Channel Master CM-7000 Digital to Analog Converter - Page 46

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


*****found the answer here -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post16518493

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

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

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

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

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

Regards,
Tom

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

Thanks for reply,

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

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

I was wondering if the CM was failure prone too.

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

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

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

Thanks
Tom

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

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

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

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

I have never heard of this technique. Very interesting.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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