Ongoing quality problems with 722 blamed on surge protector????

[Fredinva]

Other possible problems, too


A bad lnb can cause receiver related problems,
cripe, a bad connector can also cause problems.
bad cable, too
Thus, It's not always a receiver problem!!!!!!!

fred

 

[highdefjeff]

Also, if your receiver is connected to a phone line, you might want to check if the receiver is stable without the phone line connected, unless you know how to troubleshoot unusual power flaws in phone systems. I had a customer who's 722 was rebooting constantly. I found that the phone line was causing 52 volts to cross the chassis of the receiver. It was probably screwing with the reference voltage that the receiver needs to operate properly. Outside at the telco entry point, the 52 volts was on the red wire, but it was on the green wire at the outlet.

In regards to phone lines, DirecTV was anal about the polarity being correct due to the receivers' sensitivity to polarity reverse. This is the first Dish receiver, that I've heard of, that was affected. I would definitely pick up a phone line tester and use it. I expect we'll hear more of this in the near future.

A phone line polarity tester is cheap! While most modern phones aren't affected by polarity, it looks like digital receivers are. And, if you've tested many lines, the telephone guys know that newer phones don't care about polarity, and they don't either. It is amazing how many phone lines I've checked and the high percentage of reverse polarity I've found. (It is my understanding that reverse polarity on a phone line will also slow down your computer.)

Here's a link to a testers, meters, supplies, etc. Phone line tester $2.99. Skywalker Communications: Satellite Sales, Consumer Electronics They are local to me and very helpful with great prices. Get their catalog. They have nearly everything you could need.

And an interesting thread:
How to test phone line polarity w/ multimeter? - Home Discussion Forums

This kind of situation can explain reboots and returned receivers that test fine on the test bench.

One last thing about phone lines.

Be SURE to run them through a surge protector or UNPLUG them during thunderstorms!

Electricity follows the path of least resistance. Phone lines constantly have a "trickle" charge on the line and when the phone rings a much larger voltage is sent down the line. Either way, the path of least resistance is where electricity is already flowing...like your phone line. You can do everything possible to protect your receiver from surges but it won't matter if you neglect the phone line. That's where the lightning damage comes from in the first place.

 

[treiher]

OK . . . I picked up an outlet tester, plugged it into the wall jack and the surge protector, and both tested just fine, but . . . .

I also picked up a phone line tester and guess what? The polarity was in fact reversed!!!!! In fact, the polarity of every phone jack in the house is reversed! I went outside and checked the wiring at the junction box and sure enough, it was reversed out there and it was as plain as day. The red and green connections were clearly labeled and the wiring was reversed. Took me two minutes to change them and now I get a good polarity signal through out the house.

So, could this really have been causing the problem? Sure have seen some compelling arguments for that here. I guess only time will tell, of course I'm still not convinced that the refurb. receiver aren't problematic either. But still, I would never have thought to check the polarity of the phone line. Thanks Highdefjeff and vegassatellite!!! Good tips!

 

[vegassatellite]

OK . . . I picked up an outlet tester, plugged it into the wall jack and the surge protector, and both tested just fine, but . . . .

I also picked up a phone line tester and guess what? The polarity was in fact reversed!!!!! In fact, the polarity of every phone jack in the house is reversed! I went outside and checked the wiring at the junction box and sure enough, it was reversed out there and it was as plain as day. The red and green connections were clearly labeled and the wiring was reversed. Took me two minutes to change them and now I get a good polarity signal through out the house.

So, could this really have been causing the problem? Sure have seen some compelling arguments for that here. I guess only time will tell, of course I'm still not convinced that the refurb. receiver aren't problematic either. But still, I would never have thought to check the polarity of the phone line. Thanks Highdefjeff and vegassatellite!!! Good tips!

I found this same situation with a customer as you described and found the phone line to be putting 52 volts across the chassis. I had her leave the phone line disconnected for a week and monitor the box's stability. If it still had problems, she was instructed to call me. If she doesn't continue to have problems, she was to call the telco if she wanted to keep a phone line connection to her box. Well, she hasn't called me yet so I'm to assume the receiver is stable now.

 

[highdefjeff]

OK . . . I picked up an outlet tester, plugged it into the wall jack and the surge protector, and both tested just fine, but . . . .

I also picked up a phone line tester and guess what? The polarity was in fact reversed!!!!! In fact, the polarity of every phone jack in the house is reversed! I went outside and checked the wiring at the junction box and sure enough, it was reversed out there and it was as plain as day. The red and green connections were clearly labeled and the wiring was reversed. Took me two minutes to change them and now I get a good polarity signal through out the house.

So, could this really have been causing the problem? Sure have seen some compelling arguments for that here. I guess only time will tell, of course I'm still not convinced that the refurb. receiver aren't problematic either. But still, I would never have thought to check the polarity of the phone line. Thanks Highdefjeff and vegassatellite!!! Good tips!

You will tell us the answer to that, but phone line polarity definitely could've been the problem.

Yes, there are faulty units out there and yes, I've encountered multiple faulty receiver replacements on a single job. Reading these threads it is apparent that not all units are perfect, even the 722.

What we need to remember is that if there were a large problem with any of the receivers, there would be potentially 1000's of people asking the same questions. When you consider the number of units out there and the number of satisfied customers, versus the number of inquiries on all the HD forums, the number is still very small.

As they say, when it rains it pours. When you get to the third and fourth receivers, though, you've got to find out what else it could be...and cycling or constant re-boot screams "check electrical" in my experience.