help! 4dtv reciever 920

[digmybud]

I recently acquired a 4dtv 920 reciever from a local thrift store.
it had everything with it even the remote. I brought it home and hooked it up to my 12 ft mesh dish with 30 degree c-band lnb . I can only find Sat. G5 and have shop at home on channel 3 in the clear and the message no subscription to this channel on ch. 9 for espn. so I know I'm on G5 and the picture looks good on ch 3.
I have a signal of 82 but the quality shows 0.
I cannot get a dc light to come on and I can't seem to find the other sat locations. No guide, and no W5 sat showing up on the list of sats. so it's been a while since it 's been in the datastream.
The dish moves with the counter and the skew is working.
What should I do to get something other than Shop at Home. None of the sats on the list are tuned in when I move the dish to them so I always have to go back to G5 to see anything and shop at home is boring.
Help please,

 

[melgarga]

Do you have any channel numbers higher than 24?
You need the manual. It should be here on the site.
If you are using the "Sat" button and only seeing the one tile (G5), you will need to add the others via Options 6-4-4 (on a 922 anyway)
Once you select another sat (presuming there are some to select) checkmark G1 and manually move to that location (133°W) If you are using a Polarotor system be sure your H and V settings are properly aligned on a Sat by Sat basis. Another thing to check/verify is the std or Rotated 90° setting for the LNB. It is under Options 6-4-2 on a 922. Should be same/similar for a 920.
Press "goback" and save it. That should put it in the "Sat" button list.
Presuming the unit is still DCII capable, select G1, ch3 and if all is well you will get a DC light.
If you have issues getting G1 aligned and you have a DVB (FTA) receiver, you can use the PowerVu signals on G1 to accurately set the dish's location. The 4D sat positioning is hard to work with, especially for a newcommer to the 4D fold.
Hope this helps.

Hopefully is will still be usable for DCII. How much did it you have to give for it?

 

[digmybud]

I only gave less than $25
It has lots of sats stored when I press the sat button but when the dish moves to one that I select , it is not stored in the correct location . The only one that is correct is G5. all others move and stop but all channels are snow.
Yes I do have some that have more than 24 channels but they are snow too.
I have tried finding G1 but can't seem to find a beacon channel on 1-24 to tune to so I can tune it in.
But as I said W5 is not even on my SAT list so I can't figure out how to even program it in .
I used to be a guru on regular c-band back 10 years ago and had no problems finding the sat locations but now it seems like there is no channels out there to tune to in the clear on channels 1-24 analog and no guides out there online to show a channel line-up.
polarity is right, std on lnb setting is correct. I don't have a working fta so that's out.. It sure is hard for a new-commer but I will keep trying to find something,
Do you think I should do a master reset since nothing is lined up correctly except G5?
Thanks for any advise!
DIG

 

[melgarga]

You are just lucky anything lined up...lol
The alignment is dish to IRD specific. You have to do a realignment since the IRD is not attached to the dish it was programmed for.
As for analogs, yeah they are getting hard to come by for beacons. A good source for that and other info is Lyngsat.com which shows several analog stations still at 133­­°W. I always used ARTS on ch5 but they have moved so there's only ch11 and ch17 left (I've seen some occasional activity on ch7 too).
To program the sats is not hard, but not intuitive either. You need the manual. A member has a webpage with a link to it.
http://www.themusicworkshopchicago.com/4dtv/dsr920.pdf
Be sure to browse the rest of his site as well. It has a nice compilation of 4DTV info.

As for a MR, the general consensus is no unless the TDT is approaching 1920. There are several threads in the forums on this as well.

Keep pluggin' away at it. Once you get G1 aligned, tune to ch3 (get a DC light) and let it sit for a bit it will load the latest (including W5) sat tiles.
I seem to remember that the 920 needs a soft reset (power cycle) for it to acknowledge something, maybe it was the new dl. I cant recall. Maybe someone with 920 specific experience can comment.
To get the COM-CAST X4 tile you will need to go to W5. You may (again drawing on faint memory on what I've read, I cant speak to the 920 specifically) have to soft reset for it to "overwrite" the X4 (that has the wrong ch info) you got on G1
Good luck.

 

[digmybud]

Thanks,
I did remember that I had an old neusat fta reciever that still can do a blind search but not really sure of the settings I should choose. Is G1 the same as AMC11? or Galaxy 15 ? or either of these
Thanks for any help.

Dig

 

[melgarga]

There are a number of sources that I use to compile into the "big picture" (pun intended...lol)
This page gives a hot linked list of current satellite names sorted by orbital location. C and/or Ku service is represented by the color code. Follow the links for more details. The sat specific info is sometimes "dated" but it is still generally accurate.
North & South America - LyngSat

Another site for info and usually the most up to date listing of available content can be found here.
MPEG
As with all these sites, there is a lot more knowledge to gain by exploring the entire site.

Our "home grown" source of satellite activity can be found on the "The List" tab at the top of the page. It is compiled and maintained by board members, and input from members observing new activity is always welcome.

There is some concern on a potential end of service "kill hit" by the current "powers that be" to the 4D IRDs. Some are recommending removing them from the DCII stream until some point after the 1st of the year.
The concern is that the hit will affect ALL 4D boxes that are in the stream, not just the ones that are/were subbed thru the reseller that is selling out C band. There are several threads on the subject you can review and form you own opinion on the potential danger.

If your FTA rx is in good working order it can be very helpful to get you initial dish alignment. If you have a dual band ( C and Ku) feed on your BUD that would be the ultimate setup. I recommend using a SATELLITE signal splitter to share the C band signal between the two receivers for now. Mine is set up for the "power pass" port to the 4D and the "power block" to the DVB box.
If you are using an LNBF (13/18v polarity switching) you may want to do your with the "power pass" on the DVB side. That will give you easy access to swapping the polarity for testing purposes via the FTA box and can be very handy for testing. The polarity on the 920 is hard coded to the specific channel/sat combo and cant be controlled on a per transponder basis. (You can invert the H/V configuration for ALL the satellites at the same time via the options menu)
Be sure to use a SATELLITE signal splitter, not a CABLE splitter. A cable splitter will present a short circuit to the LNB voltage and eventually, possibly immediately damage your receiver(s). There are several brands and they are pretty cheap. I have Perfect Vision brand. Check the site sponsors for this and other goodies you may want/need.

I've found it easiest to compile a handwritten list of "beacon" points sorted by orbital position containing polarity, SR and polarity info. For birds that dont list free DVB content try the PowerVu TPs. They are DVB too, just encrypted.
Once you have panned the arc and noted the count for each location you can go back and set the specific tile to it's count. Tweaking may be necessary. Keep you pen and pad handy to note specifics about each location you are programming in.

After you've got your locations set up then you can go back and scan in the DVB stuff. Open DCII stuff comes and goes. Once you learn where to look it's just a matter of keeping an eye on it.

Keep in mind None of this matters until you can get a DC light at G1 ch3 to get the current sat tiles and channel maps (before they go away) Focus on that 1st then find W5 (105°W) and get the X4 channel map there. After that you can rest easy and set this up at your leisure.

To determine which 4D designator goes with which orbital slot you will need a list of that to.
Here are a couple of online lists. I dont know how accurate or up to date they are.
http://www.skyvision.com/pages/information_center/4dtvguide.htm
NPS - Your One Call Solution

...Oh. and DONT call NPS. I'm surprized that info is still up. I'll reserve personal comment (invoking the if ya cant say some thing nice cliché) but read around on the board. There are numerous views and opinions on their actions and motivation regarding the future/longevity of consumer C band subscriptions.
Well that ought to keep ya busy for a while...lol
Be sure to read and heed the 4D warning threads......

 

[digmybud]

Thanks for all your help..
I'll see what I can come up with..
Merry Christmas

Dig

 

[digmybud]

I finally found G1 and do have a dc light.
Finally got a guide to down load.
and will try to program more sat locations soon.
Thanks, let me know if there is anything else I can do to make programing locations easier.
So far I have found G1at 133 w , and Amc11 I think at 131 w..

Dig

 

[wildbill47]

go to Skyvision Satellite Equipment and get the satellite conversion chart. Then go to lyngsat.com as can see additional satellite channel info. Realze that motorola did not keep satellite channel info up to date in the past years. Example is f4 travel channel, nortwest news is shown but has moved to other satellites. and the errors go on. 4DTV receiver makes a good dish mover for now. I have a commercial digicypher receiver and HD FTA receiver on my BUD and DSR920 moves dish.

 

[digmybud]

thanks!