# BUG REPORT L186: Can not add or scan DTV



## paulcdavis (Jan 22, 2004)

When trying to add a dtv station the 921 got stuck at the add dtv screen, and when it eventually came out there was no video on the screen and sys info showed smartcard errors.

I then did a smartcard reboot and deleted all OTA channels and then a power cord reboot.

Now Scan DTV finds 1 channel (out of 8) but hangs at the end of the scan with no video and sys info smartcard errors and a reboot is necessary to get video back.

Add DTV to a known good channel shows locked signal strength of 90 but it does not allow the channel to be saved and hangs with no video and smartcard errors until a reboot.


It seems that L186 has completely broken OTA channel scan and add.


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## pbrown (May 23, 2002)

I have the exact same symptoms here, Paul. I've rebooted by various methods at least 10 times. Could everyone who has this problem please post in this thread until we get it figured out? Paul's explaination of the problem is very good, and my experience was EXACTLY the same, except that I normally get 7 channels to his 8.


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## keitheva (Aug 23, 2002)

Same here.

There is clearly a general problem with L186 since many of us have this issue.

Dish - step up to the plate, fix this pronto or revert back to L185 (which was wonderful compared to L186).

Mark - are you communicating this issue to Dish? I don't think each of us individually calling support is going to result in a speedy resolution (not to mention the hours each of us will then spend on the phone).

Cheers,
-Keith


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## pbrown (May 23, 2002)

Well, I now have some good news to report. After leaving my 921 turned off for several hours after a lot of frustration, everything appears to have spontaneously returned to normal. I was able to do a DTV scan and got all my regular channels, and the tuner actually almost seems faster then it did before.

Hopefully it will go this way for everyone who has this problem.

For the record, I had a OTA recording set to go yesterday at about the same time the download began, I was recording the All-Star game. The recording didn't stick at all, but I'm wondering if people who had their OTA tuner active at the time of the download may have been affected worse.

(Of course, could there be a worse time to send a software package then during a large sporting event? I suppose a Game 7 or Super Bowl would be worse, but jeez, maybe take a look at a TV Guide before scheduling these things!)


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## pculley (Dec 23, 2003)

Pbrown, I have the same issues you did (and described them elsewhere). I rebooted over a dozen times over 3.5 hours last night before giving up. I sure hope it comes back to life...


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Working on it...and of course, once again I didn't experience any of these issues when I got L186 - it went smooth as silk for me.


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## paulcdavis (Jan 22, 2004)

As was talked about in another thread, I did a smartcard reboot after a power cord reboot and was then able to use the add dtv function to get 5 stations back. I had to save each one and go back to the system setup - local channels menu each time to try to add another channel. I had to try several times for some of the channels as it would show locked at signal 90 and then not locked at 0 and oscillate back and forth. A few channels that were weak before cannot be locked and added now.


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## DVDDAD (Dec 21, 2002)

I've had no digital OTA at all since L180. This s/w version did not resolve that issue. Dish finally agreed to replace my 921, so I'll report what happens when I get it.


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## BroncoFan7 (Feb 5, 2004)

After my 3rd power cord reboot, it finally stopped saying the date was 12/23 and 1:00 AM at 7 in the evening, and I had a picture again on the screen. I deleted ALL OTA channels, gave up, watched HBO-HD for about an hour, and tried manually adding once more. ALL WENT WELL!

I think the answer is just let the new software sit a couple hours, then scan DTV, or add DTV.

FYI, I still get boxes and breakup on KCNC-DT OTA but with the same antenna on my other HD tuner, it's just fine. My Sony HD tuner picks up more DTV stations than the 921 also.


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## onethree (Jul 4, 2004)

Since 186 have have not been able to view our local WB channel KOCB 34 . It worked fine with 185 but now when adding the channel it shows a singal strength of 125 but it will not always read locked and acquired. Even after I add the channel (when it lets me) it still shows a blank picture and nothing else. My 921 will not even tune in KSBI 52 but my Mit TV tuner gets all of our local DTV without any problem. Why is that?


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## Rodney (Aug 22, 2003)

Same problem here. I resolved it by returning to default settings then manually adding OTA.

Many have suggested that a check mark should be placed by each OTA channel prior to being saved. I have always wondered if this made a difference now I am convinced that it does. While trying to resolve the problems introduced by L186 I returned to default settings a number of times. I noticed that when I added a check mark to each OTA channel prior to saving them they would still be present after a return to default settings. If I did not use the check marks a return to default settings would erase all OTA channels. Clearly the check marks caused the OTA channels to be written to more of a permanent memory location.


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