# New HR10 user, few questions



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

**NOTE**
I have been updating my original post with further information as I get it.

Got my HR10 installed yesterday. It's connected to my TV via HDMI cable, and I have the digital optical cable connected to my surround sound system for sound (don't use my TV speakers). I have good signal strength on all satellites/transponders, with the lowest being in the upper 70's/low 80's on one or two transponders; most are in the upper 80's/low-to-mid 90's.

1) I have been getting frequent "Searching for satellite signal on Sat input 1" banners on-screen on various channels, while the channels are still tuned in. Switching between tuners shows both tuners to be receiving signals, however, the one tuner will still display the banner, with a message to look at the troubleshooting guide (which is no help). I restarted the receiver this morning, but it didn't help. Anyone know why this might be happening?

EDIT: It just happened again, while my 3 year old was watching Noggin, except this time the screen went all black. Simply tuning to a different channel and returning to Noggin caused the picture to return.

2) I thought I'd try seeing if I could receive my HD locals via the cable TV line I have (we have cable modem, and can receive basic cable via the same line). No locals are detected, but when I set the receiver to do OTA + Satellite, it shows a bunch of locals in the guide. Is this normal?

3) As a new D* user, is there somewhere I can go to get an explanation of the various programming choices? For instance, what is the sports mix channel, etc.?

4) In the guide, if I select to display only "channels you receive," it still displays a lot of channels I don't receive, for instance the E/W ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox affiliates, and some others that when I tune to that channel, it gives a "call XXX-XXX-XXXX for information on ordering" banner. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance, I'm sure I'll have more.

*UPDATE*: After about 4 or 5 calls to tech support (who seemed pretty knowledgeable, BTW), I have tried a number of different troubleshooting techniques to eliminate the "Searching for satellite signal on Sat In 1" message, including:
--Checking all coax connections (including those in the basement and on the back of the wall outlet plate--all were tight.
--Rebooting the recorder, several times--seemed to temporarilty fix the problem, but within a day, the "Searching" message was back.
--Switching the coax cables between Sat In 1 and 2--still showed "Searching" on Sat 1. After speaking to Tech Support again, was told that a reboot might be required to cause the recorder to eliminate the message after switching the cables, so I did, and it didn't help.

They are sending me out a replacement HR10; should be here today or tomorrow. If the problem continues with the replacement unit, they'll have to send out a tech to troubleshoot. Right now, they're thinking I have a problem with the Sat 1 tuner card. Strange, however that the unit still displays a picture with this error message, and I can still use the dual buffers and record two shows at once. I did lose the picture once again this weekend, and when I went to the Sat strength meter page, it showed good signal on both tuners. However, when I did the Sat test page, it showed zero on sat in 1 while the picture was out (this is after switching the coax inputs). So, maybe I received a flawed unit.

*UPDATE #2*: The replacement HR10 arrived yesterday. Box said it's a refurb, but I don't care as long as it works. Had a couple of scratches on the case, no biggie. I disconnect my other HR10, reconnect the new one, put the access card in the slot, and connect the power cord. The "Welcome, starting up" screen displayed, then within seconds the whole screen became a garbled, flickering mess. I waited about 5 minutes to see if it'd pass, and it didn't. Disconnected the power cable, waited a minute, and reconnected it again. This time, the exhaust fan in the back starts spinning, but there's otherwise no signs of life from the refurb'd HR10; no lights come on, nothing on the screen, nothing but the fan spinning. Tried again, still dead. Called tech support, and they said that as a new customer having these problems, they'd try to schedule me ASAP to have a tech come out, and supposedly sometime this morning between 8 and 12 someone will be here. In the meantime, I've reconnected my original HR10, and still get the searching for signal message, but at least it works.

Also, I went thru all the satellites/transponders once again while the error is being displayed, and found that on Satellite 101, transponder 13, there's no signal on Sat In 1. Switched coax's (again) between the Sat In 1 & 2, still no signal on Sat In 1 on 101/13. Is it possible for the Sat In 1 tuner to be screwed up where it only won't receive signal from one transponder? Anyway, this appears to be the culprit. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with the unit and am excited the 6.3 update is coming soon to speed up the guide.

*Update #3*: HR10 #3 arrived last Friday. Installed it, started it up, and everything seemed to work fine. No more "Searching for Signal on Sat In 1" message, and transponder 13 on Sat 101 was receiving signals on both inputs. However, this refurb's problem was that it wouldn't respond to the remote control unless I was standing within 12 inches of the remote receiver on the unit. Tried new batteries, tried the other HR10's remote: same result.

Called tech support, and the first CSR offered to send me another remote, which I declined as it is obviously not a remote issue, but an issue with the IR receiver on the unit itself. After considerable time on hold (if I had a nickel for every minute I've spent on hold w/tech support over the last 10 days...), I was transferred to 'advanced tech support.'

After hearing the story, she placed me on hold, and came back a minute or two later to inform me that since I've had 3 HR10's in the first 10 days of service and still haven't had one work right yet, they wouldn't be sending me yet another refurb but would be sending me a new HR20 instead. So we'll see if the 4th time's the charm, with the HR20 now.

To be continued...

*Update #4*: Was just looking at my account online, and under "View Orders" the HR20 still had not shown up here, 3 days after it was supposed to be ordered. So I call D* *yet again* to make sure someone hadn't dropped the ball, and after being transferred from CSR #1 to tech support, was told that their computer system didn't allow them to order the HR20 yet, but that perhaps their supervisors could do it. Waited on hold (AGAIN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD), and when she returned, she told me her supervisor could do it, but that I'd have to have a charge applied to my credit card which would then immediately be credited to my account, as their system doesn't yet allow them to charge my account then immediately credit it for HR20's. She then stated that I wouldn't have to return my current HR10 when I received the HR20, but that I could keep it for future use. She also stated they might change it from "leased" to "owned" on my account.

The saga continues...


----------



## smimi10 (May 22, 2006)

911medic said:


> 1) I have been getting frequent "Searching for satellite signal on Sat input 1" banners on-screen on various channels, while the channels are still tuned in. Switching between tuners shows both tuners to be receiving signals, however, the one tuner will still display the banner, with a message to look at the troubleshooting guide (which is no help). I restarted the receiver this morning, but it didn't help. Anyone know why this might be happening?
> 
> EDIT: It just happened again, while my 3 year old was watching Noggin, except this time the screen went all black. Simply tuning to a different channel and returning to Noggin caused the picture to return.


I'll offer up what happened to me. First, do you have a Phase III (oval, 3-LNB) dish or the new AT-9? If it's the Phase III like I have, you should have four coax cables running from the dish. You need this, because a Phase III dish has a built-in multiswitch.

When mine was first installed, the installer only ran two cables. I mistakenly put in my own external multiswitch in order to serve the two satellite tuners in my HR10-250 and had the same symptoms that you report above. Once I got D* to send an installer to correctly wire the dish, with the four cables using the internal multiswitch instead of the external one, my problems went away.


----------



## Reggie3 (Feb 20, 2006)

911medic said:


> Got my HR10 installed yesterday. It's connected to my TV via HDMI cable, and I have the digital optical cable connected to my surround sound system for sound (don't use my TV speakers). I have good signal strength on all satellites/transponders, with the lowest being in the upper 70's/low 80's on one or two transponders; most are in the upper 80's/low-to-mid 90's.
> 
> 1) I have been getting frequent "Searching for satellite signal on Sat input 1" banners on-screen on various channels, while the channels are still tuned in. Switching between tuners shows both tuners to be receiving signals, however, the one tuner will still display the banner, with a message to look at the troubleshooting guide (which is no help). I restarted the receiver this morning, but it didn't help. Anyone know why this might be happening?
> 
> ...


1. Not sure why unless you have a tree or something that is causing a intermittent problem 
2.
To receive cable HD one needs a QAM tuner - the HR10-250 does not have one.
3.
Directv website does a good job of explaining the packages.
4. I don't have a answer for that one


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

Thanks, guys, for the replies.

smimi10, I have the new AT-9 Dish. There are two RG6 lines coming from the dish into my house, as I only have one receiver (the HR10). There is no multiswitch that I can see. I'm attaching some pics of the dish, with a couple of closeups of the wires, so you can see how they run:

    

I was told I don't need more, with only one receiver.

Reggie3, I don't have a tree or any other obstruction, so I'm at a loss. Thanks for the info on the QAM tuner; I had heard this as well, but I saw this post over at AVS forums from someone in my area, and thought I'd try it. Perhaps that person's HD decoder has a QAM tuner. I'll check more at the DirecTV website on the packages.


----------



## Reggie3 (Feb 20, 2006)

911medic said:


> Thanks, guys, for the replies.
> 
> smimi10, I have the new AT-9 Dish. There are two RG6 lines coming from the dish into my house, as I only have one receiver (the HR10). There is no multiswitch that I can see. I'm attaching some pics of the dish, with a couple of closeups of the wires, so you can see how they run:
> 
> ...


The multiswitch is built into the LNB for the antenna. There is the possibility that you have an alignment issue. The AT9 is very sensitive to alignment though the numbers you posted sound good. Did you check all the signal strength for all polarity on all the channels for all three sats?- you will only use the three sats for the HR10 since the other two LNBs are for the MPEG4 sats.


----------



## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

For the "Channels I Recieve" list to be correct, you have to set it up.

From "DirecTV Central" goto 
Messages and Setup
Settings
Channels
Channels You Receive
then press select to disable (uncheck) channels you don't receive.

Takes a while, but well worth the effort. Feel free to delete the Shopping Channels, Foreign Language channels and any others that you subscribe to but will never watch.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

Reggie3 said:


> The multiswitch is built into the LNB for the antenna. There is the possibility that you have an alignment issue. The AT9 is very sensitive though the numbers you posted sound good. Did you check all the signal strength for all polarity on all the channels for all three sats?- you will only use the three sats for the HR10 since the other two LNBs are for the MPEG4 sats.


Yep, I checked all the transponders on all 3 sats to give the numbers I posted before. A couple of the transponders have no signal whatsoever; should they ALL have a signal of some kind, or are some not transmitting? When you say "all the polarity on all the channels" do you mean just cycling thru the signal strength meter for the different satellites/transponders? Too bad the LNB's for the channels I receive are the ones attached to the side of the LNB's mounted to the mast and not the other way around; I could just disconnect that extra arm of LNB's until I get an MPEG-4 receiver.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

MikeW said:


> For the "Channels I Recieve" list to be correct, you have to set it up.
> 
> From "DirecTV Central" goto
> Messages and Setup
> ...


OK, just another adjustment I have to make in going from E* to D*. My E* receiver automagically "knew" my programming package and would remove channels I don't subscribe to when I switched the guide. Thanks!


----------



## jimisham (Jun 24, 2003)

I have occasionally seen the "searching for satellite" message, but in the year I've had it, it's never failed to record anything, even when two recordings are being done at the same time. My readings are all up in the high 80's and low 90's.
Several of the transponders are being used for spot beams for locals, so it will be normal for there to be no signal, or a lower than normal signal, on some of them.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

Updated my original post with this info:


> UPDATE: After about 4 or 5 calls to tech support (who seemed pretty knowledgeable, BTW), I have tried a number of different troubleshooting techniques to eliminate the "Searching for satellite signal on Sat In 1" message, including:
> --Checking all coax connections (including those in the basement and on the back of the wall outlet plate--all were tight.
> --Rebooting the recorder, several times--seemed to temporarilty fix the problem, but within a day, the "Searching" message was back.
> --Switching the coax cables between Sat In 1 and 2--still showed "Searching" on Sat 1. After speaking to Tech Support again, was told that a reboot might be required to cause the recorder to eliminate the message after switching the cables, so I did, and it didn't help.
> ...


----------



## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

I have noticed that sometimes when there is no program on a station (like 95), the transponder goes dark and I get the searching message.

You will get a searching message while you are watching Tuner A if Tuner B is tuned to a station that has no signal. When it happens (if you are seeing a program on the screen), check the other tuner to see what it is on.

The same will happen if your OTA tuner is on a channel that does not exist or is lacking signal or has gone dark, but then it will say ANT 1 or ANT 2.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

I don't have an antenna hooked up for OTA (yet). I've had it happen both ways, where both tuners are tuned to stations I should receive. Sometimes they both have pictures, and both buffers are working; sometimes one tuner is blank. But these are channels I should (and do) receive.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

Updated my original post again:


> *UPDATE #2*: The replacement HR10 arrived yesterday. Box said it's a refurb, but I don't care as long as it works. Had a couple of scratches on the case, no biggie. I disconnect my other HR10, reconnect the new one, put the access card in the slot, and connect the power cord. The "Welcome, starting up" screen displayed, then within seconds the whole screen became a garbled, flickering mess. I waited about 5 minutes to see if it'd pass, and it didn't. Disconnected the power cable, waited a minute, and reconnected it again. This time, the exhaust fan in the back starts spinning, but there's otherwise no signs of life from the refurb'd HR10; no lights come on, nothing on the screen, nothing but the fan spinning. Tried again, still dead. Called tech support, and they said that as a new customer having these problems, they'd try to schedule me ASAP to have a tech come out, and supposedly sometime this morning between 8 and 12 someone will be here. In the meantime, I've reconnected my original HR10, and still get the searching for signal message, but at least it works.
> 
> Also, I went thru all the satellites/transponders once again while the error is being displayed, and found that on Satellite 101, transponder 13, there's no signal on Sat In 1. Switched coax's (again) between the Sat In 1 & 2, still no signal on Sat In 1 on 101/13. Is it possible for the Sat In 1 tuner to be screwed up where it only won't receive signal from one transponder? Anyway, this appears to be the culprit. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with the unit and am excited the 6.3 update is coming soon to speed up the guide.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

*Update #3*: HR10 #3 arrived last Friday. Installed it, started it up, and everything seemed to work fine. No more "Searching for Signal on Sat In 1" message, and transponder 13 on Sat 101 was receiving signals on both inputs. However, this refurb's problem was that it wouldn't respond to the remote control unless I was standing within 12 inches of the remote receiver on the unit. Tried new batteries, tried the other HR10's remote: same result.

Called tech support, and the first CSR offered to send me another remote, which I declined as it is obviously not a remote issue, but an issue with the IR receiver on the unit itself. After considerable time on hold (if I had a nickel for every minute I've spent on hold w/tech support over the last 10 days...), I was transferred to 'advanced tech support.'

After hearing the story, she placed me on hold, and came back a minute or two later to inform me that since I've had 3 HR10's in the first 10 days of service and still haven't had one work right yet, they wouldn't be sending me yet another refurb but would be sending me a new HR20 instead. So we'll see if the 4th time's the charm, with the HR20 now.

To be continued...


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

*Update #4*: Was just looking at my account online, and under "View Orders" the HR20 still had not shown up here, 3 days after it was supposed to be ordered. So I call D* *yet again* to make sure someone hadn't dropped the ball, and after being transferred from CSR #1 to tech support, was told that their computer system didn't allow them to order the HR20 yet, but that perhaps their supervisors could do it. Waited on hold (AGAIN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD), and when she returned, she told me her supervisor could do it, but that I'd have to have a charge applied to my credit card which would then immediately be credited to my account, as their system doesn't yet allow them to charge my account then immediately credit it for HR20's. She then stated that I wouldn't have to return my current HR10 when I received the HR20, but that I could keep it for future use. She also stated they might change it from "leased" to "owned" on my account.

The saga continues...


----------



## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

Wow...Sure hope something works for you. Remember, the OTA ability on the HR20 will not be available when you get it. Rumor is, the OTA should be turned on via a software upgrade in October. D* used to have a solid line of receivers. I sure hope QA starts getting things in shape.


----------



## 911medic (Aug 28, 2006)

Thanks, MikeW. I'm not too worried about the immediate availability of the OTA tuners. I'll be getting the locals in HD via sat in the meantime, and I'm all set up for OTA when they do become active.
In yet another interesting twist, the order showed up on my D* online account showing an unscheduled install including an AT9 dish. I called back again, and was told their system only lets them do it that way with the HR20 right now; they can't just FedEx them like they have been with the HR10's I've been getting. Tomorrow I'll be calling their installation department directly (tech support gave me the number) to see if they can just FedEx the HR20 directly instead of having some guy show up 2 weeks from now with the HR20 and an unnecessary AT9 dish on his truck, only to spend 5 minutes swapping out the HR10 (which I can easily do myself).


----------

