What did I do wrong?

[mattmill]

I tried to tape something last night off my 301 to a VCR and nothing happened :shrug:

I set an event timer to record the show and left the 301 on and the VCR on and got up this morning and nothing on the tape at all. I have set up the menu and the IR Blaster seems to work since I did record the test screen and it recorded ok.

Any help (other than get a PVR) is much appreciated. PVR is hopefully on the holiday list.

thanks,
matt

[gcutler]

Has it ever worked before outside of the setup test?

1) Is the 301 relatively close to the VCR. The IR Blaster isn't perfect and if your Entertainment cabinet glass or wood doors are closed between the two it might prevent recording (door open no problem, door closed dosen't work). ALways works best when 301 sits on top of VCR
2) Sometimes it flukes up. Could be sign that IR Blaster is failing or has failed.
3) Try it one more time as on a program you will be sitting there when starts. Might give a clue there.

[mattmill]

Never worked. J

ust got the 301 about 2 weeks ago so it's brand new. 301 is sitting right on top of the VCR behind glass so I would think that the signal should bounce right back. I will try agian tonight and see what happens.

The remote doesn't need to be involved at all correct? Signal is direct from 301 to VCR?

thanks,
matt

[gcutler]

Correct, remote does not need to be involved at all. I know some people who put a sheet Aluminum foil between 301 and VCR in hopes that would help.

On thing that might be an issue is where is the glassy part on the VCR that recieves the VCR remote signal. You might want to make sure that the 301 is pretty close to it. You might have to move the 301 around on top of the VCR (if room) to find the sweet spot. In my experience with the Dish IR blasters, the test always worked while the actual recording was never 100%. I know people at dbsforums.com discussed this in detail a few years ago, and reposting question there might give additional perspective?

[mattmill]

I just tried it again and it changed channels like it was supposed to but wouldn't start the VCR:(

I'll keep playing with it...

matt

[gcutler]

The channel change is no big deal since that is all within the reciever. Looks like the VCR is not recieving the signal from the Reciever. Either you might want to re-try setting up the configuration to control the VCR (did you save the setting?) If nothing works sounds like a bad blaster. Time to RMA the 301 back to Dish?

[Ric]

I had the same issue with my 301 when I had them set up. I rearranged and rearranged to get that perfect spot. It would work during a test and then not work for the next couple. I got it about 25% of the time with the test and finally decided it just wasn't going to work unless I suspended the 301 in midair inh front of the VCR :)

[mattmill]

Sounds like I am gong to need to get the PVR sooner than I thought.

thanks for the info,
matt

[scooper]

Guys - does the 301 have a jack in the back that could work for an IR Blaster ? This little device has an IR emitter that you place in front of the IR of the VCR. I know (and use) the one on my 4700 (upgraded 4900).

At worst, you may just want to sit down and program the VCR manually - I've always found that to be the most reliable way to get recordings.

[mattmill]

No, it doesn't appear to have one.

Do the Dish channels use the VCR+ codes? That would make programming easier as well.

[mattmill]

Maybe this is it:confused:

I was re-reading the manual and it says "must connect the receiver's back panel audio/video outputs to the audio/video inputs on the VCR"

Due to lack of inputs on the TV I am using the Coax (CH 3) for the VCR. I am thinking that this is the problem which means that I need to get a s-video switch box and 2 more s-video cables and maybe I can record.

matt

[TomCat]

Since how the signals are connected is a completely separate issue from whether the IR signals are being received and reacted to properly, it is doubtful that this has much to do with your problem.

If you are happy with RF otherwise there is no reason for you not to be happy with baseband composite video rather than S-video, and its likely you can connect "S" to one component and composite to the other with no switch necessary.

Avoiding RF for ditribution for playback (or recording from a receiver) is normally a good idea for a number of reasons, chief among them PQ and RF's inability to pass stereo.

[HTguy]

I thought the 301 had an accessory jack on the back like the 501.

On the System Set-Up Menu see if theres an option for "Accessory Jack" that can be set to "IR Extender." If there is you can get a cheap "pigtail" IR Extender blaster at RS or your local electronics store, plug it in the jack & set it in front of the VCR's IR sensor.

If you can see what's on your 301 while "watching" Ch 3 on the VCR you're ready to record. (BTW, you're leaving the VCR powered on with a rewound blanck tape inside, right?)

[mattmill]

Nope, no accessory jack. I just looked at the pdf manual of the 501 and it is not on my 301.

I can tape manually with no problem it just won't work with the blaster. I tested it again today and the test was successful. Then when setting a timer for a show it did everything except start the recording.

Maybe I'll can tech support :confused: it cannot hurt.

matt

[hocwww]

I just checked the 301 manual online. No accessory jack.

[SkipR]

I had trouble getting a 5000 receiver to "talk" to a VCR reliably unless the two were facing each other. Since this was not practical, you can use a small mirror on the inside of the glass door near the IR input of the VCR. This worked pretty good.

[scooper]

It shouldn't matter whether you use the RCA/S-Video inputs or the RF input on the VCR. The important thing to remember is that the VCR needs to be left ON tuned to whatever method you are accepting input - the VCR blaster will NOT turn on the VCR from a turned off state - it only will initiate the "start record" and "stop" commands. As long as the "test" in the setup menu is working and you follow my last, it should work.

[Nick]

Turn the VCR off prior to the scheduled record time. Most auto-record protocols require the VCR to be off.

[scooper]

Nick - did you even READ what I just posted ?

Trust me - on MY 4700 (where the IR function IS working with my JVC HIFI VCR), the VCR MUST be turned on and tuned to the Aux (line in) inputs.

[mattmill]

Apparently the VCR (Mits HS-U680) could control a primestar, jvc, and sony receiver. Tonight after my kids go to bed I'm going to try and see if I can use it as a straight receiver (I doubt it). According to the manual it can search out the channels and then they just say SAT ### for a satellite channel. I am also going to try moving the placement of the 301 again hoping that maybe I can hit it somewhere.

matt

[SteveinDanville]

You DEFINITELY have to have your VCR turned on. Frankly, if it will work for a test, but not for a timer, the timer function of the software is what's whacked. Think about it... For some reason, Dish's timers (I have a 4900, and had a 4700, and a 5000 before that) are very capricious the way they fire. I have done a test with positive results, and then sat there and watched a timer not fire. One thing that a tech advised me is to go into the setup screens and look for the prompt to go back to factory defaults. This will erase all of your settings like VCR code and favorite channels, ascending vs. descending, blah, blah, blah, but it has worked for some time for me. I was able to get 21 straight days of the Tour de France recorded without a single missed timer. Missed timers is a real frailty in Dish's system, in my opinion. And if you think a PVR will be your saviour, check out all the missed recordings over on the 501/721 forum. Talk to an Advanced Tech Rep. about your timer issue. If there are any 4900's around, I wouldn't be surprised if they send you one. It has the IR extender, and then you can just tape it to the IR receiver on your Mits. VCR. That will at least solve the vagaries of the signal getting sent; the timer's mis-firing is a software issue. It's been doing it to me for 3 years at least. Good luck.

[mattmill]

Well, I was successful this afternoon finally! I pulled it out and reset it in the cabinet and low and behold I guess it was a sweet spot issue. I have been moving it around for days and I guess it was just pulling and putting it back that finally did it. Now to see if it is consistent or not.

Thanks everyone for the help.
matt