 10 times and continue to get the runaround (of course they charged my credit card within a day of the order, promised they had it in stock, and it would ship that day or the next). I suppose I'll have to go through the hassle of disputing the charges with my credit card company. What a pain. Wish I had never heard of them. They seem like a few companies I tried to deal with back when 35mm cameras were the only game in town (prior to digital), mostly from New York and New Jersey; they'd claim they had a product, charge the card, and product would never arrive. I've also seen a couple of companies going out of business do the same type of thing; they stop paying bills to their suppliers, suppliers stop supplying them, but they still try anything to get your money before they go out of business, then good luck trying to get your money out of them. I will NOT do business with SolidSignal again, even if they do stay in business. I don't want to see anyone else get taken by them.

I bought from SolidSignal over a year ago and had no issues.

I've bought around seventy or so from Solid Signal. The problems I have incurred are problems that residential users would not notice, because they would not leave the receiver permanently on and tuned to the same channel.



I tried to buy from them again in DECEMBER 2009 and STILL have not received product. I've contacted them maybe 10 times and continue to get the runaround (of course they charged my credit card within a day of the order, promised they had it in stock, and it would ship that day or the next). I suppose I'll have to go through the hassle of disputing the charges with my credit card company. ...
Solis Signal has a good reputation on the TV/AV/satellite user boards. I think they are even registered on this site or at DBSTalk as "solidsignal". If you can find their screen name in th members list here or there and send a PM to their forum representative, I would bet that he can clear up the problem for you. At present, no one has the CM-7000s in any quantity, but the Channelmaster Store site is "taking pre-orders", where, if you buy something -anything -from them now, they'll reserve one from their first shipment when it comes in mid February but not bill you until they ship it.

Edit: Looks like SolidSignal's last post here was on August 5, 2009.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16949853&highlight=#post16949853

If you click on their screen name there, you should still be able to use that link to sent them a private message.

Dunno. My CM7000 has been powered on almost continually since I got it several months ago with no problem. The box isn't even overly warm to the touch.

I'm surprised about the SolidSignal complaint. I bought twice from them last year with no problem and their website gives me the perception of a premier retailer of this genre.

Same here. Ordered twice. No problems. But that was last year, not recently. Maybe they're having problems now.

Dunno. My CM7000 has been powered on almost continually since I got it several months ago with no problem. The box isn't even overly warm to the touch.

Same here. I have two of them, powered on 24/7, and no problems at all.

I'm surprised about the SolidSignal complaint. I bought twice from them last year with no problem and their website gives me the perception of a premier retailer of this genre.

40 days ago, I would have agreed with you 100%. Now I will never buy/order from them again. ymmv

One of you guys was looking for a Tivax and I just spotted this 'new still in box' one on CL for 20 bills in my area:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ele/1577013557.html

Maybe pay him to ship it, still cheap. Of course the warranty is probably long gone; looks to me like folks pack-ratted these boxes with their freebie coupons and I see many saying "new in the box" but fail to tell ya the warranty won't be any good anymore.

Speaking of which, I've seen some good TV/CECB package deals; trying to get rid of the ol' analog CRT TV and they throw in the box. I saw a 27" Sony with reverse speakers + a CM7000 for $87. Might keep my eyes open for a flat tube deal.

Were any of the warranties worth anything anyway?

I have never had a problem with solid signal, but anything's possible.

I have also used warren electronics many times, with absolutely no problems.
http://warrenelectronics.com/antennas/7000.htm

Were any of the warranties worth anything anyway?

LOL, ironically I was thinking the same thing right after I wrote that. IMO they should be 1 yr, not 90 days, based on similar products other than the fact that this stuff was kind of cheap-priced for what we got. Maybe it should have been one of the gov't rqts. I thought I saw a few rare boxes with 1 yr warranties although that might have been just for parts (other than the remote if they consider the entire unit a 'part,' seems useless vs the price of labor). What bothered me about the 90 day W is that the design engineers don't even have to perform a MTBF reliability analysis; be careful which one you buy...

When sony and everyone else dropped their decent warranties, I stopped buying new products.
If I can find it used, I buy used now.

I wonder if the manufacturers thought that through?


I have bought kenwood excelon due to the 2 year warranty, though I've never had an issue.
Even a one year warranty is ridiculous.
Why should I pay for new?

I think they did it on some products because the price dropped so low. Marginal utility decreases (i.e. the increased availablity of a good causes the value of additional units to decline) such that it costs them too much to provide much of a warranty; they could 'keep up' the warranty but the price would have to go up. Sucky viscious circle that is causing this stuff to fill up our landfills faster.

If it costs so little to make, a warranty should be easier to provide...unless you produce garbage.
I think it's just a case of providing as little as allowed.
It is a neon sign that they don't think the product will hold up.

I find TV descriptions of insoluble issues that the factory never bothers with.
Even Panasonic never seemed to fix the audio issues with one of their DVD recorders.
They just replaced it with a new model.

I will buy new according to how reliable I think the factory is.
I pay a lot for things with lifetime warranties.
A 90 day warranty is worth nothing to me.

And if a factory doesn't stock parts on older devices, why should I think they'll support new product?

The best marketing device is still old electronics that won't die.

As the sales price drops the warranty becomes a more significant piece of the cost. Plus the unit volume goes up meaning more units to repair. Bic lighter vs a nice Zippo.

But you make a lot of good points. Insoluble issues, etc. I think a lot of what we're seeing these days is do to what I call Walmartism; people want stuff so cheap priced that everything is becoming disposable. I'd rather pay a little more for something that will last and not that fill up our landfills.

It's a tough call nowadays on the factory part since so many companies outsource the mfg all over the place (and it moves around). I doubt any of these CECB companies have their own mfging facilities - too expensive.

Also a tough call on old electronics without some research. I had old RCA TVs that just wouldn't quit (one knob tuner unit is still working) but the ones I bought in the 90's would break much sooner, then I found out they had been bought by POS Thomson.

Thanks CM, glad to hear that what I think is the best CECB is readily available again.
My only beef with the CM-7000 is the jumping CH up and CH down buttons on the unit itself. All 4 of my boxes jump so bad that I basically never use the front panel channel buttons, did CM every find a fix for this?
Again for me it's not a big deal to use the remote but occasionally I'd like to use the front panel buttons but with the awful skipping it's more a hassle than tracking down the remote.
The skipping I'm talking about is when one pushes the button once it jumps like 2 or 3 channels, both buttons act this way:(
BTW here's a link to CM's STBs http://www.channelmasterstore.com/Set_Top_Boxes_s/27.htm

.
My only beef with the CM-7000 is the jumping CH up and CH down buttons on the unit itself. All 4 of my boxes jump so bad that I basically never use the front panel channel buttons, did CM every find a fix for this?
Again for me it's not a big deal to use the remote but occasionally I'd like to use the front panel buttons but with the awful skipping it's more a hassle than tracking down the remote.
The skipping I'm talking about is when one pushes the button once it jumps like 2 or 3 channels, both buttons act this way...http://www.channelmasterstore.com/Set_Top_Boxes_s/27.htm

I experience that problem a lot. I use the CM-7000s in master antenna system headends, so I can't use a remote to select channels since the infrared spillover would change the channel settings the other boxes.

I experience that problem a lot. I use the CM-7000s in master antenna system headends, so I can't use a remote to select channels since the infrared spillover would change the channel settings the other boxes.

Solder .01 mF disk capacitor(s) across the switch(s), the problem will probably go away. Probably not worth the effort for a regular set top box setup, but if you have to use the switches a lot, it may be worth the time.

Anyone seen this happen? I have two of these units and I just noticed on both of them they produce a black/white picture now. Is there a setting that got messed with that would cause this?

It is not the TV as the DVD player and VCR produce a colored picture.


*****found the answer here -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16518493#post16518493

Despite the other-world/thread answer I find it statistically doubtful that both boxes did this. Of course you didn't say whether the answer solved your problem or not.

Were the CM7000s connected to the same video port as the DVD player and VCR?

I talked my cousin into buying one of these and now it does not work.

you turn it on, it comes up with an empty table, then shuts down.

I wonder how much CM wants to repair/exchange one?

Regards,
Tom

I wonder how much CM wants to repair/exchange one?

Regards,
Tom

It’s probably not worth the time or energy to fool with a repair or exchange. I would just look for a suitable replacement on Craigs List. They usually run about $20 or less.

Thanks for reply,

yes, I was thinking about what was available on CL, however there are a lot of models that are undesirable while the CM was one of the best ones out there. (I don't know if that is still true.)

I keep telling my cousin to call them up and see what the deal is because on cheap components like this, they usually just give you another one for some flat fee. It might easily be $20 plus postage in which case I would do that in a heart beat.

I was wondering if the CM was failure prone too.

I also have one that I rarely use and it is still working.

WalMart has the Apex DT150 and the AccessHD both of which have issues as far as just buying another one.

I still cannot believe how much they want for the cheapest DTV out there. WalMart is $168 on sale and Sears is $189 on sale for their cheapest TV. What is interesting is that WalMart mail order has a little 7" LCD TV with DTV tuner for $68 which really makes no sense whatsoever because cheap analog TV were maybe $89 and this $68 unit has the ATSC tuner and all the other stuff so a cheap DTV should be a lot less than $89 + $68 which is NOT the case.

Thanks
Tom

I was wondering if the CM was failure prone too.

Mine had a weird tuning problem a couple of times - would produce what appeared to be abnormal interline twitter and wouldn't correct itself via channel or power toggling. Unplugging it for 10 seconds or so and plugging it back in did the trick (might also try unplugging it while powered up/LED green > hard reset).

Gave one of these to my brother a couple of years ago and it has developed a problem. The closed captions are stuck ON and the caption area fills the lower HALF of the screen. Makes viewing impossible. I've tried and tried to turn them off using the remote button and going through the menu. Unplugging the power cord also fails to clear the issue. Any suggestions?

keep the power cord unplugged overnight. it might make a difference.

And if that don't work try unplugging it while powered up/LED green > hard reset.

And if that don't work try unplugging it while powered up/LED green > hard reset.

I have never heard of this technique. Very interesting.

@gimp: Maybe you should combine the 2 approaches. Just in case.

Sorry to bother you but can anyone tell me if I have cable or satellite tv will the cm7000 pickup from the receiver box on channel 3 like the vcr did?
Thanks.

Do you mean to ask if you place the CB between the Cable/Sat Box and the TV (on the Coax Cable connection) will it display on Channel 3/4? I would say yes. As long as you have a Digital Antenna Signal available of course. Which may be able to pass though the Cable/Sat Box (unless it's ON and feeding it's own signal which might block or interrupt some/all channels). Best bet might be to place the Converter Box "upsteam" farther so that it has a cleaner signal and can feed your VCR/Recorder without interruptions.

Don't think any CECB has the ability to "see" an analog input device and visually redirect it's signal via itself like a VCR's tuner does. Best bet would be to use analog by pass on those CECBs that have it or as I mentioned above.

Not exactly sure what you question is getting at but none of the CECBs have the ability to tune analog channels, as lgodave said some have APT(not the CM-7000) which simply passes the raw coax IN to the coax OUT.
If you're trying to get a device to convert analog CH3 or CH4 to video/audio(to feed a monitor with no RF input) then a VCR would be your best bet as a de-modulator.

I have used the CM-7000 since early 2009. Yesterday I found it with the red LEd on and no signal out. No combination of power cycles and unplugging the device has brought me past the red LED, which means "booting" AFAIK. Is this toast?

I have used the CM-7000 since early 2009. Yesterday I found it with the red LEd on and no signal out. No combination of power cycles and unplugging the device has brought me past the red LED, which means "booting" AFAIK. Is this toast?

Good question...I have the same issue. Mine Will, if you stare at it long enough, flash to green for about 2 seconds then back to red.

Been meaning to 'pop the hood' and at least check the power supply before I throw it in the trash, but just haven't got around to it.

Been a reliable unit for over 2 years.....used it on a Panasonic ReplayTV and worked great till about a month ago....Guess it's time to retire the Replay. :mad:

Good question...I have the same issue. Mine Will, if you stare at it long enough, flash to green for about 2 seconds then back to red.

Been meaning to 'pop the hood' and at least check the power supply before I throw it in the trash, but just haven't got around to it.

Been a reliable unit for over 2 years.....used it on a Panasonic ReplayTV and worked great till about a month ago....Guess it's time to retire the Replay. :mad:

Must be the time to fail timer is expiring on these units. My CM-7000 started doing the same thing the other day.

I removed the cover and all the power supply caps look ok but the power supply voltages are not correct. The 5V and 12V supplies were high while the 3.3V was low. This makes sense since the feedback circuit is looking at the 3.3v. I temporary fixed mine by adding a 500ufd 50v cap (only one I had handy) across the 1000ufd 10v cap for the 3.3V supply.

I plan on taking the unit to work next week where I can test each of the caps and determine all the caps that need to be replaced. I will post my results.

This is an easy repair and I would estimate less than $10 including shipping for the parts.

Jim

I plan on taking the unit to work next week where I can test each of the caps and determine all the caps that need to be replaced. I will post my results.

The usual method, if one bad cap is located, is to replace all the ones of the same value and brand, even if they test OK.

I just tried turning ON my (4) CMs and they all fired up just fine. They've been plugged in since I bought them when the first came out but I haven't even turned them on for probably the last year(since getting my Tivo HD).
Funny thing was none turned on with the remote, I thought my batteries were dead but after pushing the front panel ON/OFF button now the remotes work fine:confused:

Good question...I have the same issue. Mine Will, if you stare at it long enough, flash to green for about 2 seconds then back to red.

Been meaning to 'pop the hood' and at least check the power supply before I throw it in the trash, but just haven't got around to it.

Been a reliable unit for over 2 years.....used it on a Panasonic ReplayTV and worked great till about a month ago....Guess it's time to retire the Replay. :mad:


I did not see any green, but I may not be persistent enough :)

Must be the time to fail timer is expiring on these units. My CM-7000 started doing the same thing the other day.



I removed the cover and all the power supply caps look ok but the power supply voltages are not correct. The 5V and 12V supplies were high while the 3.3V was low. This makes sense since the feedback circuit is looking at the 3.3v. I temporary fixed mine by adding a 500ufd 50v cap (only one I had handy) across the 1000ufd 10v cap for the 3.3V supply.

I plan on taking the unit to work next week where I can test each of the caps and determine all the caps that need to be replaced. I will post my results.

This is an easy repair and I would estimate less than $10 including shipping for the parts.
Jim

Being a SW guy I just probed more blindly around, I believe I saw a clean 12V and 3.3V of the supply. I don't remember 5V, but I'll check again.

Sounds like these things are hitting the MTBF, hey I know some HW lingo :D

I picked up a CM7000 based on the reviews from AVS, it has been a great box for the past year or so. I have had the issue when you turn it on, you get a red light/no picture but power cycling always has corrected it. I also seem to have the double channel change when I use the front buttons (very rarely now do I use them in the new setup I have). Bought it near the end of the coupon days, for the money, I'm happy.

I also have the RCA and a Samsung HD box to compare to. Built a coat hanger, bow-tie antenna and get 15 channels (counting .2 and .3's). My Fox is adding one more come Jan 1st!

Yeah the front button problem is common. I believe a design issue like lack of switch debouncing caps.

I've had an infrequent interline twitter problem but variations of power toggling do the trick.

May be able to find those power supply caps on unused/shelved electronics, pretty common components.

Speaking of the failures (red LED/no output), do you guys have your boxes plugged into AC power continuously?
I ask because I have mine power-stripped so that it only has AC power applied a few hours a day; hopefully that buys me some more time on my unit's "time to fail timer." :D

Mine (4) have been plugged in(but not turned on) for about a year. I just turned them on the other day and they all worked fine. Since getting my Tivo I really never use them and would probably disconnect them if my wiring wasn't so tangled and hard to get at:o

Speaking of the failures (red LED/no output), do you guys have your boxes plugged into AC power continuously?
I ask because I have mine power-stripped so that it only has AC power applied a few hours a day; hopefully that buys me some more time on my unit's "time to fail timer." :D

My "time to fail timer" ran (powered on....green) from July 2008 till around a Month ago. :D

Speaking of the failures (red LED/no output), do you guys have your boxes plugged into AC power continuously?
I ask because I have mine power-stripped so that it only has AC power applied a few hours a day; hopefully that buys me some more time on my unit's "time to fail timer." :D

I had mine plugged in and turned on continuously since I got it in early 2009. My DVR would not turn it on/off when recording using its cable eye so I had to leave it on.

Speaking of the failures (red LED/no output), do you guys have your boxes plugged into AC power continuously?
I ask because I have mine power-stripped so that it only has AC power applied a few hours a day; hopefully that buys me some more time on my unit's "time to fail timer." :D

OK, sounds like 1-2 yrs BUT with some not experiencing the problem (mine doesn't count since not plug-powered continuously). Need more data and serial numbers (obviously painful for some to supply) to determine if design or component lot issue.

Finally got around to popping the hood on my CM-7000. As the OP said, The 12v & 5v were slightly high, while the 3v was low (as I recall about 2-1/2v). I dug around in my old parts collection and found a 1000 mf cap 25v (slightly larger in physical size, but voltage won't matter as long as it's not less). It wouldn't fit all the way down on the board because of the larger diameter, so I left it at about 1/2" off the board......not going to be tossed around any.

Did anyone else notice the appearance of the large epoxy rectifier next to the cap? Might be a Zener....can't read the numbers without removing the component. Looks like it's ran pretty hot....the phenolic board is discolored, and has that charred smell. That thing sets fairly close to the bad capacitor I replaced....Wonder if the heat off the rectifier cooked the capacitor? .....sounds feasible to me.

Anyway.....Running for 2 days now. I'm ready to call it fixed. :D

Regarding CM7000 sensitivity.

My cousin could not get WPCW (19.1, actual 11) in Jeannette, PA 15644 outside Pittsburgh using an RCA 1250 High Power amplified set top antenna.

Her CM went "red light" and she replaced it with a DigitalStream bought at Radio Shack a few months ago.

Now she can get 19.1 and feels that the DS has a much stronger tuner.

I have the same problem with my CM but I have a DDT901 Zenith NIB that I am reluctant to open since I don't know if it would get 19.1 like the DS.

Any thoughts?

THanks in advance,
Tom

PS. I have the exact same RCA 1250 and cannot get 19.1 and just put up a CM 4228 on my porch to no avail although it produces much high signal strength than the RCA. Maybe I should be an amp on it?

Originally Posted by ccrider2
Did anyone else notice the appearance of the large epoxy rectifier next to the cap? Might be a Zener....can't read the numbers without removing the component. Looks like it's ran pretty hot....the phenolic board is discolored, and has that charred smell. That thing sets fairly close to the bad capacitor I replaced....Wonder if the heat off the rectifier cooked the capacitor? .....sounds feasible to me.

Yes my board is slightly discolored. The large epoxy rectifier is a diode, not a zener. The diode getting hot did not cause the capacitor to fail. If anything the capacitor added additional heat to the diode due to longer conduction time. The diode also may not be a fast recovery diode, I did not check, which would also cause additional heat dissipated by the diode.

I tested all of the capacitors and found a number of them have high ESR values indicating they have deteriorated.

These are just cheap low hour rated capacitors.

Yes my board is slightly discolored. The large epoxy rectifier is a diode, not a zener. The diode getting hot did not cause the capacitor to fail. If anything the capacitor added additional heat to the diode due to longer conduction time. The diode also may not be a fast recovery diode, I did not check, which would also cause additional heat dissipated by the diode.

I tested all of the capacitors and found a number of them have high ESR values indicating they have deteriorated.

These are just cheap low hour rated capacitors.

Guess it might be a good idea to replace them all. Looks as though they made this thing as cheap as they could. You'd think a full wave supply wouldn't have added that much to the total cost.

It's our disposable society, if it makes it out of warranty and preferably a year, the mfg. is off the hook:(
In the 70s I used to work on old radios from the 30s-50s and most capacitors were fine, only the largest electrolytic and wax paper ones tended to fail. I find that ok but 2 years:confused: just greed:mad: It's not like the CM was a cheap box, I believe it was about the most expensive CECB of the time($20 more than most). I guess the added dollars didn't go into 5 cents caps instead of the 3 cents ones:(
On the plus side, it sure included a nice RF cable, of course the customer could actually see that, no one would notice better caps in the power supply;)

Yep....for real

And the CM7000 was the rare exception to everything made in China. Those cheap Bulgarians.

Me wonders if they let their EMS company have too much part selection control and they used low grade caps in some builds to cut costs? Or a substitute when they ran out of caps? (that happened with my last employer - the EMS didn't want to admit they didn't order parts in time and stop the presses). I would be surprised a company like CM would resort to such measures on their own as it hurts their brand name. Plus many times it's the same if not cheaper to use the same components used in the higher quality products (higher volume price breaks, reduction of multiple inventory, etc.).

I'm also surprised that caps in this day and age would be of poor quality. Maybe they let the EMS design this box with little oversight? (i.e. use of under-rated caps per design requirements?).

Over the last year, I've managed to drop each of my cm-7K remotes on the Saltillo tile floor. About two drops each until they wouldn't work.
Took them apart one last time before trashing them, and noticed the battery contact tabs were loose and wiggled freely on the printed circuit board. First attempt at solder failed. Need to scratch some of the green coating around the printed circuit board contact point to give the solder a place to bond. Second soldering attempt successful. Dang, I really missed that Guide button!

Dang, I really missed that Guide button!

My inexpensive Philips u-remote I got at a CVS drugstore has a Guide button (and verifed on my CM) so I suspect that function is common to newer u-remotes that support DTV converter boxes. Also has the Info button. No aspect ratio button (CM > Wide) on my model of u-remote though.

Fry's has the CM-7000 for sale in their ad today, 4Mar11, for $59.99 which is about $20 off normal price.
tom

Had mine since March 2009. Red-lighted some time ago - just gave up on it since my indoor dipole was having issues with reception anyhow. Finally found the determination to get coax into the room and found the converter box persistently red-lighted and unresponsive to any power cycling, button pushing, etc. Not sure if I have the will to procure & replace caps. I will buy some beer and come to your shop maybe.

In the meantime found an older Centronics (http://www.summitsource.com/images/products/ZAT502.jpg) tuner I had purchased even earlier (didn't qualify for the coupon) and it fired right up. Looks pretty comparable to the CM to my less-than-videophile (and bifocal lacking) eyes.

I replaced mine a few months ago and have had no problems since. If you don't feel you can replace them yourself, send me a PM and maybe I can repair it for you.

Those cheap Bulgarians.
Hilarious. A fellow was in our plant last year with pictures from a turbine he worked on over there - just gigantic. Like Soviet-era "we will make it bigger & crush the running dog imperialist". If they're making anything with semiconductors I'm guessing one of us built it (and the PCB's BOM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_materials)).

Speaking of BOM, anyone go to the trouble of building a "recommended spare parts" list for the CM7000 repairs you've done? That would be great for those of us who can do a little soldering but don't have a friend with a massive component junk drawer.

Whitebar, it's more laziness / inertia than ability - I wouldn't feel right about imposing.

Thanks for all the advice.

JR in OH

From testing the caps in my unit, these are the one I would replace at a minimum:

C14 - 4.7ufd 50v UPW1H4R7MDD
C4 - 1ufd 50v UPW1H010MDD
C8 - 100ufd 25v UHE1E101MED
C10 - 470ufd 16v UHE1C471MPD
C12 - 1000ufd 10v UHE1A102MPD

There are 4 others in the supply that were not grossly bad.
C1 - 22ufd 400v EEU-EE2G220 **
C7 - 220ufd 25v UHE1E221MPD
C11 - Same as C10
C13 - Same as C10

Part Numbers of replacement caps are Nichicon except the 22ufd 400v that is Panasonic.

** Updated C1 replacement part number to correct physical size part.

Whitebar, it's more laziness / inertia than ability - I wouldn't feel right about imposing.


I wouldn't see as imposing, more of a service for those without the ability or desire.
I figured $18 plus the cost of return shipping. This would cover my cost of the parts and a little for labor.
I won't make a living at this, but there would be some satisfaction knowing it was saved from the e-waste (for now).

That's great . . . I'll see if I have enough for a minimum order from Digi-key or = and get them coming. Will post if I have any success . . .

That's great . . . I'll see if I have enough for a minimum order from Digi-key or = and get them coming. Will post if I have any success . . .

Might want to check at Newark, I assume, only in Indy. I can't say for sure that they don't have a minimum order, but I've never been billed a fee for an order. But then I usually go wild ordering several of each when buying, just to keep in the junk drawer....prices are also way cheaper than the Shack. Also, on some items you get a price break on quantities.

I don't work there...:D

Berry Old ... Either Mouser or Digi-Key have a very low shipping / handling fee. I just can't remember which one. I think it is Mouser, FWIW. http://www.mouser.com/
For power supply use, I would go with "Low ESR" and 105C capacitors that match the physical dimensions[if no room on the board], capacitance and voltage from the Nichicon or Panasonic lineups.
They are very quick to get stuff in the mail. I have no $$ invested, just reporting my experience.
tom

Berry Old ... Either Mouser or Digi-Key have a very low shipping / handling fee. <snip>
They are very quick to get stuff in the mail.
Thanks - wish I would have read your post a little sooner as the parts arrived yesterday (Weds) - 2 days after Digi-key processed the order. Caps are of Japanese mfg - Nishicon. Shipping - asked for US mail 1st class. I ordered 3 of each (starting my own junk drawer), 15 total about $0.32 to $0.64 or so each, total order including shipping was still under $10.

Maybe tomorrow I will give the repair a try . . .

I didn't see that Newark was a sponsor - I would have tried them 1st.

From testing the caps in my unit, these are the one I would replace at a minimum:

C14 - 4.7ufd 50v UPW1H4R7MDD
C4 - 1ufd 50v UPW1H010MDD
C8 - 100ufd 25v UHE1E101MED
C10 - 470ufd 16v UHE1C471MPD
C12 - 1000ufd 10v UHE1A102MPD

There are 4 others in the supply that were not grossly bad.
C1 - 22ufd 400v EEU-EE2G220 **
C7 - 220ufd 25v UHE1E221MPD
C11 - Same as C10
C13 - Same as C10

Part Numbers of replacement caps are Nichicon except the 22ufd 400v that is Panasonic.

Tried the 1st five and still red light only . . . checked polarity and cold solder joints, seems OK. Maybe I will try C11 and C13 later. The big cap C1 had a pool of spooge, not sure - looked like liquid nails, which pooled over to C14 on the top-side of the PCB. Is this just some sort of tamper-evident stuff, or did one of these loose its electrolyte maybe?

The C14/C1 stuff is used to secure the parts from shock and vibration.

If you have a voltmeter I would measure the power supply outputs. The voltages are mark on the logic board at the connector. The voltages can be checked from the wire side of the connector while it is plugged in. You should have 3.3v (3.2-3.4), 5v (4.5-5.5), and 12V (11-13).

If the voltages are ok, look on the logic board, there are several large through hole caps.
ET1 is a 1000uf 10v (5mm spacing vs the 3.5mm on the power supply)
ET2, EW1 are 470uf 10v (470uf 16v for the power supply is ok)

I just picked up one of these CM7000s on ebay...and boy, does it cook. I wanted it because I have an MT2 dual-tuner OTA module in my DN box, but it's dropout happy and produces "screens of death" in both rooms...not good. The living room is no problem because I can use the TV's tuner or my HTPC, but I needed a box for the old 20" Samsung in the bedroom.
The tuner sensitivity is fantastic. Right away, it found a low-power that I had never seen before today because of a strong co-channel. Several stations with way-below-zero noise margins that the MT2 has problems with were rock-steady. I also have 2 stations on RF41, an analog and a digital, opposite each other. The CM grabs the digital easily with a bi-directional antenna, whereas all of my other tuners take about 10 seconds to produce video, and have blocking errors from the analog signal. The CM signal meter flops around wildly on this station, but the picture and sound stay smooth and steady.
The S-Video output is a nice bonus, and makes this the best PQ I've ever seen on this old CRT. The unit runs a lot cooler than the MicroGEM boxes I use in my kid's rooms, and the remote is a lot nicer to use than most CECBs. My only gripe- it can't handle duplicate virtual channel numbers, which is a problem in my area as there are conflicts at 23, 24, & 57. It will lose the old one if a scan finds a new one.

I just tried connecting a channelmaster to a hidef crt tv.

I first hooked up a pal, which was acceptable, but not impressive.

I then connected the channelmaster with s-video and it really looks good.
This is a 36" sony HS500, an older model.
I don't even know if it upconverts.
It has very few options for screen configuration.

Sound quality is great, and this set has fairly wide range, so bass distortion would be obvious.

I will be able to compare to a proper hidef signal eventually on one of the good hidef sonys.
Most didn't come with a tuner.

I paid more for the cecb, than I did for the tv.
And that's why I went hidef before I planned to.

I have some dvd recorders with tuners also, all sd.
Every dvd recorder I've seen has an sd tuner until you get into blueray.
That's a real shame.
They are missing a market there.

Maybe this subject needs a thread?
It has come up a few times before.

Even with sets with a hidef tuner in them, I have no plans to buy a second hidef tuner for picture in picture.
Everything I have now, has that feature and no feed for it.

Everyone should be happy to know that the CM signal looks great on a hidef set.
This one is probably 800 lines resolution.
My good one is 1400+.

Signal source is a cheap set of bunny ears.
Amazingly, even for the CM, I'm getting all channels.
We have vhf and uhf stations here.

Yes I also use my CM7000s on a HD set and they look quite good, as good as SD gets. The Zenith CECBs were also good but if you could take advantage of the better quality of S-video, the CMs are the way to go:)
I'd be a little leary of spending too much for a used unit at this point, capacitor failures seem to starting to surface but maybe they are just anomalies....all 4 of mine still work:)

Wow, fresh posts!
I thought there were still some new CMs online or maybe it was Fry's. Of course they're probably the same ones built a few years ago so if that's the case one might get a better deal from an individual selling one they never used (i.e. coupon mania at the time).

Hey didn't one of you guys buy one of the TRT boxes? If so, how has it held up?

This CM box has been doing some spooky things with the channel map. I have a rotor and a lot of channels, including some of those duplicate vitual channel numbers. So I have "picked" which ones I want in the map.
Now if I turn the rotor, and the antenna gets a look at the station I didn't pick, it appears on the map, replacing the one that I picked. I didn't run another scan, I just tuned in a different station at the same azimuth. This only happens on RF channels that are already in the map, but that's all of them except 9,11,14,15,23,24, and of course 37. The rest is full and some of those are co-channels.
It's like there's a ghost in the machine running add-on scans. It even grabbed one during tropo from 120 miles away!

Yeah I've noticed some oddities too that it seems to have a scan mind of its own. Like picking up a duplicate set of PBS stations. And CBS here has a VHF and a UHF channel but it only picked one, but I don't know which one (my Artecs and Zinwells display both channels).

I suspect the ghost does the scans when turned on.

My channelmaster is doing something similar with channels.

I ran the sharpness up to full, and the sony hidef looks amazing now.
Good audio too.
The sony has great sound for it's size.
Any blips from the box should show up.
Anyone know if an HS500 upconverts?
Can't wait to try the box on my sfp model.


I have one TRT running since I got it.
Still my favorite.

My channelmaster is doing something similar with channels.

I ran the sharpness up to full, and the sony hidef looks amazing now.
Good audio too.

I have one TRT running since I got it.
Still my favorite.

Many TVs have different user-adjustable PQ settings for each input mode. I mention this because I've seen posters complain about the PQ, but one box will be on composite while the CM is on s-video (i.e. they say the CM doesn't look good enough).

The Artec box is one of a few if not the only one that has PQ adjustments within its menu.

Yeah that TRT looks sweet on paper. I wouldn't be surprised if they're still selling them (I think it had to be purchased from the mfg but not sure).

They still have some.

Hey, nice to see someone else interested in this. I came up with a similar solution in a earlier post in this thread, but with the PNP and NPN switched. Had a look at the output signal tonight, and it's muted s/pdif code. No combination of remote presses un-muted it. So, something in the firmware probably has to be tweaked to turn it on. There is a labeled jtag header. who can pull the firmware?

RE:
Channel Master D2A box

Put in a header for the jtag port and used jtag_p to dump the 2Meg flash and 8 Meg of RAM. The main part of the bin is gzip compressed, so that is part of what takes so long for this box to come up. Code is st20c1 and IDA Pro can disassemble that--not well, but not all that bad.

Would post the dumps but they are too big for the limit on zip.

Rough memory map of flash:
0x40000000 base addr is the boot area
to offset 0x20000 where you find the gzip compressed main bin
offset 150000 a data area--maybe box data or something tied to scan
offset 180000 channel data--looks like this is a cumualtive set of all the scans made as there are multiple duplicate channel names.

RAM base addr is 0xc0000000 and the decompressed main bin starts at this addr and is roughly 2.5Mbyte in size.

It should be possible to use the ucTap program with the ST Toolset to write the flash.
2.1.2 ST Toolset has info on a STi7710 chip and that chip has the same product ID as what I found with jtag_p check of IDCODE for the STi7707 chip, so sould be able to find info or datasheet for the 7710 and use that info for the 7707--might just be a different package.

Boot code has lots of ascii strings that indicate that some product development board had serial port support and that that was used to burn flash, but I don't see any trace of serial port support on the D2A board.
Maind code has a menu for development too that I'm guessing was disabled for the released form but might be able to get that called up with machine language mods.

Just wanted to report additional CM7000 experiences. I bought two CM7000s at the same time about 3 years ago. Both recently failed within 2 weeks of one another. I replaced all the electrolytics and both have come back to life. Neither of these were left on all the time. Clearly the components used are not of the best quality. Usually electrolytics can be expected to last at least 10 years. So if you own an older CM7000 you better start buying capacitors. You are going to need them!

...Usually electrolytics can be expected to last at least 10 years. So if you own an older CM7000 you better start buying capacitors. You are going to need them!

:( I use to repair old vacuum tube radios, the most common problem was failed electrolytic capacitors. The average age requiring replacement was ~30 years for the tin can type to ~40 for the waxed paper capacitors(not electrolytic). <5 years is so pathetic it makes me sick, more things for the landfill in our disposable society:(
FWIW all 3 of mine are still working, although they are lucky to get turned on more than a couple times/year. I don't know if it's better to have them plugged in or unplug them but mine are buried in a enclosed rack and unless they start smoking they will remain plugged in:o
I now record everything to my Tivo HD so I no longer really use my CMs to feed my analog DVDRs, only rarely for scheduling conflicts.

The two year life of some of these capacitors seems to be a combination of:
1: A bad vender
2:Insufficient voltage headroom spec's. (ie 6Vdc rating in a 5Vdc circuit)

The two year life of some of these capacitors seems to be a combination of:
1: A bad vender
2:Insufficient voltage headroom spec's. (ie 6Vdc rating in a 5Vdc circuit)

Totally agree with you on both points and they both probably come into play on something as cheep as a CECB:(
Not that the CM was a cheap box, I paid upwards of $70(without a coupon) for mine(ordered before the coupons were available) but unfortunately even $70 at the retail level can't buy many quality parts...
Use name brand replacements with a voltage rating +50% of the original and they'll probably last a lifetime(or until the next cheap parts start to fail:(). Heck my CH UP CH DOWN buttons started failing(skipping) after only a month or so of use, can't really use them any more.

Heck my CH UP CH DOWN buttons started failing(skipping) after only a month or so of use, can't really use them any more.

Mine and others I've read about did that out of the box so it appears to be a design flaw > lack of switch debouncing caps. Something like 1000 pF required on each of the UP and DOWN lines to ground, should be easily kluged (there could even be solder pads in place but they didn't place the parts). There were some posts about it here but I don't know if anyone actually performed the kluge.

I would like to get a good universal remote for my CM-7000. I know that most U-remotes will work with the cm-7000, but I'm looking for one that will allow me to access most of the converter box's features (like info, EPG and menu).

Any recommendations?

I think an alternate remote code has been mentioned, possibly panasonic.

That would expand your options.

The information is on here somewhere.

I would like to get a good universal remote for my CM-7000. I know that most U-remotes will work with the cm-7000, but I'm looking for one that will allow me to access most of the converter box's features (like info, EPG and menu).

Any recommendations?

I use an inexpensive 3-function Philips u-remote. Gives me all those functions but no Wide, FAV, or the subtitle and text stuff (Wide is the only one I miss, CM's FAV is useless IMO). I suspect the higher number function Philips as well as many of the other brand of newer u-remotes would be similar. CVS had the 3-function Philips u-remote free after extrabucks reward again this holiday season so watch to see if it goes on sale again. My store just restocked them.

The CM manual says to use a Pioneer cable box code for older remotes.

I use an inexpensive 3-function Philips u-remote. Gives me all those functions but no Wide, FAV, or the subtitle and text stuff (Wide is the only one I miss, CM's FAV is useless IMO). I suspect the higher number function Philips as well as many of the other brand of newer u-remotes would be similar...

What model is your Philips remote?

What model is your Philips remote?

SRP1003/27. Bought it a year ago but I think CVS was still selling the same model this year.

SRP1003/27. Bought it a year ago but I think CVS was still selling the same model this year.

I just got back from my CVS and they have SRP1103/27 models. I think the buttons and layout were the same but slightly different shaped body.

Of course CVS wants too much if you can't get the rebate deal, 12 or 13 bucks. I checked Amazon and $8 + free shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SRP1103-27-Universal-featuring/dp/B004PYKM1Y

Scroll down and you'll see some other models too like with bigger buttons (even cheaper for some reason), glow buttons, and/or can control a higher number of devices.

Of course Walmart or similar will have better prices than CVS but I don't know what models they carry.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I spent a few days reviewing the SRP1103/27 with other remotes, and I figured out that a good way to know a u-remote is compatible with DTV boxes, is to check that it has MENU, GUIDE, INFO and (-) buttons.

So I went down to K-mart today to compare u-remotes and I liked the philips, the other brands had really bad confusing button layouts. Since everything at the K-mart is always over priced, I went and got the SRP4004/27 off of ebay for $6.49, it's the same as the SRP1103/27 but it's physically bigger and has buttons that can glow.

I'm now waiting for the remote to arrive in the mail...

Thanks for the suggestion.

I spent a few days reviewing the SRP1103/27 with other remotes, and I figured out that a good way to know a u-remote is compatible with DTV boxes, is to check that it has MENU, GUIDE, INFO and (-) buttons.

So I went down to K-mart today to compare u-remotes and I liked the philips, the other brands had really bad confusing button layouts. Since everything at the K-mart is always over priced, I went and got the SRP4004/27 off of ebay for $6.49, it's the same as the SRP1103/27 but it's physically bigger and has buttons that can glow.

You're welcome!

Probably true for newer remotes but I've got an older one that I could only get to do power and channel. Don't think it has a (-) button though (pre-DTV). Some like the 1103 list it on the packaging or a sure-fire way is to ask the store if you can open the package and verify your device is listed in the manual or download the manual off the 'net.

Nice and great price! Actually you get to control an extra device since it's a 4-function remote. I like the big and glowy buttons too. That old one I mentioned lights up but it lights up red so hard for me to read; plus the lighting kind are battery eaters.

Let us know how it works out.