Dch3200

DCH 70 DCH3416
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Killswitch
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Dch3200

Post by Killswitch »

Gentlemen: Acquired this bumpkin at the Quaker City Flea Mart for a nickel ($5.) . Rule of thumb is to do the HW Mod first as a precaution so that Security will not lock the Terminal and ask for a PIN you won't have. Phew ! Go into the Diags Menu to find that it's EP00 N/A DES . It's neither Connected nor Disconnected. The Tuner is receiving signal, yet all channels are ONE MOMENT PLEASE, CHANNEL WILL APPEAR SHORTLY . Boing-g-g ! Got a really good conflict there. M-Card is VALID . I've never seen N/A after a Zeroed Error Code. It's A Comcast box from the local Suburbs (Willow Grove) . When I disconnect the Out Cable , it becomes CONNECTED . This shit is so multivariable that it's no wonder there are only a handful of Testers on the mark with STB's. I will NOT give it a Full Factory Reset cause I've learned that is to be avoided at all costs with Test boxes. Doesn't have an HDD in it and I'm the first to violate this box. What to do ? Probably nothing but Acceptance, huh ?
Wolfgang
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One Moment Please sounds really bad

Post by Wolfgang »

MoonGoon wrote:... The Tuner is receiving signal, yet all channels are ONE MOMENT PLEASE, CHANNEL WILL APPEAR SHORTLY ...
How do you know if the tuner is receiving signal? From the Diag Menu check the Inband SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) and tell us what is your reading on more channels. Usually One Moment Please means you are either not receiving the signal or you have a box from a different area with a different channel map. Did you check if the RF IN connector is loose (inside or outside) They are often disconnected or broken from the board under the RF shield.
If you are receiving a good signal from your cable connection you will get Not Authorized on encrypted channels but without a signal there will be no N-A warning. It seems to me that either you have a hardware problem (tuner, IF preamp or Broadcomm BGA) or your box doesn't have the right channel map. Your box has two tuners but unfortunately the internal SATA connector is not installed. Otherwise the board is identical with the DCH3416 main board.
Killswitch
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Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 6:12 am

Post by Killswitch »

Hey, WG - thanx for the timely reply. Turns out that this box hasn't been used since 2007. That's the last GMT Timeline in the Diags Menu. It was always my presumption that the ONE MOMENT PLEASE message was much less threatening than the NOT AUTHORIZED notice. This box is NOT local, has a renegade Channel Map and wouldn't even Update from FW of 18.34 to that of 18.90 which is current. Tried a FULL Factory Reset and, damn if it didn't eliminate the Channel Map and zero the display, Fuck me because I should know better. Now I'm on Ch3, stuck on 75.25 Mhz when I should be on 104.2 Mhz and screwed over into subbing it. I don't like my RNG110 that you and Skillet seem to be almost expert on. I like a clock on my Boxes. I'll return it and take from there. I like Pace equipment but don't smooth up to this STB. Goodday.
Wolfgang
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Post by Wolfgang »

MoonGoon wrote:...Tried a FULL Factory Reset and, damn if it didn't eliminate the Channel Map and zero the display, ....
Well you did cold reset and the box is showing Zero, now the only thing to revive is to sub it. It is supposed to download the latest firmware and other code modules when reset but it will still stay on Zero until initialized by the CaCo. As far as the Data Downstream frequency I am surprised that it did not change to 104.2 MHz. When you reset a box, it is searching for a Out-Of-Band frequency carrier to lock on. That might be another issue, your OOB tuner might not working, or as I mentioned earlier it may be a connector/diplexer issue.
You probably don't have a Lock on the OOB (check the Diag Menu) but you may see the searching for a carrier since it is scanning all the possible frequencies of the lower Downstream Spectrum (70 to 120 MHz)
Some boxes have option to choose the frequency manually but DCHxxxx should search automatically. There is also a DOCSIS tuner in that box which may download the firmware and other data including the channel map within the Inband spectrum like any DOCSIS modem where data is carried on QAM channels and not on QPSK channel as is on the lower spectrum. That will be a DSG (same option from Diag Menu for OOB) searching carrier to lock on but this time you should see the frequencies as the video channels are (120 - 860 MHz)
Well, see if you can get a lock on DOCSIS too. If you tried everything I mentioned and still not getting a data channel lock, your CaCo will not be able to sub your box.
Good Luck MG!
Killswitch
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Post by Killswitch »

Yes, Sir - just wanted to follow up and there's little doubt that you're quite sporty with STB's. Rationalized that the easiest track to skate would be to hang a new M Card onto it. Learned that when ya try to use the old Card and hang it to a new Account, it becomes INVALID. No shit, Sherlock ! Also learned that Comcast is clueless with Multi Stream cards. The new Card stayed UNKNOWN in Validation on 4 attempts until a woman in the Caribbean got it right and VALID . And, well, I've got my HBO's and Premiums in place but the last glitch is in enabling the IPPV Status. This box is non-local - came from the Suburbs. My best guess is that the new Keys can't open the Lock on the PPV . Not even with the hardest Hit - the kind that erases all of the data. There's gotta be a trick way to provision the Box (not the Card) to open doors for VOD and PPV viewing. Think about it. The local offices MUST get an occasional out-of-area box, and what do they do before they put that thing called the DarkSide (minimalistic Firmware) on it and hand it out ? Answer - Hit it like a Punching Bag. Time to get my Gloves outta the closet. Goodday.
Wolfgang
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Post by Wolfgang »

MoonGoon wrote:... the last glitch is in enabling the IPPV Status. This box is non-local - came from the Suburbs. My best guess is that the new Keys can't open the Lock on the PPV ....
I am glad it finally worked for you MG. The keys shouldn't be the problem since you got the M-Card activated for premium channels. The Interactive Pay Per View is related to your upstream capability. Check your Upstream Option from the diag. menu.
The frequency must be specified and the level too. If you have maxed out at 60dB then you box does not create enough power to reach the Headend demodulator over the HFC network to verify your request for PPV or VOD. This is usually a case when you have splitters involved with a lot of attenuation.
Very often the problem lies in a loose RF IN connector which is not so critical for higher frequencies but it is very important for the upstream frequency which is around 8 MHz or 10 MHz in some areas. The box sends confirmation for initialization back to the CaCo via the upstream so that's probably the reason your activation didn't go easy the first time. Be sure not to have any 54 MHz high-pass filter inserted in the line. You know the rest of it ...
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