# I'm calling you old timers out!!!!



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

Okay, you say you've been with DIRECTV since the beginning.... now prove it!

I thought it would be fun to see who has the oldest receiver. It doesn't have to be in use, it could be packed away like mine. I wanna see what a 1990s receiver looked like.

Rules: No C-band, that's cheating! It has to have worked with DIRECTV. I guess USSB could count though.

Mine, dated June 2004 is a Hughes SD-HBH Directors Pack. I used to have an E86 but I gave it away.


----------



## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I knew there would come the day I regretted tossing my original receiver. That day has now arrived.:lol: 

DirecTV and USSB circa 1995.

Carl


----------



## Dave Carney (Jun 12, 2004)

Me too. ..I've tossed half a dozen receivers over the years... continuous service June 1995. I'll look in the basement and see what I've got.


----------



## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

I don't have a picture to prove it, TFed, but I got you beat by 15 months ... March 2003 RCA receiver. Couldn't even guess at the model, but the remote was bigger than some telephones ... :lol:


----------



## Dave Carney (Jun 12, 2004)

Well, I've still got 5 old ones, the oldest, that I still have, is a RCA model DRD222


----------



## mattw (Sep 28, 2006)

There you go, make me climb in the attic for the Sony SAT-B3 out of the attic. I got it used from a friend around 2001. I bought a pair of RCA DRD-222 recievers plus dish and self install kit in 1997. I don't have any of the RCA gear anymore. They didn't map the locals so they were in the 900's.


----------



## DBSNewbie (Nov 3, 2007)

Proud DirecTV subscriber since 2003. (I don't know if you would consider that an old-timer, though) 

Here's a couple of Sony SAT-HD300's sitting in a closet collecting dust. There are also three Hughes HBH-SA's to the right.


----------



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

I wonder who's gonna get in the most trouble with their SO when they've torn apart the basement, attic, or garage. It'll be okay to blame me as long as you're not in a 50 mile radius from Dallas. :lol:


----------



## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Here's one of my (I have 2 ) Hughes HIRD-E1's Silver Edition from 2001 (I think).


----------



## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

just went in attic. oldest i could find was an HIRD-D4. gotta look harder


----------



## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

The oldest one I could find that I still have was the RCA DRD420RE. (It is kind of hard to see. Because I took it with my cell phone and no flash.) I am not sure what year it is from. But, the first receiver I had was the Series one receiver. I think that is what it was called from when I got Direct back in 1996.


----------



## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

I just moved a year ago and at that time I got rid of two receivers that I believe were the first that I owned. I remember they were RCAs, dark gray, about the height of the HR20s, but wider and deeper, air holes over the entire top of the unit.

If I remember right, when you hit the menu button, it brought up a cartoon-like picture of a living room (with a dog in it!) and you navigated to various items in the room depending on what function you were looking for (like a clock on the wall, etc.).

DirecTV sub since September 1996.


----------



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

mhayes70 said:


> The oldest one I could find that I still have was the RCA DRD420RE. (It is kind of hard to see. Because I took it with my cell phone and no flash.) I am not sure what year it is from. But, the first receiver I had was the Series one receiver. I think that is what it was called from when I got Direct back in 1996.


I found a CNET review from February 2001 on the RCA DRD420RE. Does that sound right?

http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tuners-receivers/rca-drd420re/4505-6487_7-4722371.html


----------



## Ken984 (Jan 1, 2006)

I don't have it anymore, but I had an RCA DRD 203(1995)...second gen I believe, 103 was a first gen.
After thinking about it I believe my first receiver was a DRD202, the 203 was my 2nd receiver.


----------



## EKrimmer (Mar 21, 2008)

tfederov said:


> Okay, you say you've been with DIRECTV since the beginning.... now prove it!
> 
> I thought it would be fun to see who has the oldest receiver. It doesn't have to be in use, it could be packed away like mine. I wanna see what a 1990s receiver looked like.
> 
> ...


I've got 4 of those, 3 in operation. Are they worth something??:roundandr We first signed up in 2001 solely to get NFL ST (I Steelers, she Packers). Only recently traded one for HD


----------



## hdgreg (Sep 10, 2006)

mattw said:


> There you go, make me climb in the attic for the Sony SAT-B3 out of the attic. I got it used from a friend around 2001. I bought a pair of RCA DRD-222 recievers plus dish and self install kit in 1997. I don't have any of the RCA gear anymore. They didn't map the locals so they were in the 900's.


Weren't thet channels in the 800's? My RCA drd222rd seems to have been made in 1997. I've used it in a second home until last year.


----------



## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

Can't even recall what model it was, but I helped my parents install their first single lnb dish back in late 1994/early 1995 (can't recall exactly when, but it was as soon as the systems were available in New Orleans). 

I got my first system, a Sony dish and reciever around May 1995. Don't have that anymore, got rid of it last year.


----------



## tadtam (Apr 2, 2008)

I found my original invoice dated, September, 1994. The cost was $975 which included a SELF-install kit.  
I have the original user's manual and the self-install manual. My receiver was an RCA Model# DRD 212NW. I think I still have it somewhere. I will have to look for it tomorrow and post a photo.
My access card# was 000 0286 9865. Wonder if I could reactivate it..


----------



## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

when I worked for USSB at their uplink facility in Oakdale, MN, we had our barker channel on 999. At first in '94-'95 we had a static slide with our channel lineup complete with jungle sounds! All being run with an Amiga 500! Those were the days. I worked there until we were bought by DirecTv in '99.

BTW, my 1st rx was a sony SAT-B2.

ej


----------



## Jon Ellis (Dec 28, 2003)

This one's still active! You can't quite tell by the picture, but it's 15 inches wide, 13 inches deep, and 2 inches tall. I bought it at K-Mart in 1999 for $150, I think. It was out of service for a few years but is now back online and working just as it always did. Notice I didn't say it's working "great"... it's always been a little slow.


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Old timers did not have DirecTV receivers, we had DSS receivers like this
one, circa 1994, which was the high end one of the first two receivers that 
were marketed for receiving DirecTV programming. This is the advanced 
model that came with the dual LNB dish. Retail price for the dual LNB dish 
and the receiver.... a low low $800.










No DirecTV branding on the access card either.....










Of course, the advanced receiver was ready for future expansion for HD 
and other services via the wide band data port and low speed data port 
that soon would be the industry standard on all A/V equipment. :lol:


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

hdgreg said:


> Weren't thet channels in the 800's? My RCA drd222rd seems to have been made in 1997. I've used it in a second home until last year.


There were no locals for several years (but you did get both the east coast and west coast networks just by asking for them). When the locals eventually showed up, they were in the 800's. The USSB (non-DirecTV) channels were in the 900's. You had to subscribe to USSB to get HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, TMC, and a half dozen basic cable channels such as MTV, and VH1.


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Ken984 said:


> I don't have it anymore, but I had an RCA DRD 203(1995)...second gen I believe, 103 was a first gen.


203 was a first gen that came with the dual LNB dish. 103 may have been the first gen that came with the single LNB dish.


----------



## gphvid (Jun 19, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> Old timers did not have DirecTV receivers, we had DSS receivers like this
> one, circa 1994, which was the high end one of the first two receivers that
> were marketed for receiving DirecTV programming. This is the advanced
> model that came with the dual LNB dish. Retail price for the dual LNB dish
> ...


Yup. I still have this one and retired it two years ago when it finally stopped producing video. Got a black screen even on reboot. Thing was very reliable and I went from that one to the R15 DVR which I still have and that has been reliable (!). Since then, I got the HD and HD-DVR bug and upgraded to HD and have two HR20-100s running alongside the R15 and a D10-300. I have all my receivers in one of the DVR boxes somewhere in the garage.


----------



## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

I had a Sony SAT-B3, which was the best receiver I ever had. When it finally died, I got it replaced under the protection plan, and they took it away when they gave me the new receiver. I still have the old access card, and as Cartrivision noted, it says DSS, not DirecTV.


----------



## TimGoodwin (Jun 29, 2004)

cartrivision said:


> Old timers did not have DirecTV receivers, we had DSS receivers like this
> one, circa 1994, which was the high end one of the first two receivers that
> were marketed for receiving DirecTV programming. This is the advanced
> model that came with the dual LNB dish. Retail price for the dual LNB dish
> ...


I had one of those receivers! Started in August of 95.


----------



## Rockaway1836 (Sep 26, 2007)

I have one Sony SAT-A1 and an A2 as well as two SAT-B1s. They all still work fine. I took them all off line last June when I went all HD.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

cartrivision said:


> 203 was a first gen that came with the dual LNB dish. 103 may have been the first gen that came with the single LNB dish.


I believe that is correct. I'm not entirely sure but I think that's an old H-card you have displayed. The original card was the F-series, IIRC. I didn't actually sign up with DirecTV until around '97, mainly because it was simply too expensive to be an early adopter. I found a deal on a complete system for about $180 that included a single LNB dish and a DRD303 receiver. Back then you couldn't buy extra receivers so I ended up buying several complete systems with the dishes, and I didn't even use the supplied dish. I bought a 30" Perfect10 dish with an upgraded Grundig dual LNB. I never had any problems with low signals or rain fade. I eventually replaced the Perfect10 dish with one of the newer oval dishes with the two dual LNBs for the 101 and 119 sats and added the Sat C kit for 110 (i.e. the predecessor to the Phase III dish). In fact, that dish still resides on my roof as I never took it down after switching to FIOS. I bought an AT9 dish (the one with the LNB outrigger) to install but FIOS became available and I never got around to putting up the new dish.


----------



## tadtam (Apr 2, 2008)

> No DirecTV branding on the access card either.....


DSS was Digital Satellite System, trademarks of Hughes Communications, a unit of GM Hughs Electronics.
All equipment warranty was thru Thomson Consumer Electronics.
My program provider was Digital One, Williston, VT.


----------



## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

cartrivision said:


> Old timers did not have DirecTV receivers, we had DSS receivers like this
> one, circa 1994, which was the high end one of the first two receivers that
> were marketed for receiving DirecTV programming. This is the advanced
> model that came with the dual LNB dish. Retail price for the dual LNB dish
> ...


That's it! this was my first receiver back in 1996. But, I no longer have it. But, there is a bowling alley here that still has one still in operation.


----------



## ElVee (Nov 28, 2006)

I still have two Sony SAT-B3's somewhere in the basement (I'll see if I can dig them out when I get home from work). 

The Dual LNB dish, which was self installed in 1995, was left behind at my previous house. I replaced them with DirecTv's latetest version a year or two ago. 

And yes, the NY locals on the old Sony's were mapped to 880-900 or so.


----------



## Ed Campbell (Feb 17, 2006)

I sold my first 3 receivers to a reseller down in Albuquerque. Never asked what he was going to do with them. DSS cards in 'em.

But, checking back through my records, I financed the purchase and installation in Feb. 1994.


----------



## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I'm a relative newcomer, only had DIRECTV since 2003, but I do have a close friend who had one of those "pizza box" RCA receivers since 1996.


----------



## mikhu (Oct 10, 2006)

No pictures here, my Sony SAT-B2's are long gone. Had two of 'em starting in '96. Wanted the SAT-A2 but just couldn't justify over $1000 for the system. I remember getting the special deal, the Dual LNB free via mail upon activation!

I think I've stated this before, but I had those for quite a while, then I got a "free" upgrade from D*. They gave me two RCA receivers along with the Phase III dish. Worst receivers I ever had. They only lasted a couple years before I replaced them with an R15 and a D11 when they were pretty new to the market.


----------



## kaszeta (Apr 8, 2008)

I'll have to dig around in the crawlspace, but I've got several DSS/USSB boxes from circa 1996.


----------



## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Mike -- I miss my old Sony SAT-B3. Not only did it have the best user interface, it was the most reliable. It lasted about 6 years, and then the tuner started to go. Since then I've had an RCA box (lasted a few months), Philips (about 3 years), and four R15s (altogether less than 2 years, but the 4th is still going).


----------



## Ken984 (Jan 1, 2006)

Cartrivision is dead on, that is exactly what I had, paid $1000 for box, dish and self install kit (a roll of coax, maybe there was a compass in there and a phone line i think) LOL.


----------



## dmurphy (Sep 28, 2006)

Well, it's not quite as old as the DSS receiver shown, but my first receiver was a DRD222. Bought that bad boy back in november of 99 (day after Thanksgiving) .... That thing was as reliable as could be.

I remember when I first hooked it up, being BLOWN AWAY by the picture quality! At the time, we had analog cable, and it was awful. The DirecTV picture was absolutely incredible!


----------



## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

tfederov said:


> Okay, you say you've been with DIRECTV since the beginning.... now prove it!
> 
> I thought it would be fun to see who has the oldest receiver. It doesn't have to be in use, it could be packed away like mine. I wanna see what a 1990s receiver looked like.
> 
> ...


Yours looks just like a doorstop I have now in the garage that I aquired circa 2001 Tony. I wanna say mine is the GAEBO or something like that, I dont remember exactly.


----------



## mikhu (Oct 10, 2006)

Upstream said:


> Mike -- I miss my old Sony SAT-B3. Not only did it have the best user interface, it was the most reliable. It lasted about 6 years, and then the tuner started to go. Since then I've had an RCA box (lasted a few months), Philips (about 3 years), and four R15s (altogether less than 2 years, but the 4th is still going).


No doubt. To this day those are still the only receivers I never had a problem with. In fact they still worked fine when I replaced them with the RCA's. I just tossed them out! What was I thinking???

That said, the D11, R15's and the HR2x's are light years better than those RCA receivers I got for free. Never should have accepted those in the first place, but I wanted the Phase III dish.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how to get my AT-9 replaced with a Slimline. I saw one on a house down the street and I'm jealous! :lol:


----------



## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

I had a pair of RCA DRD222's (I think that was the model number) purchased brand new in April 1997 for around $800 including the 18" round dual-LNB dish. I think I also plunked down about $50 for the self-install kit: VHS instructional tape, a compass to sight your dish alignment, and a few other hardware odds and ends (maybe a grounding block?). In fact, I was cleaning out my garage about three weeks ago and found the VHS tape and compass. :lol: Alas, I don't have the receivers any longer but they were completely trouble-free for years.


----------



## dwr11 (Jan 14, 2008)

I still use a Sony SAT-A2 receiver. It still works great. I got rid of the B2 when I upgraded to HD receivers a year or so ago.


----------



## Rockaway1836 (Sep 26, 2007)

Ken984 said:


> Cartrivision is dead on, that is exactly what I had, paid $1000 for box, dish and self install kit (a roll of coax, maybe there was a compass in there and a phone line i think) LOL.


My self install kit came with one 75ft run of coax, one 25ft run, 1 ground block, thick aluminum ground wire, weather proof boots, compass, and a VHS tape. I think it cost $50 at Radio Shack. I think there may have been mounting hardware as well. I seem to remember expansion anchors being in there too.


----------



## Carl Newman (Mar 31, 2007)

Cartrivision & Ken984 have a different model from mine, which is from Aug 1995. Mine is a DRD102RW - one of the 3 models offered at that time. One, a "Master" would handle one input & provide the same channel to a 2nd "Repeater" model. The third was a "StandAlone" that when used with a "Master" would tune a seperate channel when used with a dual LNB round dish. I don't remember if this is the "Master" or StandAlone". Paid about $1500, which included the self-install kit.

One of my two died in 2000 & was replaced. That replacement has since been replaced by an H21. I used the DRD102RW until Dec 2005, when I replaced it with an H20-100, which has since been replaced by an HR20-100. The only problem it had was that channel changes kept taking longer (up to 45 seconds.)

Carl


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

See, I clean out the garage a month or so ago and NOW you want pictures.:lol: 

I dumped my original RCA DSS receiver circa September 1994 and a Sony A?? to make room for some VCR's that I will keep for another few years on a shelf for no good reason.


----------



## Clemsole (Sep 8, 2005)

Not all of us keep the useless old junk laying around, we get rid of it to make room for the new and improved items.


----------



## Bob Coxner (Dec 28, 2005)

HIRD-B2 front 1999










HIRD-B2 back










Philips DSX5353C










Philips back

I got both of these in April 1999. I think the Philips is relatively rare, but I could be wrong.


----------



## gcisko (Sep 27, 2006)

Yep I have maybe been doing DVR longer than you may think. This was an ultimatetv and my only other Directv box. This is the best picture I could find, not an endorsement of amazon 

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-DWD490RE-UltimateTV-Receiver-Restrictions/dp/B00005ABEN


----------



## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

<stupid post deleted>


----------



## VeniceDre (Aug 16, 2006)

Man I threw out out, or sold, my Sony SAT-A2 & SAT-B2 years ago.


----------



## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

I still have a hughes director running in my guestroom and I only had DirecTV since early 2004.

After seeing the old receiver above, it made me remember how stupid designers used to be with the coax conectors recessed and so close to the edge of the receiver like that. What were they thinking!


----------



## elaclair (Jun 18, 2004)

I don't remember whether my first one was a HIRD-B2 or B3, but it would have been circa mid 2000. It was soon "upgraded" to a couple of HBHs and one HAH. Then came the HR10-250 to replace one of the HBHs....and as time has passed, I'm now "current" with 2 HR20s, 1 HR21, and a H20-600.......

Ah, the memories........


----------



## GirkMonster (Mar 20, 2007)

Several old models...RCA 103, 303, 505, Sony Sat B-2...others, I think.


----------



## Visman (Feb 17, 2008)

gcisko said:


> Yep I have maybe been doing DVR longer than you may think. This was an ultimatetv and my only other Directv box. This is the best picture I could find, not an endorsement of amazon
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/RCA-DWD490RE-UltimateTV-Receiver-Restrictions/dp/B00005ABEN


I still have this one and it still works great. I can still record Pay Perview movies withit and it won't delete them from the DVR after 24hr's of buying it. Directv never downloaded that fix to it. This this NEVER crashes like the now one I have in the Family room.


----------



## HDTVsportsfan (Nov 29, 2005)

My oldest was an SAT-B2.


----------



## Bill Broderick (Aug 25, 2006)

I may still have my original receivers in the basement. I'll have to look. But, in the meantime, here is the owner's manual to my first two receivers (Hughes HIRD-B1).


----------



## gfrang (Aug 30, 2007)

I have two RCA Drd420RE I remember i paid 50 bucks each.


----------



## Edmund (Apr 17, 2003)

None of my original receivers made the move to east coast, but the remotes did:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/tivoburkee/img_0049.jpg

The rca is 1995, and the proscan from 1996. The Proscan Dss receiver came with two remotes and IR extender which I still have and use.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/tivoburkee/img_0231.jpg


----------



## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

My inlaws have (or had - no idea what they did with them) my old RCA receiver that we brought from Best Buy and installed (including that 18" round dish with 2 lnbs) ourselves back in 1997. It was an RCA. No idea what model number. It did have RF for the remote, which was pretty cool at the time.


----------



## spidey (Sep 1, 2006)

I still have one in the attic would need to pull it down to get actual model but it is a circa 1995 RCA receiver with VCR controls. This was a great receiver and integrated nicely with the VCR so ya could setup series links to record shows etc. I replaced them with another RCA DRD486H similar features cant recall why I upgraded at that time.


----------



## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

I had a Radio Shack Optimus circa mid 90's until August of 2006 when I got my H20 and upgraded to HD.


----------



## jrinck (Apr 3, 2008)

I became a customer in 1997. But since DirecTV doesn't seem to care when I call them, it's not really something worth bragging about.


----------



## PeterB (Jul 25, 2002)

My oldest I still have is a DRD222 that I still use.

As a power supply for my OTA antenna. 

In the "closet of shame" There is also a Hughes HD1, Dish 1000, Dish 5000, Dish 7100, A bunch of GAEBOs, along with various other defunct consumer electronics like a Philips CD-I and a Technics DCC deck.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

My oldest was the RCA DRD303RA but I picked up a batch of 103's in a bulk purchase on ebay. I had another model and for the life of me I can't remember the brand. It was made by one of the big dish receiver manufacturers at the time and it may also have been marketed as a Radio Shack model. I'm thinking the name began with the letter "O", but it wasn't Optimus or Onkyo. I checked the DirecTV website to see if they had the manual but they don't even have the brand listed. I think they only made the one model and then bailed on making any future ones. I just remember that it had some unique features that no other DTV receiver had at the time, but I don't recall what they were.


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

tadtam said:


> DSS was Digital Satellite System, trademarks of Hughes Communications, a unit of GM Hughs Electronics.
> All equipment warranty was thru Thomson Consumer Electronics.
> My program provider was Digital One, Williston, VT.


Yes, but unfortunately the trademark ownership wasn't exactly what Hughes was claiming. In 1998, Decision Support Systems, a computer peripherals company who asserted ownership of the trademark, forced Hughes and DirecTV to stop using the DSS trademark.


----------



## jimed1 (Jan 12, 2008)

The first system I bought was in the fall of 1993 I think or It could have been 1994. Anyway, it was only about 2 or three months after DirecTV became available. One receiver and the dish with install kit was $800 + at REX. So, I had a first generation receiver. Actually I had two of them. I remember it was sooooo much better than cable. I remember when one of my receivers went out I would call up the service dept and they would send me another one for what seems like was $123.00. They sent it to a Mailboxes Etc. for me to pick up and I would have to take my bad one with me to be boxed up and sent back in exchange. I think I had to do that twice before receivers got cheap enough that I could just go buy a replacement.


----------



## lib135 (Sep 4, 2007)

I got an old Hughes 8-bit receiver, which was but slow compared to the 16-bit that came out later on


----------



## jimed1 (Jan 12, 2008)

lib135 said:


> I got an old Hughes 8-bit receiver, which was but slow compared to the 16-bit that came out later on


That is a 1st generation receiver... Very slow!!!!!


----------



## MIMOTech (Sep 11, 2006)

DSS receiver was bought in November 1994 for my family it was installed on my parents new home in Feb. 1995 as a Christmas gift from me. I finally bought one for my self a Sony Sat-B3 in July of 1995. Jan 2000 I upgraded to HD with the RCA DTC 100. Had to run split dishes to get the 110 119 and 101 sats. The 119 degree dish had to be mounted in a big Oak tree with the two coaxes running in the air. This set up ran good for 2years until the squirrels decided to eat the coax. Actually continued to operate until the shield got eaten through. Now I have 3 HD DVR's 1 HD receiver and one old RCA SD and 140.00 month bill and I am still hooked on DTV.


----------



## gphvid (Jun 19, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I'm a relative newcomer, only had DIRECTV since 2003, but I do have a close friend who had one of those "pizza box" RCA receivers since 1996.


Those 1st generation Thomson RCA boxes also ran hot. Nearly the entire top was air vents, and it needed it too. So I kept mine on the very top of my set up outside the cabinet for air. My wife thought at times the box was going to catch fire.:grin:

I also had a VCR that would change the DSS channels when it started up to record a pre-programmed event. It would power on and send a signal to the box to power off, then back on again, then change channels. And it didn't use a cable. There was a small transmitter on the front and top of the VCR that sent the signal to the DSS box. The VCR manual stated that the machine had to be close to the DSS box for this function to work. So I put the VCR under the DSS box. Worked every time.


----------



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

This has been very cool so far. I'm curious if DIRECTV has a mini-museum at their corporate office like my old and current companies have. Keep 'em coming!


----------



## gfrang (Aug 30, 2007)

How long do you have been with directv to be in the Old Timers Club and what is the password?


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

gfrang said:


> How long do you have been with directv to be in the Old Timers Club and what is the password?


The password is your DirecTV account number. If it's more than 5 digits long, you can't get in.


----------



## gfrang (Aug 30, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> The password is your DirecTV account number. If it's more than 5 digits long, you can't get in.


Didn't make it just checked 8 digits maby in a couple of years i can reapally.


----------



## Rockaway1836 (Sep 26, 2007)

gfrang said:


> Didn't make it just checked 8 digits maby in a couple of years i can reapally.


Mine has 7 been with D since the end of 95


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

I had a Sony B2 when I signed up in 1996 (for $700 with single LNB dish!)

Long ago tossed it. I had to toss it because it didn't know what the 119 sat was and when my SD locals lit up on 119...probably in 99 I'd guess I had to upgrade my receivers.

Still have my Hughes E86 though.


----------



## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Here's a Sony SAT-B3 I had running up to last fall. It, too, is a DSS receiver. It says "32 BIT" on the front panel and was a hell of a lot faster in changing screens than the Sony SAT-B1 I had before, or any of the RCA machines of this era that dominated the DSS market. Those were clunkers.

The manual online says 1998. That sounds about right.


----------



## gcisko (Sep 27, 2006)

Visman said:


> I still have this one and it still works great. I can still record Pay Perview movies withit and it won't delete them from the DVR after 24hr's of buying it. Directv never downloaded that fix to it. This this NEVER crashes like the now one I have in the Family room.


Yup... That one was awesome except no HD. If I still had only a SD TV I would be all set. It was called ULTIMATE TV for a reason


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

captain_video said:


> I believe that is correct. I'm not entirely sure but I think that's an old H-card you have displayed. The original card was the F-series, IIRC.


That picture was of one of the original F series cards. I think that the H cards had the same graphic on them.... or at least mine did. I still have all of my old access cards left over from the periodic security upgrade card swapouts. Maybe I'll post a photo essay of access cards throughout the history of DirecTV. I have at least one of each series, although there were some that were in the same series but had different graphics.


----------



## betterdan (May 23, 2007)

I think my first receiver was a Hughes E86. I have been with Directv since around 99 or 2000 so would that be about right?


----------



## jwd45244 (Aug 18, 2006)

Upstream said:


> I had a Sony SAT-B3, which was the best receiver I ever had. When it finally died, I got it replaced under the protection plan, and they took it away when they gave me the new receiver. I still have the old access card, and as Cartrivision noted, it says DSS, not DirecTV.


The two Sony B-3s are my oldest


----------



## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

Will dig up my old unit, and post a pic...Tomorrow..........


----------



## Hdhead (Jul 30, 2007)

My graveyard. Note 1st gen RCA circa 1994, Sony B something, and Sony 1st gen HD-100. Paid a pretty penny for all of them. :nono:


----------



## Christopher Gould (Jan 14, 2007)

Jon Ellis said:


> This one's still active! You can't quite tell by the picture, but it's 15 inches wide, 13 inches deep, and 2 inches tall. I bought it at K-Mart in 1999 for $150, I think. It was out of service for a few years but is now back online and working just as it always did. Notice I didn't say it's working "great"... it's always been a little slow.


Mine looks like this but its a RCA DRD 515RB. This was D* first model with Digital Audio Output I bought it at Best But with to room install for $600+ back in Oct 1998. It also had an RF remote.


----------



## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

I have an RDR203RW. I think it was my first reciever in 1995. The manuel is dated 04/94. Still have it. It was in a container ready to do to the electronic gear recycle collection later this month.


----------



## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

I first got into DSS in late 1996 with a Sony SAT-A2 and the dual Sony LNB dish (self installed). I believe the system cost me about $639, which was the employee discount (I worked for a Hughes subsidiary at the time). In early 1997, I added the B2, also at discount. These were retired when I added the Sony SAT-T60 followed by the Phillips DSR6000. Those have since been retired. I first went to HD with the Hughes HTL-HD receiver and then added the HR10-250. Then retired the HTL-HD when I went to the HR20-100.


----------



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

It blows me away that some of these are still in use. I thought I read somewhere that there was a conversion from MPEG-1 to MPEG-2 a while back. Wouldn't that make the older receivers useless the way the MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion will eventually make the MPEG-2 receivers useless?


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

I had two Sony A1 receivers as soon as our local Circuit City got them, whenever that was. I replaced them with Sony A55's which had an an issue with audio where it would every now and then put out a screech and Sony offered to buy them back since they couldn't fix them. That's when I made a mistake and tried E* but after a couple years came back to D*.


----------



## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

First receiver was a RCA, 1st gen, room heater with Pizza Pan dish. Seond receiver was a "16 bit" Sony...I loved the UI on that box.
Account number is 000057**... yep, under 6000. Signed up the first week they were available. $800+, and NO CREDiTS!!!


----------



## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

carl6 said:


> I knew there would come the day I regretted tossing my original receiver. That day has now arrived.:lol:
> 
> DirecTV and USSB circa 1995.
> 
> Carl


Ditto! I gave my very first receiver away (ordered it from a Radio Shack in Rochester, NY in July of 1994) just last fall after having retired it sometime around 1999.


----------



## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

DSS started with what they called an MPEG 1+ encode. They shortly went to MPEG 2. All receivers were able to decode the first CODEC. No receiver swap was necessary.


----------



## xmguy (Mar 27, 2008)

I bought a old D-10 Circa 2001. A few years back thinking if I ever wanted D* that I'd own a receiver. I just signed up last month. Didn't use the receiver. I'll post a pic later. I know some one who owns a old RCA (with the controls on the top) and SONY like the one pictured above.
My satellite days go back even further though to a BIG dish in my backyard one feed crapy service one sat feed. ONLY way I could get good cartoon channels in the early 90's. (I'm 23 yrs old now) 
Wish I still had the receiver and dish I could get free to air. I can't remember who the provider was for it. I just know it cost over $2000 installed. Just to get 20+ channels on G4 Sat. Non-movable.


----------



## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

I've only been around since 2000 but my brother had PrimeStar since it first strarted, I did have C-band, I know you said that was cheating....


----------



## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Me and my then-roommate split the cost of a Sony SAT-A2 ($450), Sony 2-output LNB dish ($150), and "install kit" ($99) in late 1996. I *just* deactivated the SAT-A2 when adding an HR20 last month. Still works great. No Dolby Digital, though it did have an optical output. I was pissed when DD came out on the next generation after paying so much for the "advanced" receiver.

Still, DirecTV blew cable out of the water then, and still does.


----------



## mattw (Sep 28, 2006)

hdgreg said:


> Weren't thet channels in the 800's? My RCA drd222rd seems to have been made in 1997. I've used it in a second home until last year.


Hmmm, you might be right. With my best Michael Keaton imitation "800, 900... whatever it takes"


----------



## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

I stil;l have a Microsoft Ultimate TV recorder and the receiver that came in my first DirecTV package... arrived Nov 24th 1994. Both are in storage and I dont know if they still work.


----------



## Visman (Feb 17, 2008)

Here are some old school recievers I have


----------



## Visman (Feb 17, 2008)

cartrivision said:


> The password is your DirecTV account number. If it's more than 5 digits long, you can't get in.


I have 6 in Account. Been with DirecTV since 95.


----------



## xmguy (Mar 27, 2008)

Visman said:


> Here are some old school recievers I have
> 
> View attachment 13324
> View attachment 13325
> ...


I'd love to have the UltimateTV box.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

cartrivision said:


> That picture was of one of the original F series cards. I think that the H cards had the same graphic on them.... or at least mine did. I still have all of my old access cards left over from the periodic security upgrade card swapouts. Maybe I'll post a photo essay of access cards throughout the history of DirecTV. I have at least one of each series, although there were some that were in the same series but had different graphics.


I checked my stack of old access cards and the H-card looks identical to the one you pictured. I signed up right after the first card swapout so I never had one of the F-cards to compare it with. I guess they didn't start changing the appearance of the cards until the Hu series.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

Visman said:


> Here are some old school recievers I have
> 
> View attachment 13324
> View attachment 13325
> ...


I'd hardly call the UTV or R10 DTivo "Old school." They've only been around for about 4 or 5 years and don't really qualify. The 103 in the box you have pictured definitely does.



xmguy said:


> I'd love to have the UltimateTV box.


And pay twice the monthly fees for the privilege of ownership.:sure: I had several UTVs and dumped them because I didn't like the idea of paying Microsoft a premium price for a system they abandoned shortly after it was introduced. I loved the user interface on the UTVs but the total lack of support and the higher monthly fees put me off on them.


----------



## bluemoon737 (Feb 21, 2007)

tadtam said:


> I found my original invoice dated, September, 1994. The cost was $975 which included a SELF-install kit.
> I have the original user's manual and the self-install manual. My receiver was an RCA Model# DRD 212NW. I think I still have it somewhere. I will have to look for it tomorrow and post a photo.
> My access card# was 000 0286 9865. Wonder if I could reactivate it..


Yep, $899 for the RCA receiver that had the dual LNB dish. The step up receiver also had some sort of port (serial or parallel?) that was supposed to be used for future development. I bought one of these and an add on basic receiver for $599 (that one was $699 if purchased with a single LNB dish). I got my service in late 1994 while living in the Orlando, Fl area. I no longer have those receivers and had to give up D* for two years in 2000-2002 due to living in an apartment that didn't has "exclusive use" areas and didn't allow dishes. Otherwise, I've been here the whole time.


----------



## xmguy (Mar 27, 2008)

captain_video said:


> I'd hardly call the UTV or R10 DTivo "Old school." They've only been around for about 4 or 5 years and don't really qualify. The 103 in the box you have pictured definitely does.
> 
> And pay twice the monthly fees for the privilege of ownership.:sure: I had several UTVs and dumped them because I didn't like the idea of paying Microsoft a premium price for a system they abandoned shortly after it was introduced. I loved the user interface on the UTVs but the total lack of support and the higher monthly fees put me off on them.


I thought that's how it would have been with the DirecTiVo box. But ONE sub pays for it all. Boo bad UTV wasn't the same.:nono2:


----------



## tnmax (Jan 23, 2008)

My first Directv receiver was a Sony SAT-A1 from circa 1995-1996. We had service from Directv and USSB. We combined that with a Sony VCR and the receiver interface would control the VCR through the guide on the receiver. It was nice and almost like having a DVR. Select something in the guide on the receiver and it would tune to that channel at the appropriate time and start the VCR. After that receiver we got a Sony SAT-T60. We bought that unit in 2000 and it just died a few months ago. Sorry I don't have any pics.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

xmguy said:


> I thought that's how it would have been with the DirecTiVo box. But ONE sub pays for it all. Boo bad UTV wasn't the same.:nono2:


Actually, it was, but only if you had multiple UTVs. The monthly UTV "DVR" fee was $9.99 and it was a flat fee. Additional UTVs just cost you the $4.99 mirroring fee, just like the DTivos and standard receivers. If you had a combination of both UTV and DTivos you had to pay both fees. The standard DVR fee covered the cost of the Tivo service whereas the UTV fee went to Microsoft. Microsoft dumped UTV before DirecTV had a chance to dump them like they did with Tivo. The number of UTV subscribers is minimal compared to Tivos and DTV DVRs so it probably wasn't worth it for DirecTV to take over the service completely. If support for the UTV service disappears then you can thank Bill Gates and Co.


----------



## Blitz68 (Apr 19, 2006)

Bought the Sony Sat-B1 in 1995 for $799.00


----------



## xmguy (Mar 27, 2008)

captain_video said:


> Actually, it was, but only if you had multiple UTVs. The monthly UTV "DVR" fee was $9.99 and it was a flat fee. Additional UTVs just cost you the $4.99 mirroring fee, just like the DTivos and standard receivers. If you had a combination of both UTV and DTivos you had to pay both fees. The standard DVR fee covered the cost of the Tivo service whereas the UTV fee went to Microsoft. Microsoft dumped UTV before DirecTV had a chance to dump them like they did with Tivo. The number of UTV subscribers is minimal compared to Tivos and DTV DVRs so it probably wasn't worth it for DirecTV to take over the service completely. If support for the UTV service disappears then you can thank Bill Gates and Co.


Who else.


----------



## xmguy (Mar 27, 2008)

xmguy said:


> I bought a old D-10 Circa 2001. A few years back thinking if I ever wanted D* that I'd own a receiver. I just signed up last month. Didn't use the receiver. I'll post a pic later. I know some one who owns a old RCA (with the controls on the top) and SONY like the one pictured above.
> My satellite days go back even further though to a BIG dish in my backyard one feed crapy service one sat feed. ONLY way I could get good cartoon channels in the early 90's. (I'm 23 yrs old now)
> Wish I still had the receiver and dish I could get free to air. I can't remember who the provider was for it. I just know it cost over $2000 installed. Just to get 20+ channels on G4 Sat. Non-movable.


Here are my images. Sorry if this unit isn't old enough. Not sure of it's offical age. But being thicker and a D10 series I'm guessing 2002-2003?









FRONT








BACK








ID info.


----------



## Floyd (Nov 10, 2004)

As a DTV dealer, I'm responsible for maintaining dozens of hotels that have 12-30 receivers each. Almost all of the old receivers in this thread are represented in those systems, and about 85% of those original receivers are still working 24/7/365 since the day they were installed. Many of them are operating stacked up in hot back rooms and get real hot...hot enough to turn the card ends brown, so it's somewhat surprising, yet quite a testament that they are still faithfully pumping out pictures after all these years.


----------



## mikhu (Oct 10, 2006)

tnmax said:


> My first Directv receiver was a Sony SAT-A1 from circa 1995-1996. We had service from Directv and USSB. We combined that with a Sony VCR and the receiver interface would control the VCR through the guide on the receiver. It was nice and almost like having a DVR. Select something in the guide on the receiver and it would tune to that channel at the appropriate time and start the VCR. After that receiver we got a Sony SAT-T60. We bought that unit in 2000 and it just died a few months ago. Sorry I don't have any pics.


Yep, that was the VCR mouse that came with the SAT series boxes. Used it all the time!


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

Mike Huss said:


> Yep, that was the VCR mouse that came with the SAT series boxes. Used it all the time!


The VCR mouse was just a fancy name for a run of the mill IR blaster. Most DTV receivers came with such a device as well as a serial cable to control the box with a VCR.

I just remembered the brand of DTV receiver I had. It was a Uniden receiver that was also marketed by Radio Shack under the Optimus brand. I don't recall the Uniden model number but I believe it was the same as the Optimus 5100. I seem to recall that it had the fastest menus available in any DirecTV receiver at the time. The Sony models introduced shortly afterwards (B3?) also used a faster menu system that was incorporated into just about every other receiver from that time forward. The 1st and 2nd generation RCA units were painfully slow by today's standards.


----------



## gslater (Aug 5, 2007)

You guys have me beat (see my signature for models). I've been with DirecTv since early 2001. Could send photos if needed but I have the two old RCA receivers that were in use until about a year and a half ago when one was replaced with an H20 and then about 8 months ago the other one was shifted to a spare TV and replaced with another H20. I really liked the RCA receiver. It had an IR transmitter that ran to the front of my VCR and I could select to record a program from the guide. The receiver would tune to the correct channel at the right time, turn on my VCR and start recording for me. I miss that feature but I'm just too stingy to pay extra for the priveledge of having a DVR. One of these days though . . .


----------



## Mocco71 (Jan 13, 2007)

I have (and still use!!!!) two Sony receivers that I bought when I subscribed to D* in 2001. They both work great and have a nice feature - hit the enter button and up pops your 9 favorite channels in a window for quick selection. Much easier in my opinion than what is being used with my H20. They also have a little i on them that was an interactive feature. This feature is no longer functional, but I remember getting sports updates with it.


----------



## Matt9876 (Oct 11, 2007)

My first unit was:










Paid just over $500 for it and the round dish.


----------



## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

The Sony receivers have been the best since the beginning.


----------



## ohpuckhead (Dec 15, 2007)

I have an old Toshiba receiver in my basement. My original dish said "Toshiba" on it also. I started with Directv in December 1996. I'll look for it one of these days and post the picture. The favorites list setup has never been improved upon. You could have like 4 lists on that receiver.


----------



## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

ohpuckhead said:


> I have an old Toshiba receiver in my basement. My original dish said "Toshiba" on it also. I started with Directv in December 1996. I'll look for it one of these days and post the picture. The favorites list setup has never been improved upon. You could have like 4 lists on that receiver.


I originally got started with DirecTV with a Toshiba package. It included a round dish with a dual output LNB and two receivers, self installed. That was in about 1997 and cost $399 (I think). That's when we signed up for both DirecTV and USSB. They were first gen with the 8-bit processors. All of that stuff is up in the attic. They were in service until about 4 years ago when they began skipping and locking up, like they were not able to keep up with the data stream. I'll have to drag one out and take a pic.


----------



## Kenwood (Sep 13, 2006)

I still use a Sony SAT-B3 from 1996 when I first signed up for DSS. I use it for one of the top tv's (above the main TV) for watching the ballgames. I still works fine. I like it cause it's a very small box and black.


----------



## CJTE (Sep 18, 2007)

RCA DRD222, 01-2001 if I remember correctly, but probably before that.


----------



## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Mike Huss said:


> Yep, that was the VCR mouse that came with the SAT series boxes. Used it all the time!


In fact, you could hard wire from the Sony SAT-B2 to some model Sony VCRs using the IR ports to control the start and stopping of the VCR. That kind of feature sure would be nice when archiving to DVD recorders.


----------



## Edmund (Apr 17, 2003)

captain_video said:


> The VCR mouse was just a fancy name for a run of the mill IR blaster. Most DTV receivers came with such a device as well as a serial cable to control the box with a VCR.
> 
> I just remembered the brand of DTV receiver I had. It was a Uniden receiver that was also marketed by Radio Shack under the Optimus brand. I don't recall the Uniden model number but I believe it was the same as the Optimus 5100. I seem to recall that it had the fastest menus available in any DirecTV receiver at the time. The Sony models introduced shortly afterwards (B3?) also used a faster menu system that was incorporated into just about every other receiver from that time forward. The 1st and 2nd generation RCA units were painfully slow by today's standards.


But the Sony VCR mouse included with B-2 and alike models wasn't the run of the mill IR blaster, you had to program the vcr brand right into the vcr mouse itself. I hated those small buttons.

And the uniden models were UDS100 & 200


----------



## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

My oldest is long gone. It was a Sony Whatever It Was A1 or B1. Or something. I had the intro level one and the modem went bad and they sent me the better one. This was in mid 90s.


----------



## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Matt9876 said:


> My first unit was:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ha ha ha, i had the same setup(actually still have it.) i also remember buying my first hughes hd receiver for $599 when they first came out.


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

I find it kind of funny that back in the early/mid 90's we spent $600 to $800 on a single receiver and dish but now we want free HR20/21's because we don't want to pay $199, and back then that was a few weeks pay+ for many folks.


----------



## morgantown (Nov 16, 2005)

ejjames said:


> The Sony receivers have been the best since the beginning.


Nah, RCA ruled !


----------



## ironwood (Sep 20, 2007)

How do you know receiver is way too old?
1. You need a hammer and a screwdriver to find the access card compartment.
2. You cant find serial numbers or receiver IDs anywhere. 
3. Cant find any satellites in the menu other than 101.


----------



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

RAD said:


> I find it kind of funny that back in the early/mid 90's we spent $600 to $800 on a single receiver and dish but now we want free HR20/21's because we don't want to pay $199, and back then that was a few weeks pay+ for many folks.


That's funny because I was thinking the same thing. :lol:


----------



## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

I wonder how many of the hard line "I want it free" and "$199 is still way too much to pay for something I don't own" blah, blah, blah spouters have been around long enought that they DID pay those kind of prices like we did?

Not to generalize too much about today's society, but my aunt and I have had many conversations about the decline of common courtesy and the unfounded sense of entitlement that seems prevalent today.


----------



## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

JLucPicard said:


> I just moved a year ago and at that time I got rid of two receivers that I believe were the first that I owned. I remember they were RCAs, dark gray, about the height of the HR20s, but wider and deeper, air holes over the entire top of the unit.
> 
> DirecTV sub since September 1996.


After seeing the pictures posted here, post #20 is the picture of the two receivers I just got rid of. Had those baby's for years and they still worked - they just got repaced by DirecTiVos.


----------



## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

My circa 1998 RCA DRD515RB. I'll try to grab some pics. 

I'm actually about to put it back into service to be my audio input to a whole house amplifier.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

morgantown said:


> Nah, RCA ruled !


Sorry to disagree but the RCAs were painfully slow compared to the early Sony models. Sony was among the first to use a 32-bit system whereas the RCAs were only 16-bit, IIRC. My Uniden IRD was a 32-bit model.

Anyone posting info about receivers dated later than the late 90's shouldn't even bother because you're not even close to being an "old-timer" to DirecTV. The individuals that paid $800-900 for their systems are the clearcut winners in this discussion because they were definitely the early adopters. If you wanted DirecTV back in those days you definitely had to pay to play. The price of admission didn't drop below $500 until about a year or so later. No doubt the first adopters had the RCA 103's (or possible a 101 if that model existed, which I believe it may have) since I believe they were the first generation IRDs for DirecTV. I don't think any DTV IRDs with the Hughes brand was introduced until much later. Sony was probably the 2nd brand to carry the DirecTV logo. The Toshiba models were clones of the 2nd and 3rd generation RCAs. Everyone else came much later into the game.


----------



## crashHD (Mar 1, 2008)

captain_video said:


> Anyone posting info about receivers dated later than the late 90's shouldn't even bother because you're not even close to being an "old-timer" to DirecTV. The individuals that paid $800-900 for their systems are the clearcut winners in this discussion because they were definitely the early adopters. If you wanted DirecTV back in those days you definitely had to pay to play.


The hardware may have been expensive, but the service fees were reasonable. $47.99 for Total Choice Platinum? I would have been willing to buy the hardware at actual cost without subsidy to get that service at that price, had I not been in grade school at the time.

We still pay for the hardware, but it's built into the service fees. Think about how reasonable the service fees could be if there was no subsidizing hardware?


----------



## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

Remember, Directv did not have the premium channels (other than STARZ) or many of the popular basic channels such as NICK, MTV, VH1, CC, lifetime. USSB had those.


----------



## crashHD (Mar 1, 2008)

I looked the prices up on directv's old websites via archive.org. That probably explains why the package prices took a substantial jump around 2000.


----------



## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

When I was an uplink operator at USSB we transfered control to Directv around May of '99. We then mirrored their signal for about 3 days in case there were any problems. Then we just tore everything down. Most things were shipped to Castle Rock. 

We could apply for Directv jobs (we were actually Directv employees for the last month or so) Some of my friends went to Colorado, some to LA. My wife and I have roots in MN, ND so we decided to stay. It was unfortunate that most who picked up stakes and moved were laid off by Directv over the next 2 years.


----------



## Edmund (Apr 17, 2003)

I see people complaining about the $25 fee for new access cards nowadays. But back then directv would put a $150 block on your credit card, then send out a new one. Once you received the new card you had to ship the old one back. Then directv would credit $60, final cost of the access card $90. Thats why $25 fee seems a bargain to me.


----------



## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

They must have recently increased the price because it's been $20 fro many years. I remember adding a couple of used receivers on my DirecTV account about 8 or 9 years ago and they charged me $50 apiece for new cards. I have never been asked to return a card for any reason.


----------



## jdmac29 (Jan 6, 2006)

I just through out this receiver the other day. Paid like $600 at CC in 1996. I also purchased the self installers kit with it. It was so slow compared to others. I think I have some pics at home somewhere. I still have the owners manuals though.



cartrivision said:


> Old timers did not have DirecTV receivers, we had DSS receivers like this
> one, circa 1994, which was the high end one of the first two receivers that
> were marketed for receiving DirecTV programming. This is the advanced
> model that came with the dual LNB dish. Retail price for the dual LNB dish
> ...


----------



## Blitz68 (Apr 19, 2006)

morgantown said:


> Nah, RCA ruled !


Yup. You gotta love the slow quides on the old RCA's.

Sony ruled


----------



## Busterbear (Jun 7, 2006)

I have a Sony Sat A1 Receiver manufactured in November 1995 and purchased in February 1996. It has an RF remote. It is still in use in our guest bedroom. It gets my locals in the 900 range. Note the invoice price of over $ 700.00

William sandy (Busterbear)

I hope my attachmenst are shown!


----------



## jeffstra (Jun 23, 2006)

Busterbear said:


> I have a Sony Sat A1 Receiver manufactured in November 1995 and purchased in February 1996. It has an RF remote. It is still in use in our guest bedroom. It gets my locals in the 900 range. Note the invoice price of over $ 700.00
> 
> William sandy (Busterbear)
> 
> I hope my attachmenst are shown!


I think I had the same unit. Purchased in August 1995 because THE STUPID RAMS moved to St. Louis and DirecTv and Sunday Ticket debuted in So. Cal. the same year. Even though the unit cost $649.99 plus an addtional $100 for a single LNB dish it was still cheaper than season tickets. Had to have it replaced after a couple of months because the picture would freeze. Watching the US Tennis Open I would see one person hit the ball and then they would freeze but you could still hear the ball and then it would unfreeze just as the ball came back to them they would hit it and it would freeze again. It was like watching a movie from an overly ambitious director. Sony replaced it with overnight FedEx which was unheard of back then. Next unit worked without a hitch.


----------



## stickywicket (Jan 26, 2006)

I had a Sony SAT-A2 in 1996.


----------



## prospect60 (Aug 26, 2006)

jdmac29, that certainly looks like my receiver -- $900 in the Summer 1994 (account # mid 30K). I would have been on board earlier but I waited until the deluxe unit came out with had 2 sets of outputs, dual LNB dish, and a couple other perks). Of course it was self installed using 2 baby monitors to listen for the tone to peak. I used it for 7-8 years before the audio channels went out. 

1st several months my DirecTV bill was $25.90 (upped to $45 after a few months -- I can't remember if they added more channels or I changed to a different plan), plus I got 3 months of USSB for free then paid $34.95/month for everything they had.

So basically after buying my equipment, I was spending $80/month for programming in 1994 dollars for one receiver (150 channels including audio?? but no local networks). My last month's D* bill was $91 for 3 receivers including 2 HR20's (lifetime DVR service paid years ago) getting only the Starz Premium package -- 600+ channels including about 80 HD's including my D*locals + OTA. 

Counting rebates from buying equipment I think I have paid less than $1000 on all the other equipment I've bought over the years (one SD receiver to replace the RCA, 2 SD DirecTivos, h20, HR20 x2, triple LNB dish plus multisw, Slimline + new multiswitch, etc). Of course I have about 2 or 3 pizza dishes, 1 triple LNB, and a couple multiswitches sitting in the attic


----------



## code4code5 (Aug 29, 2006)

I can't believe no one else has mentioned this POS!!! My first DirecTV receiver in early 2002 was a Panasonic HD receiver that I got as a free promo with my Panasonic HD RPTV. This was the most miserable beast of a receiver I could have imagined. The "favorites" list, and there was only one, would allow you to REMOVE twenty-eight channels from the lineup.

Unfortunately this isn't my picture, but it's easily explainable. As soon as the H10 came out, the Panasonic went bye-bye via crow bar. :hurah:

Review of Panasonic DirecTV HD Receiver. This review is HILARIOUS!


----------



## since 2/96 (Feb 7, 2007)

I haven't read thru all the posts but I still have my original but it hasn't been in use for quite some time...

It's a Sony branded DSS Digital Satellite Receiver SAT-B1 that was manufactured in June of 1995.


----------



## crashHD (Mar 1, 2008)

code4code5 said:


> As soon as the H10 came out, the Panasonic went bye-bye via crow bar. :hurah:


how very office space. 
paper jam much?


----------



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

crashHD said:


> how very office space.
> paper jam much?


I was thinking the same thing! :lol:


----------



## jims (Jan 5, 2008)

DRD403RA - first installed feb 96, decomissioned ~2005, just recommissioned for one of my kids rooms.


----------



## crashHD (Mar 1, 2008)

might want to get some stuff off the top of those vents. 

I had 2 RCA units fail on me (circa 2001,2002). Hopefully the older units are made of sterner stuff.


----------



## bobcamp1 (Nov 8, 2007)

I have a Hughes and its dish from Feb. 1997. It only got locals in the 900 range when I was in Raleigh. I'll see if I can look up the model # tonight.

I'm going to drag out the dish and use it for the 72.5 locals later this summer. I can't use the old receiver, though.


----------



## chasmm (May 5, 2008)

I just pulled my oldest receivers out of storage...I've been with DirecTV since 1997...bought my Toshiba equipment at Costco (then Price Club) on a Sunday morning, and had it installed by Sunday night. Due to some weird pricing at Costco, I actually ended up buying a Dual-LNB system (with one receiver) and a single LNB system (with one receiver) rather than the dual-LBN with an extra receiver. The receivers were a Toshiba TSR-202 and a Toshiba TSR-101. 

By-the-way, that extra dish came in handy a few years later when a limb fell from a tree and broke of the LNB arm.

And...I'm still using that same dish. Along with 5 UTVs and 2 DirecTivos. I just put in an HR21-200 and an HR21-700. I'm gradually moving over to HD...


----------



## Phroz (Jul 3, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> Here's one of my (I have 2 ) Hughes HIRD-E1's Silver Edition from 2001 (I think).


The E1 was my first receiver... still in use too.

Except mine isn't the Silver Edition.


----------



## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

mhayes70 said:


> The oldest one I could find that I still have was the RCA DRD420RE. (It is kind of hard to see. Because I took it with my cell phone and no flash.) I am not sure what year it is from. But, the first receiver I had was the Series one receiver. I think that is what it was called from when I got Direct back in 1996.


I had one of those .. I don't have it anymore :lol: I started with a Sony B55 I think or maybe it came next. Went to the little hughes that's been pictured, then TiVo SAT-T60 then the HR10-250 and now an HR20-700 (among others).


----------



## mcbeevee (Sep 18, 2006)

Phroz said:


> The E1 was my first receiver... still in use too.
> Except mine isn't the Silver Edition.


I started out with Hughes receivers. Really miss their remotes...and Turbo-Tune!


----------



## BK EH (Oct 3, 2005)

Sony Sat-B2, 1999.


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

My first receivers were Philips 5353 models. Slower than molasses!!

Previous poster said they might have been rare....if they were I feel bad about tossing 4 of them!


----------



## ddobson (Nov 25, 2003)

Well I don't have it any more and I'm not sure if I have any photos of it. I bought my first receiver in February of 1995 (tax return) and I paid $900 for the system. It was a Sony SAT-A1 with UHF Remote. I drove over 2 hours because this system was hard to find locally. I got it at H.H. Gregg Appliances in Fort Wayne Indiana.

I added a couple other receivers and eventually had to change the dish out to get more feeds. The Sony dish had a cool aiming feature on it with a flashing LED. Once it started flashing you were aimed at the sat. The faster it flashed the better the signal. No listening to sound and no having to a TV outside. It worked GREAT

The receiver had a lot of horsepower for that time. The guide worked much better on the Sony than any other receiver I saw at the time, even 3 or4 years later. I got a top of the line RCA receiver when I added my next one and was never as happy with it as this first Sony. finally in 2003 this receiver was hit by a lightning strike and all of my receivers and dish had to be replaced.

At the time I bought this system, DirecTV had about a millions customers. I can't remember if it was before or after I bought it that they passed that mark.

*And yes, I not only had DirecTV but I had USSB too. Anybody remember them?*

I kept it until I moved shortly after that then I purged all junk.

Here's a PDF to that receiver.

http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/System_Manuals/Sony/Sony_SAT-A1.pdf

P.S. I still know of 1 existing dish from this unit near where I live. Its out by the road. Usually the Sony logo wears off after about 3 years but the dishes were white in color and were not round. They were a little taller than they were wide. Not sure why they did this.

All I know is that until I got a DVR, I NEVER had another receiver as good at that Sony.


----------

