RCA DTA800 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box - Page 12

According to my DTA800B1 manual, the Zenith codes are 002, 113, 114, 115, 176, 182, 189, 245, 248 and 274

Thank you Peggy.
I appreciate your help.

Skid

After 3 months the converter stopped working. Does RCA make any good products anymore? I wonder how many boxes stopped working so far?

Is it still under warranty? Did you bring it to the store to ask about a replacement?

You might consider sharing this news with your U.S. Senator or Representative. While the CECBs are made by the private sector, these boxes are being subsidized by Uncle Sam and we haven't even made it to the "official" analog shutoff date of 02/17/09. It's pitiful if your CECB has given up the ghost already.

Much as I much prefer the RCA's excellent remote control, if you need to buy a different CECB consider buying a Zenith DTT901 or DTT900, or the Channel Master.

Has anyone figured out what parts to add in order to implement S-video on the RCA DTA800B?

Of the six of these boxes I've helped install, 5 have failed. THe 800b replacements seem to work OK, with couple of boxes freezing up once.

spokybob, I don't see how you could have such a high failure rate. You must be doing something wrong? Did you check to see why they failed? Is the 12 volt power supply still working or did the main board die in all of them? Were the units installed in cabinets without any ventilation and overheated? Could they have been damaged by power surges or lightning strikes?
A couple of potential problems I've noticed is the decoder chip gets quite hot.
I installed an aluminum heat sink on mine to help cool it.
Also, they only have a 2 wire power cord so there is no ground therefore there is no protection from power surges, static discharges, etc.
In order to have any kind of surge protection the unit has to be grounded which means it depends on the coax cable from the antenna or cable system for the ground so you have to install a ground block outside the wall and connect it to an earth ground where the cable enters the house. They neglected to show that in the manual that comes with the unit but for a lot of DVD recorders they do show it.
The other option is to rip out the 2 wire power cord and connect a 3 wire cord with a ground that is connected to one of the mounting points on the PC board or to the tuner. Of course if there is a lightning strike nearby nothing can protect it but grounding should work for most power line surges.

I tested the Insignia, Magnavox & RCA when they became available. Although the RCA does not have channel recall or a good EPG, I recommended it because of the excellent remote. The universal remote code worked for every TV. It soon became apparent that the boxes overheated. Two of them were very hot. That is dangerous. Two more boxes would freeze up constantly, and when using CC, the screen would fill with gibberish. The other box I mentioned just died. I assume it was the power supply. She said it also would get hot. The point I make to is, if the box does not work perfectly, then return it to WalMart. I really do not care or want to investigate why each failed.
I still have an one early DTA800 that works well. I'm not sure why it does not get warm. The TV with that box is rarely used, so the Power Saver feature is still set at 4 hours.
Things in common that all boxes have, is a power strip with built in surge protector, and an indoor antenna. None of the boxes are placed on a vcr. Some are on top of the TV set. The new 800b1 boxes have performed very well, with no failures and they are placed in the exact same service as the old ones. The grounding issue mentioned will not be a factor. Not one of my tv sets has a 3 wire plug, nor does my VCR or DVD recorder.
Steve: I'm not sure why you say, You MUST be doing something wrong. Even you mention your box has issues. And how many have you purchased?

>Steve: I'm not sure why you say, You MUST be doing something wrong. >Even you mention your box has issues. And how many have you purchased?

You have to admit that 5 failing out of 6 doesn't sound normal.
I have 2 but they are working fine with no problems. They do get pretty hot, at least the one big chip does, but not hot enough to make it fail if it's out in the open. They both get the same temperature but not as hot as some older Samsung boxes that I've had.
If nothing in your installation is grounded then you have no protection and you are susceptible to power line surges and spikes.

Remember, those 5 boxes were in 5 different households. Not one of the replacement boxes have failed. There you go. It was faulty boxes all along.

So you think it was a batch of bad boxes? Did they all come from the same place and have sequential serial numbers or matching date codes?

yes yes
EDIT: Looking at the receipts, two were purchased in New Mexico. I don't remember which two.

Original message:
Where can the DTA800's manual be downloaded? My attempts to search the web and rca.com came up dry.

Thanks.


Here is the manual in PDF format.

http://www.1800customersupport.com/p...TA800B_RCA.pdf

Yep,

Add a S-video connector (natually)
Add two ferrites as the EMI filter (or just bridge them) between two pairs of big pad just behind the connector.
Now, here is the key: Add one 10 Kohm as pull up straping resistor on R452. Locate at right of BCM3543.

I did this on a DTA809 (newer with passthrough). It looks like it have the same placement as DTA800. I ignored all the filter caps due to lack of test pattern to verify it.

Same for the DTA800B1?

Don't have a DTA800B1 to compare with. From what I can see from the pitures other pepole posted, they looks 90% identical in form factor and placement.

update:

I just posted pictures at this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...4#post15969144


______________________
two CM-7000 -- Fry's
one DTA809 -- Target
one ATVC102 -- Fry's

From the pitures and feature set that I will guess the DTA809 changed tuner and firmware to allow analog pass through. One of the power supply has been changed and another one removed (next to front panel cable). There are not changes I can tell at logic area so I am assume the mod likely can be applied to the DTA800B1 as well.

I have lost my TV code leaflet. Could someone look up the codes for a Magnavox TV for me?
Thanks

005, 007, 045, 049, 050, 054, 055, 064, 097, 098, 099, 153, 154, 160, 170, 174, 177, 181, 210, 230, 234, 252, 253, 258, 259, 272, 274, 283.

I see Systems2000 posted some codes above, but I noticed others have asked the same question previously in this thread.


Curious.. Aren't these codes downloadable from the manufacturer's site?

If not they should be, and for owners of such devices you should always download a PDF of the owners's manual, any addendum.

(Good idea to download any service manuals you may run across... As you never know when such will get pulled , be N/A.)


PS: If the sheet with the TV codes is not available on the manufacturers site, someone needs to SCAN it, and UPLOAD it somewhere...

.

Thanks!!!

The whole list of codes is here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post15174145

Both of my boxes have worked fine till the last week.
One box at my office is connected to a Jensen VHF/UHF/FM antenna, if I unplug the amplifier when stuck at 20% it will jump to 22% and I can plug it back in and it will finish fine.
Now my box at home is doing the same thing...I am almost sure it has to do with Channel 2.3 & 2.4 in Minneapolis (KTCI Channel 16) as those don't show up then on completion of the scan and 20% is about channel 16 (actually 14 but there is no 14).
Anyone else having issues?

KTCI (2.3 & 2.4 on Channel 16 DTV) admits there is a problem specific to RCA boxes and no solution given other than to interrupt antenna till pass 20% (thereby missing 2.3 &2.4). Thing is they gave no information as to why it changed between 2/18/09 and was ok 6/12, but suddenly goes to pot now!

I'm really glad I happened to run across this post. This is a great mod.

Yes, you can do this S-Video mod on a DTA-800B. I have two, and decided it would be worth trying on one of them.

It worked just like Twey says, it took only 4 steps, and only one of the four (the last ) is very challenging.

1- Solder a wire between the empty position for L302 and L303 each (behind where the S-Video jack goes).
2- Mount an S-Video jack in the empty position on the board.
3- Drill out the case back for access to the plug (use the circle molded into the case as a guide).
4- Mount a 10k resistor in the empty position for R452.

As you can see (from the attached image), the resistor I used is much bigger than the ones that were intended to be used. But even then, it was very small. Unfortunately, it was still a little too small to fill the gap between the R437 dot (which is electrically common to one side of R452), and the other R452 dot, and too big to fit easily in the regular R452 position. I had to try three times to get the solder to 'mush out' to where it would contact both R452 dots. Working with components on this scale is not so easy, you'll need a lighted magnifier, and small soldering iron.

Use a pin to get contact on the pad surrounding the feed through hole for R452, and measure resistance from there to the common R437 dot to verify success.

I guess I could have used a regular 10k resistor, and run short tiny wires to the common R437 dot and the other R452 dot to connect it with. A dab of epoxy could secure the loose component and wires. Either way should work, pick your poison.

------

The the attached image shows a comparison between the S-Video and Composite outputs. It was obtained from an HD signal, photographed using simultaneous (side by side) displays of the two video outputs. The images consist of equal portions of what was about 25% of the 4:3 screen area.

Had to double re-scan as suggested and things are fine again!

Thanks for contacting member supported tpt. We appreciate hearing from you.
We did have a problem with the RCA converter boxes however we believe it has been corrected. Run a rescan now and if that does not help you may want to try a double rescan:
1. Unplug the antenna from the set or box.
2. Scan. You should not pick up anything.
3. Unplug the digital set or converter box.
4. Plug in the antenna, digital set or converter box.
5. Rescan.
This procedure is something the FCC has recommended to us to because it clears out the memory.
We have applied to the FCC for additional power to broadcast stations 2.3 and 2.4 on. Right now they are broadcast on channel 16. If we can get additional power (and this looks good) we may change our broadcasting to channel 23, (this could change). Through the use of a piece of equipment here called PSIP, you would pick up those channels on 2.3 and 2.4. Again, we are waiting to hear back from the FCC.
Become a supporting member, get the program guide and you would have this information available to you as soon as it becomes known. Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Bonny Duffney
Member Services

I just picked up one of these at Walmart for the bedroom TV. I'm impressed, picks up all channels w/o any breakup. Picture quality is good on RF CH3 (TV doesn't have video jacks). Volume is done through the TV instead of the box, CH/ PWR buttons on the front in case of remote loss. Cabinet is vented to prevent heat buildup.

I'm hooked to the same outdoor antenna as my living room HTPC.

I have 2 for over a year and a half with excellent results so enjoy! I have highly recommended due to its easy set up, flexible and substantial remote. The new RCA DTA 809 (usually sold at Target) is a nice improvement if you have low power analog stations still in town.
Other than my recent issue with KTCI making some 'inappropriate PSIP' switch (now fixed) these boxes have been trouble free with all sorts of antennae too!
I like this DTV so much I have NO intentions to buy a new HDTV till my old TVs just up and die!

Here's what I do not like about the RCA DTA800B -----

You cannot "add" new scanned channels to what you have already scanned, without losing some channels already logged. If you do a new scan with a different antenna placement, then, you get some channels you did not get before, but.... you now have other channels you had, not now listed. And, the DTA800B will not allow you punch through to a channel not logged with your most recent scan...

Tech support at Alco Electronics (800-252-6123) confirmed this to me. (AudioVox, the new parent co. of RCA referred me to Alco Electronics for tech support for the RCA DTA800B.)

My Zenith DTT900 does allow you to add channels to what you have already scanned.

Just got a pair of these for free, from an elderly relative who's moved into assisted living. The Thompson tuner works pretty wel, but not quite as good as the one in my CM 7000. One thing that it does that the CM won't is allow duplicate virtual channel numbers, but the RCA conversely will not allow duplicate real channels. When you do a add-on scan, it skips frequencies that it allready has in the database. Fortunately, if you tune in a station and then turn the antenna towards it's co-channel, it displays the co-channel (with the correct program data), but the call sign and virtual will be wrong.
The guide feature that shows both the current program and the next one is pretty nice, but there is no episode information like the CM has. The signal meter is kinda weird in that there is one on the info banner, but it is small and has no digital number, so you have to guess. There is another meter that gives a digital number (and a tone so you can crank up the volume and adjust the antenna on the roof), but to access this meter you have to go through several menu layers.