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stevebrtx

Oct 13, 2010, 7:36 AM

Post #1 of 3 (1979 views)

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ShawDirect DSR209 Adventure

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Just had an interesting adventure with a ShawDirect DSR209 receiver just in case anyone else ever has the same problem.

It was purchased from Best Buy CA and brought down. The dish on the casita is a 60CM and should never be in MX, the alignment is so critical I did the fine tuning by tightening or loosening mounting bolts a quarter turn to torque the dish ever so slightly. I was getting 16-20 signal strength on the setup screen with an older 207 receiver. The new one started at signal strength 11 and that was it, or less. After trying realignment of the dish I moved it to the larger 75CM dish on the main house which normally gets 35-40 strength, but still only 11.

I contacted my provider in CA, not ShawDirect, but my interface and he gave me a magic procedure to bring up a hidden screen which allowed a "Factory Reset" which is; Options on the remote, System Setting, System Settings again, then 9988 which brings up the #6 Factory reset option, then Confirm and it totally wipes clean the receiver and resets to factory new and shuts down the box.

After doing that twice I started getting full strength and the shopping channel. The next day they "reset" at the Canadian end and I started getting all channels, but no data. After trying everything I could I again contacted them and he said I was being too impatient, it takes 30 min to an hour after a reset to download the data, that was about noon. At 3pm still no data and the next procedure was to "flush the guide" which we scheduled for this morning. It's apparently an on screen procedure he was going to walk me though by phone.

However about 6pm last evening the "miracle of Riberas" happened and data finally was downloaded and the receiver became fully functional after 4 days of total frustration at the possibility of having to return the receiver to Canuckland.

The bottomline to the story is that there are some hidden screens and procedures that can be done if these receivers lock up as this one was from the factory. And whatever you do, DO NOT bring a 60cm dish down here, I got my 75cm from CP-Electronics in Guad, Charles was most accommodating.
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johanson / Moderator

Oct 13, 2010, 11:39 AM

Post #2 of 3 (1960 views)

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Re: [stevebrtx] ShawDirect DSR209 Adventure

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Sorry Steve, that I didn't warn you. Remember folks Star Choice or now Shaw Direct has two sizes of dishes, the 75 E which is 26.5 by 36.5 inches side to side (elliptical of course) and the smaller 60 E dish which is simply too small for signals this far south. Now the 60 E has its' own 60 E Quad LNB as does the 75 E dish have its own 75 E Quad LNB.

I would presume but do not know that because each sized dish has its' own unique LNB that they are not interchangeable.

And yes, there are a lot of things you can do with your remote that aren't in the instruction manuals. By the way, having a real address in Canada, I also have a Shaw Direct on line account and any time I need a re-hit, I can so order on line.

And as a snowbird, I have called from as far south as Central America asking dish pointing advice, and told the tech folks where I was vacationing. However, I could not officially live in Central America or Mexico full time and officially have a Canadian account.

Being a snowbird who goes North to BC and WA in the summer does have it's advantages, especially if the sun is out, something that happens a few days each summer on Vancouver Island, and in Seattle (the two places I go, when up north).

If you don't have a legal or real account, it's probably best only to talk to your supplier, not directly to the techs at Shaw.

stevebrtx

Oct 13, 2010, 12:02 PM

Post #3 of 3 (1955 views)

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Re: [johanson] ShawDirect DSR209 Adventure

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Pete, I was aware of the dish size, the small one was an existing dish on the casita, the new one I added was the larger. I work through a middle man and don't know, not sure I want to know, how I'm listed with ShawDirect. I am legal per se and so it's not a stacked acct etc. and normally, until now, I didn't need a reset, they are great people and all I do is email and they hit the button and they have helped me through these past days a whole bunch. All in all, other than boring commercials and lots of reruns, I prefer ShawDirect to Dish hands down and of course still get the most important thing, NASCAR (although again, boring commercials). And of course if my blood pressure is too high I tune in the Curling Channel, all curing, all the time?
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