Dish DTVPal / Echostar TR40 digital to analog converter - Page 225

In the VCR Plus+ (no TVGOS) the "cable channel changer" thing is a table you fill in with your local cable channel numbers, lined up with the numbers assigned to stations by the Plus system. The Sunday TV newspaper guide published a list of 'universal' VCR Plus channel numbers. You had to go back and forth in the list when you entered it, as most of it was not numerically sorted. Theoretically you had to line up local cable numbers with universal numbers only once, but if you lost power for awhile, or the cable company moved stuff around, you had to fix it.

Since May, most newspapers don't list Plus codes. You can get them online, but that won't save you any time.

Since my VCR is hooked up to a converter box with timer, I tend to use a single VCR timer on the VCR side of things for all prime time recording, and disable it on the days I don't want to record. Then I only have to fuss with setting a timer for the VCR side if I want to record something outside prime time.

Wow, 50 slots.

I don't know if Plus has these issues fixed, but I do know they can easily upgrade firmwares unlike the regular DTV Pal.

Also, I gave my thumb down rating in http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6&goto=newpost thread for the regular DTV Pal. I noticed Plus got good votes.

nm

I noticed my DTV Pal froze again last night. I assume it was related to the time change in pacific time zone. Does anyone know what the exact Sunday date for the time zone to happen for DTV Pal to freeze?

Are you asking what the official "fall back" day is? If so, the answer is November 7, at 2 AM local time.

Hmm, last Sunday wasn't it. Related to http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post17286339 ...

Didn't the gov't shift the date? If so then there may be uncertainty as to which date various electronic equipment uses (hopefully the stations themselves can manually adjust it but...).

Yes a few years ago. I recall someone say that this messes up DTVpal or something.

i dont think the freeze-ups have anything to do with the time change....i have used my DTVPAL everyday for at least a few hours for the last ~2 years (i do not have any hdtv's here, the DTVPAL is on my daily use/main tv) and the spring/fall time changes have not been a problem as far as i can tell.....and i use the DTVPAL timer feature almost everyday and it has always worked well....

however, my DTVPAL (firmware version 105) does randomly freeze every so often ....i'm guessing it happens about once every 6 to 8 weeks, i dont keep track of it and it seems to happen totally randomly, for no apparent reason that i can tell.....and if i just let it sit frozen like that it usually fixes itself within 5 or 10 minutes....if i dont want to wait i just un-plug the AC power and that clears up the freeze immediately.....

Interesting. Mine doesn't always work with the unplugging its power trick.

Funny, I got a DTV Pal DVR today for Christmas. I will have to check it out. BTW, is this the correct forum thread to talk about DVR version?

Discussion on the DVR version can be found here -
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post15369795

Please read post #1 before asking any questions.

Thank you and Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas.

My DTVPAL+ cleared all timers on Jan. 1. Anyone else see this?

Yes, I encountered New Years timer problem in January 2009 and mentioned it in post #5578. It is a problem that Dish never addressed, even in the F106 version.
I quit trying to use the DTVPAL timers after that. It has worked ok as a tuner for the last two years with only occasional hangs that could be cleared by unplugging it.

If I start watching 6-1 (our PBS channel) after about 10 minutes the video freezes for about 3 minutes (audio is OK) then it resets, this ONLY happens on the Denver channel 6-1. This has never happened over the past 2 years, I think that this channel must have started transmitting something that the DTVPAL cant handle?

Give 6-1 PBS a call... let them know you are having a concern with that channel. They may (or may not) be able to tell you what is up.

You could also try a Factory Reset of the unit and make certain it isn't some "glitch" that would go away with a fresh start.

Also try another TV tuner/converter box? How's the signal strength on this channel?

Does the same thing happen with 6-3?
If not, then it may be something in the 6-1 data stream that the DTVPAL can't handle.

Does it happen all the time?
If you have only seen it for brief periods, KRMA may have been using the back-up transmitter, which I believe is the infamous "Ice Bridge" antenna, and the signal strength from that thing is spotty for anyone on a line from the transmitter on Mt Morrison (Note:KRMA is not on Lookout Mountain with the Lake Cedar Group) and going through Louisville, which would include parts of Arvada.

I do have a DTVPAL, but it is connected to an old analog TV that I have not turned on in over a year.
I have not noticed any issues involving 6-1 lately on any of my other tuners.
If you report that the problem happens all the time, and you can explain what you mean by "it resets", I can see if my DTVPAL and that TV still work, and see if I can also see the problem. If the problem happens all the time and can be seen in different areas, the Station Engineering may be more willing to investigate.

I gave my brother a TR40 during the transition. He used it a bit and said it kept overheating and shutting down, so he gave it back to me.

I was one of the first folks to get an original DTVPal when it came out, used it extensively and never had such a problem. My brother has a lot of reception problems--any box he uses stuggles to lock onto some channels. I'm wondering if that's what was causing his TR40 to overheat, kind of like the way my cell phone runs down its battery trying to get a lock on a signal when I'm in the building at work.

So 2 questions: (1) have any other TR40/DTVPal users had a similar problem? (2) I'm willing to drill some cooling holes into the housing; anybody know how to separate the two halves of the housing?

You're probably the only person I've ever heard of who didn't have at least some kind of problem with the DTVPal's original firmware (101).

By the last version (105 - actually, by 103), it was much better, but the initial state of release was pretty problematic.

I don't think it was so much the heat issue, because to my remembrance, that never really changed - at least much, if at all. It was more general bugginess. If the surrounding area heat is that bad, you probably should have the box placed in as cool a place as possible. Maybe even have a fan on it - because I know it does get pretty darned hot, particularly at the coax connection point. Can barely even touch the metal there.

However, I'm sure the self-added holes could only help, at least with the lastingness, if for no other reason, if applied carefully. If you look back to earlier in this thread, I'm sure there's plenty of detail on how to do it.

I don't think not capturing a solid hold on a signal would cause the unit to overheat - but it could have something to do with shutting it down.

My original DTV Pal was version 101 IIRC. It was terrible. Then I had a big snafu with Dish trying to get it fixed. Ultimately I got the replacement device with version 105. It is good about 99% of the time but occasionally locks up on strange video issues. Quite rare but seems to happen if the signal gets marginal. However, I only use the DTV Pal with my Slingbox HD so it really isn't much of an issue anymore.

The box is held together by ridges and corresponding depressions in the two halves. You need some strong fingernails or other tools to compress the 'inner' half and spring the box apart. IIRC, the bottom fits inside the top. There are two spots on the back side that seem to be easier to deform without damage, one at either end.
The circuit board just sits in the bottom half, if memory serves.
tom

I performed a double scan this morning to clear out the old data and scan in some new channels, but all I get now are my two RF VHF channels! (9 and 11). Does anybody have any suggestions on how to restore this back to normal? I have tried every sort of re-set that I am aware of, but I still only gets RF channels 9 & 11. Right now I have it completely disconnected from power and antenna, but I don't know if that will help at all. I have two of these and I have swapped them to see if there might be another problem like antenna, but the other one seems to work flawlessly!

you can do a master reset

I **think** its menu 3-2-5. I just did that the other day when Minneapolis got AntennaTV as a subchannel. I notice your loc is MN so I assume you are in the Minneapolis market

I performed a master reset and now I don't get ANY channels. I guess I got my monies worth out of this, though. Thank you for the reply!

Have you since tried setting it up again from scratch as if it were new out of the box? I don't have one of these but I've always had to do that on devices I've reset. Hopefully it wasn't a reset at the level that requires a factory reboot but those are usually on the circuit board or using software, not at the user menu level.

Yes, I sure have. When I try scanning in new channels it now gets none. Again, using the same antenna and coaxial cable with my other DISH DTV Pal Plus I get over 40 channels

Man I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like from the progression of your problems per your posts that it was on its way out. Hopefully one of the DTVPal experts here can help but the thread seems dead. You might check for more related threads on AVS, seems I saw more in the past (ex: DTVPal Plus).

Try putting it in a freezer for awhile.

I tried this with a different cecb that was thoroughly cooked on a shelf.
It didn't fix it, but it did function to some degree again.

Can't hurt.

Hello all! I got an e-mail reply from Echostar since I was curious:


Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:30:31 +0000
From: "B2B.support" B2B.support@echostar.com
To: Ant
Subject: RE: TVGOS on Dish's DTV Pal DVRs...

Hello!

The DTVPal DVR/TR-50 DVR/Channel Master CM-7000PAL will indeed default to
PSIP guide data at the time that Rovi discontinues guide data support.
Rovi has not given a reason as to why they are discontinuing TVGUIDE/TVGOS
data support, but the units should continue to provide a similar user
experience under PSIP.

Thank you,

-EchoStar Support Team

 

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Original Message

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From: Ant
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2012 3:36 PM
To: B2B.support
Subject: TVGOS on Dish's DTV Pal DVRs...

Dear Sir or Madam:

Hello. According to the recent posts/comments in
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1099071/the-official-avs-dish-dtvpal-dvr-topic/14910
forum thread, its TV Guide On Screen (TVGOS) feature will be going away.
What will EchoStar be doing about this on its old DVR?

Thank you in advance.