3100 receiver will not acquier signal

[davg]

My 3100 satellite receiver will not acquire satellite signal. It is intermittent but will not lock on. I tried my other receiver with the same connection and it works fine, so that rules out a bad cable. The symptoms is the same as a loose connection and it has to be in the receiver but I just can't find it. Any suggestions? I have had this unit unplugged for some time as I only use it at the cottage. There is no warranty as I own the unit. I have not called my service provider yet. Hope this is the right forum to post this.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

If I had this unit I would open it up and see if you see any caps that have pop there tops if not then ......>

Also if you have a ESR cap tester I would check all of the caps in this unit

[t.j.]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

all the 3100's i have opened up have Nichicon caps in them!
plug in ird, with all connections, turn off using power button of ird! let sit over night! try again in morrow!

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

plug in ird, with all connections, turn off using power button of ird! let sit over night! try again in morrow!

What dose this do for 3100 satellite receiver Please explain

[t.j.]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

if software on the ird is way out of date , you will experience issues like davg is!

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

Thank for the info

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

all the 3100's i have opened up have Nichicon caps in them!
plug in ird, with all connections, turn off using power button of ird! let sit over night! try again in morrow!

Thanks t.j they are Nichicon caps. I will give your suggestion a try nothing to loose. I do have a deactivated 6100 here that will acquire the signal and give me the preview channel??

[t.j.]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

after software updated, do a check switch menu~6~1~1
if ird is dead. could always use a jtag an put the info needed on the 61 from the 31. ie: box keys an cam id!

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

after software updated, do a check switch menu~6~1~1
if ird is dead. could always use a jtag an put the info needed on the 61 from the 31. ie: box keys an cam id!

Thanks again t.j. just saying that the 6100 has been out of service for quite some time since bell replaced them last year,yet it will acquire signal? Got a feeling it is dead. Don't believe you can jtag a 6100?? I will check and see what bell will do for me.

[t.j.]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

your right 61 can not be jtagged! i got some 3100's here will test them to see if they work, no card for them though./ if yours is dead i send ya one of the ones i got! was just going to scalp them for caps! an other odds an sodds. an if need parts to build jtag if ya dont have one i can send ya! might have enough for a buffered tag!

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

your right 61 can not be jtagged! i got some 3100's here will test them to see if they work, no card for them though./ if yours is dead i send ya one of the ones i got! was just going to scalp them for caps! an other odds an sodds. an if need parts to build jtag if ya dont have one i can send ya! might have enough for a buffered tag!

Thanks t.j. no need for that was hoping for a simple fix. Oh will maybe I will upgrade to HD

[t.j.]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

i have a stack of 3100'S. but ya HD is way to go!

[t.j.]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

could also do hard reset!


With your remote control, press:
Menu>6>3>info>Right arrow(browse)>left arrow(theme),then the memory dump will pop up, When on the memory dump page simply hit the tv/video buton to corrupt the memory. unplug ird for 5 minutes. plug it back in~

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

could also do hard reset!


With your remote control, press:
Menu>6>3>info>Right arrow(browse)>left arrow(theme),then the memory dump will pop up, When on the memory dump page simply hit the tv/video buton to corrupt the memory. unplug ird for 5 minutes. plug it back in~

So how would that work if the ird can;t get sat signal to download updates?

[cheebster]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

hehe. i've been messing for ird's for YEARS. if you do a hard reset like he said, and then do a check switch (menu-6-1-1) and it still doesn't find sat signal, make sure your cable is ok, like run a new cable to dish or something...

or try another receiver at the same location with the same cable. if 100% sure signal is ok, it's the tiny sat input chip at the coax input location (under that metal cage, you pop the cover there) that is disconnected from the main board. it's a small QFP maxim chip about 10X10MM square with pins all around.

that chip has a ground pad in the middle of the chip, you can't see that unless you remove the chip. you need to reflow that chip to resolder the ground pad under it...

if you have hot air (a hot air gun tool) you can use that, or a small blow torch if you have that. the trick is to be able to reflow the solder under the chip, you need a lot of heat, but you got to be careful not to kill the chip but applying too much heat. one thing you can use with a blowtorch to avoid burning the chip, is to use a 1 cent piece on the top of it, with a heavy nut about the size of the cent. then reflow.. the weight of the nut will apply enough pressure on the chip to press a bit on it then assure proper contact...

if you're using hot air, you heat untill solder reflows, then apply a bit of pressure using a screwdriver or anything metallic on the chip, then wait about 1-2 minutes with pressure applied for the solder to cool down.

trust me, ive done about 200 of these in the past with the sat signal problem. always been that chip !

sometimes by intermittent connection, tho, those chips can die.. but it doesnt happen that often.

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

hehe. i've been messing for ird's for YEARS. if you do a hard reset like he said, and then do a check switch (menu-6-1-1) and it still doesn't find sat signal, make sure your cable is ok, like run a new cable to dish or something...

or try another receiver at the same location with the same cable. if 100% sure signal is ok, it's the tiny sat input chip at the coax input location (under that metal cage, you pop the cover there) that is disconnected from the main board. it's a small QFP maxim chip about 10X10MM square with pins all around.

that chip has a ground pad in the middle of the chip, you can't see that unless you remove the chip. you need to reflow that chip to resolder the ground pad under it...

if you have hot air (a hot air gun tool) you can use that, or a small blow torch if you have that. the trick is to be able to reflow the solder under the chip, you need a lot of heat, but you got to be careful not to kill the chip but applying too much heat. one thing you can use with a blowtorch to avoid burning the chip, is to use a 1 cent piece on the top of it, with a heavy nut about the size of the cent. then reflow.. the weight of the nut will apply enough pressure on the chip to press a bit on it then assure proper contact...

if you're using hot air, you heat untill solder reflows, then apply a bit of pressure using a screwdriver or anything metallic on the chip, then wait about 1-2 minutes with pressure applied for the solder to cool down.

trust me, ive done about 200 of these in the past with the sat signal problem. always been that chip !

sometimes by intermittent connection, tho, those chips can die.. but it doesnt happen that often.

Thanks cheebster Might give it a try just for the hell of it. The problem is not intermittent any more there is no signal strength at all now.
And doing a hard reset will sometimes fix this problem??? BTW trying another IRD on the same cable works fine.

[cheebster]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

ah so you got signal. my bet on the maxim chip then !

post back when u try it..

a good way to check sat output is simple, use your multimeter on the coax (stick anything in the hole of the coax center pin that you can put your meter positive lead on) and negative on the coax ground, then you should get 13-18v depending on transponders odd/even.. if no 13-18v there, then maxim is the cause as far as my memory goes !

yes ive seen a check switch fix this, but rarely !

something simple ive been doing, take the back of a screwdriver handle and press fairly hard on the maxim chip while ird is running, u'll see sat signal come back when the ground pad is disconnected since you're reconnecting it with pressure..

did that often just to check if it was really the bad connection, always worked

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

Thanks again cheebster I did check the center lead and ground and do get 13-18 volts as a mater of fact as the transponders change from negative to positive so does the voltage. I tried check switch an no go. I have not checked the solder but will. I tried some pressure on that chip but nothing.

[cheebster]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

reflow the chip with heat. you need quite a lot of CONSTANT pressure to get that ground pad to be connected a few seconds for the signal to lock

[davg]

Re: 3100 receiver will not acquier signal

your right 61 can not be jtagged! i got some 3100's here will test them to see if they work, no card for them though./ if yours is dead i send ya one of the ones i got! was just going to scalp them for caps! an other odds an sodds. an if need parts to build jtag if ya dont have one i can send ya! might have enough for a buffered tag!

Thanks t.j I have a 3100 with a Jtag attached but Jkeys is not reading maybe you could give me a quick update on Jtagging the 3100. Its been quite a while?? Might be fun to try again.