Sansonic FT300A DTV Converter Box - Page 4

If anyone is looking for a replacement remote or universal remote code I have found two codes that I have verified that work with the sansonic FT 300a or clones

dish network remote model 3.1, 3.2 (inexpensive remote and readily available on ebay)
use code for toshiba tv: 617

oneforall model cinema 7
use code for toshiba tv: 0156

The original Sansonic Remote Control is about the weirdest I have ever seen. In effect, it has two "Menu" buttons. One is marked "V-chip Menu". This is what the replacement remotes from GE and RCA have placed on their "Menu" buttons. It's of very limited use.

The real "Menu" button is the one marked "CH Scan" on the original remote. It has 3 sub-menus: (1)RF Channel selects Ch3/4. (2) Audio mode selects mono/stereo. (3) Time Zone is self-explanitory. And of course, it has the all important Auto Scan for channels. I have NOT seen these options included in the replacement remotes from GE and RCA that I tested earlier this year.

The original Sansonic Remote Control also has one other very important button labled "Ant Level", which can also be used to add an individual channel. Again, I have NOT seen this function on replacement remotes from GE and RCA (incidently, the newer remotes from RCA appear to use One-for-All codes).

If the replacement manufacturers had read the Sansonic manual they would know all this. Hopefully, they will get around to getting it right someday.

Recent new models of replacement remote controls have emphasized that they work with DTV Converter Boxes and they have done a fair job in making available the MENU screens of most original remote controls except for the Sansonic FT-300A. The RCA (code 52348) and General Electric remotes that I previously tested failed to bring up the very important Ch Scan and Ant Level functions on the Sansonic. If you bought one of these remotes to replace your broken or lost Sansonic remote control you might have felt ripped off, but thanks to GE for making these functions available on recent remotes.

I'll tell you what worked for me. Apparently, GE uses two 4-digit code versions in it's remotes. I used a General Electric model 24991 (rev C) remote control that uses 4-digit Version 1 codes. Version 1 uses codes less than about 1xxx and Version 2 uses codes ranging from about 5xxx to 8xxx. I entered the recommended code 1746 on a device key other than the TV key.

To bring up the Ant Level screen simply press the INPUT key. From there you can add an individual channel or observe the siganl meters. Press and release the key to exit the screen.

To bring up the Ch Scan screen, press PREV CH. From there you can use the remote's navigation keys to select Ch3/4, Mono/Stereo ,Time Zone or start a Channel Scan.

The current model 24991 on the Jascoproducts.com website (yes, it has the same model number as my apparently older remote but looks entirely different) uses Version 2 codes. Since I don't have a version 2 remote I can't say that it works with Version 2 codes. But I suspect that most GE remotes that use 4-digit Version 1 codes work. I'm not absolutely sure of this, but I believe you can tell which version a GE remote has just by looking at the lettering on the remote. If it's upper case (CAPITAL LETTERS) it is Version 1, and it it is lower case it's Version 2.
Edited by JoeM - 8/29/12 at 3:57pm

I know this is a really old thread - but I just bought one of these in "perfect condition". And the thing won't turn on now. My husband had it turned on for a few minutes, then it shut off. Now, after repeated outlets, it still won't turn back on. It has fresh batteries in the remote also. Is it broken?

Something bizarre has happened with mine too. After two years of no trouble, the power light mysteriously went off and would not come back on, either by remote or manually. I got an identical box via Amazon and it still would not work. I then suspected the power strip and switched it out--nothing. Same for the box's power cable. I also tried plugging it directly into the wall--nothing. I even changed the aerial and that had no effect. Has anyone else had something like this happen and can suggest a solution? Thanks.

These "will not power on" problems sound like a problem with the power supply. This may be caused by using poor quality capacitors that do not work long with the modern switching power supplies.
This has been the cause of the Channel Master CM-7000 models failing to turn on that I have been repairing. Replacing a number of capacitors and the unit works again and will continue for much longer.

There may be hope - I looked at some pics of this model on eBay and it looks like it uses a wall-wart. So I would measure the voltage out of the wall-wart or try another wall-wart with the same output voltage listed (make sure AC or DC - probably DC, the output current rating should be the same or higher, and connector/polarity* the same).

*NOTE: Some connectors look the same but have different polarity.

If the Sansonic wall-wart is dead one can cut off the connector and connect it to another wall-wart if necessary.

If it's not the wall-wart there could be bad capacitors like Whitebar said inside the unit.

Thanks for the last two posts. They're the only observations I've heard so far that make sense, so I'll act on them and see what happens. I should have added earlier: the other connected devices--dvd player, vcr and television--are working fine, though of course no stations are available on the tv.