4DTV questions

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skynyrd

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Feb 3, 2008
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Hello,

I was able to get a good deal on a 905 sidecar and a 922 4DTV unit on Sunday. I am off tommrow from work, so I am hoping I can figure this thing out. I'm pretty good with the DVB stuff, and I always try to search and experiment before I ask a lot of questions... but it seems like this 4DTV stuff is really diffrent than what I'm used to. Here is what I've done so far. (I'm playing with the 905 first, since I already have a analog reciever)

1. Pointed the dish at 133 (G1), and put in all of the manual transponder info like Ice did in this post: http://www.satelliteguys.us/c-band-...44125-help-accidentally-reset-4dtv-905-a.html That updated my time, but I still couldn't get any channel names, or any video for that matter to show up on that sat. Had mabye 20 channels there, with 3 or 4 showing a green digicypher light.

2. Moved to 125 (G0) and saw I had some channels (such as CH 101 Russia channel, AC New England on CH 103, ect.. and had some blank ones, and ones w/o a green light. I tried to enter the channels numbers in that i saw here on G0 NPS - Your One Call Solution and they didn't show up on my reciever (either I got the red light, or they were the wrong channel.

3. Thought that something was messed up, did a master reset

4. Repeated step 1. Let it sit on G1 for 30 minutes... Seems like I got the same channel mappings back as before on G0 and G1.. but no channels for HBO, ect looked to be mapped at all.

5. Moved to G0 ch 5 for awhile.. than surfed around that sat.. same channels in #2 show up when i tune to them.

6. I moved to G3 ( I believe) and I only have channel 0... no other channels mapped for that satellite)

I heard that some people see a channel listing in their status screen when they are remapping, and it increses, and it looks like the book that came with the 905 has that info also.. but all I see is a Trip that is at 0.. no channel listings. I am posting a picture of what my screen shows.. Also, my reciever didn't download the new W5 sat into memory, either.

Has anyone got any ideas on what may be going wrong? I appreciate any help with this!
 

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Program the Sats you are going to watch first, then...
Park Dish on G1 Channel 3.
Using remote, press"Options", 6,4,4 and press "OK" on G1
What dose your Quality show, if above 50, Power Off and unplug for a minute and then reconnect, walk away for 20 minutes.
Power On and check Guide.
You may have to register your units with a provider, maybe even get a cheap Sub - IFC Channel is like $10 YEAR!
 
Last edited:
905 sidecar

Well, I called a few places, and not many programming providers know anything about the sidecar.... I did call one place, and they were wanting 20 bucks for tech support.. but I don't want to invest any money in these units if they don't work...

Here is what I did last night.. I went to G3 (95W), and manually tuned in a transponder.. it showed at 99% quality. otherwise, there were no channels for me to select on that satellite (channel list was empty)

So I went back to G1 3 (133W), turned the unit off overnight, and checked on it this morning... Its got the same mappings as last night.
 
What is your quality on G1-3?

Quality is showing 42... In the user's manual, it says that the sidecar needs at least a signal of 20 to pick up a digital channel (appears that the 905 has a lower meter than the 922).. when I had it hooked up (the 922), I believe it had 79% quality on that sat.
 
Don't know if it matters or not, but lately when I tell my 4dtv to go get the guide, it's going to G1 - 171. Or when I power on the unit in the morning, instead of being on G1-3 it will be on G1- (any of about 3 different channels up in the 100's)
and if I put it on G1-3 manually the guide usually takes at least 25 minutes to load (quality is about 85 on that chan)
 
Have you Sub'd any programming yet?

Nope.. I was wanting to wait until I knew the reciever was good.. do I need to sub to a channel to get updated maps? I was going to sub to small just to test it out, but then it got too late in the evening, and all of the providers closed for the night... but i guess I can sign up for a 3 or 4 dollar channel just to test things out.
 
You can try calling a provider, and asking for a Re-Hit to verify that the receiver is working.

I tried calling them.. all of the ones I called said that they won't do that, and that I would have to buy programming from them before they would re-hit.. but I don't want to authorize the box for channels, when I don't know if they will even come in after the re-hit.
 
I think i has to be authorized to get channels maps.
Can you get to GB @ 91 west?
If so, try channel 410.

No the 4dtv will be able to map when new out of the box, to activate or watch free channels the digital side must be authorized..
 
No the 4dtv will be able to map when new out of the box, to activate or watch free channels the digital side must be authorized..

I signed up with SPS (no programming yet), and I filled out the Online hit form with my HEX address, (Since my unit ID starts with 000). Their hit form goes to NPS's website that says that unit ID is invalid.. Then I got an email saying that a customer rep would process my rehit... That was around 15-20 minutes ago, and my Trip counter hasn't changed. (EDIT: They just emailed saying that my HEX address was wrong, and they saw nothing on that unit.. I guess I may have to sub to some programming...)

It seems like I still have most of the channels I had when I first hooked it up (appears to be a previously subbed unit. I was noticing when I was on 123(G0), that Sundance channel is 117... Well, on my box, I believe it says AC NEW ENGLAND.. These channels disappeared when I did the factory reset, and when I sat on G1 3 for 30 mins or so, I got the same channel names/titles back.

Lak, I don't have GB in my list of sats to pick on this reciever.
 
Options, 6, 4, 4(I think) and move a couple clicks up to find it.

Even better....
NPS - Your One Call Solution

Lak,

I was able to submit a rehit.. and I wait 20 minutes on G1 - 3 and the trip counter didn't change.. and I also changed over to G1 167, and rehit again.. it still didn't take on my reciever. I am posting a picture from my "Memorize Usable Satellites" screen. I noticed that the 922 had a lot more usable satellites than this 905 had..

Inno,

Thanks forshowing me that post!. There is some good info in there.. seems like the 905 is the red-headed step child in the 4DTV world... When I have called providers for help, most say "I don't know anything about that box, it was before my time".

I'm glad this forum is around for people who want to use them to share troubleshooting tips on this equipment.. I really enjoy the DVB setup I have.. in fact, its the only tv provider I have.. all my friends think I'm crazy messing with all of this satellite stuff.. but it sure beats a DirectTv bill where I have to pay for channels I don't want to watch.. plus I like to see the raw footage.. If I can ever get this box to work, mabye I can find some good subscription suppliments to my free system.. :)
 

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Post a Pic of the Diag Screen
Option, 6, 5

Also...
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Why does my receiver skip over channels?
[/FONT]
[/FONT]When new channels are added they need to be mapped into your receivers memory. Do this by going to a Digicipher channel such as G1-3. Pull up the System Status screen(options, 6, 5) and check the channels in the bottom right corner. You should see the channel count go up within a few minutes if not, unplug the receiver for 20 seconds and try again. If the channels still are not changing after that check to see if the receivers memory is full. You can do that by pressing Options, 6, 0, 5. That will bring up a “Diagnostics A” screen. Press the right arrow key until you see “Diagnostics G”. On the top row fifth column to the right you will see a four digit code if it is 1920 your memory is full and you will have to do a master reset and re-program your receiver. To do a master reset you will need to press Options, 6, 7, 7, 8, 7 and then enter to confirm the reset.
 
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