Coolsat 6000 Premium

[Anole]

what is a clone ?

What are we talking about as being a clone?

1. something in a non-Coolsat-looking case, maybe with a non-Coolsat brand name...
... but saying "just like a Coolsat" ?
That would obviously be easy to spot.
I wouldn't not want to purchase such a receiver as this.

2. something in a Coolsat case, possibly with the Coolsat brand name on it!
That would not be so obvious to spot, but IS exactly what would upset Coolsat as a knock-off or pirate.
Didn't their web site have pictures of the internals so you could tell the frauds from the good ones?
Isn't this what you are more likely to find on eBay?
Would you worry about purchasing such a unit?

3. is there a third category, where end-of-production boards and parts were never ordered by Coolsat, but sold under their name?
The third-party factory build them to order.
They could easily continue building even without an order from Coolsat.
These would be or could be, just unauthorized versions.
And if built with the same components, and tested, should be fine.

Coolsat 5000 and 6000 production ended some time around the middle of 2007, if I recall correctly.
The possibility that there are -any- original units in a warehouse somewhere, is extremely slim!
So, I'd consider any such units you find "new in box" these days, to be some sort of clone, pirate, or...

Perhaps some of our members or vendors have inside info or other thoughts on the subjects.

 

[babcea]

not if they tried to load hackware and screwed up the receiver to the point of not working either properly or at all.

I have read that coolsat puts a clone kill program in their software to mess up clones.

 

[mbarnes]

yeah I hope he got a actual 6000 and not a clone...saw a bunch of clones on Ebay

Clones?!? How does one tell? It says Coolsat all over the box and literature. It looks pretty much like any other Korean electronic stuff. This guy is selling tons of them on eBay. They claim "100% Authentic Receiver from Coolsat. Made in South Korea." Sold by CC.Times/Smart FTA. Anybody know about them or have specific warnings? No indications of problems shown in their feedback.

I'll open it up and fire it up right now.

 

[Anole]

I may have been mistaken at when the Coolsat 6000's went out of production.
It seems to have been November 2006, not 2007.

As for comparing the motherboards of the 5000's against clones, here's a PDF from their web site.
It's been said the 6000 had the same motherboard (with more ram), but in the 4000 case, so this picture should work for 6000's as well.

And as long as the pirate version ran the stock firmware, I think I'd be happy with it.

 

[Smith P.]

Main question are those components inside 'clone' are good enough ? If yes - I wouldn't worried - seen many times how changing parts working OK from second source.

 

[babcea]

Main question are those components inside 'clone' are good enough ? If yes - I wouldn't worried - seen many times how changing parts working OK from second source.

I think if they are used for their intended purpose then they will be ok,its the eye patch crowd that will be upset when they load the non factory software.I have been bidding on these for a few days and cant get one for less than 40.00,it seems like the seller may have a system to bid the price up a little,I know of a seller that was suspended for haveing two accounts and out bidding her own stuff to make the price higher.The reason I sat this is everyone I have been watching has sold for just over 40.00.

 

[meinename]

I know a name to avoid....

I think if they are used for their intended purpose then they will be ok,its the eye patch crowd that will be upset when they load the non factory software.I have been bidding on these for a few days and cant get one for less than 40.00,it seems like the seller may have a system to bid the price up a little,I know of a seller that was suspended for haveing two accounts and out bidding her own stuff to make the price higher.The reason I sat this is everyone I have been watching has sold for just over 40.00.

I stopped bidding on Coolsats from one "guy" (PM me for the name) since despite having "No Reserve" and 0 bids I was always out bid by someone as my bid was comfirmed. Spent one session trying most, if not all of his listings, and getting the same results. Won't let one go for $50. But the same guy has other listing $60 "Buy it Now". IIRC he sold the "2007 Edition" clones new-in-box.

 

[14karat]

Mine was nabbed for 35.01 in the last 15 seconds. Haven't looked at any since.
It appears to be original. Exactly like the one I bought last year for $60+ only black instead of silver.
Since I haven't had any firm loaded in the current one I probably won't worry about the new one...
I'll have to crack the cases open and compare their innards...

 

[rv1pop]

Yeah 14 karat, you stole mine.... But I won a bid on another one and have been waiting for it for too long. Has anyone else gotten theirs? I think the advertising here was so great he will unload them all to SatGuys before we know if they are legit.

 

[mbarnes]

I stopped bidding on Coolsats from one "guy" (PM me for the name)

Is there a forum policy or some other reason people will not publicly name companies or people they have had bad experiences with? If there is a bad or fraudulent dealer out there, I think a warning is warranted.

Personally, if there is a dealer out there that has done me wrong or is misrepresenting something, I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to publish their name.

 

[mbarnes]

I won a bid on another one and have been waiting for it for too long. Has anyone else gotten theirs? I think the advertising here was so great he will unload them all to SatGuys before we know if they are legit.

I won mine on Saturday morning 12/20. I paid with PayPal within five minutes of the auction closing. I got a USPS Priority Shipping Notice a couple hours later and the package arrived on my doorstep Monday. From LA to Dallas, especially at Christmas time, that's pretty good.

From what I read on the Coolsat site and on other places on the net, I'm about 99% sure these are clones. To be honest, I'm not sure that I mind getting a clone if it works. I'm more annoyed at the deceptive business practices than the product itself. There are lots of things out there that are knock-offs of an original discontinued product and they work just fine. They are just not insinuating it is the genuine article.

 

[turbosat]

Clone or not, did the thing work?

 

[14karat]

Yeah 14 karat, you stole mine....

Sorry pop

Clone or not, did the thing work?

I will know tomorrow if the weather holds out long enough...

 

[mbarnes]

I hooked the 6000 up to the DirecPC dish. I had a compass problem and wasn't sure where to aim for 123. I just swung the dish until I got a good signal. I don't have much idea which bird I'm pointed at. I set the 6000 on blind scan and let it do its thing. I found a bunch of channels on two frequencies. The channel list said 11243 and 12092 both V and H. It listed TV channels 120, 124, 129, 158, 161, 180, 184, 204, 270, 273, 300, 327, 827, 833, 880, 881, 8624, 9800. All scrambled, but the quality runs 85+ on all detected channels.

The Coolsat manual leaves much to be desired. Does the frequency in the channel list refer to the actual downlink frequency, or to the L-band IF frequency? However, most of the frequency lists I see show TP 1 usually starting around 11720 or so. I must assume then either I have a setting in error, or must be seeing the IF displayed.

It also appears that the DirectPC lnb must be single polarity. There doesn't seem to be any difference in detection between the horizontal and vertical scans. Or I have something set wrong.

Ideas or comments?

Thanks

 

[Smith P.]

Looks like you got Dish - 121W ? Check by Lyngsat using the channel's numbers.

 

[Mr Tony]

Looks like 119 with the channel numbers

121 only has a couple scrambled channels and they are in the 9800's (9850 is one I remember)

 

[Mr Tony]

The Coolsat manual leaves much to be desired. Does the frequency in the channel list refer to the actual downlink frequency, or to the L-band IF frequency? However, most of the frequency lists I see show TP 1 usually starting around 11720 or so. I must assume then either I have a setting in error, or must be seeing the IF displayed.

It scans the frequency band that you have set up depending on what the LNB LO frequency is set up as

11700-12200 for KU 10750 LNB LO Freq
12200-12900 for DBS 11250 LNB LO Freq
3400-4200 for C-Band LNB LO 5150

so it scans the actual downlink frequency

 

[turbosat]

Sounds like a dishnetwork sat alright, your linear lnb is cross-breeding!
You can get some channels from a circular bird with the linear lnbf, frequencies usually all goofed up though. At least you found something.

 

[rv1pop]

Mine was just delivered. I have not plugged it in yet, but comparing the PDF to what I can see without taking off the cover, it looks real. More later if have problems.

 

[rv1pop]

I just might bid on another one. Not quite as easy to set up as the Mercury II, but does seem to be more sensitive. It also appears to be a little more sensitive than the GEOsat DVR, but not too sure, yet how much. It "appears" that setting up for both KU and C bands would be harder, but that probably will never be a major problem, as I only know of 4 possible C band stations I want for the whole campus, and the modulator idea (my own cable system) looks better every day.