From:	JPLAWLOR -(JPLAWLOR)	TO:	ALL

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 2:01:00
Message: Body:	I am trying to install a 905 sidecar to my existing analog GI 2770R C/Ku IRD. I have lost the ability to change polatity on my analog system. When I removed the unit and reconnected to the original setup all was ok again. I changed channels to a different polarity and reconnected everything. Now I get the opposite polarity but still cannot change the polarity (ie skew control numbers move but nothing happens). The patch cord tests ok with continuity. The distance between my receivers is about 6 feet so I was unable to use the cord that Motorola sent so I used 8C24 AUG CMP communications wire (network wire) and connected the twisted pairs together giving 4 wires of doubled 24 guage. Can anyone give me a clue?

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 2:01:00

Message:
Body:

I am trying to install a 905 sidecar to my existing analog GI 2770R C/Ku IRD. I have lost the ability to change polatity on my analog system. When I removed the unit and reconnected to the original setup all was ok again. I changed channels to a different polarity and reconnected everything. Now I get the opposite polarity but still cannot change the polarity (ie skew control numbers move but nothing happens).
The patch cord tests ok with continuity. The distance between my receivers is about 6 feet so I was unable to use the cord that Motorola sent so I used 8C24 AUG CMP communications wire (network wire) and connected the twisted pairs together giving 4 wires of doubled 24 guage.
Can anyone give me a clue?

From:	Darryl -(DRLEV)	TO:	JPLAWLOR

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 4:09:00
Message: Body:	If 905 is switching polarity for the digital channels but will not allow the analog receiver to control polarity and you are certain that the patch cable is connected correctly try unplugging the 905 for about 30 seconds. After it re-initializes it may work correctly. Also set the 905 to analog mode before powering it down. If this doesn't work I have no idea what else you can try. There is a person here at the forum that uses a switch to transfer polarity control between the 905 and the analog receiver. Maybe he will notice this thread and explain how he does it. My 905 decided to stop controlling polarity about a month ago. I no longer use tha patch cord. My IRD controls the polarity. I have become accustomed to this and it no longer bothers me.

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 4:09:00

Message:
Body:

If 905 is switching polarity for the digital channels but will not allow the analog receiver to control polarity and you are certain that the patch cable is connected correctly try unplugging the 905 for about 30 seconds. After it re-initializes it may work correctly.

Also set the 905 to analog mode before powering it down.

If this doesn't work I have no idea what else you can try. There is a person here at the forum that uses a switch to transfer polarity control between the 905 and the analog receiver. Maybe he will notice this thread and explain how he does it.

My 905 decided to stop controlling polarity about a month ago. I no longer use tha patch cord. My IRD controls the polarity. I have become accustomed to this and it no longer bothers me.

From:	2DTV -(2DTV)	TO:	JPLAWLOR

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 4:59:00
Message: Body:	At first glance the wiring hook up is a bit confusing, mostly due to the color coding of the connectors on the 905. The top row of connectors on the right go to the servo motor. The connector on the left goes to the white wire for the servo, next is red then black. Bottom row goes to the analog receiver with white to pulse red to +5 volts and black to ground. The connectors seem to have a deeper "reach"--be certain that the wires are pushed in deeply enough. Also be certain that the menu has C/Ku LNB's (not LNBF) selected for LNB type. If you have all of this correct--try a MR and see if this helps. When you do the MR, have the dish pointed to G0 and the analog receiver on any odd numbered channel. Store G0--get out of the programming menu--select G0 in the satellite select menu--go to channel 9--exit out of all menus and messages--push the up arrow to get the menu showing skew and quality. If the quality looks good AND the dish icon is green, let it map for about 5 minutes. If the icon is red, select rotated 90 degrees for your polarity format and then the light should turn green. If all this fails, declare it a DOA and exchange it for another.

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 4:59:00

Message:
Body:

At first glance the wiring hook up is a bit confusing, mostly due to the color coding of the connectors on the 905. The top row of connectors on the right go to the servo motor. The connector on the left goes to the white wire for the servo, next is red then black. Bottom row goes to the analog receiver with white to pulse red to +5 volts and black to ground. The connectors seem to have a deeper "reach"--be certain that the wires are pushed in deeply enough. Also be certain that the menu has C/Ku LNB's (not LNBF) selected for LNB type. If you have all of this correct--try a MR and see if this helps. When you do the MR, have the dish pointed to G0 and the analog receiver on any odd numbered channel. Store G0--get out of the programming menu--select G0 in the satellite select menu--go to channel 9--exit out of all menus and messages--push the up arrow to get the menu showing skew and quality. If the quality looks good AND the dish icon is green, let it map for about 5 minutes. If the icon is red, select rotated 90 degrees for your polarity format and then the light should turn green. If all this fails, declare it a DOA and exchange it for another.

From:	Fred -(FEINSTEI)	TO:	JPLAWLOR

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 5:20:00
Message: Body:	I am forced to use my 905 basically like DRLev does, as a dumb slave unit. You simply don't hookup the polarity controls through the 905, you hook them directly to the "master" receiver. Then, you use the the master receiver to tune to the correct satellite and polarity. This avoids all hassles with the 905 taking over polarity. Editorial bitch follows: God, I sure wish they'd come up with a reproducible case in Motorola's lab and fix the damned firmware bug that's causing this problem!

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 5:20:00

Message:
Body:

I am forced to use my 905 basically like DRLev does, as a dumb slave unit. You simply don't hookup the polarity controls through the 905, you hook them directly to the "master" receiver. Then, you use the the master receiver to tune to the correct satellite and polarity. This avoids all hassles with the 905 taking over polarity.

Editorial bitch follows:

God, I sure wish they'd come up with a reproducible case in Motorola's lab and fix the damned firmware bug that's causing this problem!

From:	SATDEALER1 -(SATDEALER1)	TO:	ALL

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 6:40:00
Message: Body:	Hi All, I had the same polarity problem on the 905. What worked for me was making sure the wires for polarity were pushed all the way to the back of the hole they go in. The only problem I have now is sometimes the analog won't change polarity but the unplug thingy on the 905 solves it. I did noticed that when using the analog receiver to change polarity for the 905 I was able to get more of a range of skewing to get a better signal on the 905. I sure glad I kept my 8.5 foot spun aluminum dish. It collects a bunch of signal. Thanks, Chuck

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 6:40:00

Message:
Body:

Hi All,
I had the same polarity problem on the 905. What worked for me was making sure the wires for polarity were pushed all the way to the back of the hole they go in. The only problem I have now is sometimes the analog won't change polarity but the unplug thingy on the 905 solves it.
I did noticed that when using the analog receiver to change polarity for the 905 I was able to get more of a range of skewing to get a better signal on the 905.
I sure glad I kept my 8.5 foot spun aluminum dish. It collects a bunch of signal.
Thanks,
Chuck

From:	CECIL501 -(CECIL501)	TO:	Fred

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 12:48:00
Message: Body:	I know your message is a bit old, but I bought a sidecar and am having alot of trouble with it so far. I am letting my IRD control the polarity but something still isn't right. It always says searching for channel and when we called Superstar or Netlink, when the guy said to put it on G1-100, I moved the dish to g1 but we never could call up channel 100 on the sidecar. He says to read my manual and I have went thru it 10 times probably. On my mpeg2 reciever, I call up the satellite with the IRD and make sure the polarity is correct and get the channels. If I am letting the IRD do the polarity, why isn't that outfit working? Cecil

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 12:48:00

Message:
Body:

I know your message is a bit old, but I bought a sidecar and am having alot of trouble with it so far. I am letting my IRD control the polarity but something still isn't right. It always says searching for channel and when we called Superstar or Netlink, when the guy said to put it on G1-100, I moved the dish to g1 but we never could call up channel 100 on the sidecar. He says to read my manual and I have went thru it 10 times probably.

On my mpeg2 reciever, I call up the satellite with the IRD and make sure the polarity is correct and get the channels. If I am letting the IRD do the polarity, why isn't that outfit working?

Cecil

From:	Lee Richardson -(MECHTECH1)	TO:	CECIL501

Date Posted:	2002-4-3 2:02:00
Message: Body:	Good evening, Cecil. It has been a while since I have set up a side car, so I hope any more recent owners that see anything wrong with this procedure will chime in. Here is how I would proceed. First, at least for the time being, continue to allow your analog IRD to control the polarity. The 905 sometimes does not return control of the servo back to the analog receiver like it should. This is on my field test unit, the later production like you have may be different. In addition, the 2 sets of terminals for the servo motor wires are labeled in a confusing manner. If you do choose to try to use them later, remember that the top set is for the wires leading to the servo motor out on the feedhorn, the lower set of terminals is for the servo connections on the main IRD. So for now, lets rule this out as a problem source by just not using them. Leave the servo wires connected to your main IRD just as they were before the sidecar arrived. I would next move my big dish to G10. This is the satellite that has the Outdoor Channel on 24, and is the one where the activation of the unit will take place, the channel maps will be downloaded from, and where the guide will get it's updates from. It is imperative that your dish has a good view of G10 (labeled G0) from your location. See that you are getting a good picture on 24. If not, bump the dish east and west until you do. Now, on your main IRD, change the channel to any odd numbered channel, 1 through 23, it doesn't matter which. This sets the polarity in the feedhorn. It is not required that the main IRD actually be receiving a channel, it only has to be tuned to one. Remember, on C-band you are never more than 1 channel away from the correct polarity on your analog IRD. This assumes your receiver is set in the normal manner to tune the channels sequentially when channeling up or down, and not skipping alternate channels when doing so. To make your life much easier, if your analog IRD is set to skip tune alternate channels, disable that and make it tune sequentially. Now turn on the sidecar, Press Option, 6 and 3 on the remote. This should bring up the Installation Settings page. Line 2 of this page should be set to reflect your LNB setup. Feedhorn polarization should be set to Standard for now. Now select Memorize Useable Satellites. Put a check mark next to G0, and press Go Back to save. Keep pressing Go Back until you are all the way out of the menus. Exit will take you out of the menus with one press. But the first press has to be Go Back to save the settings. Now tune to G0, channel 9 on the side car, and just let it sit here for a few minutes until the red satellite symbol on the front panel turns from red to green, indicating that a digital lock has occured. This took a while on my field test unit, long enough to where I thought there was something wrong with it. I do not know about the later production. Double check to be sure all of your LNB cables are properly connected. Do not worry about skew settings in the sidecar, since we are allowing our host IRD to control skew. If you think the skew might be the problem, adjust it while tuned to an odd numbered channel, such as A&E on 23. Until you get the green lock light, there is no use contacting the programming provider because they cannot help you until the unit is receiving the digital stream. When you get the green light, press Options, 6, and 4 to bring up the System Status screen. Line A. of this screen has your Unit ID number. Now is when you call your programming provider. NPS is best for this. Superstar, Netlink, Turnervision, and HBO Direct are now part of a large combine (YSP for Your Service Provider) that is more interested in converting big dish owners to Dish Network than helping them. So if you do use them, do not rely on anything they tell you. If they cannot activate you, save yourself some frustration, call NPS and have them do it. When you speak to the rep, advise them that you are now a new 4DTV owner, and give them your new Unit ID number at the top of this System Status screen. In a very short time, the Trip Counter, located at the lower third of this screen, should advance. 1 trip is enough, but it may advance several times. When this is done, you are activated. Press Exit to get out of this screen. Now press Guide an wait several minutes for the guide to download. When it has downloaded, press Info, and let that download until the info comes up. Check that the clock in the upper right corner of the guide screen is correct. If you have given the programming provider an address in another time zone to avoid sports blackouts, your clock will be wrong. If your clock is wrong and you have given them your correct address, call the provider back and get it corrected. You can now press Exit to get out of the guide. You can now press Options, 6, 3, 4. Now you can place check marks next to all the sats you desire to be able to tune. Even sats that have no digital channels on them. The guide only shows listings for sats that are check marked. When in doubt, check them all between W2 in the east and W7 in the west. No need to check mark any of the Ku sats starting with and A, and most especially do not check mark the one labled A2. This is the StarChoice sat and it's maps can cause trouble for 920 and 922 owners. I am not sure about the sidecar, so don't risk it for now until you become more familiar with the unit. That is pretty well it. I am sure some of the above may be incorrect or incomplete, but I hope others will make corrections. Thanks, Lee Richardson

Date Posted:

2002-4-3 2:02:00

Message:
Body:

Good evening, Cecil.
It has been a while since I have set up a side car, so I hope any more recent owners that see anything wrong with this procedure will chime in. Here is how I would proceed. First, at least for the time being, continue to allow your analog IRD to control the polarity. The 905 sometimes does not return control of the servo back to the analog receiver like it should. This is on my field test unit, the later production like you have may be different. In addition, the 2 sets of terminals for the servo motor wires are labeled in a confusing manner. If you do choose to try to use them later, remember that the top set is for the wires leading to the servo motor out on the feedhorn, the lower set of terminals is for the servo connections on the main IRD. So for now, lets rule this out as a problem source by just not using them. Leave the servo wires connected to your main IRD just as they were before the sidecar arrived.

I would next move my big dish to G10. This is the satellite that has the Outdoor Channel on 24, and is the one where the activation of the unit will take place, the channel maps will be downloaded from, and where the guide will get it's updates from. It is imperative that your dish has a good view of G10 (labeled G0) from your location. See that you are getting a good picture on 24. If not, bump the dish east and west until you do. Now, on your main IRD, change the channel to any odd numbered channel, 1 through 23, it doesn't matter which. This sets the polarity in the feedhorn. It is not required that the main IRD actually be receiving a channel, it only has to be tuned to one. Remember, on C-band you are never more than 1 channel away from the correct polarity on your analog IRD. This assumes your receiver is set in the normal manner to tune the channels sequentially when channeling up or down, and not skipping alternate channels when doing so. To make your life much easier, if your analog IRD is set to skip tune alternate channels, disable that and make it tune sequentially.

Now turn on the sidecar, Press Option, 6 and 3 on the remote. This should bring up the Installation Settings page. Line 2 of this page should be set to reflect your LNB setup. Feedhorn polarization should be set to Standard for now. Now select Memorize Useable Satellites. Put a check mark next to G0, and press Go Back to save. Keep pressing Go Back until you are all the way out of the menus. Exit will take you out of the menus with one press. But the first press has to be Go Back to save the settings. Now tune to G0, channel 9 on the side car, and just let it sit here for a few minutes until the red satellite symbol on the front panel turns from red to green, indicating that a digital lock has occured. This took a while on my field test unit, long enough to where I thought there was something wrong with it. I do not know about the later production. Double check to be sure all of your LNB cables are properly connected. Do not worry about skew settings in the sidecar, since we are allowing our host IRD to control skew. If you think the skew might be the problem, adjust it while tuned to an odd numbered channel, such as A&E on 23. Until you get the green lock light, there is no use contacting the programming provider because they cannot help you until the unit is receiving the digital stream.

When you get the green light, press Options, 6, and 4 to bring up the System Status screen. Line A. of this screen has your Unit ID number. Now is when you call your programming provider. NPS is best for this. Superstar, Netlink, Turnervision, and HBO Direct are now part of a large combine (YSP for Your Service Provider) that is more interested in converting big dish owners to Dish Network than helping them. So if you do use them, do not rely on anything they tell you. If they cannot activate you, save yourself some frustration, call NPS and have them do it. When you speak to the rep, advise them that you are now a new 4DTV owner, and give them your new Unit ID number at the top of this System Status screen. In a very short time, the Trip Counter, located at the lower third of this screen, should advance. 1 trip is enough, but it may advance several times. When this is done, you are activated. Press Exit to get out of this screen. Now press Guide an wait several minutes for the guide to download. When it has downloaded, press Info, and let that download until the info comes up. Check that the clock in the upper right corner of the guide screen is correct. If you have given the programming provider an address in another time zone to avoid sports blackouts, your clock will be wrong. If your clock is wrong and you have given them your correct address, call the provider back and get it corrected.

You can now press Exit to get out of the guide. You can now press Options, 6, 3, 4. Now you can place check marks next to all the sats you desire to be able to tune. Even sats that have no digital channels on them. The guide only shows listings for sats that are check marked. When in doubt, check them all between W2 in the east and W7 in the west. No need to check mark any of the Ku sats starting with and A, and most especially do not check mark the one labled A2. This is the StarChoice sat and it's maps can cause trouble for 920 and 922 owners. I am not sure about the sidecar, so don't risk it for now until you become more familiar with the unit.

That is pretty well it. I am sure some of the above may be incorrect or incomplete, but I hope others will make corrections.

Thanks,
Lee Richardson