Dead Dragon?

zxybbc

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I have an Echostar DSB-890 2ci receiver. I bought a Dragon cam (latest T-Rex model) and a Dynamite programmer and a F84A Dragon Loader card. I tried programming the card with various Predator files and it said it did it OK each time, but when I put the cam into my receiver and display the CI menu, my receiver says "not present" for each CAM slot. At the moment I'm thinking I might have a duff receiver or a duff cam or maybe just a duff understanding of how this all works (this is my first cam purchase). Any ideas? Thanks in anticipation.
 

Mickha

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Hi zxybbc,
have you followed the loading instructions? After loading your card:
The most important thing is to follow the howto.txt step by step when loading your Dragon Cam, as a mistake can damage your Cam.

Make sure your receiver is tuned to a FTA channel, I use BBC world, turn off your receiver.

Insert the programmed card into the Dragon module, chip face up. Insert this into your receiver and turn on the receiver. Go to the Common interface menu on the receiver, and select the "Dragon Loader" module.

In the next menu, select "yes, Load module".

Now a menu appears indicating that loading is in progress. To see the actual progress percentage, select "refresh". There is no auto-refresh because some receivers had problems with that....

When loading is complete, a menu appears saying "Loading successful". REMOVE the loader card from the module, and switch off and turn back on the receiver.

If your receiver still isn't recognising your Cam, ensure the Cam is fully inserted into your receiver. The new Dragon Cams are a little more bulky than the older ones, due to the extra slot.
I hope this helps.

Best wishes

Mickha
 

zxybbc

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Thanks for trying Mickha, but I've read and tried those instructions what seems like a thousand times now, but the "Dragon Loader" never shows in the CI menu, only an Echostar message saying "not present".
 

Mickha

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Hi zxybbc,
did you check that the CAM is fully inserted, as this is a known problem when the new dual CAM first came out, because it was a little bulkier than before it had to be forced into the CI slot, some people had to shave a little of the plastic off their receivers slot to get it to fit. If it is fully inserted and not recognised by your receiver contact the supplier as it is probably a dead CAM.
Best wishes
Mickha
 

Fuzzy Duck

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I now have the same problem with my Echostar AD3000IP. The Dragon was recognised by the receiver to start with, and worked OK in standard form. However, I have not managed to get the Predator software to load as I kept getting a "Flash Memory Error" message when trying to load (see separate post in this section) even after trying the repair files.

Now the receiver won't recognise the Dragon at all, however many times I try. It works OK with a standard red Viaccess cam, so I presume it is not the receiver.

I would imagine that the supplier would not entertain an exchange of the Dragon if I have tried to load Predator, but is there any way you can wipe these things clean and start again??
 

Mickha

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Hi Fuzzy Duck,
I had a similar problem with my first Dragon Cam, I contacted my supplier, returned it and it was replaced immediately. Loading Predator should not invalidate your warranty as this is required to update your Dragon, similar to updating the firmware of a DVD writer. Contact your supplier, and he will probably ask that you return your Cam.
Best wishes
Mickha
 

Fuzzy Duck

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Hi Mickha,

Thanks for the advice, I will give it a try.

Fuzzy Duck
 

zxybbc

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I'm pretty sure the CAM goes in OK, so it may well be dead, but I will try to find someone local who I can swap some components to try and isolate the problem. I was interested in what Fuzzy Duck said about a "standard mode". Does this mean that the CAM should be recognised and do a bit of unscrambling even without using the loader card? I was under the impression that it only worked after it had been loaded with a Predator file.
 

Mickha

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Hi zxybbc,
it should work with the mature content channels, that your SIM card opens, without loading the Predator firmware, once you've activated the SIM card.
Best wishes
Mickha
 

latin01

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Mickha said:
Hi zxybbc,
it should work with the mature content channels, that your SIM card opens, without loading the Predator firmware, once you've activated the SIM card.
Best wishes
Mickha

Hello Mickha,
On your point above, I have the same setup with Dragon , Predator s/w and SIM card, on my receiver everything is recognised when I look at the CI menu but it is not decoding the mature content channels, What are the steps to activate the SIM card ?

Any help is welcome, thanks !
 
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