501 Remote Control Failure ?

[toddjb]

Anyone seen this one before.....


Came home and the remote batts appeared dead (no lights on display when pushing buttons).

Replaced batteries and the top four white buttons all lit up (SAT, TV, VCR & AUX)....and that's it. Does not control my 501.

Took the batteries out, lights went out. Also realized that all I have to do is replace the 2 batts on the right side to get the lights to come on...and stay on.

Anyway, is my remote dead?
Has anyone seen this or is there a way to RESET the remote?


Thanks in advance for any tips,
-todd

[JosephF]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is your receiver address set to something other than 1?

Depending on how long the batteries were out of the remote, the remote address could have defaulted back to this.

[jayn_j]

I had something similar hapen a few months ago. I called DISH and was told to take the batteries out and hold the SAT button down for 1 minute and then relace the batteries. This apparantly resets the processor in the remote.

[toddjb]

I had something similar hapen a few months ago. I called DISH and was told to take the batteries out and hold the SAT button down for 1 minute and then relace the batteries. This apparantly resets the processor in the remote.


Thanks! I'll try that now.


Either way I paniced last night and bought a 2nd remote on Ebay for $26. Figured it is good to have another either way since one of my receivers goes to multiple TVs.

-todd

[toddjb]

Nope....SAT button reset didn't work.

I tried it with the batteries out AND with the batteries in.



Is there any mode in the remote that should behave this way?
Perhaps a battery indication or maybe it got reset and this is the out of the box
setup mode? Does not seem to respond to button presses.

[HTguy]

I have succesfully reset remotes from various manufacturers by removing the batteries and holding in the POWER button for 10-15 secs to drain the vestigial memory. Holding in the SAT button should accomplish the same thing but you never know. Some people push & hold every single button with the batteries removed.

If it could be a Remote Address problem, try pulling the card & checking the SYSTEM INFO screen. If it's not "0" type the actual # on the keypad & push the "REC" button.

You could also have a "stuck" mode button in which case you could try pushing & releasing them one by one.

[Jacob S]

I would say in this case that a stuck mode button is more likely the issue. Dish has told me a good while back with this same type of remote (probably 3 or so years ago) to hold down on the power button for 15 or 30 seconds (something like this, I forget exactly how long) with the batteries out to reset the remote.

[Bob Haller]

Buy trhe syatem warranty, wait 31 days and call E they will send you a new remote for shipping only, and likely tell you to trash your old one.

If you own a PVR you MUST have the warranty! Hard drives being mechanical failall the time...

[Jacob S]

I will back Bob up on this. I see more of a hard drive failure on the 501/508 and more of a second tuner failure on hte 721, although there are some tuner failure issues with the 501/508 as well.

[Bob Haller]

Oddly enough the 301 tuners are highly reliable and almst never fail. But HDs die all the time. PVR is tough duty with lots of writing and rewriting.

[Jacob S]

What I cannot figure out is why the 301 tuners are so much more reliable than the 501, 508, 721 when I would think they would all use the same type of tuner.

[Bob Haller]

They are different tuners.

[Jacob S]

Why do they have to put different tuners in the pvr's? So that they can take the heat?

[Bob Haller]

Probably less expensive tuner in less expensive receiver. Unfortunately in this case the likely cheaper one is more reliable.

[JosephF]

Actually the newer 301's share the same tuner as the 501 and 508 (from Conexant).

My guess is that the 501/508 has a bigger problem due to heat. The tuner sits under the hard drive in these units. Seeing that the tuner is the one major analog circuit in the receiver, it would be the one most affected by heat.

[Jacob S]

True but still there has to be some kind of explaination for all the tuner 2 issues with them failing in the 721's. Makes me wonder if it is the same problem causing the issues in the 501/508.

[toddjb]

Went camping this weekend and missed all the good replies...

I'll try the power button tonight and see if that does it.

I wanted to take the remote apart to check for dirt or anything out of the ordinary, but I didn't see any obvious screws or ways to open this....come to think of it, I didn't look for screw holes inside the battery compartment...maybe they're there.

I don't see how it could be a remote address button since the remote itself is just misbehaving. Now, once I'm done with all the reseting and such I suspect I may have to reset the address...but otherwise, I'm just trying to get the lights to behave normally!


I tend to avoid warranties just out of a stubborn sense of expectation of quality. Once in a while I do get burned, but it tends to be rare enough that it wouldn't pay for the cost of warranties on all my electronics. I did buy an extended warranty on my 61 inch rear projection though...don't want to be hauling that in for service! :) From what you say, if an when I buy a 921 or 522 I may get the warranty...depending on the $$$.

Thanks,
-todd

[Jacob S]

You cannot expect the reliability and quality in the Dish PVR units due to their nature. This would be one fine exception to expecting quality out of a product, not that the product is bad in the way it performs, but the reliability of it, even on the replacements at times.