Walmart US Digital STB Questions [Text View] - Page 6

kousikb

01-06-09, 10:16 PM

I think you are correct but I thought I would ask just to be sure...
You only have four choices as video output and have to choose only one:
1)s-video/composite 480i
2)component 480p
3)component 720p
4)component 1080i
As you can see, you can't have both set at the same time. I also noticed your query on selecting HD tuner. I second Ken H's opinion on trying other tuner provided they have QAM support (which the centronix seems to have) and are of reasonable price. But I'd like to point that Hisense is not bad either and the picture quality is really awesome (even with s-video output going to my DVD recorder) with component out set to 1080i. The digital audio out is also crystal clear. Also dogleg's firmware have really opened up the box with all these nice features.
I live 33 miles from broadcast tuner and I am having trouble free operation with a $25 DB2 clone antenna (from amazon.. now cheaper in buy.com). I believe lot of reception issues can be eliminated by using a good antenna.

dogleg69

01-07-09, 12:30 PM

With the new software, can the box output video on both the component and the composite at the same time?

As dthibode stated, it is a hardware limitation. However, the box will output on both composite and s-video at the same time.

I have two configs (setting the db2010 on s-video/composite 480i):

1) Antenna to db2010. db2010 composite to VCR. VCR coax to TV. db2010 s-video to receiver. db2010 optical audio to receiver. Receiver s-video to TV (audio via receiver).

- this requires switching video 1/ant on the tv and the use of a receiver.

2) Antenna to db2010. db2010 composite to VCR. VCR coax or composite to TV.

- this means the VCR has to be on to watch anything but does not need a receiver.

I'm sure you already knew this and it does not solve your using component. You can also run two tuners -- one for the TV and one for the VCR, but you would have to tape/toggle the IR sensor to control just a single at a time.

dogleg69

01-07-09, 12:45 PM

With the new software, can the box output video on both the component and the composite at the same time?

What I would like to do is hook up to my TV via the HD component cables and connect to the VCR for recording via the composite cable (and RCA audio cables)

I just read you other post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1055192) (per kousikb's hint). You could use Channel Master CM-7000 as a tuner for your VCR -- it just doesn't have a timer (so not that great) and you would have to set the channel by hand or use a blaster.

Since you don't have the db2010 to play with, you can't compare the s-video quality to the component quality on your TV. I would give the db2010 a try if you can get it cheap enough. If you don't like it, you could always just use it to front your VCR.

If not, build a myth or a Vista Media center. There is an awesome "how to" on avsforum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972

northbear

01-07-09, 01:21 PM

dogleg69 and kousikb thanks for the response and confirming this limitation.

I could use the CM-7000 as you say with the limitations you mention but was hoping I could get rid of a box :) I am actually selling my old tv and have the option for whoever buys the tv to buy the CM-7000 also. If this happens maybe I will buy the DTVPal (*shudder*) or the zinwell cecb box that has a timer. Or maybe It will motivate me to just start working on a MythTV box. :D

Thanks again!

northbear

01-10-09, 06:25 PM

Alright. I decided to buy the Hisence box from e-bay and expect delivery next week. In preparation I decided to get my USB key ready. But I am having difficulties getting the script to run.

I am running Ubuntu 8.04

I downloaded the makekey and usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz , opened Terminal and moved to the directory in which I placed the files. I plugged in the USB card and then unmounted (as it automounts) I then typed (cut and paste -- but whatever)

sudo ./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

which gives an output of

sudo: unable to execute ./makekey: No such file or directory

I am using sudo as ubuntu does not have a root user by default.
when I try

./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

it gives an output of

bash: ./makekey: /bin/sh^M: bad interpreter: No such file or directory

The usb stick is a 128 MB but I tried another with same result. I have done some searches and tried things like making the makekey executable and changing permissions, but haven't be able to figure this out. Seem like I am missing something simple but for the life of me I can't figure it out.

Any help would be appreciated!

northbear

01-10-09, 07:06 PM

Ok...

I decided to open up the makekey script (even though I have no idea what I am doing :eek:) and deleted the space between the first line of the script and the third line so it looked like

#!/bin/sh
# makekey

-- I figured it wouldn't do anything but

./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

gave me

: not found2:
: not found7:
: not found17:
: not found19:
: not found20:
./makekey: 49: Syntax error: word unexpected (expecting "do")

hmmmm something new!

so I tried deleting everything behind the first line untill it looked like

#!/bin/sh# makekey

and then added the line back in as origional. like this

#!/bin/sh

# makekey

then tried

./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

and received back

-e Unable to mount any partitions, exiting (see /tmp/makekey_log.txt for errors)

oops should have used sudo so then tried

sudo ./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

which gave

Formatting keychain. Please wait.

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 2031.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
(e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 2031.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
(e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)
-e Number of partitions not 1, exiting

so then I manually formatted the drive to ext2 using gparted. Made sure it was unmounted and then ran

sudo ./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

which gave

Installing usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz. Please wait.
Verifying usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz. Please wait.
Keychain successfully created. You may remove the USB drive now.

SUCCESS!?!?

Now I have a usb with two files folders (000_signatures and diagnostics) with some files underneath. This should be right as this is what is in the tar.gz. Any way to verify I didn't mess anything up? Seem like there should be a way of manually doing this. ie formatting the usb and then drag and drop the uncompressed files onto the usb drive

I have the feeling I just made this about 10 times harder then it needed to be :rolleyes:

dogleg69

01-10-09, 07:57 PM

Alright. I decided to buy the Hisence box from e-bay and expect delivery next week. In preparation I decided to get my USB key ready. But I am having difficulties getting the script to run.

I am running Ubuntu 8.04

I downloaded the makekey and usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz , opened Terminal and moved to the directory in which I placed the files. I plugged in the USB card and then unmounted (as it automounts) I then typed (cut and paste -- but whatever)

sudo ./makekey usdtv_fta.userupgrade.2.9.5.0810131918.keychain.tar.gz

The 128 MB stick should be no problem -- I use them all the time. I would go ahead and login as root. The makekey command is looking for path info and must be able to mount and format the /dev/sda (or whatever).

You could also try "sudu su -" or "sudu -i", which will log you in as root. From there you should be able to run the makekey script. You can also wait until you get the new box. I have worked with serveral ebay sellers to make sure they are using the latest version. It may already have 2.9.5 on it.

dogleg69

01-10-09, 07:59 PM

I have the feeling I just made this about 10 times harder then it needed to be :rolleyes:

Yes, I think it worked. But I agree, you *may* have made that a bit harder than it needed to be :)

northbear

01-10-09, 08:33 PM

You can also wait until you get the new box. I have worked with serveral ebay sellers to make sure they are using the latest version. It may already have 2.9.5 on it.

I was thinking about waiting but thought I could just quick work on it today and save myself some time later. :rolleyes: See how that works for me!

Thanks for the response. I am looking forward to trying out the box next week!

PS Out of curiosity, is there a way to transfer the files to the usb drive without the makekey?

dogleg69

01-10-09, 08:47 PM

I was thinking about waiting but thought I could just quick work on it today and save myself some time later. :rolleyes: See how that works for me!

Thanks for the response. I am looking forward to trying out the box next week!

PS Out of curiosity, is there a way to transfer the files to the usb drive without the makekey?

Yes. If you have a properly formatted USB stick, you just need to blow away the 000_signatures and diagnostic dirs and then copy the new dirs to the stick --- the files need to be all that is on the stick. Don't add or substract or modify the files.

The makekey script just mounts, formats, copys and checks the copy. You can skip any of those and do any by hand. No magic in the makekey script.

northbear

01-10-09, 10:13 PM

Yes. If you have a properly formatted USB stick, you just need to blow away the 000_signatures and diagnostic dirs and then copy the new dirs to the stick --- the files need to be all that is on the stick. Don't add or substract or modify the files.

The makekey script just mounts, formats, copys and checks the copy. You can skip any of those and do any by hand. No magic in the makekey script.

Thanks for the info. Maybe next time I will just copy the files over! :D

Be interesting to see what version of software comes on my box.

jazzfan216

01-14-09, 12:03 PM

Jim1348

01-14-09, 12:27 PM

I had one of these quite a while back, but I ended up returning it. There are a lot of posts here, but I will post my questions and then start wading through the old posts.

-Does the DB-1020 tuner both NTSC and ATSC?

-Are they still being manufactured?

-Where is the best place to buy one? (Is it Ebay or Craigslist?)

-Wasn't there a certain version of this that was made for a pay TV service that will not work with OTA NTSC and ATSC? I seem to recall a bunch of these on Ebay back when and people getting burned by these.

The reason I ask is because we have a Dodge Grand Caravan with built in DVD player. We make an annual camping trip in an area that still has low power translator stations. They haven't switched to ATSC yet. I would like to buy a box that has both NTSC and ATSC tuners in it and feed it to the AV inputs. If the DB-2010 does this, then I may want to get one. If not, I will continue looking for a Set Top Box that does this.

nthums1

01-14-09, 05:29 PM

dthibode

01-14-09, 07:39 PM

dogleg69

01-14-09, 08:20 PM

-Does the DB-1020 tuner both NTSC and ATSC?

-Are they still being manufactured?

-Where is the best place to buy one? (Is it Ebay or Craigslist?)

-Wasn't there a certain version of this that was made for a pay TV service that will not work with OTA NTSC and ATSC? I seem to recall a bunch of these on Ebay back when and people getting burned by these.

These Hisense boxes do NOT have both tuners -- only ATSC. They are not being manufactured any longer. The best place is ebay (and I do see some on Craigslist now an then too).

The hardware is the same for subscription (pay) and FTA (free to air). The firmware to convert back and forth is located at www.mediafire.com/dogleg69. There are many people on this thread that will help if you have trouble.

dogleg69

01-14-09, 08:24 PM

I received my 2010 yesterday from ebay. It shows software version: 2.5.57(2.4.18-7)
There is also shown a System ID:

I see there is some way to roll back to earlier software. Is there a way to back up current before trying that or updating to newer?

What would be the advantages of moving to a newer version?

I certainly recommend upgrading as that is a very old version. If you are showing a system Id, I think you still have subscription software. The 2.5.57 is so old, that you need to use the an ext2 (linux) formatted usb key. It will not recognize the .bin file on the FAT formatted usb stick.

The instructions and release notes for the versions are at:

www.mediafire.com/dogleg69

If you don't have access to linux, look in the windows -> pre 2.7.15 folder. Download the zip file and follow the instructions. That will upgrade you to 2.9.3. From there, you can use the FAT formatted stick to upgrade to 2.9.5.

dogleg69

01-14-09, 08:30 PM

Everything was running great until Sunday. When "24" came on right at the exact moment the show started, btw, my FOX station was "off the air." I unplugged my unit and plugged it back in and it stayed on for awhile, and then when the show came back from commercial, "off the air" again.

I was able to watch the show by flipping back to the old analog signal thru my vcr.

Anyway, when a commerical came on, got the other unit out, plugged it up and everything was fine, until the show came back from commercial and once again, "off the air".

Since I updated, I have watched and recorded from NBC and CBS without a single problem. This is the first I have used the unit with a FOX show. Because it happened on both units, I suspect it has something to do with the local FOX signal, but that is just a guess.

Any ideas if there could be something going on with the unit?

Sorry you are having those troubles. There are certain stations that are sending out "extra" information on a few of the primary signals. I thought I was on to a solution about two months ago, but smintn tested it for me (b/c he is having the same symptoms as you) and it did not work. So, I don't have a solution right now. It does not happen on any of my signals so I can test and find a solution.

The only equipment I have to debug is the box itself and the serial port. I don't have any signal analyzers to compare signals. I believe the parser is blowing up because of the extra information. I thought it was the DII data carousel information. I turned that off since we don't get software updates over that stream any more. However, that did not fix smintn FOX problem either.

If anyone has the capabilities to analyze the stream info, we could probably find the issue.

nthums1

01-15-09, 06:05 AM

I certainly recommend upgrading as that is a very old version. If you are showing a system Id, I think you still have subscription software. The 2.5.57 is so old, that you need to use the an ext2 (linux) formatted usb key. It will not recognize the .bin file on the FAT formatted usb stick.

The instructions and release notes for the versions are at:

www.mediafire.com/dogleg69

If you don't have access to linux, look in the windows -> pre 2.7.15 folder. Download the zip file and follow the instructions. That will upgrade you to 2.9.3. From there, you can use the FAT formatted stick to upgrade to 2.9.5.
That does not answer any questions, such as backing up. I have to wonder if the version in brackets is what it would revert to if I did the roll back trick?
And as of yet I have not found the current version in a file anywhere so that I could reinstall if necessary.
The current version does not have timers and that aiming antenna feature screen. What I have is a bar indicating signal strength available by add channel or the info screen. On signals that I have trouble with, that bar seems to jump about with a delay relative to it decoding a frame. And when playing with antenna for stronger indication, sometimes it looks quite strong and is still unable to decode. This may be common among some tuners and caused by phasing or ghosting of the signal.
The timers might be a nice addition, except that I have not as of yet found a way to record the output at the level of component output, 1080i or 720. Such recorders are very scarce and expensive.
I also have a Philips DVD recorder, alas the tuner is NTSC, ATSC, C-QAM, ATSC being only STDV. That sucks since even on the HDMI I get an upconverted signal. That can be expected when playing back from DVD because of the recording limitations, or watching NTSC or C-QAM, but sucks When a ATSC HDTV signal is available. Comparing both pictures, Hisense vs Philips, the Hisense HDTV is noticably better defined. That is likely partly due to the upconversion and the quality of the upconverter. The Philips has a 10-bit and I see there are some that use a 12-bit.
This box being my first experience with a true HD tuner, it far exceeds the picture of the Philips.
I'm not at all disappointed with it, but it would have been nice if it also tuned NTSC and C-QAM since I have cable as well and could use one box for all tuning available to me at present. That is even though it would not up-convert the lower quality signals.
Thanks to those working on improving the box.

nthums1

01-15-09, 06:11 AM

I have run across a few posts claiming there is a model 2030 with HDMI output. I have not located any yet.
Does anyone know of the differences between the models other than the HDMI?
If they were produced, it is likely there are surplus parts available through a parts house. Doing that upgrade might be as simple as swapping the main board and cutting a hole for the HDMI out. I'm not hugely concerned about having the HDMI, but if there other improvements on the main board it would be worth considering.

nthums1

01-15-09, 06:13 AM

Does anyone know what the two buttons either side of 0 are for?

nthums1

01-15-09, 06:29 AM

I have read much of the recent posts on this thread and done a search but still had a question I was unable to answer.

With the new software, can the box output video on both the component and the composite at the same time?

What I would like to do is hook up to my TV via the HD component cables and connect to the VCR for recording via the composite cable (and RCA audio cables)

Thanks!
There can be a downside to splitting the audio for use to both. You would be changing the impedance on the output which might overload the audio portion and likely decrease the signal strength. Your risk, unless you buy an external box that has electronics in it to do the splitting.
Or it might work if you have some way of making use of the SPDIF also, that is hoping that the box does not have some auto switching for the audio output. I saw no menu driven options to choose output for audio.

With all the barriers that Sony, recording industry, etc. have put up there are few or no options that enable all connection possibilities. Since the F connector may be the only common/universal connection it may be time to start looking for an RF modulator that can output to NTSC & ATSC HD while being able to accept HD inputs, component at least.

GlennInTexas

01-15-09, 12:07 PM

jazzfan216

01-15-09, 12:53 PM

Thanks, dogleg that helps a lot. That sounds about right because our FOX station transmits in 16.9 whereas the others use 4.3. I'll just have to use the old Hughes box or the Zenith box for FOX stuff. So, far no problems with those boxes and FOX. I only watch 24 and House on FOX so, that should work ok.

dogleg69

01-15-09, 05:36 PM

That does not answer any questions, such as backing up. I have to wonder if the version in brackets is what it would revert to if I did the roll back trick?
And as of yet I have not found the current version in a file anywhere so that I could reinstall if necessary.

There are two flash chips. When you install the new one, the old one will still be there to rollbak to. If you install twice, both will be overwritten. It installs to the non-active flash.

If you don't like the new software and are dead set on 2.5.57, I can help you with that. There is a 2.5.59 on the mediafire site.

dogleg69

01-15-09, 05:43 PM

From dogleg69-
"You could also try "sudu su -" or "sudu -i", which will log you in as root. From there you should be able to run the makekey script. You can also wait until you get the new box. I have worked with serveral ebay sellers to make sure they are using the latest version. It may already have 2.9.5 on it."

dogleg69- I can't figure out how to make the pretty boxed quotes work but you said you have worked with some of the ebay sellers. Were any of these some of the ones listing out of the north Texas (Denton for example)? Just curious since they seem to be really the only consistent sellers on ebay right now.

Those commands are for ubuntu (I'm no expert though). I have contacted marsman (the seller in north texas) to let him know where the lastest software is located (as well as others -- but he seems to do the most volume). I don't have time to monitor sellers like I used to.

Did that answer your question?

dogleg69

01-15-09, 05:45 PM

GlennInTexas

01-15-09, 05:57 PM

dogleg69

01-15-09, 06:26 PM

northbear

01-16-09, 01:10 PM

Thanks dogleg, that does answer my question. I was only interested in your reference to working withh sellers, not the commands. I'm considering buying another unit from the north Texas bunch and was curious if he was updating to your 2.95.

He is suppose to have it. If not, I (or someone here) will help you get it updated if needed.

Just recieved my box from Mike in Denton, Texas (Ebay: emma71803) and I can confirm my box had the most recent firmware 2.9.5 (just as dogleg69 said it may)
(http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15520704#post15520704)
Makes me feel a bit silly for the work (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15519833#post15519833) I did (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15520113#post15520113)getting the USB card ready. (which I already admitted (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15520463#post15520463)was harder then it needed to be!)

I guess now I have the know how and am all ready for any possible future versions :D

northbear

01-16-09, 01:20 PM

I received a universal remote instead of the original remote. Kind of a bummer, but I knew about this when I purchased the unit.

A quick question in this regard:

The mute does not seem to work. Not necessarily a big deal to me as I usually just mute the receiver. BUT if the unit will show Closed Captions on Mute I really like the feature and would like to try to get it to work. Can anyone confirm that with the original remote the CC info is shown on mute?

Several of the other buttons don't seem to function (Aspect etc) but there are currently magic sequences for those.

Thanks!

P.S. By the way the unit seems to work great....(just hooked it up briefly last night)

GlennInTexas

01-16-09, 01:54 PM

northbear

01-16-09, 05:18 PM

Northbear- please check your softare version and confirm. You've stated 2.5.9 which was, I believe, the same version someone else reported receiving recently. But dogleg is talking about 2.93 & 2.95 and I think he said the 2.5.9 is very old. It was because of this older version recently reported that I asked the question I did about whether dogleg had worked with Mike in Texas. I bought a unit from Mike a little over a year ago and got version 2.7.11 or something like that.

Thanks I will check when I get home... I am posting from work and was working from memory :o I am fairly sure it is the most recent as it has the timers.... I will double check and report back later....

Jeff

Edit... I checked at home and yes I am running 2.9.5

dogleg69

01-17-09, 09:29 AM

I received a universal remote instead of the original remote. Kind of a bummer, but I knew about this when I purchased the unit.

A quick question in this regard:

The mute does not seem to work. Not necessarily a big deal to me as I usually just mute the receiver. BUT if the unit will show Closed Captions on Mute I really like the feature and would like to try to get it to work. Can anyone confirm that with the original remote the CC info is shown on mute?

If the signal has a CC stream in it and the usdtv box is on mute AND closed captions are turned on, then yes, it will display the text on the screen.

Now, if you want the CC, you can still turn it on via the Menu. It will display if there is a stream (with or without being on mute). It would just require a few more button presses.

I just tried the above and it did work if the show has a CC stream.

northbear

01-17-09, 11:52 AM

If the signal has a CC stream in it and the usdtv box is on mute AND closed captions are turned on, then yes, it will display the text on the screen.

Now, if you want the CC, you can still turn it on via the Menu. It will display if there is a stream (with or without being on mute). It would just require a few more button presses.

I just tried the above and it did work if the show has a CC stream.

I can turn the CC on via the menu or with the magic code you so nicely put in. I just had a TV with this feature (CC on mute) and really liked it. In the grand scheme of things not a big deal, but I was it is a bit frustrating knowing that it can be done but I am unable to because of the remote issue.

teamfx

01-18-09, 05:00 PM

I'm giving up on my USDigital box. It had been working for a few years, then suddenly would not get past the initial splash screen. Tried lots of remote codes, firmware update attempts, but no good. Thanks to all who tried to help. This is probably still good for parts (power supply, connectors, case, etc...). No remote, got this puppy off fleabay. It's free to anyone who wants it (pick up or you pay for the cheapest shipping option, I'm guessing $5-10 via USPS).

PM me and we'll set up the xfer.

I think the same thing has happened to ours. Had it for roughly 4 1/3 years, but haven't updated it since late 2006. Anyway, I was informed that the box stopped working just recently; all we're getting from both indicator lights are faintly red. It's probably from having it on that whole time with limital shutoff periods. We had pulled the plug on the box for a few hours to see if that'd help, but to no avail as of late. Does anyone know what I can do get it working again? I know it's high time for a software update. Thanks, guys.

dogleg69

01-19-09, 09:50 AM

I think the same thing has happened to ours. Had it for roughly 4 1/3 years, but haven't updated it since late 2006. Anyway, I was informed that the box stopped working just recently; all we're getting from both indicator lights are faintly red. It's probably from having it on that whole time with limital shutoff periods. We had pulled the plug on the box for a few hours to see if that'd help, but to no avail as of late. Does anyone know what I can do get it working again? I know it's high time for a software update. Thanks, guys.

Are you getting the yellow USDtv logo splash screen? Do you have access to a linux box and serial debug cable?

northbear

01-19-09, 01:29 PM

As I mentioned previous I just purchased the Hisense box from ebay and thought I would give impressions of the box.

Build quality seems good, nice metal case. I opened the inside to remount a plastic part which must have loosened up in shipping (I blame it on shipping in -20 deg weather) There is lots of room on the inside, they gave themselves plenty of space.

The picture quality is great! I have a 32" Sony Flat screen CRT which is HDTV ready. Compared to my Channel Master CM-7000 CECB (via S-video) the picture was not night and day better, but better. For whatever reason I noticed the biggest quality difference on the lower resolution channels. I assume the hisense box up converts to 1080i and may be the reason for the better picture?

Reception was great for me. With my CM-7000 box reception was allways a "100%" With the hisense without a splitter every channel was below 96%. with a two way splitter nothing below 94%. Just for comparison I have LOS and am 23 miles from the towers. I have a larger attic mounted antenna. Have not seen any dropouts or reception problems.

The only minor annoyance is that my box from e-bay didn't come with the original remote (I knew this when I purchased it) and so I would have to use some of the "magic" codes to get some features to work. But I have come to terms with this and realized that I am not going to use any of these features on a regular basis anyways. On a more positive note my universal remote (Sony RM-VL600) has a code for USDTV which worked great! The only issue I had was that the "guide" and "info" button were reversed and if I pressed the guide button (which brought up the info bar) twice it would bring me to the guide rather then removing the info bar. Easy fix was to reprogram those two buttons using the universal remote that shipped with the box from the ebay seller.

I like the onscreen guide and menus. Controls work well. Digital audio out works great. Overall very happy with the unit especially for the price paid vs what the Samsung DTB-H260F would cost.

Thanks to everyone for their help and recommendations that lead me to purchase this receiver!

hemmie

01-20-09, 12:16 PM

If you have the same problem as jtbs, then you have a brand new box straight from the Hisense factory in China. You can tell if you have diagnostic/test software by seeing if the box asks you questions like:

- press the X button
- is the green light on
- now is the red light on
- do you see X on the screen
- etc....

Those are not the exact questions, but something like that. This is the initial software developed by USD and given to Hisense to put on at the factory in China. I can only speculate that USD did not want to let the real firmware out of their possession. So, they gave the manufacturer a simple test firmware. You need special firmware to fix this problem.

You can either IM me in this special case or send it back to whoever you bought it from.

Hello Dogleg69;
I've tried through out this forum to see whether I could get any instructions for this specific problem. I IM'd you as well. Please help me to fix this uint, I can't send the unit back to seller as it was sold AS-IS on ebay.

jtbs, ftdkn;
Have you able to flash your test firmware?

Thank you and help is much appreciated.

dogleg69

01-20-09, 02:56 PM

Hello Dogleg69;
I've tried through out this forum to see whether I could get any instructions for this specific problem. I IM'd you as well. Please help me to fix this uint, I can't send the unit back to seller as it was sold AS-IS on ebay.

jtbs, ftdkn;
Have you able to flash your test firmware?

Thank you and help is much appreciated.

I answered your PM. There is a solution for the boxes that have the diagnostic software from the Hisense factory. I have not made it available b/c there was enough confusion as it was.

Would you mind saying who you bought that box from on ebay? I am trying to figure out who is selling these boxes with only the diags on it. I know marsman has in the past. I have emailed him about it. Are there more out there?

hemmie

01-21-09, 07:05 PM

Hello Dogleg69;

Thanks for the response, I'll post here as soon as I'm able to execute your instructions.

The ebay seller I bought it from is cortez5523. I think he is not a mass seller this is only one unit and sold it describing that I need to flash firmware before making it work., but honestly didn't have an idea that it is test firmware.

teamfx

01-22-09, 10:14 AM

Are you getting the yellow USDtv logo splash screen? Do you have access to a linux box and serial debug cable?

Nothing pops up on screen, I'm afraid. I don't think I do have a linux box or cable handy, on top of that. More information on that would be helpful, though. Thanks.

adude

01-22-09, 10:59 PM

teamfx,

If you do not have a linux box, you can look into virtualization software. Virtualbox (http://www.virtualbox.org/) is a free tool and will let you install a virtual linux pc on existing windows machine. That would be an easiest way to get linux.

I was able to get started with linux in less than 1 hr (excluding linux download time). You can't get a virtual serial cable though ;)

hemmie

01-23-09, 09:55 PM

Hello Dogleg69;

Thanks for the response, I'll post here as soon as I'm able to execute your instructions.

Thank you dogleg69, was able to get it all working in less than 15 minutes, thanks to your magical dd file, created the linux bootable image without a sweat and more importantly was able boot from it and flash the firmware.

I can assure anyone that has test firmware which can be described as,
USDTV bootable logo and led check confirmation dialog screens walking through for diagnostic tests and finally hangs at indicating some working like "you should be able to view HDTV programming...", can be fixed and install the new software for sure. Don't panic if you get your hands on to a such box.

Thank you again dogleg69 helping me fix the issue.

mhazed56

01-24-09, 12:27 AM

dogleg69, I registered here just to say THANKS for all the work you have done with the tuners and your help here in the forum. Personally I have flashed four of the tuners I purchased from marsman with your Windows version of firmware 2.9.5 and they all work great! Before the update my only real problem was the time loss issue and your update has cured that. I did find that you may have to try different channels until you find one that sets the time correctly. Especially if you live in an area that observes DST.

mikebaz

02-01-09, 05:44 PM

hey guys,

been following these threads for a while and I finally got my unit the other day..

Got it off the ebay seller Mike emma**** .. anyways, it's running system software version 2.7.15 (2.4.18-15), hardware version db2020.. I was hoping to upgrade it to the latest, but I can't get it to read my USB drive no matter what. I've tried reformatting and the "magic" reboot sequence.. I couldn't get it to respond to the reboot sequence at all.. any ideas?

I was hoping it would come with the "latest and greatest" :S

dogleg69

02-01-09, 09:19 PM

Got it off the ebay seller Mike emma**** .. anyways, it's running system software version 2.7.15 (2.4.18-15), hardware version db2020.. I was hoping to upgrade it to the latest, but I can't get it to read my USB drive no matter what. I've tried reformatting and the "magic" reboot sequence.. I couldn't get it to respond to the reboot sequence at all.. any ideas?

Which version and which OS are you trying (how did you create the stick)? If linux, it sounds like it is not bootable.

Since is has 2.7.15, I would give the windows .bin file a try.

mikebaz

02-02-09, 03:25 PM

dogleg69

02-02-09, 03:58 PM

thanks for the quick reply..

I formatted the 2gb USB drive in XP and tried the latest on your mediafire page.. (windows bin) When I power cycle the unit, I get a blue screen that says Please Wait, and then it powers off again.. in about 30 seconds, then works as normal.. It never does any type of updating.

I tried re-formatting a few times and still didn't work. So then I tried the other package you had posted, and followed the "dd ......" steps.. same thing, wouldn't recognize it. I tried the magic sequence (I think it was guide, info, aspect, info, 1) and it doesn't reboot. I'm stumped.

typically, those symptoms are from:

1) stick not created correctly
2) stick too large (or to new) to be recognized (odd, but I have seen it happen)
3) the version on the stick is older than the version on the box
4) there are other files on the stick aside from the specified files

Now, starting in 2.9.4 I am releasing what is called an upgrade (instead of a reinstall). This was done so if you had set timers, I would copy the settings over. This should not be causing your problem, but we might try grabing the 292 version from the windows archive and trying that.

Also, make sure there are no other files on the stick and that the .bin file is named exactly correct.

Note if the usb starts flashing after you plug the unit back into the power. If it does, then I will assume that the usb device and driver are functioning.

mikebaz

02-04-09, 08:39 AM

thanks for the reply.

I appreciate everything you've done for the community and received your PM as well..

I searched around the house and found an old USB stick. So I reformatted it and put the latest 2.9.5 package on it, and it updated right away no problems!! :)

I guess my original problem was just a picky receiver/thumb drive.. the strange this is, I've never had a problem with it being recognized in the computer and it did light up when I plugged it in the receiver.

Either way, it's working great now.. I just need to setup my antenna a little better :)

Thanks again!

nthums1

02-13-09, 09:22 AM

I have never seen one. I have seen a manual with a graphic showing the hdmi port. I do not think they were ever produced (but I do not know that for sure).

I tried a couple of those quick commands. They did not work on the 2.5.57 unit.
I also purchased another and it has 2.7.15 (2.4.18-7) Hdw. DB2020. It will not get any of the channels. Test was by swapping boxes. It eventually found channels, but no video, off air message.
I'm curious of the liklihood of a flash helping it? Right now I have the feeling the box may have a problem such as a weak tuner.

I followed some links to HiSense.com and saw they have a couple of interesting boxes. Translated by google. One of them, MC668HC, looks to be the same box as this with a different face plate. The other has a HDD and numerous outputs along with wireless and USB for loading with movies.

Also among links was one to ATI and their Xillion chip and Xillion mainboard. Following are those ATI say they shipped to: Coship Matsushita (Panasonic) TiVo
Funai (Sylvania) Philips Toshiba
Hisense Scientific-Atlanta Thomson / TTE (RCA)
Hitachi Samsung USDTV
JVC Sanyo Xoceco (PRIMA)
I can only wonder if these units have the Xillion chip and it would interest me to learn what boxes made use of the mainboard.

dogleg69

02-13-09, 10:22 AM

I tried a couple of those quick commands. They did not work on the 2.5.57 unit.
I also purchased another and it has 2.7.15 (2.4.18-7) Hdw. DB2020. It will not get any of the channels. Test was by swapping boxes. It eventually found channels, but no video, off air message.
I'm curious of the liklihood of a flash helping it? Right now I have the feeling the box may have a problem such as a weak tuner.

Flashing won't hurt -- it may not help if indeed you have hardware troubles. The 2.5.57 unit will not respond to the .bin file on the FAT filesystem. You have to use a linux solution. However, there is a dd created windows file in the windows/usingPre_2.7.15 dir on www.mediafire.com/dogleg69. It is the 2.9.3 version. So, if you don't have access to linux, you can use the dd2.9.3 to upgrade to 2.9.3 and then upgrade to 2.9.5 using the .bin file.

Do you have linux access/experince? If so, you can upgrade both using the latest tar.gz file and the makekey script.

nthums1

02-14-09, 06:08 PM

I have never seen one. I have seen a manual with a graphic showing the hdmi port. I do not think they were ever produced (but I do not know that for sure).

Flashing won't hurt -- it may not help if indeed you have hardware troubles. The 2.5.57 unit will not respond to the .bin file on the FAT filesystem. You have to use a linux solution. However, there is a dd created windows file in the windows/usingPre_2.7.15 dir on www.mediafire.com/dogleg69. It is the 2.9.3 version. So, if you don't have access to linux, you can use the dd2.9.3 to upgrade to 2.9.3 and then upgrade to 2.9.5 using the .bin file.

Do you have linux access/experince? If so, you can upgrade both using the latest tar.gz file and the makekey script.

My main concern is with the 2.7.15 box. I've had it disconnected for a few days, using the older box since it works, while I try to find the best solution.
I just hooked it up again and now it starts with a screen that says I must set it up. OK allows scanning of channels and it finds 9. Next screen pops to "USDTV service not found". And my only options are retry & adjust antenna. I'm stuck in that loop.
I don't know Linux. And now am clueless as to which would be the appropriate flash?

dogleg69

02-14-09, 08:35 PM

My main concern is with the 2.7.15 box. I've had it disconnected for a few days, using the older box since it works, while I try to find the best solution.
I just hooked it up again and now it starts with a screen that says I must set it up. OK allows scanning of channels and it finds 9. Next screen pops to "USDTV service not found". And my only options are retry & adjust antenna. I'm stuck in that loop.
I don't know Linux. And now am clueless as to which would be the appropriate flash?

If the 2.7.15 box allows you to scan and then says USDTV service not found, that is good news -- it sounds like it is a subscription box. If it was working before, I have no idea how an FTA box jumped back to subscription unless the rollback sequence was initiated.

On the 2.7.15 box, here is what I would suggest:

- go to www.mediafire.com/dogleg69
- navigate to the windows --> archive directory
- download the fromService293.zip file
- unzip the file and follow the instructions inside the file
- try and use a 32mb usb stick (or something smaller than a 1gb)
- after the usb is made, unplug the box, stick the usb in the back, plug back in and follow on screen instructions

- if that works, you will have an FTA with 2.9.3 version.
- now download the latest usdtvUpdate295ForWindowsFAT.zip and follow the instructions in it to upgrade to 2.9.5

Sorry you have to go through two steps, but that is the easiest way with the software is posted. Let us know if it works or if you need any other help.

nthums1

02-15-09, 06:58 AM

If the 2.7.15 box allows you to scan and then says USDTV service not found, that is good news -- it sounds like it is a subscription box. If it was working before, I have no idea how an FTA box jumped back to subscription unless the rollback sequence was initiated.

On the 2.7.15 box, here is what I would suggest:

- go to www.mediafire.com/dogleg69
- navigate to the windows --> archive directory
- download the fromService293.zip file
- unzip the file and follow the instructions inside the file
- try and use a 32mb usb stick (or something smaller than a 1gb)
- after the usb is made, unplug the box, stick the usb in the back, plug back in and follow on screen instructions

- if that works, you will have an FTA with 2.9.3 version.
- now download the latest usdtvUpdate295ForWindowsFAT.zip and follow the instructions in it to upgrade to 2.9.5

Sorry you have to go through two steps, but that is the easiest way with the software is posted. Let us know if it works or if you need any other help.

If rollback means toggling to the other whatever inside box, yes I toggled it.
How do I update that side of the unit?
I thought I was trying to update that part but instead did the 2.7.15 side to 2.9.3. That adds a bunch of diagnostic stuff, but have no idea what it means.

I'm reallly beginning to believe it has a hardware issue. When first plugged, you have to be about a foot away from box with remote. After it has been plugged for maybe half hour I can work back to a normal range. Possibly a voltage problem, so if anyone knows the voltages inside the unit that might be helpful. Otherwise I have to suspect the previous owner did not have his antenna system properly isolated or grounded. That is the front end, tuner section, took a static charge or lightning strike. He claimed he could no longer use it because a new wing on a hospital blocked his signal and had to go dish.

nthums1

02-15-09, 01:18 PM

badda-bing.
Hardware indeed. I decided to check voltages and as luck would have it the voltages are printed on the PS board next to each pin of the two connectors. Voltages on the line going to tuner, 30V, 5V, & 3.3V. The other line going to MOBO also has 12V.
I notice what looks like 3 caps bulging. The voltages I read were 35V, 4.5V, & 3.0V. The 12V was close. But what alarmed me was that after holding the probe on the 30V line for a couple of seconds it would start to runaway and read 65V a couple of times. I switched to AC mode and saw that 65VAC was riding on the DC line. I was using a cheap meter and it is likely that the DC scale was reading that AC presence. Probably low power but certainly too much ripple for my thinking.
Dug and found some caps in my junk box (40 years old). I found one exact 470mf. One 500mf at about double the required voltage to replace one of the 470mf. And 1000mf at a much higher voltage as well. (higher voltage is OK. And likely they would not have failed if they had not been so cheap as to spend a couple of cents more per capacitor.)
I fired up and reread voltages. 30.0V, 4.9V, 3.3V, & 12.3V. I forgot to check for the ripple. Two of the caps were on the 5V line and one on the 3.3V, I think, or other way around. I have to assume the 30V line is controlled by the accuracy of either the 5V or 3.3V line. The other caps did not appear to have a problem. Also I noted the input voltage range for the PS board, 110-220V. I could have investigated further, but wanted to see the results so I closed and plugged.
Remote function immediately and it tuned all channels. Hoo-ray!

I did make some notes of what else was inside. On the mainboard is a connector labled SmartCard. Also a designation for a connector that had a lot of pins, but not present. And a four pin connector near the CPU. And an eight pin connector at the rear of the board next to the S-video connector. Seems that one was definitely meant for a port out the back. It would be interesting to learn what they were intended for. To add the smart media would be very easy if the software is accomadating and there is need. The same with the other two connectors. Only eight pin that comes to mind, out the back, might be 4 twisted pair, LAN, or possibly a sort of com port. checking the module on my 42" monitor I see they only have 8 pins in the 9 pin connector. The manual shows 2 pins N/C and 2 pins shorted. Maybe someone more familiar with COM ports can chime in.

Now as to function using the 2.9.3 version. The older one has only one zoom and it widens the picture which works for near all of my situations where the station is broadcasting a program in something other than full. The 2.9.3, zoom1 increases vertical, and zoom2 keeps the vertical increase and increases horizontal. I seldom need the vertical increase. And I've never seen a difference between auto-aspect and full. So what does auto-aspect do?
And is it possible to flash that second part of box?

dogleg69

02-15-09, 01:37 PM

badda-bing.
Hardware indeed. <incredible details of a hardware fix deleted...> So what does auto-aspect do?
And is it possible to flash that second part of box?

Wow. That is incredible. Nice job on find and more incredibily fixing the box. I must tip my hat to you.

It is possible to flash the box. There are two sets of NAND flash chips. One holds the active software, the other is for rolling back or upgrading. So, give the 2.9.5 a try as it fixes quite a few issues. If for some reason you want to go back to 2.7.15 or whatever, we can work and make that happen.

Again, great fix. Thanks for posting the details.

nthums1

02-15-09, 03:42 PM

Wow. That is incredible. Nice job on find and more incredibily fixing the box. I must tip my hat to you.

It is possible to flash the box. There are two sets of NAND flash chips. One holds the active software, the other is for rolling back or upgrading. So, give the 2.9.5 a try as it fixes quite a few issues. If for some reason you want to go back to 2.7.15 or whatever, we can work and make that happen.

Again, great fix. Thanks for posting the details.

I thank you and this forum for the information that led me to believe my situation did not fit the normal problems of most. I'm an old tech/engineer, so the warming up of the box allowing the remote to work was indicative of something electrical, just as it getting too warm can cause it to die.

In my searching I have found some indication that this box might have some multi-path tuning capabilities. But the timing might be set a little too close for all situations, but then situations can vary widely. It seems I'm a victim of the multi-path from transmitter. The indication seems to be the indicator signal strength. Even though I may show a peak signal, as the max setting for this is approached, the signal will suddenly drop to near zero and sometimes drop picture for an instant and then the signal meter returning to max. By carefully aiming I am able to stop near all of it. But time will tell as these signal paths can change between day and night. That brings in the decision of what is better antenna since there are a few degrees between the two transmitter sites, about 30 degrees I think. A higher gain/tighter beam might eliminate the side and reflected lobes, but then it might also mean having to turn antenna everytime I switch between them. And still I have the wait until they finalize digital. Right now I have one upper VHF that is transmitting digital on UHF. One they shut the analog down, they will move the digital back to channel 11. Lower frequency generally means transmitting farther with less power. And then I have no idea what PBS is doing, analog 9. If they are transmitting digital, I can not find them but there has also been some comment that they are doing low power until the analog shutdown. Another wait and see, which may put me in the trouble others have been having trying to get PBS.
What I would like to do is flash the nand that is useless now. It apparently was never flashed for FTA and is in the USDigital state.

nthums1

02-16-09, 03:12 PM

Update, other box. My curiosity about those unused connector and other points forced me to grab the disconnected box and peak inside, the other box.
First, I notice it has a bulging capacitor, one of the same ones as the first box. Also the big capacitor that is near the front of regulation, 68MF, 400V, looked like it might have slight bulge. I'm beginning to think that if I want to keep boxes long term, it might be time to visit a store and replace all the caps on the power supply, or least the bigger ones. And bump the voltage of the replacements maybe 50%. I would think the capacitance would be enough since this PS was also designed for countries using 220V and most of those use 50HZ I think. Since 50HZ is harder to filter to smooth DC, the capacitance should be enough for 60HZ. But then maybe they restricted them to 60HZ only countries. The back plate info, 120V 60HZ might mean that it is equipped with 110V plug for 60HZ, and in different country the backplate might change with the cord and plug. I did not note a specified frequency on the PS board.

nthums1

02-16-09, 04:26 PM

Concerning my connector curiosity.
Aware of a place for a connector at the back, I was hoping for an additional video option such as HDMI or DVI. What I learned of the eight pin holes for the connector is that the first three would be tied back to the Component RCA jacks in existence. Also one of the pins would carry 5V. Two of the connections I was not able to determine, but the last two end up under the CPU and presumably are connected. Can anyone make sense of what type of connector would be used and possible signalling?
My best guess presently is a VGA which only needs 7 leads for signal plus ground. Also RGB would need to be output rather than Y, Pb, Pr. It would seem that RGB would be preferred since it is wider bandwidth of the two. But then I don't know what is exactly carried with digital transmission or should I say how. I know the analog version front to back. And once you achieve a RGB signal it is senseless to convert back the other way unless you have bandwidth constrictions.
Does anyone know if this box is capable of outputting RGB, presuming someone can write the code to switch it. I'd love to compare RGB vs. the current Y,Pb, Pr. That switch would use the same connectors already present on the back.

I also looked more closely at the spot for a connector that looks to be a direct connection to CPU for near all pins. It is an 80 pin connector. I have no idea what this might have interfaced since the double row is only about 2" long.

But the location near the SmartCard connection, a 10 pin, appears to be for serial interfacing. One pin controls a buffered logic gate. I did not follow output yet. Other than ground, the remaining pins connect a 1Mb flash memory serial interface. One of those is a select which presumably designates which of the four pages of memory to use. Another line is the serial data in, and the other a serial data out.

nthums1

02-17-09, 05:43 AM

Update concerning size of capacitors. A higher voltage rating is good as long as it does not get so physically big that it becomes impossible to fit it. As to using a capacitor of a larger value, I will have to do some more research. I just remembered the coils of wire that were located near those final capacitors. I had not done a trace of the connections, but it just occurred to me that they may be part of a "L" or "Pi" filter. Unfortunately, it is likely I will not be able to determine the inductance of them to calculate the exact frequency such a circuit is meant for. Once I have time to determine the circuit diagram I will have a better idea of the exact function. It might be a low pass filter effectively killing any ripple, especially 60HZ. It might be a trap effectively sending 60Hz to ground. Until I know the exact circuitry and function it would be best to stick with the exact capacitance. Changing the capacitance would detune the trapping or passing circuitry from its current design. But I would recommend using a higher voltage at this time because judging from my two boxes, there is a design weakness on the PS board. I would recommend upping the voltage spec by at least 50%. That is the cap marked 10V should be at least 15V and those marked 16V should be at least 24V and so on. As a rough figure, 50% used to be the recommended amount. The voltage of the caps I replaced should have been sufficient for the 5V and 3.3V line they were on unless there was a large amount of ripple they were having to deal with, such as the 60+VAC noted on the 30V output.
More after I get the circuitry design.

bullitt22

02-17-09, 03:31 PM

dthibode

02-17-09, 04:13 PM

nthums1

02-17-09, 04:47 PM

I was almost ready to throw out my old USDTV Hisense box, when I came across this thread. I did a bunch of reading, and even prepared my own USB dongle to upgrade the firmware.

I plug in my USDTV box for the first time in months, and nothing happens. Both lights are steadily flashing green, with a small beeping noise coming out of the speakers. I try the USB dongle (unplug unit, plug USB stick in, plug in unit), but all I get are both green flashing lights. :(

I read earlier that it may be a power source? Is this still the case? Or are there any other options?

If it turns out a $20 power source is needed, then why would I want to sink money into the Hisense, when I can take my $40 credit (from the government) and buy a new box? Is it the menu that makes the Hisense so popular?

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Because none of those coupon boxes will give you HD. They only give you an SD picture, that is 480i. The best output I've found on those that qualify for the coupon is S-video. I tried a Phillips recorder and it had an SDTV tuner only with outputs up through HDMI. I get a far better picture with this Hisense using component than what that box gave with its upconversion to 1080p on HDMI. I glanced around and tuners that do true HD and with features similar to this one are in the $150 -250 range.
I did finally learn that Sony boasts an HDTV tuner, but they do something stupid by my thinking. I called their tech support and they contacted engineering. I actually had two questions, but the answer to the second made the first moot for my purposes. I think I wanted to know about time-shifting and apparently the Sony don't do that. The other was if the Sony actually output the HD signal because there were notes concerning playback, that it did not. Because the recording formats of DVD and HDD at that time were such that you could not compress HD enough to record it, instead of sending the HD through the box when you were listening live, they processed it down to SD so that it was recordable and at that point split for output. Dumb huh? Even though the box I was looking at was upconverting to 1080p, no matter how good the upconverting is you just can't recreate the real signal from 480 or 720. If it was only changing 1080i (HDTV) to 1080p they should be able to get pretty close by combining alternate frames. But there is no way they could accurately fill in all the missing pixels from 480 or 720 to stretch the picture all the way to 1080.
MPEG4 has been around a little while, but it is hard to find any box that uses it for the recording format. It allows greater compression with less loss.
I have assumed the set you hook to has a great picture, capable of better than 480i.

nthums1

02-17-09, 04:55 PM

Dogleg, I'm stuck as to how I'm going to flash to FTA with a Linux file. The one that seems like it would work on the never flashed ROM requires Linux to format the stick.
How do I proceed?

dogleg69

02-17-09, 05:07 PM

Dogleg, I'm stuck as to how I'm going to flash to FTA with a Linux file. The one that seems like it would work on the never flashed ROM requires Linux to format the stick.
How do I proceed?

Remind me again about the box you want to upgrade. What version is currently running on it? Look on the System Info screen.

bullitt22

02-17-09, 05:42 PM

The $40 you got from the government is for a converter box, that is a box that will tune HD and output Standard Definition. The Hisense box will accept HD signals and output standard or HD signals over component outputs. It's also much higher quality than the converter boxes, which are built to last only a year or two. To get a decent HD tuner you'd need to spend well over $100. Another side note, most converter boxes are composite only, no s-video. I'm using the s-video output on my hisense box and it's crystal clear! I just ordered another box for our downstairs tv, I can't wait to upgrade it. Thanks dogleg69!

Ah - OK. Looks like I have a good box then.

So, back to square one. I can't even get it to turn on (after not using it for a few months). Both lights on the front just blink on and off. Is my best option at this point to look at a new power box? Can I open it up and do a hard reset of some sort? It doesn't seem to respond to the remote reboot sequence.

bullitt22

02-17-09, 07:09 PM

dogleg69

02-17-09, 07:51 PM

Adding more detail...

The Signal and Power lights are both simultaneously flashing green, fairly rapidly. I have opened the case, and I do not see anything that appears burnt. I unplugged some main motherboard wires in the hopes it would reset something.

I have tried the remote reset functions, and those are not working either (new batteries in remote).

Anyone have any ideas?

Blinking double green lights indicate a bad power supply. There is no hardware reset (like a jumper or anything) that I know of. The only place I know of is http://www.proserv1.com/ --> Contact Us (in the middle of the page). Rough website, but this is the original marsman website. I have no idea what he would charge.

If I had one you could have it, but smintn had a box that blew up and I thought I had an extra PS for him. Turned out I did not. I would try marsman and report back. OR ask for hardware debugging help here if you are good with a multimeter and soldering iron.

bullitt22

02-17-09, 08:05 PM

Blinking double green lights indicate a bad power supply. There is no hardware reset (like a jumper or anything) that I know of. The only place I know of is http://www.proserv1.com/ --> Contact Us (in the middle of the page). Rough website, but this is the original marsman website. I have no idea what he would charge.

If I had one you could have it, but smintn had a box that blew up and I thought I had an extra PS for him. Turned out I did not. I would try marsman and report back. OR ask for hardware debugging help here if you are good with a multimeter and soldering iron.

Thanks for the info. I have emailed marsman.

I am confused, though, as to "power supply". Normally I think of a power supply as a cord with some sort of large box inline. When I open this USDTV box up, the power cord goes right into the motherboard, 2 wires - no box or inline fuse. So, what exactly does the power supply consist of? Just the cord? Or is there more to it?

norm1968

02-17-09, 09:37 PM

nthums1

02-18-09, 05:16 AM

Adding more detail...

The Signal and Power lights are both simultaneously flashing green, fairly rapidly. I have opened the case, and I do not see anything that appears burnt. I unplugged some main motherboard wires in the hopes it would reset something.

I have tried the remote reset functions, and those are not working either (new batteries in remote).

Anyone have any ideas?
Since you have it open, did you look for bulging capacitors. It is possible that they were going bad when you last used it and the pressure inside the capacitor might have forced the electrolyte out of the cap. Look on the board at the base of the capacitors. Or use a meter to check the voltages. How long had it been since you used it?
I would have to look at the spec for the Flash chips as they do have a limit on the memory, but I think it was around a year minimum.
Maybe reflashing will do it.

nthums1

02-18-09, 05:44 AM

Remind me again about the box you want to upgrade. What version is currently running on it? Look on the System Info screen.

It is the second memory in the box that has the 2.9.3 upgrade. I can't get at that part of it because when it boots it wants to do the setup and I can't get out of that sequence because it finds no USDigital channels. Only options are adjust antenna and retry. So I end up doing the toggle back to the other memory.
Does anyone know how USDigital coded their transmission? How different was it from the current ATSC ?

I've seen some questions about adding CQAM and NTSC. I too am interested in that and it seems it should be do able. I don't know the differences between the NTSC and ATSC tuners. The NTSC does have a wider reception bandwidth though because frequencies for channels 2 - 6 are not used with digital. There are a large number of video cards that have tuners on them and some of them will do all three type of signals. Guessing, I suspect there is circuitry that digitizes the output of NTSC tuner where they actually have two tuners on the board, two RF inputs. We might be lucky and find a tuner that would directly swap with the one on the current board. The next time I have a box open, I'll check the voltages at the tuner can and see if that 30V line is actually fed to it. It is possible it is stepped down on that circuit board or used for something else on the board. There is no 30V used in computers.
Does anyone know a tech that works in a repair shop that does recorders with tuners? They might use 30V.
I suspect that to get CQAM it is just a matter of programming the chip. And as to QAM, let's face it, the signal is there. You just need to find the key.

nthums1

02-18-09, 06:45 AM

I'm a recent new owner of one these boxes, the Hisense HDTV tuner, and it looks to me by the trend of quite a few posts here that the Hisense box suffers from the "Bad Caps" plague. Read about what I'm talking about on Wikipedia, the article titled: Capacitor plague.

On that Wikipedia page they also have a picture showing what a typical internal "power supply" looks like. Power supplies can be external boxes on the power cord outside the box (typical of laptop PCs) or they can be on printed circuit boards inside, as the Hisense box has.

My PC purchased in 2003 had bad caps, and I replaced them all myself successfully and got the mother board (and PC) to work again. I might suggest there are web sites (some are mentioned in the Wikipedia article) that will sell you a set of replacement caps relatively cheap. As I recall, I purchaed about 8 for my PC resurrection project for about $12.

My advice would be when replacing caps, use the same capacitance value and voltage as the originals. Although there's nothing wrong with going to a higher voltage, they would be more expensive, and it's probably not necessary. It's very unlikely the originals failed due to improper specs, and more likely they were defective due to the "Capacitor Plague".

-Norm
There may have been an extra bad batch, but my years of experience say it is more than that. I worked TV in late 70's. This was the period of transition to mostly solid state, but occaisonally I'd see one of those early 50's round picture tube sets. Going back to that time frame, you might say every component on them was discrete. Tons of parts. And power was derived from a transformer that weighed maybe thirty pounds and had multiple windings for each required voltage. The beauty of the transformer was that it made the system very tolerant of surges, spikes, and lightening strikes, as long as it was not a direct strike. The reason for these old sets still existing, mostly RCA, was they built them like a Gulfstream, more than they had to be to meet minimums.
Through time most manufacturers have adopted a close to minimum approach to hold cost down and maybe a bit of GE philosophy, the father of planned obsolescence.
And as we moved into the solid state and integrated circuits, there were many design weaknesses. One of the major ones was they did not design in a way to overcome the replacement of the costly power transformer. Silicon just can not take those huge spikes that transformers and vacuum tubes could then. Today we have surge suppressors to help.
But capacitors, they have cut them to the minimum because of cost. You have not lived until you have your face inside a set and one of those electrolytics explodes. A medium sized one sounds like a shotgun. And that can is filled with foil that can spread confetti into your face.
An example of how close they are cutting the tolerance, look at the caps on the board of this unit. You will find two caps of equal value but one is rated 16V and the other is 10V. It would be my guess they came down the same assembly line but when tested at the end, the 10V was weaker than the 16 for the voltage test. They both would have been within capacitance spec, so they sold the 10V at a slightly lower price, maybe $15 per 100. Design engineers pick from ready made components when possible because they are cheaper than special order and if they have orders to pick price or end quality, they go with the cheaper part when possible. We, having to buy retail, will likely pay a bit more than the 15 cent difference, maybe 60 cent. So I ask, for a bit more money, do you want that extra margin of reliability the company did not put in?
It is likely you will not see a significant increase in price for any of the capacitors on this board by doubling the voltage spec, unless it ends up being an un-common value.
If we were looking at say a 4700MF at 1000V and chose to go to a 1600V, then I'd expect to pay a few more dollars. I think the biggest cap I saw was 68MF at 450V. 68MF, not the voltage, sounds uncommon to me and you might pay a bit more for it. Unless you happen to find one of those bag of parts for a few dollars. They quite often have a few common capacitors and then some of those un-common ones because of overstock.
I hesitate to say it would be OK to increase the capacitance to a more common cap of 100MF without knowing the circuitry it is used in, but do not hesitate to increase voltage, especially at the front of the board circuit-wise. That is where power is fed in and you are susceptable to anything on the line.

BTW, lightening suppressors, surge suppressors, and UPS are not 100%. All have a reaction time before clamping and in those few nano seconds it may be too late. Isolation transformers are stil one of the best means of protection, but costly.

nthums1

02-18-09, 06:51 AM

Thanks for the info. I have emailed marsman.

I am confused, though, as to "power supply". Normally I think of a power supply as a cord with some sort of large box inline. When I open this USDTV box up, the power cord goes right into the motherboard, 2 wires - no box or inline fuse. So, what exactly does the power supply consist of? Just the cord? Or is there more to it?

It is really quite simple, That box you are thinking of, well it is a bit larger and they stuffe the motherboard and tuner board in it as well.
That first board you came to that had the power cord attached, that is the PS board. At the opposite end you will find two connectors and alongside of them you will see the output voltages marked.
If you start disconnecting these plugs, be careful as not all of them have a plug at both ends. I think the tuner board is soldered on one of the connectors. Look closely and you will see a slight difference, mostly in the height.

Stepmar57

02-18-09, 10:04 AM

First-time post - actually, not quite my first but forgot all of my earlier login info from previous incarnations. :)

Anyway, I rejoined just to add to the chorus. I just received my box from Mike (Ebay: emma71803) and my box also had the most recent firmware 2.9.5.

It came with all of the cables I needed and a pretty decent RCA universal remote as well. Without looking at a manual of any kind, setup was a snap and the picture and sound quality is terrific. Thanks to everyone at this forum (and google's search capability) for the great info!
:D

dogleg69

02-18-09, 10:33 AM

Thanks for the info. I have emailed marsman.

I am confused, though, as to "power supply". Normally I think of a power supply as a cord with some sort of large box inline. When I open this USDTV box up, the power cord goes right into the motherboard, 2 wires - no box or inline fuse. So, what exactly does the power supply consist of? Just the cord? Or is there more to it?

There are 4 components inside the USDtv box:

1. Main/motherboard (contains the ATI Xilleon chip, flash, etc...)
2. ATSC Tuner
3. Power Supply Unit
4. On/off and lights

The PSU does have the cord as well as the circuit board to feed the main board and the tuner. If you got one, you would have to disconnect the ribbon cables and replace the PSU.

dogleg69

02-18-09, 10:42 AM

It is the second memory in the box that has the 2.9.3 upgrade. I can't get at that part of it because when it boots it wants to do the setup and I can't get out of that sequence because it finds no USDigital channels. Only options are adjust antenna and retry. So I end up doing the toggle back to the other memory.

I'm still confused to which software is running right now. We don't have to worry about what is on each NAND flash. I just need to know which one is active and the software that is on the active when you boot.

If you boot right now and it asked you to scan for USDtv channels, then you are booting with subscription software. So, we need to get that to FTA.

- go to www.mediafire.com/dogleg69
- navigate to the windows --> archive directory
- download the fromService293.zip file
- unzip the file and follow the instructions inside the file
- try and use a 32mb usb stick (or something smaller than a 1gb)
- after the usb is made, unplug the box, stick the usb in the back, plug back in and follow on screen instructions

- if that works, you will have an FTA with 2.9.3 version.
- now download the latest usdtvUpdate295ForWindowsFAT.zip and follow the instructions in it to upgrade to 2.9.5

If you are already running 2.9.3, then just do the last two steps.

dthibode

02-18-09, 06:43 PM

bullitt22

02-18-09, 11:31 PM

There are 4 components inside the USDtv box:

1. Main/motherboard (contains the ATI Xilleon chip, flash, etc...)
2. ATSC Tuner
3. Power Supply Unit
4. On/off and lights

The PSU does have the cord as well as the circuit board to feed the main board and the tuner. If you got one, you would have to disconnect the ribbon cables and replace the PSU.

OK - thanks for the explanation. I have pulled the PSU out and carefully examined it. I don't see anything burnt, leaking, blown, etc. If the PSU went out, would I see something? Or could it be something I don't see?

I guess I am hesitant to spend $15 on a new PSU when it might be something else. Should I solder in a new fuse? It doesn't look blown, but it might be in the corner, under the metal part that I can't see?

Or, could it be that I used to have it hooked up via component, and am now using composite? Is that why I don't see anything on the screen? Though, I still wouldn't think that both lights on the front would be rapidly flashing green...

dthibode

02-19-09, 09:51 AM

Dogleg69 or anyone else, I have a question. I bought another tuner off Ebay and the guy said he tested it with component out and it worked fine. When I power it on with composite I get nothing, just a black screen. How do I switch it back to regular outputs without seeing the menu? Thanks!

I was able to find a display at work that would resolve hd over component so at least I can see the screen now. Of course I forgot to bring the remote. So, I'm guessing I'll be able to get into the menu and change it back to composite. :)

Update: Once I got both the hd display over component and composite hooked up I could successfully change it back. I'm amazed that no amount of "factory defaults" set this thing back to composite. wow. But hey, it works now and dogleg69's update worked like a champ!

nthums1

02-20-09, 03:08 AM

OK - thanks for the explanation. I have pulled the PSU out and carefully examined it. I don't see anything burnt, leaking, blown, etc. If the PSU went out, would I see something? Or could it be something I don't see?

I guess I am hesitant to spend $15 on a new PSU when it might be something else. Should I solder in a new fuse? It doesn't look blown, but it might be in the corner, under the metal part that I can't see?

Or, could it be that I used to have it hooked up via component, and am now using composite? Is that why I don't see anything on the screen? Though, I still wouldn't think that both lights on the front would be rapidly flashing green...

Certainly it can be something you don't see. I would pick up a cheap meter or better from somewhere like Harbor Freight, ACE Hardware or Radio Shack. You can probably get one for under five bucks and they are handy for a lot of uses. Plug it up and check the voltages as labeled by the output connectors on the PS board. All voltages should be at least within 10%. And you might check for presence of ripple by turning meter to AC scale. The good thing about LED meters is they seem to have a quite high input impedance and don't tend to load signals.
If your box was the one that was unplugged for a long time, you might try flashing it again if the voltages are good.

bullitt22

02-20-09, 01:30 PM

Certainly it can be something you don't see. I would pick up a cheap meter or better from somewhere like Harbor Freight, ACE Hardware or Radio Shack. You can probably get one for under five bucks and they are handy for a lot of uses. Plug it up and check the voltages as labeled by the output connectors on the PS board. All voltages should be at least within 10%. And you might check for presence of ripple by turning meter to AC scale. The good thing about LED meters is they seem to have a quite high input impedance and don't tend to load signals.
If your box was the one that was unplugged for a long time, you might try flashing it again if the voltages are good.

Yes, it was unplugged for a long time. When you say I might want to flash it again, what do you mean by that? Using a USB stick with the firmware loaded, plug that in the back, and plug the unit into the wall? I tried that and couldn't get it to work.

I did go ahead and order a PSU - I was told I could return it if it didn't solve my problem. I'll let everyone know how it all turns out!

smintn

02-21-09, 12:44 AM

Yes, it was unplugged for a long time. When you say I might want to flash it again, what do you mean by that? Using a USB stick with the firmware loaded, plug that in the back, and plug the unit into the wall? I tried that and couldn't get it to work.

I did go ahead and order a PSU - I was told I could return it if it didn't solve my problem. I'll let everyone know how it all turns out! bullitt22 pm me and let me know where your psu is coming from....

nthums1

02-21-09, 04:32 AM

I'm still confused to which software is running right now. We don't have to worry about what is on each NAND flash. I just need to know which one is active and the software that is on the active when you boot.

If you boot right now and it asked you to scan for USDtv channels, then you are booting with subscription software. So, we need to get that to FTA.

- go to www.mediafire.com/dogleg69
- navigate to the windows --> archive directory
- download the fromService293.zip file
- unzip the file and follow the instructions inside the file
- try and use a 32mb usb stick (or something smaller than a 1gb)
- after the usb is made, unplug the box, stick the usb in the back, plug back in and follow on screen instructions

- if that works, you will have an FTA with 2.9.3 version.
- now download the latest usdtvUpdate295ForWindowsFAT.zip and follow the instructions in it to upgrade to 2.9.5

If you are already running 2.9.3, then just do the last two steps.

The one that worked is UsingPre2_7_15\dd293.zip
I'm almost certain I saw a post somewhere that said what the versions of updates did.
Also it has occurred to me that there might be a way if someone must have coax out of the audio signal. I seem to remember seeing a post about adding such a jack, or maybe it was adding the fiber jack. Anyway, the two traces carrying the digital signal run to the port area. And at that point is the optical converter powered by the 5V. I have noted that boxes that have both usually state to not use both as it might damage audio equipment. So the best RCA type jack would be one that includes a switch that would interrupt the signal being fed to the optical convertor.

nthums1

02-21-09, 04:34 AM

Yes, it was unplugged for a long time. When you say I might want to flash it again, what do you mean by that? Using a USB stick with the firmware loaded, plug that in the back, and plug the unit into the wall? I tried that and couldn't get it to work.

I did go ahead and order a PSU - I was told I could return it if it didn't solve my problem. I'll let everyone know how it all turns out!

Where were you able to find a replacement PS board? Is it an exact match?
If this is a general parts house stocking HiSense parts, we might have an option of upgrading to their higher line of box. That is the parts inside anyway.

smintn

02-21-09, 09:09 AM

Also it has occurred to me that there might be a way if someone must have coax out of the audio signal. I seem to remember seeing a post about adding such a jack, or maybe it was adding the fiber jack. There is an easy way to do it, order a toslink optical to coax/coaxial digital converter adapter off of ebay or from one of the real companies selling on ebay or just online from a real company I did and it works great. It cost me around $17.50 on ebay mine came from www.uniqueproductsonline.com (http://www.uniqueproductsonline.com) they are selling for $17.00 now goto to Digital Audio and Video Accessories - Switchers Selectors and Converters on their site they will fix you up-and no I do not work for them but I received very good customer service from them.....just in case any one would need it they also carry the coax to toslink converters....

sleve

02-26-09, 08:22 PM

Where were you able to find a replacement PS board? Is it an exact match?
If this is a general parts house stocking HiSense parts, we might have an option of upgrading to their higher line of box. That is the parts inside anyway.

+1
my power supply recently died.
If a ps is available please pm or post
much appreciated

vkolli

02-28-09, 08:05 PM

For those of you who are buying this ebay with universal remote, how are you able to zoom the picture.

On my 16x9 HDTV, the HD transmissions are just filling three quarters of the screen with black bars on all four sides. I set the video resolution to component widescreen. SD transmissions have black bars on sides with full picture top & bottom.

Is there something that I should be setting on the TV or converter box to get full screen picture.

venkat

dthibode

02-28-09, 08:08 PM

vkolli

02-28-09, 08:16 PM

The remote has a button called "aspect ratio". You can use that to change the size of the picture. It remembers the setting for every channel which is really nice.

aspect button on RCA universal remote is not doing anything for me. My box did not come with original remote. Are you using the original remote or universal?

dthibode

03-01-09, 09:04 AM

aspect button on RCA universal remote is not doing anything for me. My box did not come with original remote. Are you using the original remote or universal?

I'm using the original remote. I also programmed my logitech harmony to that device and added an aspect ration button and that works too.

dogleg69

03-04-09, 08:50 PM

aspect button on RCA universal remote is not doing anything for me. My box did not come with original remote. Are you using the original remote or universal?

If you have the 2.9.5 version of the firmware, for Aspect try:

Press Exit/Clear, 0, 0, 1, OK/Enter

vkolli

03-05-09, 01:05 AM

If you have the 2.9.5 version of the firmware, for Aspect try:

Press Exit/Clear, 0, 0, 1, OK/Enter

Thank you dogleg69. I do have 2.9.5, dated 10/13/08. Unit came with it preloaded. I did find this sequence in your release notes. i tried but nothing happens. I am sequentially pressing 'clear 0 0 1 enter' buttons on my RCA remote. Wondering if I am not doing something right. I am making sure remote is in cable/sat mode. All other buttons like menu, guide etc. works fine.

I tried other sequences for cc, audio as well and I don't see any indication on screen that it accepted any of these inputs. Is it suppose to display something on the screen after aspect/zoom has changed? Is there anyway to check what aspect mode I am in?

dthibode

03-05-09, 07:55 AM

Thank you dogleg69. I do have 2.9.5, dated 10/13/08. Unit came with it preloaded. I did find this sequence in your release notes. i tried but nothing happens. I am sequentially pressing 'clear 0 0 1 enter' buttons on my RCA remote. Wondering if I am not doing something right. I am making sure remote is in cable/sat mode. All other buttons like menu, guide etc. works fine.

I tried other sequences for cc, audio as well and I don't see any indication on screen that it accepted any of these inputs. Is it suppose to display something on the screen after aspect/zoom has changed? Is there anyway to check what aspect mode I am in?

I wonder if the clear button is mapped right on your remote. Does it have an exit button you can try to?

Tocapet

03-06-09, 06:33 PM

nthums1

03-07-09, 06:03 AM

I bought my 2 boxes from the guy in Denton, TX. (His name is Mike). Anyway, I just found out that both of them came preloaded with Version 2.95 and they are both hardware version DB2020. So, it looks like I'm running the max!

1 box came with the original remote and the other with a GE replacement. So, I just use the original when I want to change something on either box.

I have learned a LOT from reading all your posts on here. All 46 pages worth.

Maybe all currently, but maybe some genious will figure out other programing options. Such as how to make use of the dual tuning capability of the Xillion chip. That is, according to the specs, it has the capability of tuning two channels at the same time and outputing separately.
Or maybe making use of both ROM simultaneously, such as booting from one and having it programmed to retrieve additional code/instruction from the other.

calabrese218

03-11-09, 11:35 AM

Hi, Has anyone found any software versions that will keep a DB-2010 from locking up when viewing a .1 digital station ?

dogleg69

03-13-09, 10:47 AM

Hi, Has anyone found any software versions that will keep a DB-2010 from locking up when viewing a .1 digital station ?

Need more information. What version are you using? Any particular show or channel? What are other symptoms?

I use two of my boxes everyday and have no problems with any of the channels/subchannels. Please provide more info and someone here will try to help troubleshoot.

calabrese218

03-16-09, 04:46 PM

Hi could you please send me your email address, I've been trying to send some info to you and I'm having a real problem. My e-mail is tlcalabrese@hotmail.com thank you calabrese218

bullitt22

03-18-09, 07:05 PM

+1
my power supply recently died.
If a ps is available please pm or post
much appreciated

Where were you able to find a replacement PS board? Is it an exact match?
If this is a general parts house stocking HiSense parts, we might have an option of upgrading to their higher line of box. That is the parts inside anyway.

I emailed proserv@prosattx.com (www.proserv1.com).
The replacement works!

bullitt22

03-18-09, 07:49 PM

Alright! I changed the PSU, and finally got the upgrades to work.
I'm now running the latest! Awesome. Thanks for all the help.

sleve

03-19-09, 09:43 PM

Thanks bullitt22!

Weaser15

03-19-09, 10:14 PM

I just got one of these hisense 2010 with a universal rca model rcr6473. The guy said it works fine, I hooked it up, it says welcome to usdtv press OK (or something to that nature) Obviously the remote isnt working or isnt programmed for this,because it doesnt work, but the pages of pages ive read says this remote will work. Ive tried various ways to program it, but none work. Can someone please give me a proper remote code for this remote, and what function button to use? It seems if i use the sat/cable button it only accepts code that start with 5 5000 5505 etc. Anyones help would be greatly appreciated, ive been at this all day, just so i can press the OK button lol.

thanks

Ok sorry i finally found the answer on page 42 or something. Now i have another problem, looks like its a sub box or something, I scanned got 10 channels (pretty good considering the antenna is on the porch and in Ontario Canada) after that it says it cant find a subscription and i cant go any further, im going to look for a firmware upgrade now, but this is all new to me.

jowski

03-19-09, 10:43 PM

This link might help. It was on page 42 of this thread and the code is supposed to be 5139. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=479882&page=42

Good luck,
Jim

pbassett

03-21-09, 03:42 PM

Strange problem. I have lost the speaking part of the audio on WBBM-TV Channel 2 (Digital Ch 3) in Chicago for almost all shows. In the case of the NCAA tournament I get game sounds, crowd noise and the arena announcer, all surprisingly out of the center channel (!) in addition to the L-R speakers. Most commercials are silent. I always thought the enter channel was for speaking audio only but somehow I get game noise on all 3 front speakers, but no talking!

Interestingly, NCIS must have a separate audio track because I receive the regular audio plus commentary for the blind such as "so-and-so walks toward the door" in between cast member speaking parts.

If anyone knows of a reinitialization process I can run to try to fix it or if this is an internal audio processor error that can't be fixed, I would appreciate it. I can't figure out how Ch 2 apparently is unique to my lineup with its transmission and how all shows are almost always dead except for NCAA which has ambient noise even on the center channel, and how NCIS is apparently sending me an auxiliary track.

Of course maybe this will clear up when WBBM moves to Digital Ch 12 in June but I wouldn't mind getting to the bottom of this.

calabrese218

03-22-09, 12:04 PM

t2000kw

03-25-09, 06:50 PM

I have a DB-2010 I purchased through eBay and it works very well. I would like to find a remote that will allow me to use at least the basic features but would prefer to be able to access ALL of the features that the original remote does.

What replacement (universal types?) remotes are CURRENTLY available that will access ALL features of the unit, and if there are none, which will work most of the functions.

If all else fails, do the expensive Harmony remotes work well with this, and is there any tricks needed to get everything to work properly? Do they all work similarly or do only certain models work with the DB-2010?

My impression was that they all use the same device database and should all work with the same devices.

I have two RCA universal remotes. One is an 8-in-1 (RCR812)and the other a 4-in-1 (RCR430S) remote. Neither seem to operate the unit with the 5139 code.

We have a recurring problem in my house where remotes disappear for a day or so and we can use a backup.

An OEM replacement was $29 or more, and I only paid $59 with shipping for the unit with the remote.

BTW, if anyone needs a DB-2010 for parts, there is on on eBay right now for about $10 (so far). It supposedly shows a welcome screen but doesn't do anything else. It does not come with a remote. But I would think that the power supply might be worth having if someone needs one and can't build a replacement.

Donald

logandiana

03-25-09, 09:47 PM

nthums1

03-27-09, 06:28 AM

I bought a new receiver off of ebay at the beginning of December from seller mikesplaceatlast (now no longer a registered user). I didn't hook up the receiver until about mid January and the box has worked perfectly until about 3 weeks ago. When watching programming during the day or in the evening the screen will just go black and display a message saying " ... channel is currently off the air" It doesn't seem to matter what channel or what time of day. It seems like it does this completely randomly. The only way to get it to work again is to hold down the on/off to reset the box and then let it restart. Sometimes it will go a few days fine, but today it did it like 4 times in an hour. I had the 2.7.5, and recently updated to the latest 2.9.5 and haven't seen any improvement. Not quite sure what to do. My first thought is just to buy another new one off of ebay, but is this a problem a lot of receivers are experiencing? I don't want to buy another box just to end up with the same problems. By the way I live in north texas, about 10 miles south of fort worth.

Thanks
logandiana

This is the message I was getting on the box that had a bad PS. I would suspect that your PS is borderline, on its way out. It appears that the electrolytic capacitors on the PS board were under spec'ed for the needs of the unit. Also they possibly were of poorer quality. I would suggest checking the voltages as printed on the PS board and noting any that are more than 10% from the proper voltage. You can follow the traces on the circuit board to locate which ones apply to which voltage. I did not follow complete paths and it is possible that one voltage line is derived into another voltage, thus one bad capacitor affecting more than one voltage.
Look carefully at capacitors that might have a bulge. The top should be perfectly flat and the sides cylindrical. Also look under the capacitor for any signs of leaking electrolyte. Capacitors are storage devices much like a battery, especially electrolytic.
I would strongly suggest increasing the voltage of the replacement capacitors to maybe double of the spec on the old ones. It is quite possible the current is leaking across the layers causing the electrolyte to boil and it is the internal pressure of the steam then causes the capacitor to bulge. Sometimes they will leak around the seal and actually whistle like a tea pot. But if you hear that sound it is likely it will explode and power should be removed immediately.

t2000kw

03-28-09, 04:23 PM

t2000kw

03-28-09, 04:31 PM

I just bought a Logitech Harmony remote model 676.

Is there anything special I need to know about setting this up for the DB-2010 tuner?

I believe that this unit is covered on the listed devices on the Logitech site. I also seem to remember that someone here said it was missing the functionality of one key (button), but that he or she customized a button to cover the function.

This is all new to me, so any help would be appreciated. I downloaded the user manual for the 600 series, and I think I can figure it out OK. Customizing the buttons might take some careful reading to get it right.

The remote should arrive in a few days. It was an eBay purchase, around $36 with shipping, a refurb. There are plenty of similar models in the 600 series there at buy it now prices of around $40 or just under that amount. I bought mine in an auction and it seems that the market price is around there anyway.

Donald

dthibode

03-28-09, 07:06 PM

t2000kw

03-29-09, 12:20 AM

Yes, I do remember seeing the post about the aspect ration thing. I'll search for those terms when I get the remotes. (Yes, I ordered a second one for my wife.)

I think you can train the device to do special things by using the original remote to do that. Not sure yet, until I get them and have time to play with them.

Thanks!!!

Donald

nthums1

03-29-09, 08:50 AM

If you are handy with a soldering "pencil," you can replace the electrolytic capacitors yourself. As the previous poster mentioned, double the voltage rating over the original ones and it wouldn't hurt to go a little higher on the capacity, but not too much since you many have space issues trying to get them in there. Also, you don't want to have way too much capacitance or you could create a current surge that might blow up something else in the power supply.

Or, keep on the lookout on eBay for a partly working unit that won't boot completely (just goes to a welcome screen) but lights up. It probably would have a good PS and you might pick it up for a low price.

Be careful when using a pencil. Temperature not being controlled. Use a small and iron and tip as possible. Solder wick works gook if you don't have a solder sucker.
Too much heat can damage the metallic traces on the board, often causing them to come loose from the board. There are ways to fix such damage but why cause it. Also too much heat for a longer than necessary time can damage the new capacitors.
I would not use any capacitors of a smaller MFD value, until someone investigates the circuitry and knows for sure. As to larger, for all circuits I'm aware of in common use for PS, larger should not be a problem, only over kill, but again it is something that would require checking the layout design to make sure.
I will likely go back into my second box in the near term and check the layout if possible. I noted the largest capacitor near the front of the circuitry seemed small. This capacitor did not seem to have a problem, but it could be allowing more ripple to pass than what the later caps can handle.

Fairlane49

03-31-09, 06:37 PM

Hello, I'm a dealer and in supply of pretty well all the parts for a Hisense DB-2010
including Power Supply-$10.00, Tuner-$15.00 or Remote with aspect-format button for
$15.00....I ship anywhere in North America for $7.00 ..I can be reached at lighthouse@lighthouse.terago.biz (care of Berry) or just post on this thread...

ax135

04-06-09, 01:55 AM

t2000kw

04-06-09, 05:55 AM

Just wondering . . .

How can I find out which firmware version my DB-2010 is running?

I have no issues at all with it right now and won't be fiddling with it unless something goes wrong, but it would be good to know which one worked so well if I have to reinstall the firmware.

Donald

Grundy1700

04-07-09, 07:46 PM

dogleg69

04-07-09, 08:43 PM

Dogleg69:

I agree with others hear on this forum that 2.9.5 has really messed up my Hisense box. I went back to 2.7.15, but now it is glitchy also. I do not understand Linux, or I would try to reinstall 2.7.15 over 2.9.5 to fix this situation. Does anyone have a source for a windows version of 2.7.15? My Hisense box is showing hardware version: db2020, maybe that is the problem?

Thanks!

I do not think others are saying "2.9.5 has really messed up my Hisense box". I believe that the power supply causes quite a few problems -- that do not manifest themselves as a hardware issue but they really are.

The reason I say this is that I run 4 of these boxes daily. I use the same version 2.9.5 on all of them. Two of them behave normally (keep time, update the guide, timers work because the time works, etc...). The other two boxes do not. Based on the work of others on this forum, I swapped out the power supply in one of the boxes that would not keep time and would "go off the air". After changing the power supply on that box, I have had no other problems.

Also, some stations across the country are embedding additional information on sub channel 1 that the stream parser can not handle (this is only my opinion). However, since this does not happen in my area and I do not have proper test equipment, I can not debug.

I have been working many long hours. I don't get to spend the time I once did on this box. I still use them everyday and they function great. If you would elaborate on "messed up", I or someone here will try to help.

I can tell you that if you reverted back to 2.7.15 and are having problems, it has nothing to do with 2.9.5. The flash roms are seperate. It is most likely a signal/parser or a hardware issue.

dogleg69

04-07-09, 08:44 PM

dogleg69

04-07-09, 08:55 PM

Hi Dogleg69:

Remember me a while with the PBS 28.1 lock up problem? Back then I was running 2.9.3. Yesterday, I decided to update my unit to 2.9.5. After the update, I noticed the following:

- CC is not working. Normally CC display onto two separate lines, for 28.1 (KCET-HD in LA). After 2.9.5, it is showing CC on the same line for a few seconds, then it would dissapear off of the TV screen.
- Audio and Video Synchronization: I noticed that the sound is maybe 1-2 seconds out of sync. You can see the person open his/her mouth, but actual sounds comes out around 1-2 seconds later. It is enough to be noticed. Once in a while, I also hear a click click click sound. Almost like the unit is out of bandwidth or too much data is being pushed to the unit. Kind of like audio drop out.
- Lock Up. The unit continues to lock up under 28.1 (KCET). During an HD program, it is fine. During intermission (beginning or end of a program where there are non-hd trailers or exercepts), it would lock up. The program this happend upon was "Masterpiece Theater - Little Dorrit". I noticed that it would lock up even faster after the 2.9.5 upgrade.

Do you have any suggestions? Should I try and downgrade to 2.9.4 or even 2.9.3?

Thanks!

There were no changes in 2.9.5 that would have affected the audio/video. Is this on every station or only the PBS station? I have not noticed this on my boxes.

I just tried CC on a few channels including PBS, all looks fine.

I did call KCET and talked to an engineer. He was nice, but would not help because of legal reasons. He did tell me to hook up the stream to a scope and find the "extra" data they were embedding. He said that was probably causing the problem. However, I do not have the equipment to watch the stream (and it doesn't not happen in my area). I started asking more probing questions and he said he could not help me any longer.

I did put in some code in a test version that smintn tested on FOX in his area. It did not solve the problem. I can make that available to you if you would like to try in the LA area and see if it makes a difference. I do not think it will based on smintn's testing he did for us all.

dogleg69

04-07-09, 08:58 PM

Thank you dogleg69. I do have 2.9.5, dated 10/13/08. Unit came with it preloaded. I did find this sequence in your release notes. i tried but nothing happens. I am sequentially pressing 'clear 0 0 1 enter' buttons on my RCA remote. Wondering if I am not doing something right. I am making sure remote is in cable/sat mode. All other buttons like menu, guide etc. works fine.

I tried other sequences for cc, audio as well and I don't see any indication on screen that it accepted any of these inputs. Is it suppose to display something on the screen after aspect/zoom has changed? Is there anyway to check what aspect mode I am in?

Is there an OK and enter button on that remote (I gave mine away to someone who needed a universal). If there is, use the OK button over the enter.

I tried the sequence and it did work on 2.9.5.

dogleg69

04-07-09, 09:01 PM

Hi, I'm still looking for software to fix a lock-up problem on a .1 station. I'm in the Detroit area and I've heard there are other locations that have also experienced this problem, Los Angeles for one. Are there others?

Which network and program is it? There have been reports of PBS in LA and FOX in Tennessee (I think). Again, it is very hard for me to test/fix this because it does not occur here.

t2000kw

04-08-09, 01:38 AM

Go into the menu and look for the System Information sub-menu. It will tell you which firmware is running.

Thanks. I have v 2.7.15.

Any real advantages of moving up to the latest, or should I leave it alone unless something goes wrong?

If any advantages are minor, I'll probably leave it alone.

Grundy1700

04-08-09, 06:49 PM

t2000kw

04-08-09, 11:18 PM

I am going to try this place next : lighthouse@lighthouse.terago.biz.

Would you be so kind as to let us know how that goes for you, if you actually get what you ordered in a timely manner, etc.?

I might be interested in buying some spare parts or even another remote, even though I have 2 Harmony remotes on their way and a working Hisense remote. But you never know . . .

The Hisense was lost for a couple days when it was misplaced. And I might need an extra sometime to program whatever remote I'll have at the time in the future, so another one wold be cheap insurance.

Donald

ax135

04-09-09, 04:17 AM

The CC problem occured when I was viewing "Masterpiece Theatre - Little Dorritt. I ended up turning off CC as it just overlaid the same line thus making CC unreadable. After the Masterpiece program, it started working fine again.

About a month ago. "Masterpiece" had David Copperfield on. On one Sunday night, they had a 3 hour segment which was 2 x 90 min. The Hisense tuner was fine for the first 90 min, during intermission, they showed SD programming of some sort for a few minutes and thus locked up the tuner. Because of this, my DVD recorder did not record the 2nd 90 minute show. Bummer.

If you need me test, email me as I can always flash the firmware back to the non-test versoin.

Thank you for contacting KCET and helping us out on this forum.

dogleg69

04-09-09, 09:12 AM

Thanks. I have v 2.7.15.

Any real advantages of moving up to the latest, or should I leave it alone unless something goes wrong?

If any advantages are minor, I'll probably leave it alone.

You can read all the changes in the release notes:

http://www.mediafire.com/dogleg69

If you do not need timers, I would say the biggest reason up upgrade is the daylight savings time update and code to keep the boxes time upto date.

There is also code to not automatically scan for new channels. I really like that feature. I do have a dtvPal (which is the reason I wrote the timers in the first place) which I run headless (no monitor) beside my bed b/c of its small size. I use it to listen to TV at night. It is always picking up a random station.

smintn

04-09-09, 08:39 PM

Thanks for the reply dogleg69

You are probably right about the power supply problem. I sent an email to Proserve, because they offer a power supply for the Hisense box. ("We have those available for $9.95 plus $4.95
shipping to most of the continental US. If you would
like to order one you can call us at 888-751-4965.
Thanks
Mike")
However, they do not seem to answer the phone number they sent me. I am going to try this place next : lighthouse@lighthouse.terago.biz.Let us know if you get an answer from the terago.biz link...I could use a ps for one of my 2010's odd the only information I can get on the terago.biz is it is a part of terago networks that appear to be in canada.

dogleg69

04-09-09, 09:52 PM

Let us know if you get an answer from the terago.biz link...I could use a ps for one of my 2010's odd the only information I can get on the terago.biz is it is a part of terago networks that appear to be in canada.

From my research, the person (Berry) does live in Canada or just on the border. I believe his stock to have come from the USDtv auction second or third hand. I do not know him and have not had contact with him aside from the single post on this forum -- so I can't vouch one way or the other.

smintn

04-10-09, 12:43 AM

From my research, the person (Berry) does live in Canada or just on the border. I believe his stock to have come from the USDtv auction second or third hand. I do not know him and have not had contact with him aside from the single post on this forum -- so I can't vouch one way or the other.sent him an email asking for information on cost and shipping of a power supply...maybe I'll hear from him...unless he was the dude flying that plane the other day.

calabrese218

04-10-09, 11:42 AM

Which network and program is it? There have been reports of PBS in LA and FOX in Tennessee (I think). Again, it is very hard for me to test/fix this because it does not occur here.
Hi, The station I'm having lock-up problems with is WDIV in Detroit channel 4.1 The symptoms are..only in composite mode it will lock-up after about 30 seconds. If you have the unit on "adjust antenna" page you can view in program box and it will not lock or if you enter menu you can see image around borders but when you exit out for normal viewing box will lock-up. If there was a way to rewrite the software so it would'nt take guide info on this station it might fix the problem or if it did'nt know it was in normal viewing mode. Any help would be appreciated...Thanx

jowski

04-11-09, 02:44 AM

Dogleg69,

I'm not sure if this will help but you may be able to use some of the code here.

http://www.fepg.org

Jim

Kessel Run

04-22-09, 02:08 AM

I Requested some parts from this Barry fellow and he never followed up

Wdnuwndr

04-22-09, 09:37 AM

Anyone with spare tuner would be interested in selling?

Can't find them anywhere...Ebay seems void of them...

dthibode

04-22-09, 10:21 AM

Anyone with spare tuner would be interested in selling?

Can't find them anywhere...Ebay seems void of them...

Search for Hisense, I see a few of them on ebay right now.

logandiana

04-22-09, 11:15 AM

dthibode

04-22-09, 01:08 PM

Don't know if I fixed my problem or just a big coincidence. I was using the composite outputs before and 480i. I switched to component output and 480p and have never had a problem since (with crossed fingers). I don't know if one has anything to do with the other, but I haven't received that message since.

That's strange, or perhaps the station changed how they were doing things in that timeframe and the problem resolved itself.

goldwingrider

04-22-09, 06:27 PM

I Requested some parts from this Barry fellow and he never followed up

yea i asked him if he would sell me a main board and he would not.
he said he could make more money selling fully repaired units.

calabrese218

04-22-09, 07:06 PM

This same problem happens to us in the Detroit area on 4.1 it only occures in composite mode.

Todd14420

04-23-09, 06:34 AM

Anyone with spare tuner would be interested in selling?

Can't find them anywhere...Ebay seems void of them...

If your interested I have two new units for sale. They were purchased as spares and are just sitting in the closet. They were tested and placed back in the boxes and never used. Functionally and cosmetically in perfect condition. All cables and remote included.

Wdnuwndr

04-24-09, 08:25 AM

If your interested I have two new units for sale. They were purchased as spares and are just sitting in the closet. They were tested and placed back in the boxes and never used. Functionally and cosmetically in perfect condition. All cables and remote included.

Sent you a pm.

mdgue

04-25-09, 04:01 PM

2 used very little. Original boxes remotes etc. The other two were never used. Was going to give those to my grandparents but reception is not good where they live. PM if interested.

amidcars

04-27-09, 09:02 AM

dthibode

04-27-09, 10:54 AM

I can see that no one had any answers for my last post, that's ok, I'm not that worried about it. It would help if someone else has had this happen to one of their channels and can explain how they corrected it. I have a new question. Does anyone know if a new update will come out soon. Everytime I check the program guide it takes over three minutes to scan for program info and descriptions

Make sure that you leave the box in standby mode. It's set to update the guide while it's off, but if you unplug it or turn off the power strip it'll take forever to update the guide while you want to use it. If you leave it in standby over night this problem *should* go away, it did for me. I've heard dogleg69 mention that he programmed it to work this way.

sorry I looked through the past few pages and didn't see a post from you.

smintn

04-27-09, 06:33 PM

cputrdoc

04-28-09, 12:58 AM

I can see that no one had any answers for my last post, that's ok, I'm not that worried about it. It would help if someone else has had this happen to one of their channels and can explain how they corrected it. I have a new question. Does anyone know if a new update will come out soon. Everytime I check the program guide it takes over three minutes to scan for program info and descriptions

I don't see your original post either, but I'm having the same problem. Doesn't seem like the program guide update is happening while it's suspended, nor the clock update, so everything gets fully populated in the guide the first time it's used that day. I've changed the update time from the default 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. to see if it perhaps creates a cron job if one isn't already present. I'll know in a couple of days whether this was successful (we don't watch much TV so the program guide data often expires between uses).

BTW, when I sync the clock manually it picks it up from PBS KQED-9 instantaneously so I'm fairly certain it's not a timeout issue.

dthibode

04-28-09, 10:01 AM

dogleg69

04-29-09, 09:31 AM

I don't see your original post either, but I'm having the same problem. Doesn't seem like the program guide update is happening while it's suspended, nor the clock update, so everything gets fully populated in the guide the first time it's used that day. I've changed the update time from the default 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. to see if it perhaps creates a cron job if one isn't already present. I'll know in a couple of days whether this was successful (we don't watch much TV so the program guide data often expires between uses).

BTW, when I sync the clock manually it picks it up from PBS KQED-9 instantaneously so I'm fairly certain it's not a timeout issue.

The nightly update was to update the firmware (which does not happen since they are out of business).

Are you running 2.9.5? If so, choose a channel that has a good time stream (I personally found ABC was the best in my area). Set that station as the time station. Then go into the Timers. Set a timer for to come on at say 2:00am and go off at 2:05am on the same station as the time station.

What happens is that when it comes on, the time and the EPG may not be correct. However, when it turns off from the timer, it will request the time from the current channel and then loop through all enabled channels to update the EPG (this means tuning into each channel). You can partially test this manually if you turn the box on and see from the channel info that the time is off a few minutes or more. Note the time on the box and the actual wall clock time. Then turn off the box and wait about 30 seconds. Then turn the box back on. See if the time was updated - it should be. You can also try this if you find to stations that are broadcasting time a few minutes apart.

... Everytime I check the program guide it takes over three minutes to scan for program info and descriptions

Also, about the EPG taking so long. It has to tune to each channel in order to pull the guide info from the PSIP stream for that channel. So, if there are stations that you don't watch (like QVC or infomerical or whatever), make sure to turn them off in the edit channel list. The EPG code will only loop over the enabled channels. You can save 10-30 seconds per channel you take out. Also, some stations PSIP information is different than others even though they all adhere to the ATSC spec. I have seen some stations that break up the information and it takes longer (much longer) to gather all the information and re-assemble it.

Tocapet

05-14-09, 10:19 PM

UP.EagleEye

05-16-09, 07:25 PM

dogleg69

05-16-09, 07:46 PM

I have 2 of these boxes, and am really happy with the performance.
The system info has a software version of 2.9.2 (2.4.18.17) on hardware db2020.

I see a firmware of 2.9.5 out there, but can't track it down.
Any help finding the file?

Thanks

This thread has information in it:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1055192

It will point you toward:

http://www.mediafire.com/dogleg69

UP.EagleEye

05-16-09, 08:49 PM

Thanks Dogleg.... got the file, copied it to a freshly formatted 32mb key, and it cycles through, similar to the way mentioned in previous posts.

Should it be formatted ext2? via linux... also, I tried to use a flash method from teh setup menu, and now only get the box searching for USDTv channels :( Silly me didn't write the secret sequence to undo this booting from teh second partion... I should know better.

Help... please?

UP.EagleEye

05-16-09, 09:01 PM

Oh... and is the .gz file the only one to be on the key, or shoul dit be expanded?

UP.EagleEye

05-16-09, 09:08 PM

OK.. I am an ID10T... just read the README in the correct folder....

So sorry for wasting time.

UP.EagleEye

05-16-09, 09:33 PM

... me again...
After doing more searching and reading... which I should have done in the 1st place... I found your post from Apr 08...
"One thing you can try, let the box boot up and get stable. Then try the following sequence:

Red Guide
Program Info
Aspect
Program Info
1 (one)

It tells it to boot off the other NAND flash."

This worked even with the box wanting to find USDTV signal.

Thanks a ton for putting up with my ignorance.

smintn

05-30-09, 12:28 AM

dogleg69

since analog will decease on June 12th have you looked into the db-2010 software to see if the channel scan can be shortened - I was under the impression that there is no need to scan from channel 52 on up anymore (I may have that channel number wrong)

Just curious

smintn

cputrdoc

05-30-09, 05:03 AM

dthibode

05-30-09, 08:47 AM

dogleg69

05-30-09, 12:37 PM

One thing I have not figured out is how to set up the timer to automatically tune to a program so that I can automatically record it. Hear me out -- I understand how to set timers in release 2.95 (which is what I'm running), but my VCR requires downsampling to standard definition. I've programmed my Logitech Harmony remote to go through the magic sequence if I'm manually controlling the record process and to put it back into 1080p mode when done, but I can't do it in lights-out fashion.

The only thing I can think of to get around that is to put it in standard definition every time the digital tuner is powered down, but the rest of the family just doesn't have the patience to wait for the Harmony to complete the sequence.

That is one that I never thought about. I don't record from the db-2010 that is on my HDTV. I record on the db-2010 hooked up to the VCR and the old TV (using composite).

I will look to see if there is a way to capture the current resolution, possibly put a res setting on the each timer (to change it to), and flip it back once the timer is done. No promises, but I will look to see how difficult that would be (or if it is even feasible to switch video modes like that).

dogleg69

05-30-09, 12:46 PM

since analog will decease on June 12th have you looked into the db-2010 software to see if the channel scan can be shortened - I was under the impression that there is no need to scan from channel 52 on up anymore (I may have that channel number wrong)

I have no idea. Anyone know about this? Would it affect any regional stations?

smintn

05-30-09, 10:59 PM

I have no idea. Anyone know about this? Would it affect any regional stations?dogleg69 found this link that has tv channel information history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_broadcast_television_frequencies

cputrdoc

06-01-09, 01:27 AM

The nightly update was to update the firmware (which does not happen since they are out of business).

I'd hoped that it was performing other functions during that time besides firmware updates, such as time updates and guide updates. Ahwell.

Are you running 2.9.5? If so, choose a channel that has a good time stream (I personally found ABC was the best in my area). Set that station as the time station. Then go into the Timers. Set a timer for to come on at say 2:00am and go off at 2:05am on the same station as the time station.

What happens is that when it comes on, the time and the EPG may not be correct. However, when it turns off from the timer, it will request the time from the current channel and then loop through all enabled channels to update the EPG (this means tuning into each channel).

Ahh. Great idea; thanks!!

cputrdoc

06-01-09, 01:35 AM

That is one that I never thought about. I don't record from the db-2010 that is on my HDTV. I record on the db-2010 hooked up to the VCR and the old TV (using composite).

I will look to see if there is a way to capture the current resolution, possibly put a res setting on the each timer (to change it to), and flip it back once the timer is done. No promises, but I will look to see how difficult that would be (or if it is even feasible to switch video modes like that).

Appreciated dogleg.

If all else fails, when I'm employed again and have disposable income I guess I could go the hi-def PVR route and replace the VCR. Linux MCE with MythTV is certainly tempting...

dogleg69

06-13-09, 12:58 AM

Thank you!!! You just solved my problem. I have 2 Hisense boxes and both of them had the freeze-up problem on channel 33.1 . I was using the S-Video connection. The reason I did that was the component connections caused my picture to have a black frame around it. Wouldn't fill the screen. Switching back to component cured my freeze-up problem.

I rescaned today due to the cut over. While watching this evening, the box kept saying signal not found after a few minutes of watching. I would reboot the box and try a new station and then the same thing. I've had this box for 3+ years without problem. Been running the 2.9.5 without issue. However, after scanning, kept going to signal not found and basically locking the box up.

I noticed that the time was not correct. So I looked to see which station the system time was being set from. It was being set from the last station in the channel list -- in my case the 4th sub channel of a local independant. I switched it back to my normal ABC (which I have been using for over 2 years). No more signal not found or lockups.

So, if you are experiencing the signal not found, check to see which station is being used in the Set System Time. Changing it fixed the problem for me. BTW - I have found it best to not use PBS for the time even though you may have used them to set the old VCRs and such. Your mileage may vary.

ax135

06-13-09, 06:27 PM

Hi Dogleg69:

My wife told me that we lost channel 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 28, etc. I rescanned the Hisense box and got all the channels back except for 11 (KTTV Fox in Los Angeles). I rescanned my other two tuners (Channelmaster 7000 and Zenith 900) and also could no longer find 11.

PS. I tried leaving the Hisense on 28.1 after the conversion and it still locked up after a few hours. My other two boxes (Channelmaster and Zenith) do not have any of these issues. My time is always set to retrieve from 7 KABC with no problem.

I rescaned today due to the cut over. While watching this evening, the box kept saying signal not found after a few minutes of watching. I would reboot the box and try a new station and then the same thing. I've had this box for 3+ years without problem. Been running the 2.9.5 without issue. However, after scanning, kept going to signal not found and basically locking the box up.

I noticed that the time was not correct. So I looked to see which station the system time was being set from. It was being set from the last station in the channel list -- in my case the 4th sub channel of a local independant. I switched it back to my normal ABC (which I have been using for over 2 years). No more signal not found or lockups.

So, if you are experiencing the signal not found, check to see which station is being used in the Set System Time. Changing it fixed the problem for me. BTW - I have found it best to not use PBS for the time even though you may have used them to set the old VCRs and such. Your mileage may vary.

dogleg69

06-13-09, 07:53 PM

northbear

06-18-09, 05:34 PM

I will look to see if there is a way to capture the current resolution, possibly put a res setting on the each timer (to change it to), and flip it back once the timer is done. No promises, but I will look to see how difficult that would be (or if it is even feasible to switch video modes like that).

I would use this feature if it was available! Thanks for all your work on this dogleg69!

wlw055

06-21-09, 10:26 PM

Hi, dogleg69,

I have been having the same problem with kcet-hd (28.1) in LA. My Hisense db-2010 says that the station is off the air with no signal. I must unplug the box to get it to unlock. This problem always occurs when the broadcast program changes, never in the middle of a program. Hope this add more info to the troubleshooting. Thanks. :(

cputrdoc

06-28-09, 04:11 AM

That is one that I never thought about. I don't record from the db-2010 that is on my HDTV. I record on the db-2010 hooked up to the VCR and the old TV (using composite).

I will look to see if there is a way to capture the current resolution, possibly put a res setting on the each timer (to change it to), and flip it back once the timer is done. No promises, but I will look to see how difficult that would be (or if it is even feasible to switch video modes like that).

Hi dogleg, just thought I would check back and see what you found out.

CharredPC

06-30-09, 11:08 AM

dogleg69

07-03-09, 12:23 PM

Hi dogleg, just thought I would check back and see what you found out.

I did fix up the environment and took a look. To add the video mode on the timer is a little harder than I thought. When I get time to tinker with it, I can tell for sure the difficulty. No ETA - sorry.

dogleg69

07-03-09, 12:34 PM

Attn Dogleg69: I have a feature request!

Could the amount of timers be increased from 10? The timer function is perfect for having the guide pre-loaded every day, but the ten spots isn't enough. Here in zip 84601, we have about 32 channels on about 13 or 14 "transponders" (is that correct terminology for digital TV broadcasts?).

Anyway, could it be upped to 15 or 20? I love being able to set everything to tune in for 5 minutes between 3am and 4am, so we don't have to wait to load guide data later.

Thanks for your continuing efforts!

Hey CharredPC - you're an old timer here. The timers architecture that was put in place will allow for the number of timers to be increased.

Now, my understanding on how the PSIP guide data is loaded is this:

- Anytime guide information is requested it loops through all the enabled channels using the tuner to tune to each frequency. It parses the guide info out of the PSIP information on each frequency.

- If the box is off/standby (red lights - it has power but tuner not in use by user), the software looks to see if the PSIP information is current. It determines if it is current by checking if it has pulled the PSIP since the time crossed a midnight, 3am, 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm or 9pm boundry. If the PSIP data was pulled in the previous boundry, then it needs to repull. So, if you watch TV all day or leave the box on so the tuner is in use, it can't pull the PSIP data.

That being said, I don't think you should have to set timers on each channel to keep the EPG updated. Can you remove all but one (the same one the System time is pulled from) and see if it makes a difference?

However, I have 4 boxes that are in normal use that all have the same version of software on them and the same System Time channel and one timer for the system time channel. Two of the boxes keep the EPG update and the system time upto date, the other two do not.

If you do the test and find you do indeed need more timers to keep the box current, I will see what I can do.

CharredPC

07-04-09, 01:24 AM

dogleg69:

Thanks for your reply... yeah, I've been lurking here for ages. I had thought that when the box is in standby mode (red lights) it doesn't tune anything or fetch guide data. I do always leave it that way when not in use. Are you saying it is supposed to keep the guide updated in that state? In my case, when I turn it on and hit Guide, it's a fairly lengthy wait due to having 14 banks of channels to tune into:

1. (2-1 CBS, 2-2 This)
2. (4-1 ABC, 4-2 Untamed, 4-3 CW)
3. (5-1 NBC, 5-2 NBC-US, 5-3 NBC-Wx)
4. (7-1 PBS, 7-2 PBS World, 7-3 PBS Mex)
5. (9-1 UEN, 9-2 MhzWorld, 9-91 KUER-FM)
6. (10-1 KULX, 10-2 HSN, 10-3 KULX-Wx)
7. (11-1 KBYU, 11-2 BYU, 11-3 BYU Mex, 11-4 Create)
8. (13-1 FOX HD, 13-2 FOX SD)
9. (14-1 KJZZ)
10. (16-1 ION, 16-2 Qubo, 16-3 Ion Life, 16-4 Worship)
11. (20-1, 20-2, 20-3, 20-4 KTMW)
12. (24-1 KPNZ)
13. (30-1 KUCW)
14. (32-1 KUTH)

To avoid this annoyance, I figured setting the timers for 5 minutes on each bank would pull the guide data overnight, making it either not need to load, or at least load less when using it during the day. I'll try removing all the timers except the system time one as you suggested, and report back the results.

Another question: I just turned on my box, and was met with a blank screen. Hitting Info, it says Channel 4-1 is off the air, though it has full signal. Bringing up the guide shows it empty, and it won't allow me to change channels. Unplugging the power and completely restarting the box seemed to fix it for a couple minutes, but then it did the same thing again. Is this the infamous System Time fetch error? I did change it from PBS to CBS recently, when PBS stopped sending out the correct date / time. I've just now set it to CW on 30-1... we'll see if that fixes it. After ten minutes, so far, so good :)

CharredPC

07-04-09, 09:41 AM

The results are in:

No lockup this morning, and the guide data is all preloaded! Thanks, dogleg69 :) Looks like the combination of a new system time channel and a single timer have solved everything.

ckbckb

07-21-09, 05:14 PM

dogleg69

07-22-09, 08:06 AM

Has anyone reverse engineered all or parts of the power supply and created a schematic? And/or a parts list? If so, would you please post it? I'm sure many here would appreciate it- especially me! Thanks.

I think t2000kw or nthums1 (and others) would be the best to answer hardware questions -- sorry I can't help.

On another note, has anyone else noticed the multipath issues are much improved after the analog signals have been turned off?

I have two antennas pointed in almost opposite directions. Before June 12, I diconnected the one b/c of interference off the back side of the larger antenna. I decided to try again after June 12th and saw little to no signal loss or interference.

Anyone else experience this or test since analog cutoff?

dcollings

07-24-09, 11:43 AM

I am trying to create a firmware upgrade usb key from a (don't laugh) Star Trek stick from Frosted Mini Wheats tokens. I formated it Linux from a Live OpenSuse 11.1 cd. I dragged and dropped the two folders to the key. The usdtv box wont recognize it and it boots normally. The image on the USDTV box is 2.4915. Any ideas why it wont work?

dcollings

07-24-09, 11:50 AM

dcollings

07-25-09, 01:30 PM

dogleg69

07-26-09, 09:25 AM

I have tried everything on this 1 gig Star Trek USB key. I have blown away the partition table. Set the partition type to Linux ext2. Formated that first and only partition to ext3. Enabled the boot flag for partition 1. I mounted the partition and untarred the file to the mounted partition. The box still acts like nothing is in when I power cycle. I have two of these boxes and know that they are upgradeable because I have used a USB key from Marsman to upgrade them. Anybody know what I need to look for in a usb key?

The kernel that the db2010 uses (which is older), has trouble with large USB devices. Do you still have the physical stick kfrom Marsman? I think he sold mostly 32MB Sandisk -- at least mine was. You can write over that stick.

You can also try formatting at FAT32 and placing the single .bin file on it. Since you have 2.7.15, it should mount the FAT32 stick.

Sounds like you have done everything correctly. Only thing I see is that the USB device has too much capacity. Do you have a lower capacity USB device?

goldwingrider

07-26-09, 11:10 AM

i am getting way more stations than i used to get now.
close to 30 now was only getting 20 before.

dcollings

07-29-09, 01:33 AM

Can I just remove the files from the Marsman stick and copy the 2 folders that are extracted from tar file?

I tried formatting the 1 gig stick FAT32 and copying the single bin file over. The box still does not recognize it. Thank you for your help.

dogleg69

07-29-09, 08:17 AM

smintn

08-04-09, 06:17 PM

dogleg69

08-04-09, 10:03 PM

dogleg69

How accurate is the stream bitrate info in the diagnostics menu?

I had placed some of the info for a channel on the nashville hdtv thread and a few replies claimed it had to be inacurate. It's not really important just curious.

Sorry, I have no idea. What is inaccurate about it? (not that it is really important like you said)

I did some poking around on my box. I have two antennas (one pointing north and one south). CBS is carried in HD on both. The south is a major market, the north is a small market. The south CBS said 17.5 Mbps. The north said 65 Mbps. The north is obivously wrong. So, I don't know if the 65000000 is some type of default for HD if it can't get a rate or what. The SD stations from the north are all 15000000 (which I suspect is also some type of default).

Does this seem similar to what you have seen?

dcollings

08-04-09, 11:01 PM

I just updated the marsman stick. The script didn't work, but I just copied the untarred folders from linux

smintn

08-05-09, 12:13 AM

Sorry, I have no idea. What is inaccurate about it? (not that it is really important like you said)

I did some poking around on my box. I have two antennas (one pointing north and one south). CBS is carried in HD on both. The south is a major market, the north is a small market. The south CBS said 17.5 Mbps. The north said 65 Mbps. The north is obivously wrong. So, I don't know if the 65000000 is some type of default for HD if it can't get a rate or what. The SD stations from the north are all 15000000 (which I suspect is also some type of default).

Does this seem similar to what you have seen?
Yes I have some with bitrates all over the place 17.8M,80.0M,45M,14.4M,15M,65M,13.1M,18.9M possibly because of signal strengths.
I use to email info with one of the engineers at one of these stations when they first went HD maybe I can recontact him and ask what bitrate they are showing on their equipment.

Update:

I got a response from the station engineering dept here's what was sent to me
"We run a statistical multiplex system with dynamic bitrates that adjust based upon program content, so there isn't a fixed bitrate to quote you. Generally, the HD signal is around 15-16mpbs and the two SD channels hover around 2mpbs each."

dogleg69

08-05-09, 08:12 AM

I just updated the marsman stick. The script didn't work, but I just copied the untarred folders from linux

So, did the box get updated?

dcollings

08-15-09, 11:56 PM

So, did the box get updated?
Yes, the updated marsman stick worked like it was supposed to. We have updated 3 USDTV boxes. Thank you for your help!!

chosenfew777

08-17-09, 07:11 PM

dcollings

08-20-09, 11:34 PM

Hello all:
I apologize if I'm posting this question incorrectly.
I am new to this forum & have read many posts about those who are using their old USDTV boxes for free OTA HD & SD digital broadcast reception.
I have 2 old Hisense DB-2010 units.
These are subscription units from when I was a paying USDTV customer.
Can these be reprogrammed as needed for free OTA reception?
I have an XP PC with SP3.
Thank you.
From Dogleg thread 1424

This thread has information in it:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1055192

It will point you toward:

http://www.mediafire.com/dogleg69
dogleg69 is offline Report Post Reply With Quote

vickhirani

08-29-09, 04:27 PM

does it work with unecrytpred QAM?

dogleg69

08-29-09, 09:39 PM

does it work with unecrytpred QAM?

This is from jtbell on another thread:

"No, it receives only ATSC (8VSB) over-the-air signals that you pick up with an antenna."

aliosa27

08-30-09, 12:33 AM

Here is a weird one for you all...

I bought a proton usdtv box(the ht-7012) from a local thrift store for 2 bucks..

Took it home and planned on putting on the free to air firmware.. however I could never get the thing to take it...It was forever stuck in the activation stuff for a month or so now....

Pulled it out today along with a logic tester,etc to see if i could figure out where the serial header was...

Before I got to that point I played the button mashing game....

Stumbled upon(and this may not be new) i could bypass the activation screen by first booting it up, letting it start the activation scan, hitting the power button(red light on) and then hitting the chn-guide button.. It took me to ascreen that asked me to input a channel to scan, I hit cancel and it took me to the setup menu...figured out that its running 2.5.3(2.4.18-3)
..anyone have any luck upgrading to the free to air firmware from this revision?

Anywho....playing with it , i was able to get it to do a channel scan, at the end it came up and said that there was no usdtv channels found...Of course not...I clicked ok...This is the weird part, i went to the main menu, then to program guide and clicked on one of the channels it found....It popped up with a message telling me it had been activated.. i tried to change the channel and it said that access to channel soandso was denied.......unplugged the box, plugged it back in and it worked just fine on that one channel..if you try to switch it gives that access to blablabla is denied message again....so...because this box is for kids, there is only one channel they can watch anyways..hit exit went to setup, edit channel list, and then hit ok on all of the channels except the one that i needed the box to tune to. exited the menu, rebooted and there it was...

so it works, but it is a pain....

any one want to try this with another stubborn usdtv box.. I think we have found a little glitch...

seaice

10-17-09, 01:05 PM

Hi, pretty new to this forum.... I have this receiver working fine for couple years and it suddenly seems went dead. The power light in on, but not any signal coming out on screen. and I smelt some burning taste too. so i opened it up, there is a module called WG2.908.001 and I can smell the burning taste are from there. I can easily see that there is a resistor R9 in the center got burned out and the electronic board near it turns darker. However I cannot read the color code any more to know the value, neither can I find any schematic on this. Anyone can open their receiver set and take a look at that resistor and let me know what it is? or let me know where i can buy that full WG2.908.001 module. Could not find that either. Any suggestions are welcomed. Really appreciate it!

wlw055

10-19-09, 12:46 AM

Seaice,
That's the power supply. The resistor is 20 ohms. I measured it. (red, black, black, gold, maybe 1/8 watt) Wonder why it overheated & burned up. There might be other problems.

cputrdoc

10-19-09, 06:40 PM

There might be other problems.

Right. A resister rarely fails alone, usually it burns up because something upstream stopped functioning. ...and when a resister fails, sometimes that means something downstream failed too.

seaice

10-22-09, 02:48 PM

ttheissen

10-23-09, 04:14 PM

dogleg69

10-23-09, 11:27 PM

I just got one of these units.. and need to upgrade firmware. Any idea if this will improve signal reception.

I bought this unit to replace an first generation set top box (Zinwell Zat-600HD), but this unit doesn't receive signals as well as that unit did.

It will not improve the signal. That is a hardware issue with the tuner used.

seaice

10-24-09, 05:47 PM

thanks guys. i will get some resister there for a test first during the weekend and get u guys posted. seems that board was produced in China/Hongkong, might have to get a new one to replace in the end... or get a brand new HDTV decoder.:(
unfortunately, put in the resister and still does not work...guess i can forget about it and try get something else.

cputrdoc

10-25-09, 04:04 PM

It will not improve the signal. That is a hardware issue with the tuner used.

I'd like to counter that -- ever since I upgraded to your ROMs, my unit has been much more tolerant of errors caused by weak signal strength. A fine line perhaps (the tuner still relays the same data), but at least I don't constantly get full-screen error messages complaining that the signal is too weak.

cputrdoc

10-25-09, 04:05 PM

unfortunately, put in the resister and still does not work...guess i can forget about it and try get something else.

Elsewhere in this thread you'll find links to vendors with new power supplies. That's worth a shot, cheaper than buying an entirely new digital converter.

dogleg69

10-25-09, 05:57 PM

I'd like to counter that -- ever since I upgraded to your ROMs, my unit has been much more tolerant of errors caused by weak signal strength. A fine line perhaps (the tuner still relays the same data), but at least I don't constantly get full-screen error messages complaining that the signal is too weak.

:) I'll accept that. the software does process the signal slightly differently, so in some cases it could indeed be more tolerant as you mention. I stand corrected.

ttheissen

10-26-09, 02:49 PM

I just got one of these units.. and need to upgrade firmware. Any idea if this will improve signal reception.

I climbed up into the attic, turned the antenna 90 degrees, and bam-o, reception problems solved.

I simply love the channel guide on this unit.. and the ability to change channels quickly. My old tuner took forever to go from channel to channel.

nthums1

11-06-09, 09:41 AM

unfortunately, put in the resister and still does not work...guess i can forget about it and try get something else.

I would not be so quick to rule out fixing. I have not looked inside unit, but I'd bet you have shorted caps that drew current and burned it up. Caps are cheap.

nthums1

11-06-09, 09:43 AM

I just got one of these units.. and need to upgrade firmware. Any idea if this will improve signal reception.

I bought this unit to replace an first generation set top box (Zinwell Zat-600HD), but this unit doesn't receive signals as well as that unit did.

Check the voltages off the power supply board. I had drop outs to the point I could hardly keep a channel tuned until I replaced caps.

Tocapet

11-16-09, 01:08 PM

Another HISENSE 2010 question:
Do the timers work best with the unit in Standby or On??

dogleg69

11-17-09, 02:43 PM

Another HISENSE 2010 question:
Do the timers work best with the unit in Standby or On??

It will work best on Standby. If the unit is left on, it will loose time because the unit will not be able to take control of the tuner in order to update the system time.

In Standby, the unit periodically wakes up and grabs the tuner in order to grab the PSIP and the time. It gets the time from the channel that is used in the setup to set the system time. This way the time is always retrieved from the same source. Otherwise, the timers would not have a fighting chance since all the stations times are slightly different.

dogleg69

11-30-09, 12:01 PM

My original USDTV box that I received when I signed up for the service 4 years ago failed this weekend. Watched the football game on ABC on Saturday night, then turned off the equipment. Sunday morning the box showed the two green lights for power and signal (even though the box was not on). Could not cycle power. Un/plugged back in. Still no change.

I took one of the units I have used for testing and put the power supply board from it into my orignal box. That fixed the problem. The failed board did not appear to be burned from looking at it. However, it certainly smelled burned. A few of the smaller capacitors are bulging, but not significant.

I did notice something different once the new power supply board was in place. The remote was more responsive -- especially on power on/off. I use a Hamony 880 to control my setup. Over the past 3-4 weeks, the USDTV box would not turn on when the power on sequence was activated. I thought I was stepping in front of the remote or pointing it at a poor angle the first few weeks. Then I started wondering if something was wrong with the remote. Turns out it was the power supply unit in the USD box.

So, I post this to say, if your box gets sluggish or is not responsive to the remote, the PSU may be on its last leg. Certainly if you get the double green lights and the unit will not turn on/off, the PSU is failing.

If anyone can fix a failed PSU or has any use for it, let me know and its yours.

wlw055

12-05-09, 12:16 PM

Dogleg69,

Sorry to hear about your problem. I would be interested in playing with your Hisense with the bad power supply. Please let me know the shipping charge to zip 905... Please send a PM if you still have the unit available. Thanks.

goldwingrider

12-13-09, 11:19 AM

I have a interesting theory on why these boxes lock up on pbs stations not sure if i am right but i only have this box lock up on pbs stations.
i noticed that when the box locks up you can go to system time and you can not aquire system time from any channel.
but if i unplug my box and plug it in i have to reset system time for things to work properly.
maybe the pbs stations are sending the time info differently then the other stations?
just a thought.
not a big issue here i normally watch regular channels anyways.

colohiker

12-31-09, 03:49 PM

dogleg69

12-31-09, 05:03 PM

I just received my brothers DB2010 box and have hooked it up so I can drop my *#%@ cable company service. I want to upgrade the firmware and have been reading this site trying to figure out the correct way to do it. My box's System Information screen says:

SystemID:0000-0ac4-aa80
version:2.5.47(2.4.18-7)

Is this a subscribtion box? My brother never had USdigital service and I can pick up most of the local stations already but it does show USdigital logos on all the menu screens. So, do I use the fromService293.zip file or can I just use the usdtvUpdate295ForWindowsFAT.zip file.

BTW-There is a gentleman who is selling new USdigital boxes on ebay for a buy it now price $28 (also make on offer) I might have to pick up a back up.

That is a really old firmware. I am pretty sure that if will not read a FAT formatted USB stick. So, go to http://www.mediafire.com/dogleg69.

Then windows -> using_Pre2.7.15 -> download the dd293.zip

That zip file contains a freeware dd.exe, a linux image and instructions. Follow the instructions and this will get you up to 2.9.3. Then download the windows usdtvUpdate295ForWindowsFAT.zip and follow those instuctions go get it up to 2.9.5.

If you have questions, post here. But you either need to use a linux box to create your stick or use the dd293.zip (which I made special for people who do not have access to linux but have really old firmware).

Spiked

12-31-09, 07:52 PM

BTW-There is a gentleman who is selling new USdigital boxes on ebay for a buy it now price $28 (also make on offer) I might have to pick up a back up.

Could you provide more info on the ebay listing? I can't seem to locate it.

Thanks!

goldwingrider

01-02-10, 11:16 AM

type in hisense in search bar at ebay that should find the boxes available.

colohiker

01-02-10, 12:15 PM

It is item# 170425599782. Title is- DIGITAL HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION RECEIVER US DIGITAL. It is an Ebay store listing as opposed to a auction.

thedink

01-03-10, 04:57 PM

I just stumbled onto this website while trying to figure out why my usdigtal box isn't recieving a fox chanel in my are, i looked at my software version2.5.57 (2.4.18-7) I followed doogleg69's updateing directions for colohiker and i can not get my reciever to update to the 2.9.3 system. I think my problem has to do with how to load my usbdrive. I'm not understanding the "run the command" part i think. WHere do i do this? I would apprciate any help as i am dying to get the reciever to get this channel to watch my bronco's in HD tomorrow in the fiesta bowl.

colohiker

01-04-10, 02:41 AM

I also had problems figuring out how to upgrade. I know just enough about computers to really screw things up. Anyway, I used the instructions given by stevierayg on another thread. I am unable to link it but they where:

Exact Step by Step for DD Instructions

- Put at least a 16MB USB Flash Drive Into the Computer
- (I will assume it is drive G
- Unzip the contents of the zip file to a folder of your choice (I will assume you used C:\temp)
- Click Start > Run
- Type cmd
- Press Enter
- Type C:
- Press Enter
- Type cd \temp
- Press Enter
- Type dd.exe if=x293.dd of=\\.\G:
- Press Enter
- Wait for correct bytes in / bytes out to show
- Unplug your USDTV box.
- Plug in the USB key.
- Plug the USDTV box back in.
- Watch as it loads the new firmware (will take several minutes and show on the screen what it is doing)
- Wait. When completed, unplug the box, the USB stick and plug the box back in.

I followed them exactly and the upgrade worked perfectly. I did cut and past the line "dd.exe if=x293.dd of=\\.\G:" to make sure I got it right.

I would also like to give a big thanks to dogleg69 for this great upgrade!

goldwingrider

01-10-10, 05:50 PM

i had a interesting one today i was watching tv and my box was loseing signal.
i had an extra box for parts i replaced the power supply and problem solved.
i think that nthums1 is right the bulgeing capacitors are the problem on the power supply unit. i will be checking if i can get some replacement caps and try to fix this bad one and let people know the outcome.

wally94087

01-10-10, 11:43 PM

I had a similar failure and successful repair two days ago. The receiver was working but multiple key presses were necessary to change channels. This had been an ongoing problem tolerated for months but a chance recent read of this thread motivated me to open the box.

Inspection of the power supply board revealed a barely visible bulge on the top of C11, the second of two filter caps on the 3.3V path (the other one is C12, separated by an inductor). Manufacturer designation "JH". A DVM showed seeming normal DC voltages and ripple on all DC outputs when AC powered up, receiver off and with no antenna signal applied on the test bench. I replaced C11. Upon reconnection and retesting, the receiver now responds promptly to the remote and works fine.

I tested the removed bulging C11 with a 1 KHz ESR meter. It has an equivalent series resistance of 24.5 ohms, rather than .1 ohms or less that might be expected. Capacitance was 3.3 mfd rather than the expected 1000 mfd. Checked with an ohm meter, it charges up to an open just fine so it was not loading down the 3.3V in the least. But its greatly diminished capacitance and increased internal series resistance means it is useless as a filter capacitor in supplying peak current demands of the receiver. There was no fluid leakage visible from this capacitor.

When time allows I will be replacing other electrolytics as a preventative measure, starting with C12. I am pre-forming replacement caps to their rated voltages thru 100K ohms for several hours. All caps are then discharged before installation.

dogleg69

01-11-10, 09:03 AM

...

When time allows I will be replacing other electrolytics as a preventative measure, starting with C12. I am pre-forming replacement caps to their rated voltages thru 100K ohms for several hours. All caps are then discharged before installation.

Since a number of people have had success replacing the capacitors (and I have had similar failures and fixes by replacing the entire PSU), would someone be so kind to writeup in detail the steps to debug, tools needed, where/how to buy replacement parts, and the procedure (with images) to fix the PSU?

I'm mainly a software/firmware person. However, I am willing to try a hardware repair if I understand it. I would be happy to work with someone and place the entire hardware repair instructions on the mediafire site as an archive.

The PSU seems to be the main failure on this system. Here are the symptoms I have seen that end up being related to the PSU:

- system is not as responsive to remote as normally
- system signal strength weakens
- system is unable to pickup known good channels
- two green lights for power and signal (even though the box was not on)

A friend of mine purchased two units off ebay about 2 years ago. Both went out around the same time. Both ended up being the PSU. So, I have 4 units, my dad 2 and my friend 2 -- for a total of 8. Of the 8, three PSUs have failed with the last 6 months. I have not keep track of serial numbers on the boxes or PSUs to detemine anything.

Would anyone that has the ability to repair the PSU consider creating the instructions?

icthys

01-14-10, 03:48 PM

I've received a lot of help from others so I thought I'd post my experiences with my Hisense tuners.

I bought my first one two years ago. I did experience problems with the unit not recognizing remote commands but I chalked it up to my control system (RTI). About two months ago the tuner stopped working and I had two fast blinking green lights. According to info on this site it was the power supply.

I found a unit locally here in Utah and bought it for cheap. The guy I bought it from said it had some signal issues. Sure enough it kept dropping the signal.

I came back to the forums for more help and discovered it was probably another power supply issue. I also found out it was due to bad capacitors. I popped the tops off both of them and sure enough, bulging capacitors. There were different capacitors with problems in each unit. The newest unit only had one bulging cap, the C14 cap. I took it out and replaced it with the cap from my older unit. I hooked it all back up and it now works like a charm.

Replacing the cap was really no big deal for me. I do have experience soldiering so it made it easy, it took me about 15 minutes to swap the caps. I'll now be getting a whole new set of caps for each unit and I'll have two units working like a charm (I just might have to use one to record!).

It wasn't hard recognizing the bulging caps. There wasn't any residue from them leaking but the tops of the bad ones had a slight bulge, enough to tell for sure. I took the PS board out of the unit. I heated up my 25w Weller gun. Once it was heated up I placed it on the appropriate soldier joint to loosen the capacitor. Once the cap was out I cleaned out the hole and inserted the new cap and applied soldier. If anyone wants to try it go check out www.capacitorlab.com for some help, I did and it was useful.

Does anyone know a good place for new caps now?

wally94087

01-14-10, 09:05 PM

Has anyone reverse engineered all or parts of the power supply and created a schematic? And/or a parts list? If so, would you please post it? I'm sure many here would appreciate it- especially me! Thanks.
Not a schematic, but close! ;) The link would have gone right here, but it says I have to have at least three posts to do it. So stay tuned, or search on flickr for "Walmart STB"

Digi-Key and Mouser are distributors of new electrolytics and many, many other electronics parts. I think their stock is more likely to be of more recent date of manufacture than that which might be bought surplus. If the replacement capacitors are 5 years or less in age, they will not need any sort of preconditioning (re-forming) procedure before installation.

wally94087

01-14-10, 09:11 PM

wally94087

01-14-10, 09:52 PM

...I am willing to try a hardware repair if I understand it...

Some background...
http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

The Good...
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=414
The Bad...
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=388

Mechanics of re-capping...

Ignore discussion of 10V, 6.3V substitutions, which only apply to 5V applications.
http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=31
http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=32
http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=33
Although written from the perspective of 5V and 3.3V motherboards, a lot of useful repair info.

Basic electronics tutorial and safety precautions...
http://www.repairfaq.org/
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/tshoot.htm
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/captest.htm
http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/~reese/electrolytics/
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/67417-reforming-electrolytic-capacitors-necessary.html
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/smpsfaq.htm

Elsewhere on the net are more instructions and even videos on soldering technique, which should be practiced on dead boards. When you can remove and replace a dozen different electrolytics on a dead PC board without damaging the copper, you are ready for a repair of something important.

Note in particular in the last link above, the safety advisory regarding electric shock hazards and dangerous residual stored energy. In the case of the WalMart STB, C1 can be a shock hazard if bleeder resistor path R4-R5-R6-R1 should be faulty. Initially handle the power supply board by the end farthest from the power cord connection. Measure the voltage on C1 and verify it is zero before undertaking repair of the removed board.

If even a single electrolytic from a given capacitor vendor bulges and fails in less than a decade, arguably the others in the same assembly (from that same cap vendor) should be replaced without more analysis before a later failure can take out other parts that can be harder to find and repair. For a simple example, if C2 fails it can overheat 20 ohm R9 and damage diode 1N4148 D7 and possibly also damage the 8 pin dip regulator IC. But in a more serious example, faulty output filter caps could cause surge damage somewhere on the main receiver board.

Whether to replace all electrolytics in the box depends on how paranoid you are regarding the capacitor plague, and how confident you are in your solder technique and replacement parts not creating additional problems. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

In the best case using fresh replacement capacitors (thought to be less than about 5 years old), repair is just unsoldering, correctly inserting a replacement (they blow if reversed positive to negative), resoldering and trimming excess lead lengths. A good general rule for power supply repairs would be to match the capacitance and voltage specs and select the largest choice that will physically fit. Usually the larger choices will carry more AC current while running cooler internally. In a switching power supply, super miniaturized electrolytic capacitor choices are bad news. The power supply should be completely disconnected from the receiver before repair, to make sure no static discharge nor surges from soldering equipment can damage the receiver boards.

However there are enough possibilities that the repair decision tree is very bushy, particularly debug if parts are replaced and something is still wrong. Was it bad replacement parts? The wrong (correct c,v values but insufficient ripple current rating) replacement parts? Replacement parts that sat on the warehouse shelf too long and needed re-forming to avoid overheating at first turn on and possible explosion? Bad solder technique? Faulty parts other than electrolytics? Parts made faulty during unsoldering and resoldering? How to repair lifted traces damaged by too much heat? Blew up supply by running without connecting load? Blew up receiver due to out of control power supply? Many possibilities, so little time...

But as long as safety precautions are taken and replacement assemblies are available on the net, attempting a hope-for-the-best-case repair on an already dead box can be a learning experience. If you lack the know how and equipment to reform capacitors on a test bench, just stick with hopefully fresh ones from an electronics distributor like Digi-Key or Mouser. Double check that all cables are reconnected. Be sure to put the cover back on the STB before you plug it in. Boiling electrolyte can blind you. If there is a pop, pull the plug immediately. Otherwise, after several minutes of operation, lift the cover and check for any ruptured parts. Exploded caps were either in backwards or needed forming after all. You did mark and double/triple check polarity of installation, didn't you?