Anybody Got Tbs Card To View Pls Channels On 13E?

[Vipersan]

Well ..I think I have my answer ..and it ain't pretty
It looks like the TBS6925 card is faulty..
I ran up dvbviewer ...and tried to lock a qpsk channel ...it locked no probs and I got a picture.
I then tried an 8psk fta channel ....nothing ..
No picture..so back to crazyscan ..
Sure enough I can'y get any 8psk channels to lock ..fta or otherwise..
looks like the demod chip has gone tits up..
Just my luck ..
£160 down the pan ..
Do I save up for another..?
to say I'm gutted would be an understatement.
A lot of money if its that unreliable.
cest la vie.
off now for a sulk
rgds
VS

 

[Llew]

That's sad VS if that indeed is the problem. Will it lock a DVB-S2 QPSK channel as opposed to a DVB-S one?

 

[hvdh]

Vipersan I'm having a hard time believing that! Is 8PSK demodulation using different components?
Sooner I would believe your LNB is faulty, like the LNB causes too much phase noise for 8PSK.
Or still, some driver problem.

If it's really a hardware fault, would try to get it repaired or replaced anyway, regardless of warranty.
Things like mechanical damage, or faults because of short circuit is a different thing.

 

[Hixxy1]

Well ..I think I have my answer ..and it ain't pretty
It looks like the TBS6925 card is faulty..
I ran up dvbviewer ...and tried to lock a qpsk channel ...it locked no probs and I got a picture.
I then tried an 8psk fta channel ....nothing ..
No picture..so back to crazyscan ..
Sure enough I can'y get any 8psk channels to lock ..fta or otherwis

e..
looks like the demod chip has gone tits up..
Just my luck ..
£160 down the pan ..
Do I save up for another..?
to say I'm gutted would be an understatement.
A lot of money if its that unreliable.
cest la vie.
off now for a sulk
rgds
VS

Hi VS.
There can be several things affecting your card.
It sounds as if it's the tuner-can. Possibly some surface mount caps that supply or isolate the lnb power have gone dry.
Failing that maybe the computer psu isn't kicking out enough juice.

Edit:
There's a company called MCES that are very good at repairing tuners but sometimes you've got to think is it viable. I think we used to pay £15 for basic tuner repairs ranging from afc faults to replacing the ic controlers.

 

[Vipersan]

my last hope software wise ..is to build yet another clean OS ..from an image I took some while back when the card was fully functioning...and older bda drivers were installed ..
This will at least eliminate the driver as a posibility..
LVDH ..no way it can be the lnb ...
works fine on all receivers in my collection ..plus the tbs card behaves exactly the same on the TD110 ..with another lnb in play..
Logically it cannot be the signal source..

Yes ..I guess it could be pc psu but I don't have another one to try atm
More likely the fault is within the demodulation chip ...or indeed tuner itself.
Again ..not much chance of getting it fixed in the UK ..
the chips ..one of which is a minature bga device ..a nightmare to change won't be readily available...and MCES I used myself back in the day ..no longer exist.
A useful company based in Manchester...but a victim of the throw away world we now inhabit.
No visible s/m capacitors on this pcb to change ..
From experience bga chips are the most likely source of trouble.
Dry jointed connections underneath ..and irepairable without the solder ball mask ..and special soldering equipment.
I'm guessing if the TBS card is truely damaged ..as I currently suspect it is ..
Only returning it to the factory in which it was made would be a viable repair option..and would likely cost as much as replacing it.
rgds
VS

 

[Captain Jack]

Maybe get in touch with the vendors or card manufacturers and see if they will replace it?

 

[Vipersan]

Run out of ideas now ..
Tried a clean instal of XP ..
Borrowed the PSU from my server...
Tried the second pcie slot in my pc..
Tried multiple lnb/dish combo's
Sadly non of these hardware/software changes will fix the problem..
The conclusion is that either the pc motherboard is somehow preventing the demodulation of anything greater than QPSK ...or the card is indeed faulty.
The Irony is that the tuner can still resolve and display the constellations of 8psk 16psk etc...but data from these constellations cannot be demodulated and resolved.
Ie the tuner itself (front end) is working ok ..but demodulation and signal processing is not
I bought my card around
16 July 2011
So I have no recourse to get it changed under warranty..
I guess I either save up for a replacement ...(best part of £200) ...or do without.
cest la vie
Somebody up there hates my guts.

 

[nelson_b]

hi vipersan --this chap used to work at M.C.E.S. and has a small workshop in - Sale - doing the same type of work his website link here ---- -http://sers.me.uk

cheers nelson.b.

 

[Vipersan]

A nice Idea Nelson ..but I suspect it may be a first for him ..and he wont neccessarily have parts in stock for this type of -custom- tuner..
The main processing chip for example has approx 120 pins and located inside the tuner itself..not on the pcb.
Not exactly accessible ..and unlikly the tuner is an off the shelf item.
Not impossible to repai r with the right gear ..but a job I personally wouldn't take on for less than £100 ...and I have some experience of such things.
Which makes me wonder ..repairing would cost over half that of replacing imo.
btw ..you should mod your link ...before you get a warning..
cheers buddy
VS

 

[purplemarina]

Tjexcalibur was selling was selling one, although it was nearly a year ago (page 2 of the classifieds) he may be worth a try ?

 

[Vipersan]

Tjexcalibur was selling was selling one, although it was nearly a year ago (page 2 of the classifieds) he may be worth a try ?

I've sent TJ a pm regarding this ..but the listing is very old..so not getting my hopes up
Guarantee would now be void anyway.
..never actually closed it though..
It can't hurt to ask.
rgds
VS

 

[Analoguesat]

Dry jointed connections underneath ..and irepairable without the solder ball mask ..and special soldering equipment.

Possibly not irreparable

Theres a similar problem with the formatter boards of certain HP network laser printers. (Mainly 2015dn's) The joints go dry under one of the complicated units on the board thanks to poor quality solder.

The fix is to bake it in the over for 10 minutes or so!

If you google baking hp formatter boards or hp 2015 formatter board problems you will find the temperatures and times - numerous folks have reported success.

The secret is to get it warm enough to reflow the solder but not so hot you do any damage.

I saw it done at work this summer & it fixed the failed 2015.

YMMV of course - you wouldnt want to try this if is got low temperature plastic components on the board.

 

[BlindFaith]

Well ..I think I have my answer ..and it ain't pretty
It looks like the TBS6925 card is faulty..
I ran up dvbviewer ...and tried to lock a qpsk channel ...it locked no probs and I got a picture.
I then tried an 8psk fta channel ....nothing ..
No picture..so back to crazyscan ..
Sure enough I can'y get any 8psk channels to lock ..fta or otherwise..
looks like the demod chip has gone tits up..

Probably the DVB-S2 Demodulator.. ..Now I use the USB box 5925 but before I had the PCIe version 6925 which was replaced 3 times cos of a broken demod! After that TBS Germany wouldn't take the risk anymore and we agreed to the 5925 replacement. It always started on wideband DVB-S2 transponders. The BER suddenly jumped up followed by lots of errors. After power off and a short waiting period the card worked ok again. But it got worse until DVB-S2 ceased to work completely. Constellation diagrams can be still ok.
Ask your dealer for replacement!!

 

[Lazarus]

Sounds like good advice, Blind Faith: In such cases, UK Consumer Rights can extend up to six years, not withstanding the original Warranty.

Mind you, the onus is on VS to prove "Lack of Conformity"

_http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

 

[Llew]

Sounds like good advice, Blind Faith: In such cases, UK Consumer Rights can extend up to six years, not withstanding the original Warranty.

Mind you, the onus is on VS to prove "Lack of Conformity"

_http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

Shouldn't have thought that would apply in VS's case tivu, it would have been bought from a non-UK source.

 

[Lazarus]

That's a shame - time to send round the heavies, then.

 

[Vipersan]

Agreed guys ..it may well be that an item bought from a UK supplier might be covered ...but this Island Nation is notorious for not extending rights..
Typical example being the 12 month warranty on such goods bought in the UK ..for example an LCD TV..
The same set sold in the rest of Europe automayically is covered for 2 years..
Another example of this was a neighbour of mine who received a brand new Sony video Walkman for long service ..as a gift.
just outside the 12 month warranty period the internal battery ceased to hold charge longer than 3 minutes..
We went to great lengths to try and get this fixed ...even sending a letter explaining the circumstances to Sony HQ ..
Their answer was to returm the unit to them as batteries were not available to buy or replace by anyone other than Sony..but since it was now out of warranty ..by about a month ..there would be a £73.95p charge for this repair ..non negotiateable..
She hasn't used it since ..and it now lies unused in a drawer.
Maybe one day ..batts will become available for this model ..as they have for older models ..
Not from Sony of course...but the Chinese realising there was a gap to fill ...filled it.
This is very much like the IPOD battery scandle in the US ..which resulted in a class action law suit..
and the HP laptop scandle again in the US ...which saw many laptops returned for repair when gpu failed ..again after legal proceedings.
No such thing here of course...its the island nation thing again..
Like it ..or lump it...
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Probably the DVB-S2 Demodulator.. ..Now I use the USB box 5925 but before I had the PCIe version 6925 which was replaced 3 times cos of a broken demod! After that TBS Germany wouldn't take the risk anymore and we agreed to the 5925 replacement. It always started on wideband DVB-S2 transponders. The BER suddenly jumped up followed by lots of errors. After power off and a short waiting period the card worked ok again. But it got worse until DVB-S2 ceased to work completely. Constellation diagrams can be still ok.
Ask your dealer for replacement!!

This answer is particularly interesting BF ...and since I'm unlikely to get a replacement I have nothing to lose by attempting a repair..
Is there any more info out there on this issue ..specifically the cause of the failure and likely suspicious components..
If for example suspicion falls on capacitors within the tuner itself..maybe I could strip it down and replace these ..
Chip failure is another matter however ..and would require more invasive surgery..
Non of this I would attempt until all other avenues of enquiry have been exhausted.

The other interesting point you make is regarding the USB version of this card .
Does it have ALL the features of the pcie card ..
Would I be losing _anything_ if I chose this as a replacement?
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

This is the message I just sent attached to my email invoice from BuyDVB
You never know ..
Fingers crossed
X

>>>>>
Hello I wonder If you can help me regarding the TBS6925 pcie satellite card Purchased from you last year ..details of which are below this message.
It would appear my card has developed a demodulator problem in that 8PSK and S2 can no longer be accessed..
I'm told this is a known issue regarding the card.
DVBQPSK remain unaffected but 8PSK and above do not work.
This was an expensive purchase and certainly I expected to get much longer trouble free use out of it..
Can it be repaired ...?
If not would it be posible to get a discounted replacement ?
You can follow discussions on this issue at satellites.co.uk where I am a long time member and avid DXer ..alias Vipersan
There is a section there dedicated to PC satellite card use.
Awaiting your reply

 

[Lazarus]

Excellent approach, VS.

Excellent.