Voom Receiver For Free Over The Air HDTV
May, 1, 2005, 3:00AM Voom HDTV satellite service shut down leaving thousands of activated Voom satellite receivers, and activated Voom access cards.
Voom used the over the air HDTV to deliver local TV stations even though the satellite service has stopped the over the air HDTV still works!.
Both the Voom satellite receiver and the Voom access card must have been activated and fully functional when Voom satellite service went off the air to be usable.
Make sure to get the Voom satellite receiver parental password if the receiver is locked you can't set it for a different city or new stations.
Voom Equipment Needed
USED ACTIVATED Voom Motorola DSR550 satellite receiver
Voom Motorola DSR550 8VSB module
USED ACTIVATED Voom NDS access card
Voom Motorola DSR550 remote control
Find Voom Firmware Version
With the Voom remote control press voom then green then green
enter PIN if needed select installers menu next select system status
use up and down arrows for pages look for Software and HAL Version.
Best voom firmware for over the air HDTV
all firmware listed can scan for new channels.
Software: 02.4C, HAL: 00.07.37 (last version)
Software: 02.44, HAL: 00.07.34
Software: 02.40, HAL: 00.07.33
Software: 02.30, HAL: 00.07.26
Voom Receiver Activation Test
Setup
Unlock pull off the diplexer box from the back if attached
attach a TV antenna to the grey plastic 8VSB module slid into the voom receiver
turn on Voom.
Voom receiver with a remote control
Scan for TV stations if needed press the watch button on the Voom remote control.
Voom receiver without a remote control
If the Voom receiver starts on channel 100 use the down channel button on the front
to start looking for local digital TV stations 69 through 2 programmed in.
The Verdict
GOOD NEWS: If you can view a digital TV channel with the Surf Bar at the bottom of the screen
the Voom receiver is activated.
BAD NEWS: If you get a big black square that says "VOOM is not authorized"
the Voom receiver is de-activated and currently only good for parts.
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Voom Access Card Information
The parental password is stored in the Voom access card.
Voom receiver parental password workaround
All you need is (1) activated Voom access card
with no parental password or has a known parental password
to program all the Voom receivers you have
Voom access cards are not "married" to Voom receivers
If you have (2) or more activated Voom receivers its better to just reset the cards.
Voom access card reset
If you have a Voom access card with an unknown parental password and or de-activated
it can be activated and password reset to the default password of 0000
to do this you will need another activated Voom receiver
with the power off insert the card needing to be reset into the other activated Voom receiver
press the power button to turn on the Voom receiver
if the card was de-activated you will see a big black square with white lettering flash quickly on then off the screen
the card is now activated and or the password is now set to the default 0000
An activated Voom access card will not activate a de-activated Voom receiver
Voom receivers are a cardless receiver activation was done through the satellite!
Warning
If you go to the hidden menu do not do an authorization reset or factory reset to the Voom satellite receiver
all activation information stored in the satellite receiver will be lost
with no way to reactivate it!.
Antenna Types
VHF RF channels 2 to 13: Dipole dual rods "rabbit ears", or Yagi TV antenna.
UHF RF channels 14 to 69: Bow-Tie, Loop, or Yagi TV antenna.
Indoor Antennas
Terk HDTVi or Terk HDTVa (amplified) a VHF/UHF combo Yagi and Dipole TV antenna.
Radio Shack 15-1880 an amplified VHF/UHF combo Bow-Tie and Dipole TV antenna.
Zenith Silver Sensor a UHF Yagi TV antenna.
Outdoor Antennas
Channel Master Stealth with power inserter supplied with Voom.
Winegard Sensar with Diplexer (box attached to the back of voom receiver) supplied with Voom.
VHF/UHF combo Yagi TV antenna. optional: TV signal amplifier and rotator.
Channel Master or Winegard multi Bow-Tie "Bay" UHF TV antennas. optional: TV signal amplifier and rotator.
UHF Yagi TV antenna. optional: TV signal amplifier and rotator.
Find Over The Air HDTV Stations
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/ enter latitude and -longitude
http://www.antennaweb.org/ enter zip code
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html set state and service
Over The Air HDTV Program Guides
http://freeguide-tv.sourceforge.net/ free offline program guide must register for free updates
http://www.titantv.com/ free must register
Last updated 7/2006
RAR