Technomate 1500 CI+ - does it REALLY work with cards without a CAM?

**Beebman** · 10-09-2005

Last week I obtained from the Parisian dealer Serge Surpin a one-year CanalSat card. Yesterday for the first time I inserted it into my Technomate 1500 CI+ receiver and got an invalid card message. I had assumed I'd have to get the card activated so I e-mailed Surpin and got a swift reply saying they had activated the card and it would be working in 30 minutes. Nothing happened so I e-mailed them again.

To cut a long story short, I have contacted Surpin a total of 4 times in the last 24 hours and each time they have attempted to activate my card but without success. They tell me that the chance of a dud card is "one in a thousand". I have also contacted Technomate to see if they could identify any possible problem but they assured me that the receiver should have no difficulties with these cards .

I can confirm that over the past 24 hours I have left the receiver switched on continuously and tuned to various channels in the CanalSat bouquet with the card inserted in the slot with the chip facing upwards.

In spite of the helpfulness of both Surpin and Technomate I'm at a complete loss as to what to do now! Can anyone please suggest anything to help? Maybe I'm doing something wrong which is blindingly obvious to anyone except myself?!

Thanks
David

**Topper** · 10-09-2005

to the forum Beebman

I'm sorry to hear there is a problem with your Canalsat card, not having one myself it is difficult to say what the problem is. Are we assuming you are using the original firmware and it is not patched?

**retainedstatue** · 11-09-2005

If the chance of a dud card is "one in a thousand" then there will be many dud cards in circulation. Think I would take the card back to the dealer or a friend with a different receiver and see if it works in that.

**Beebman** · 11-09-2005

Originally Posted by toppervte33h

Welcome to the forum Beebman

I'm sorry to here there is a problem with your Canalsat card, not having one myself it is difficult to say what the problem is. Are we assuming you are using the original firmware and it is not patched?

Thanks for your welcome! I am indeed using the original firmware, the receiver is in factory-supplied condition, I've made no changes or patching to it.

**Topper** · 11-09-2005

As retainedstatue just said it sound suspiciously like the card, however I know you have the manual etc but my card reader on my S*y box the card is inserted chip down but on my cam it is chip up, have you tried inserting the other way round? just a thought!!!

**Beebman** · 11-09-2005

Originally Posted by toppervte33h

As retainedstatue just said it sound suspiciously like the card, however I know you have the manual etc but my card reader on my S*y box the card is inserted chip down but on my cam it is chip up, have you tried inserting the other way round? just a thought!!!

I've tried inserting it the other way as the manual doesn't actually tell you which way round cards should go in! However I only get a message telling me that the receiver is attempting to read the card if I insert it with the chip facing up. If I insert it chip down I don't get any such message.

**Beebman** · 11-09-2005

Originally Posted by Beebman

I've tried inserting it the other way as the manual doesn't actually tell you which way round cards should go in! However I only get a message telling me that the receiver is attempting to read the card if I insert it with the chip facing up. If I insert it chip down I don't get any such message.

OK, problem now solved! I decided to try again toppervte33h's suggestion, i.e. to insert the card chip-down. And this time it worked! So why didn't it it work for me on Friday when I tried that?

Well, having now got the card to work and seeing which channels I can get, I've discovered that for some reason I can't view the French TNT channels (the free-to-view ones such as France 5 and W9) even though I can view all the CanalSat bouquet ones such as RTL9, MCM and LCI. On Friday when I tried the card chip-down I had the receiver tuned to W9 and so nothing happened. Today when I tried that, I was tuned to LCI - and hey presto, this time it worked!

So now I need to contact Surpin to get the TNT channels sorted out. But the main thing is that I now know that both the receiver and the card seem to be OK. (But I wish Technomate would state in their manual which way the cards should go in!)

Thanks for the suggestions posted here!

David

**Topper** · 11-09-2005

Originally Posted by Beebman

OK, problem now solved! I decided to try again toppervte33h's suggestion, i.e. to insert the card chip-down. And this time it worked! Thanks for the suggestions posted here!
David

Glad you well at least partly satisfied, I thought it strange as there appears to be an unofficial convention on this. What sat are you pointing at 19.2East?

**Beebman** · 11-09-2005

Originally Posted by toppervte33h

Glad you well at least partly satisfied, I thought it strange as there appears to be an unofficial convention on this. What sat are you pointing at 19.2East?

The Astra 1 group (1G & 1H in particular for CanalSat France).

**Topper** · 11-09-2005

Originally Posted by Beebman

The Astra 1 group (1G & 1H in particular for CanalSat France).

Why did you expect to see France 5 and W9 they are not transmitted on that sat?

**Beebman** · 12-09-2005

Originally Posted by toppervte33h

Why did you expect to see France 5 and W9 they are not transmitted on that sat?

Oh yes they are!

http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/canalsatfr.html

France 5: Astra 1H, transponder 90, 12207 MHz
W9: Astra 1G, transponder 74, 11895 MHz

I also can't currently get unencrypted images for France 4, France Ô or TMC, yet France 2 & 3 are clear for me and they are also "TNT" channels. (and as I said the CanalSat "bouquet" ones are all OK.) My receiver seems to be pulling in the signals OK. I'll just have to wait until I can speak to Surpin, which unfortunately won't be until tomorrow as they're shut today!

**Beebman** · 18-09-2005

I've just bought a 1500 CI+ and I'm having trouble getting a new French CanalSat viewing card to activate properly, i.e. some channels are refusing to unencrypt. I've spoken to the shop in France who supplied me with the card, the person there knew of the 1500 CI+ and he said that the only way I could guarantee complete satisfaction with the card in this receiver was to use it with a PCMCIA S*CA/Mediaguard CAM.

Is he correct? Do I really have to go out and buy a CAM? I bought the 1500 CI+ because I thought there'd be no need for one!

**Beebman** · 18-09-2005

I'm sorry that another thread I started in a completely different forum has got attached to the front of this, I've no idea how that happened...

I did that.

Same person, same machine, same supplier, same problem.
Keeps it all neat & tidy

Rgds

L.

**REBEL** · 18-09-2005

Beebman,

I've been told the same as you, I have yet to get the 1500

**Channel Hopper** · 18-09-2005

Sorry I missed this thread

You are correct Beebman, a modified (patched) 1500 will allow reception of a large number of channels on its own, however the problem of activation of cards with newer style embedded receivers is well known. This is one reason why most broadcasters recommend the subscriber uses a particular make and model of receiver, or a separate (one CA) CAM.

**Topper** · 18-09-2005

Originally Posted by Beebman

Oh yes they are!
France 5: Astra 1H, transponder 90, 12207 MHz
W9: Astra 1G, transponder 74, 11895 MHz

Not disputing what you are saying just pointing out that if you do not check the bouquet info on lyngsat then how can you know what channel they are referring to. These are the pages I looked at to make the comment I did.

**Beebman** · 18-09-2005

Originally Posted by Channel Hopper

Sorry I missed this thread

You are correct Beebman, a modified (patched) 1500 will allow reception of a large number of channels on its own, however the problem of activation of cards with newer style embedded receivers is well known. This is one reason why most broadcasters recommend the subscriber uses a particular make and model of receiver, or a separate (one CA) CAM.

Thanks for your reply Channel Hopper - so if I were to buy an Aston CAM (that one seems to be recommended for CanalSat) and use it in combination with the 1500 CI+ it should work fine?

**Channel Hopper** · 19-09-2005

There are a number of Seca CAMs on the market at the moment. I would check which version is recommended by Canal + before making a purchase.

But yes, it should be a suitable system for subscription.

**Beebman** · 28-09-2005

Originally Posted by Channel Hopper

There are a number of S*ca CAMs on the market at the moment. I would check which version is recommended by Canal + before making a purchase.

But yes, it should be a suitable system for subscription.

I managed to get hold of a second-hand Aston 1.05 CAM (CanalSat recommend version 2 Astoncrypt CAMs but that's mainly for interactive channels, or so I'm told) and I can now get all channels OK. So to answer my own question, yes it would appear you do need a CAM with the Technomate 1500 CI+ (at least for CanalSat) in spite of what the makers say. But I like the receiver a lot and would still recommend it as even with a CAM it's still a reasonably good value quality box for viewing foreign subscription channels.

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