# 942 reboots every 4 hours, at 3, 7 & 11 am and pm



## Frustrated942User (Aug 11, 2005)

We have had problems since 10 minutes after the installer left our house. Our original install was done on 7/31 and at 11:00 our 942 receiver shut down all by itself. It then went through a rebooting that went on for over 30 minutes, getting stuck on checking 2 of 5 and then going in a circle with the reboot process. When we called Dish, they assumed it was a receiver problem, so said they would ship us a new one. In the meantime, it finally rebooted. Guess what, at 3:00 it shut down and rebooted again, and then at 7:00 and then at 11:00 again, and has been rebooting every 4 hours on the hour since then. The reboot process takes anywhere between 10 minutes and 1 1/2 hours.

We received the new receiver on Thursday, installed it on Friday and it's doing the exact same thing. We've now had a total of 3 installers at our house checking what the one before them did, each one doing something a little different. We've had switches replaced, splitters replaced, and everything has been checked and double checked. We finally got a rep at Dish Technical Support to put us in contact with someone in the Advanced Technical Department that deals with the 942 receiver. That person thought that it was a programming problem. She then indicated that she'd have to put through an "uncommon trend report" to the programming staff and someone would call us in 24 - 48 hours. Once someone finally called us back, guess what.....he's sending out yet another installer. Not sure what he thinks the new installer is gonna do, since the last installer called Dish and worked with the TSR department who walked him through everything possible to double check. This last person we talked to insists it must be something wrong at our house and not the receiver or their programming. After all, a wire that is installed incorrectly can tell time and shut everything off every 4 hours, right? :nono2: 

Of course, nobody can come out to do this until the 20th. So in the meantime, I hope there's nothing we want to watch anytime around 3, 7 or 11.

Has anyone had similar problems with their 942? Dish is insisting we're the only ones with this problem.


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

I think that you've gotton hit with 2 bad 942s here. What you describe is definitely NOT software, and shouldn't be happening.

Here's what you need to do:

Email me (email address is in my signature) your 942 receiver CAID number, smartcard ID number, name, phone number where you can be contacted, and all of this that you've gone through. I will forward that directly to the 942 support team who can authorize a replacement for you.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Mark: Could it be receiver inactivity mode?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Not with it rebooting, I don't think.


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## Allen Noland (Apr 23, 2002)

This sounds like a possible power problem. Do you have a UPS you could hook it up to? How about disconnecting the satellite connections once the unit has booted up and see if it still reboots itself at the 4 hour interval.


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## ThomasTrain (Aug 9, 2005)

I agree, I'm leaning towards a power problem as well. I've got my 942 and both 721's on little UPS just to help stablize the A/C voltage and I have yet to see crashes due to power. Whats really cool is if the power does go out, my receivers and TV keep on working, at least for a little while.


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## Frustrated942User (Aug 11, 2005)

We have tried plugging it into other wall sockets by using an extention cord and still at 3, 7 & 11 it reboots. I can set my watch by it. 

Any ideas on how to test if its a power supply problem. 

Mark, I will be emailing you tonight.


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## Frustrated942User (Aug 11, 2005)

Allen Noland said:


> How about disconnecting the satellite connections once the unit has booted up and see if it still reboots itself at the 4 hour interval.


I'll try this tonight,Thanks


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## Bichon (Jun 5, 2003)

Another thought, especially if the receiver is in an enclosed cabinet, is a heat related issue.


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## pdougan (Aug 15, 2005)

This is a copy of an email that I sent Mark last night. I've found a temporary fix while tech support is swapping thumbs. My problem has been going on for over 70 days.
***********

Mark, you can add my name to that list as my 942 is doing exactly the same thing and at the same times as Frustrated942User. Literally everything has been replaced by DN ... feed horns, switches, cable, connectors, and another 942. 

The last tech support to come out was the supervisor who re-inspected the entire system and said everything was up to DN specs. He called advanced technical support, and after a long discussion the ATS CSR they admitted that it was a software problem and would be fixed on the next software upgrade which was due out a week before last. Guess what ... it hasn't been released yet.

I've got a little better hardware background than most of the subscribers (SATCOM for thirty+ years and an Extra Class HAM for thirty years) and told the local techs that this is acting like a software problem, so I disagree with your conclusion that it couldn't be software. Frustrated942User only helps solidify my opinion as everything has been redone at their location and issued another 942 replacement that does the same thing. Unless there is some kind of production problem at the factory, there is not much more it could be. 

BTW, though this is not a fix, it is a temporary solution. If Frustrated942User will hit menu as soon as the screen comes on trying to access the satellites then hit 6-6 to reset it to factory defaults It will stop the incessant rebooting sequences. They have to hit menu right away because if they wait, the unit will time out on the acquisition process and automatically reboot before the settings are reset. Now does it sound like a software problem?  This process is a pain in the butt because after you do that you have to rescan the local channels if you are using an outside yagi antenna, change the aspect ratios, etc., etc.. If you've got anything schedule for recording, that has to be reset. But, it beats waiting for two hours or more of rebooting and trying to acquire the satellites. Still you can plan on missing the first 10- 15 minutes of the shows at 3, 7, 11.

Tech support has quit returning my phone calls. Needless to say, I am getting pretty pissed at DN. I'd switch to DirectTV if I knew the 942 would work on their system. The 942 is not a lease item yet so I spent over $700.00 to buy one. DN knows we are trapped and can't go anywhere, and their customer support reflects their attitude.

BTW, I called tech support at 2:00 PM today. It is now 4:30 and they still haven't called.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

My 942 rebooted by itself tonight. It was in inactivity mode, and when I pressed the remote to watch tv, the box rebooted and then went to searching for satellite mode, passing tests 1 through 5. Before the reboot, I believe the 942 was tuned to an ota.


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## zephyr (Jun 25, 2005)

Are there any time signals passed over AC power? And if so, would the 942 receive them? Would any local power company or other appliance in the home be sending some sort of time or synchroniizing signal over AC, which the 942 is picking up? A UPS would isolate the 942. I'm wondering because of the very precise and repeatable times. The same question could be asked of satellite or OTA timing signals.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

At about 3:20 EST, the screen froze while I was watching CNN (caller id pop up was on screen), then the box turned off, reset itself, then went through the searching for satellite signal. The box did tests 1 through5 successfully, and then CNN reappeared. The weather is sunny, in the 80s, and signal strength is excellent. What gives?


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## Bichon (Jun 5, 2003)

jal said:


> At about 3:20 EST, the screen froze while I was watching CNN (caller id pop up was on screen), then the box turned off, reset itself, then went through the searching for satellite signal. The box did tests 1 through5 successfully, and then CNN reappeared. The weather is sunny, in the 80s, and signal strength is excellent. What gives?


Sounds like the box locked up, perhaps due to a bug. Everything you describe after that point sounds normal, i.e., the watchdog timer ran out and rebooted the box, as part of the reboot the receiver reacquired the signal, and then your programming reappeared.


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## djtowle (Feb 2, 2004)

Do either of you with the 4hr reboot problems live near a navel-base? Airport? Airbase? Etc. Some of these bases emit some very wierd stuff momentarly thoughout the day. Often at the same time. I was working near the San Diego Naval base for a couple of weeks once, and if I was on my cell phone at a certain time of the day the cell phone would emit a screaming squeal. And then just shut off. I could then turn it back on and return the call but whatever they were transmiting just stopped the phone dead. It wasn't on all the time, but several times (different days) I got hit with this in the afternoon. Possibly around 3PM .

Another culprit could be an appliance in your house, or a nearby house/building/factory sending something through the power lines, but I would assign this a much lower possibility.

Software/faulty unit I would assign the highest probability to.

Good luck tracking it down.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Happened again today. Picture froze while on Channel 6007 (Sirius 70s). Unit rebooted itself.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Happened once again today. This time, I was watching one of the religious channels for a minute or so, then I put in channel 205 (Fox News). The picture froze on the religious channel, with the channel number 205 showing under the picture in the guide. The unit reset itself, went through acquiring signal tests 1-5. Then, the religious channel volume went on and off, with the screen showing what I can only describe as digital snow. The remote would not respond, so I had to do a front panel reset. The box finally returned to normal thereafter.


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## Allen Noland (Apr 23, 2002)

jal, have you contacted tech support?


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Yes, I did so tonight, and they told me that others have reported similar issues. And, just to keep the reporting going, tonight the box rebooted itself again. This time, I was watching the news, I hit the DVR button. The box reset itself, went through searching for satellite, and then came back on.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

Funny , for the last two days I have had a problem with my ota stations suddenly losing their lock and pixelating and then I would hit the local menu to see if I could add the channel back in. Soon as I hit the locals menu, the receiver would reboot and it would take a while to come back. 

This happened on my strongest station today on Cbs , signal 80 strength and it would flucuate wildly from 80 down to 71 and back. After the reboot I could add it back and the strength stayed at 78- 80 strength. 

Yesterday it was the Abc station that normaly stays at 75 and it dropped down to 69 and then lost the picture. I did the same thing with the locals menu and it rebooted. Afterwards I added it back in and it stayed strong back at 75 . 

I have been having more spontaneous reboots and this morning I was watching the last of " 6 feet Under" and when I hit delete the tv screen filled with white staticky picture like snow . I unplugged my tv and replugged it in and it stayed the same. I had to do another reboot of the 942 to get my picture back. The sound worked fine through out the staticky picture. 

It seems that the 942 has more bugs than we thought when we first got it. The more they do software updates to fix something it seems to create more hidden problems. Still In all , it beats the **** out of the 921 .:sure:


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Well, I was watching Voom HDN News, and hit the DVR button to watch a show, and the box froze again, rebooted and went through acquiring satellite 1 - 5. Still no return call from the 942 team. Well, I got rid of the 921 because of such problems, and was very pleased with the 942--no bugs at all, until the recent software upgrade. Still, much better then the 921, but this is getting frustrating.


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## pdougan (Aug 15, 2005)

942 Gremlin Fix


Would whomever is supposed to be forwarding this stuff to tech support please pass this on. I've been working with a tech in charge of finding the fix to this problem. I think he said his name is Chase/Chance ... not sure.


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## zephyr (Jun 25, 2005)

Wow. Great job!


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## Allen Noland (Apr 23, 2002)

pdougan said:


> 942 Gremlin Fix
> 
> Would whomever is supposed to be forwarding this stuff to tech support please pass this on. I've been working with a tech in charge of finding the fix to this problem. I think he said his name is Chase/Chance ... not sure.


Interesting Fix. I forwarded your text to the 942 support team.

Good job.


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## Foxbat (Aug 1, 2003)

I'd be curious if pdougan and jal had a DC Block on the OTA antenna line. After reading about how the 942 provides power though this port, I added a DC Block on my installation. I have had no issues with my 942 rebooting, but then, I don't have an ATSC channel 2 in my DMA, either.


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## Jordan420 (Nov 11, 2003)

If your receiver was re booting at 10-2-4 I would tell you to give it a Dr. Pepper


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## pdougan (Aug 15, 2005)

No, I didn't/don't have a DC block.

I got a call from Chance in tech support this weekend. My fix could not be duplicated i.e., it isn't a channel 2 problem. 

It may not be, as I stated in my first report, but I just tried it again and deleting channel 2 was still the fix. I've had three brand new out-of- the-box 942's through here with exactly the same problem, so I am betting the solution will have something to do with the off air antenna, though for the life of me, I couldn't hazard a guess. 

I will be anxious to find out what the real solution is. I'd love to keep experimenting with mine, but they ain't paying me enough :lol: Besides, it conflicts with my philosophy that if it ain't broke don't fix it :lol: and mine's finally working


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

The problem seems to have stopped on its own, at least for now. I can't figure out what was causing it.


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## gianfri (Jun 20, 2005)

There is something odd going on, though. My 942 has become more unstable after L229 and reboots way more often. On multiple occasions, some reboots have occurred *EXACTLY *at 3:00 AM, 7:00 PM, and 11:00 PM. I don't use the receiver often enough to tell if this happens always, often, every day, etc, but I can swear that it is more than a coincidence. The way I know is often from programs recorded through timers that overlap those times: the recording will be split into two parts at exactly that time, and there will be a few minutes missing (the time it takes for the receiver to reboot). On few occasions I have witnessed the rebooting myself, at EXACTLY the change of the hour, with no other activity going on.

Some other times the receiver will reboot itself outside of those times, but that trend is definitely too clear to be a coincidence, and there are others on this board who have also reported it.

Gianfranco


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2005)

pdougan said:


> No, I didn't/don't have a DC block.
> 
> I got a call from Chance in tech support this weekend. My fix could not be duplicated i.e., it isn't a channel 2 problem.
> 
> ...


My 942 worked fine for 5 months ,then the rebbooting bug last week. Last week an Omaha station started testing a upn station at channel 2 ,I thought the fix might work,but at seven tonight it happened again. oh well


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