DM500s Fault / Dead ?

[jonc]

Surely we've all had the zap when handling some LNB cables at one time or another? Imagine what that does to the Dream motherboard....

a 100 volt earth loop is what you are referring to right ..

[Yobbo]

Hi, The power supply is fine, as I`m using the supply from my working dream to power the dead ones, and yes I did try the image you gave me, thank you Jonc. but still nothing, it just seems strange that two diffrent boxes from two diffrent houses have the same problem, I spose on the good side atleast they werent mine, but they do belong to good mates and I dont mind having a look at them to try and get them going again, cheers Yobbo

[jonc]

Hi, The power supply is fine, as I`m using the supply from my working dream to power the dead ones, and yes I did try the image you gave me, thank you Jonc. but still nothing, it just seems strange that two diffrent boxes from two diffrent houses have the same problem, I spose on the good side atleast they werent mine, but they do belong to good mates and I dont mind having a look at them to try and get them going again, cheers Yobbo

Silly questions here sorry, but exactly how are you reflashing them? What do you mean by not working (no serial coms at all, no network, no tuner - no what?) ..

Cheers

[Yobbo]

I am flashing them with a null modem cable using dreamUP, earth cable to gpo, I can get serial coms, and it erases and flashes fine, but all that happens is the green power LED lights up, and nothing else, no picture, nothing other than a green LED showing.

cheers Yobbo

[best4less]

Yobbo have you checked your rca leads
sometimes the most obvious fault is the hardest to find

[z80]

Try selecting the correct TV input ?????

[jonc]

I am flashing them with a null modem cable using dreamUP, earth cable to gpo, I can get serial coms, and it erases and flashes fine, but all that happens is the green power LED lights up, and nothing else, no picture, nothing other than a green LED showing.

cheers Yobbo

And when you press the power button it goes RED or stays green only with no change?

If it changes from green to red then as the chaps above said it is a Video in/out issue, so if you have correct AV set on your TV try using your SCART to AV cable to try it one.

Many of the clones do go dry joint on the AV sockets ..

[LeroyPatrol]

Noone really knows, we suspect it's a spike or static discharge path etc.

But if you do it you have less problems than if you don't.

Bear in mind that the TV may be live chassis, the sound system may also be at another potential and the common earth is via the RCA video/audio leads and the lnb cable to maybe a disceq switch on a tin roof....the possibilities are endless. a tin roof unearthed can make a decent stray voltage.

The result is the flash ram and the tuner circuits stuff up.
If you are lucky it will be a simple reflash, if not then some components are stuffed in say...the tuner or LNB drive section.

In previous threads there was a fix for a transistor q571?
On the main pcb near the rear of the IR sensor of the box is where it all seems to fall apart when the tuner won't lock.
Other times the psu regulator gets zapped.

Surely we've all had the zap when handling some LNB cables at one time or another? Imagine what that does to the Dream motherboard....

Thanks for that.

Leroy

[Yobbo]

Yes I have checked the AV connections, the only thing I get is a green LED (power on LED) and nothing else.

I can not turn it off with the power button on the front or the remote, I can not get anything other than a green LED.

When I used dreamUP to connect via serial with the LAN cable I can ping the I.P but I cannot telnet to it, I have tired everything, flashing by the serial with the LAN cable connected and without. When it connects with both the serial and LAN, ( Which shows me the I.P) I can not connect to it via DCC.

I have tried RCA and SCART ( I removed them from my working box)

so in short I get nothing but a green LED thats all

seems strange that in 1 week I get two boxes that fail in the same manner, each box is from a diffrent mate diffrent part of town.

Cheers Yobbo

[jonc]

Yes I have checked the AV connections, the only thing I get is a green LED (power on LED) and nothing else.

I can not turn it off with the power button on the front or the remote, I can not get anything other than a green LED.

When I used dreamUP to connect via serial with the LAN cable I can ping the I.P but I cannot telnet to it, I have tired everything, flashing by the serial with the LAN cable connected and without. When it connects with both the serial and LAN, ( Which shows me the I.P) I can not connect to it via DCC.

Of course you will never connect in this manner, via DCC as flashup is giving an IP address with the aid of the serial connection (proxy).

So after you have just flashed it with serial only (no LAN - 8 minutes later) and then powered off and on the box after it tells you it is finished, you still only have a green light and no other on screen action at all nor does the standby button work?

seems strange that in 1 week I get two boxes that fail in the same manner, each box is from a diffrent mate diffrent part of town.

Cheers Yobbo

same brand of clone I suspect ..

[Yobbo]

Yes flashed with dreanup serial only 8 min and power removed them plugged back in, the green LED is the only thing I get, I can not get it into standby and nothing happens when I press the standby button, just the green LED stays on.

Cheers Ian

[jonc]

Yes flashed with dreanup serial only 8 min and power removed them plugged back in, the green LED is the only thing I get, I can not get it into standby and nothing happens when I press the standby button, just the green LED stays on.

Cheers Ian

Well it has me, as to flash it, it has to identify the box by serial in your case DM500 and this is obviously working.

If it is flashing the box by serial and writing the flash to RAM with red lights flashing when this is being done (you checked this right) and tells you it has been been done (you did flash erase right) it has to have some on screen display one would think.

New clone mother boards are only AUD 50 from China, go get a few and swap them.

[z80]

After you have flashed it it is most likely looking for some responses to configuration questions so will not acknowledge a soft shutdown button.


Flash it with a fully installed image to match your lnb frequency.
Or get another box, back up the image and flash that box with it.

You may have snapped the center conductor to the video on the RCA connector on the main board, or a dry joint, have seen that.

If you put on a backed up image you will know the IP if the source was a static IP, then you can go to the ip with a web browser, and do a control screen shot.

I betcha it will work.

[LeroyPatrol]

maybe get a scart lead and use that instead of the composite out. scart to RGB/Component/composite/svhs to confirm the composite out is not faulty. But I find it hard to believe that both boxes would go faulty as the same time with the same fault.

Leroy

[jonc]

But I find it hard to believe that both boxes would go faulty as the same time with the same fault.

Leroy

No I have seen it with one of the first clone brands from the PRC called STREAMBOX from about 24 months ago .. but with different issues in the tuners.