My FREESAT V7 Receiver Died

[gdhunt]

It was turned on in mid-August 2016 and appears to be dead as of July 8, 2017. The little red light on the power supply still lights up, but there's no light anymore on the receivers front face...bummed out.

Looks like I need to order a new unit and am asking FREESAT forum members for help selecting what model I would be happiest with. If you can do that, I'll try to find a place online to order it from. I just want a have a good dependable unit I can play with, has the capabilities to get the good stuff and is state of art. I'm a satellite hobbyist since 1987, using a 10' Winegard Pinnacle, H/H mount and live in West Michigan.

Here's a dumb question: Can my current dead unit be brought back to life and fixed?

So, what FREESAT receiver's going to be best for my hobby and location? I'm ready to order a new unit today if possible.

Thanks so much for giving this some thought and for your willingness to share information!

Gary

[iq180]

Well first thing to ask your self is what do you need, the more options a receiver has the more chances ther are for things to go wrong.
My self, I use the Freesat V8 Supper, it has less options than the other Freesat receivers and less problems, in the end it's up to you and what you need a receiver to do.

[gdhunt]

I thought my FREESAT V7 was the very basic model and that a Freesat V8 Supper would have more bells and whistles. The V7 was my very first FREESAT experience and since I now find that I need a new receiver, thought I would request other forum members their opinions.

Thank you for taking time to offer yours!

Gary

[cpr43]

Try to revive your dead V7 first using the USB or the RS232 process.

USB Process
Place a copy of the previous software on a USB stick and rename it to "flash.bin"
Power on box while repeat pressing "Menu" on the remote control.
The unit should reload the software.

Also,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Q8yrrlSSU

Alternate process:

https://www.freesat.cc/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=321

Good Luck

[gdhunt]

My box does not power on, but know there's power going to it. I do appreciate this info though.

Thank You,

Gary

[gdhunt]

Also, I watched the youtube video link you sent me and had no idea I could update the firmware on my box. My box has never been updated. I'm order a new FREESAT V7 today and will PM you when it arrives form China.

Thanks,

Gary

[Xsat]

V8 Super is much better than V7.
V7 was very weak Power logic.
My V7 was same your condition .

[gdhunt]

Will the FREESAT V8 Super work with united states tv's (HDMI/NTSC) video? I noticed that the video out on the V7 says HDMI and on the V8 Super it says DV. Is DV the same video out at HDMI?

Thanks,

Gary

[gdhunt]

I've decided to order the FREESAT V8 Super receiver this time. Going to order on eBay today.

I'll let you know when it arrives from China, hopefully in a month or so.

Gary

[Xsat]

Will the FREESAT V8 Super work with united states tv's (HDMI/NTSC) video? I noticed that the video out on the V7 says HDMI and on the V8 Super it says DV. Is DV the same video out at HDMI?

Thanks,

Gary

FREESAT V8 Super works with US television (HDMI / NTSC) video.
V8 Super is the same HDMI output as V7.　Not DV.

[Xsat]

I've decided to order the FREESAT V8 Super receiver this time. Going to order on eBay today.

I'll let you know when it arrives from China, hopefully in a month or so.

Gary

I agree with your judgment.
Please enjoy FREESAT in the future.

[Feralkiwi]

My box does not power on, but know there's power going to it. I do appreciate this info though.

Thank You,

Gary

Your unit may appear dead but may just need a flash burn recovery.
To check if your V7 unit's computer is running hold an AM radio next to it and if you hear a buzz then the computer is running.

First try the USB flash recovery that cpr43 described.
Down load the software from the download center and extract it from the .rar file, rename it "flash.bin" and place it on your USB stick as cpr43 said.
If you don't have a .rar exacter I can post a .zip copy here for you.

Good luck

Owen

[gdhunt]

Hi Owen,

No, I don't have a zip extractor and am willing to give this a try. I'm new at downloading firmware, etc and loading it onto the receiver, but that's what this hobby expects today. I sincerely appreciate yours and others assistance, in giving me directions I can follow.

I've already ordered the FREESAT V8 Super, but if I can breath some life back into the FREESAT V7, a spare is always a handy item to have around.

Thanks,

Gary

[gdhunt]

Owen,

Just tested the V7 with an AM radio and when I got near it, I did get lot's of noise that washed out a local station.

Gary

[Feralkiwi]

Hi Gary

Have a look at this forum page.

.zip extractors are normally part of microsoft.

I assume you have the Freesat V7HD so here is a .zip copy of the latest software for you to down load.

FREESAT_V7_HD_20170421.zip

(2.9 MiB) Downloaded 28 times

Owen

[gdhunt]

Owen,

Unfortunately, this didn't recover my V7. I did attempt to get the raw firmware update via the update section, be got this message with I tried, "You are not authorised to view, download or link from/to this site."

Guess I'll wait for my new V8 Super to arrive.

Thanks for your help.

Gary