6100 Troubleshooting

[justincredible5]

Hi, and thanks for having me as a member.

Over a year ago, I purchased 4 BEV 6100 receivers at an auction. They came with no cards in the slot. They sat in my basement for the last year until this week when I decided to subscribe to Bell, finally.

Unfortunately, the sales rep at Bell told me that the receivers were basically no good, as I need to buy smart cards and even then they may not work because of some reason or another, like maybe a firmware update.

I don't believe them. We on the internet are a resourceful bunch and I'm sure someone on here has been in the same boat i'm in.
Can anyone offer any guidance on how to get two or three of these receivers working once I've subscribed to expressvu?

Thanks and take care.

[scrooloose]

You will need to buy new smart cards, but they should work. There are plenty of 6100's still out there. The 6000 receivers no longer work though.

-Mike

[admin]

I don't believe them

Well, believe them. The Receiver is of no use without Smart Cards.

[Pinza]

If you can view the free channels, 198 etc then you should be just fine.

Leave them connected to the sat signal and turn them off to allow the receivers to update to the newest firmware, after that Bell should activate them and send you out new cards in the mail. They might charge you for cards.

[lightningflik]

Exactly what Pinza said, the reason why the rep probably said that was because you need a firmware update first on your receiver. It's useless in buying a smartcard that won't even work if your firmware isn't updated or can't.

[angederek]

Hello new to forum I just installed a 6100 hd receiver myself. When I turned it on it said I had a signal strength of 76. When it goes to download programing it just does nothing, was on all night. Called Bell, they tried to help but are sending a tech. My question is about the cable I ran, R6 from satellite to hd box, from box to receiver hdmi cable, hdmi cable to tv, if in the opening screen the receiver has asignal strength I am assuming the cable is fine and problem in receiver. Any thoughts?

[Pinza]

Firstly if it is a 6100 you cannot be connecting an HDMI cable on the back without an adapter, the 6100 does not have an HDMI port. I am guesing you have a 6131/6141 or are connecting via DVi to HDMI on the TV.

Are you referring to the receiver downloading the "Guide" or being activated.?

A receiver needs to be switched OFF to download the Guide overnight.

[dosborne]

Originally Posted by angederek

When I turned it on it said I had a signal strength of 76.

Which satellite and which transponder? Did you run a "check switch"? It is possible that you are not correctly receiving the signal for firmware updates.

Originally Posted by angederek

My question is about the cable I ran, R6 from satellite to hd box,

I assume you mean RG6 cable . Running a cable from the satellite to the hd box could be expensive since the satellite is 22,000 miles high LOL, I assume you mean from the dish to the receiver You make no mention of which switch you installed.

Originally Posted by angederek

from box to receiver hdmi cable,

Not sure what you mean by "box" here.

Originally Posted by angederek

if in the opening screen the receiver has asignal strength I am assuming the cable is fine and problem in receiver.

Depends on the sat/transponder. Also depends on if you ran "check switch".

[mckbeth]

I have had a 6100 for several years, but just got around to buying the HDTV.
Question - Do I use the DVI/HDTV/DISH DVI oulet to hook up to the tv, if so, is there a connector available for that type to connection to a HDMI cable?

Thanks to anyone in advance ...

[Pinza]

You can go from the DVi output to an HDMI input on the TV but that will still only give you the Video, you will still need Audio. For Audio you can use the Optical output of the 6100, to feed 5.1 to the TV, then the problem might be that the TV is expecting Video & Audio from the HDMI and there might be no way to tell the TV to expect Audio input from an optical source.

I would be tempted to use Component Cables for the Video & Red/White Composite for Stereo to the TV and use Optical to a Receiver for Surround Sound.

[Jaygeetee]

The cable you need has a male DVI to connect to the 6100 and an HDMI connector on the other end. This cable should be readily available on line.
You'll get the same quality HD video with component cables...more readily available anywhere.

[van]

Do i need a new smart card to activate my 6100? (I know this receiver has integrated smart card.)
I ask the question because i called bell two times to activate my second receiver but my receiver is never activated. Why? I'm sure all info are given correctly to Bell technician.

[Pinza]

All 6100 models require a Smart Card now, so the short answer is YES.

[van]

Thank you for your answer

That means the guy who was trying to activate my receiver does not know anything about the new smart card! He even ask me to give him the old number on my machine ....and tell me "your receiver should be activated in 20 minutes"!! Even the installing guy does the same thing...he recorded the old smart card number and forward to the Bell center!! It really sucks...

[Pinza]

There is a very small caveat, an internal chip which starts S0459***** should be OK.

Chances are, if you ask someone at Bell, they will send you a new card.