No joy with new BF unit

**jmc96** · 29-11-08, 01:46 AM

Doesn't hurt to check. No she's right. Good reason to keep the cover I guess. It's gotta be my mini. Gotta be.
I've even loaded up Server 2003 into VMware. I read here that someone had problems with XP. It runs OK from the server side, but no response.

**LeroyPatrol** · 29-11-08, 09:22 AM

jmc,

Here's the cct I used which uses a single max232 chip. You don't need the buffer chip (but I am a fan of leds so you can see what's going on). As mentioned above, the DB9 on the left of the page has pins 4,6,and 8 connected (use a straight through cable) and the cap on pin 6 and pin 15 are grounded.

Leroy

**fandtm666** · 29-11-08, 09:42 AM

i dont think its the season that is the issue be cause he has mentioned the led showing the traffic etc ,as for a straight through cable ?? why use one at all he is useing a bf unit and mentioned it is mounted internally so the season plugs straight into the bf unit.

i personally prefer using the hex buffer and my units speak for themselves.

Now back to the issues

1: he can log in to the unit and i have looked at the screen shots and they look to be set correctly.

2: also it looks as the correct details have been added to greywolf.

so what i would do now to start eliminating problems so as the culprit can be found

1: setup gw and use a standard season and test to see if it fires

if ok then

2: connect mini with straight through cable and no bf unit

if ok

3: the issue is with the bf unit and more than likely a port issue
because i have attempted to log into the unit via remote and can not get in thus meaning the port has not been forwarded

**LeroyPatrol** · 29-11-08, 09:49 AM

I thought I'd post what I did since he mentioned he was planning on building another internal season over the weekend. I missed the bit about the BF mounted internally hence mentioning the straight through cable.

Also jmc just for info I had been running GW on Windows XP with no service pack in a VM since earlier this year.

Leroy

**z80** · 29-11-08, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by fandtm666

he is useing a bf unit and mentioned it is mounted internally

I can't see where he posted that...else I wouldn't have mentioned it.

Originally Posted by fandtm666

so the season plugs straight into the bf unit.

More reason to not use the open collector hex buffer.

(o/c outputs are used to minimize transmission line effects due to long cable lengths)

**fandtm666** · 29-11-08, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by z80

I can't see where he posted that...else I wouldn't have mentioned it.

Originally Posted by jmc96

I might build another one over the WE, wouldn't hurt. I'll post up a pic of my setup when my daughter gets the camera back. It's all self contained inside the hummie, power included.
.

pretty sure that phrase mentions its internal

**jmc96** · 29-11-08, 09:03 PM

Ahh Ha. Starting to get somewhere. I was going over everything for the thousandth time and gave the season another push into the BF and blow me down, I had some comms, eh? The operative word is SOME. For the first time I saw some EMM/ECM activity in GW and you wouldn't believe how excited I was. No you wouldn't!. It appears to be a fault in the DB9 connector on the the BF unit itself. As I wiggle the season to a certain spot the comms start going off their head. I'm about to dismantle the BF from the STB to see if I can see anything physically/visually wrong with the connector.
Fandtm, I think I got the port forwarding in the 2Wire sorted as well.

**z80** · 30-11-08, 12:39 AM

Originally Posted by jmc96

Ahh Ha. Starting to get somewhere. I was going over everything for the thousandth time and gave the season another push into the BF and blow me down, I had some comms, eh? The operative word is SOME. For the first time I saw some EMM/ECM activity in GW and you wouldn't believe how excited I was. No you wouldn't!. It appears to be a fault in the DB9 connector on the the BF unit itself. As I wiggle the season to a certain spot the comms start going off their head. I'm about to dismantle the BF from the STB to see if I can see anything physically/visually wrong with the connector.
Fandtm, I think I got the port forwarding in the 2Wire sorted as well.

that would be a first, more than likely you are resetting one of the control lines, or you have a bad connection somewhere.

**jmc96** · 30-11-08, 01:30 AM

yeah, ATM it looks like a bad connection between the bf and mini. I need a vise to keep them solidly connected. The hex bolts are not cutting it.
I've got no problems with the mini direct to com 4.
.

**jmc96** · 01-12-08, 11:25 PM

Well bugga me, I found the prick. All sorted.
In other posts I stated that if I pushed hard on the MINI I got some comms. Well, as it turns out, During the physical install I cut all of the BF's shroud off but the underbelly. I figured I could use that for attaching it to a metal bracket I made up to make it nice and secure inside the Hum. It turns out that one of the self tappers was making just the slightest contact with one pins of the db connector where it's soldered to the BF mainboard. That pin had to also be the wrong pin out of nine to be shorting out.
I was at my wits end. I was dismantling the unit to send it off to one of our great learnerd friends this morning when I noticed a very close proximity of the self tapper to the BF board. Once more I connected the BF unit up with all the shroud removed and I tell you what, all the lights going off was sweeter than my christmas tree in all it's glory.
How unlucky eh? . Some would see it another way, I'll call it unlucky for now.
Finally, I must give a great big kiss to z80 and fandtm for all their help and patience in keeping with me all the way to a positive end result.

Regards
jmc96