# Information: 921 is Dead...or is it? (Always check your cables!)



## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

After two timers failed to fire tonight, I got suspicious and did a soft boot using the front panel power button. The receiver comes back up showing the "Limited Edition DishNetwork Commemorative HDTV Medallion" and then the 678 "Acquiring data from satellite. Please wait..." screen - green power lght and blue HD output lights are on.

And it stays that way for way too long - maybe 10 minutes - and then the screen goes black - and stays that way. No response to the remote.

I wait 15 minutes then press the Info button on the receiver front panel which brings up the Sysinfo screen. Enter disposes it and The Menu button brings up the menu screen and I can navigate the menus. No video. Power off then Power on with the front panel power button. Now there's no blue light and the receiver is unresponsive to the front panel buttons. Still no video.

Another soft boot - same thing. Now I unplug the unit for a hard boot and it comes up the same way again. Dead.

Now I go into serious Sherlock mode. First try PVR functions. Okay I can play back a recorded program using the front panel buttons to navigate. Hmmm... must be a tuner issue. Do I have a dead tuner? Let's look at 'Aim Dish' and maybe run a check switch. Check switch is slooooow... Input one takes forever, Input 2 stops at 20 out of 34. Final result. Tuner 2 is okay, tuner 1 is Port1:X da nada. Okay time to switch the input cables from the switch to see if it's the tuner or the signal from the dish.

I reach behind the receiver to unscrew the F connectors and... hmmm... isn't that strange? Input 1's cable has pulled loose from the F connector!

Grab a new F connector and my crimping tool. Recrimp and reattach cable. Run check switch. Looks good. Still no video.

Soft boot via smart card... and voila! All is back to normal. :hurah:

What a relief. We've gotten a little gun shy haven't we? 

Now I have gotten to see first hand just how completely NUTS the 921 gets when it has sat input to only one tuner.

.....G


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## jsanders (Jan 21, 2004)

Good story! I give it "two thumbs up!"

I will make sure to look at the cables if mine starts to completely wig out!


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## the_tx_dude (Jan 26, 2004)

Last nite my 921 completely locked up as I was watching a sat channel and as the end of an OTA timer that did not fire was approaching. I received the error screen saying OTA recording cannot change channel. Tried to delete the unfired OTA timer multiple times and multiple ways. Finally tried smart card reboot and went thru circular silver dish screen to acquiring info from sat screen and then just black screen. Tried two more times before going to bed. Got up this morning and unplugged. I suppose I should plug in and go thru the check cables and check switch routine when I get home.

Can't always assume its the 921 I guess.


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## jcord51 (Feb 1, 2003)

Imagin the poor guy who still has 12:00 flashing on his VCR trying to troubleshoot a 921.


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

jcord51 said:


> Imagin the poor guy who still has 12:00 flashing on his VCR trying to troubleshoot a 921.


Yep. I sometimes think that the folks in the Manhattan Project would be scratching their heads about this device. :grin:


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

Well, I missed the new episode of West Wing completely 

But, hey I bet troubleshooting the 921 was a lot more exciting than the show would have been. 

.....G


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## the_tx_dude (Jan 26, 2004)

guruka said:


> Well, I missed the new episode of West Wing completely
> 
> But, hey I bet troubleshooting the 921 was a lot more exciting than the show would have been.
> 
> .....G


Well I have troubleshooting to look forward to when I get home from work. I am not looking forward to the wife saying "What now?", "What is wrong with this thing?", "That's what happens when programming is outsourced", etc. etc.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

I can't tell you how much my west coast feeds of NBC and FOX have saved me. (Although I had my first glitch that cost me a recording last night. Tried to record King of Queens of CBS-HD last night, but it said that length of the recording was 0 seconds).

Oh well. Everything else fired OK last night though, so it looks like an isolated glitch (I was recording another show at the same time AND watchign a recorded HD program so I WAS taxing the unit)


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

BobMurdoch said:


> I can't tell you how much my west coast feeds of NBC and FOX have saved me. (Although I had my first glitch that cost me a recording last night. Tried to record King of Queens of CBS-HD last night, but it said that length of the recording was 0 seconds).
> 
> Oh well. Everything else fired OK last night though, so it looks like an isolated glitch (I was recording another show at the same time AND watchign a recorded HD program so I WAS taxing the unit)


Oh yeah - multiple network feeds = good.

Please post in: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=23912
regarding the 0 sec recording - just so they know I'm not alone 

I regularly record 2 shows and watch a 3rd from disk, and sometimes even have one of the dumb Linux games running all at the same time - the 921 handles it fine.


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

BobMurdoch said:


> I can't tell you how much my west coast feeds of NBC and FOX have saved me.



Yeah, I get three time zones too. I have the weekly timer set to record the 7PM EST feed and that timer didn't fire so I set a once-only timer to get the 8 PM OTA MST one and THAT didn't fire, so I figgered okay, I'll record the 9 PM PST feed. . . black screen.

hehe... finished troubleshooting and repair around midnight.

.....G


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

After the first two failed, I would have just watched it live.........


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

BobMurdoch said:


> After the first two failed, I would have just watched it live.........


Yeah, me too, but my wife was asleep already and I was trying to record it for her. A very gracious forum member here dumped the show to disc and mailed it to me. 'twas very kind.

.....G


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