Series 1 & No Phone

Sheffer Stroke · 12-26-2006, 01:55 PM

My wife got me a used Sony DVS 2000 off ebay for Christmas. We havn't had a phone line in a couple of years (with e-fax, scanners, and mobile phones, who needs a phone line). We get our internet through the cable company; we have a wireless router; and we have a laptop that runs Windows XP.

I'm planning to do the initial setup at my parents house, but I don't know what to do about weekly updates. So far, the solutions I've read on the internet involve either opening the tivo box and installing an ethernet card or using my laptop as a go-between. Both options present technical difficulties for me. I have a cursory knowledge of hardware (I once built a desktop from a motherboard, processor, cards and drives I ordered online), and a less than cursory knowledge of programming.

I don't want to give up and pay the phone company $20 a month just for tivo updates. What are my options? The easier the better. The less expensive the better.

Sheffer Stroke · 12-26-2006, 03:16 PM

O.K. I've doing some reading on the forum archives, and it seems that the best solution is to get my tivo to use the internet by going through my computer via serial PPP. Otto's instructions seem to be detailed enough for a novice to follow. However, my laptop does not have a serial port. Is there a usb/serial adapter, and if so, how much does it cost? Or is there a null modem cable with a serial head on one end and a usb head on the other, and if so, how much does it cost? How many pins should the null modem cable have? Also, do I need a tivo serial cable in addition to a null modem cable? Finally, how do I know what software my tivo has? Do all series 1's run 3.0? Again, I have a Sony DVS (or is it SVR; I can't remember and I don't have it in front of me)?

DougF · 12-26-2006, 03:30 PM

Installing a TurboNet card just for the daily call is very easy. You just have to get the case opened up and put the card in. Plug in the ethernet cable, change teh dialing prefix to ",#401" and you're done.

Only when you want things like telnet, ftp, web control or video extraction does the Turbonet process get a little more difficult.

Sheffer Stroke · 12-26-2006, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougF

Installing a TurboNet card just for the daily call is very easy. You just have to get the case opened up and put the card in. Plug in the ethernet cable, change teh dialing prefix to ",#401" and you're done.

How's it work? Is it like plugging an ethernet card into a motherboard? Are there slots that the card fits into? Do you replace the dial-up modem with the TurboNet card? Do you have to cut a bigger hole in the back of the tivo for the cable jack to fit into? Etc.

Sheffer Stroke · 12-26-2006, 08:24 PM

One more series of questions (hopefully they'll get answered with the previous ones).

My TiVo came with only a power cord and the IR control cable. I was reading the manual on Sony's website, and discovered that the unit originally came with a serial control cable. Do I have to order that cable directly from Sony, or can I order the TiVo serial cable ($6.99).

Assuming I can use the TiVo serial cable, I then connect one end of the serial cable to the serial jack on the unit, and the other to a serial/usb adapter cable. I then connect the usb end of the adapter cable into my laptop. That covers the hardware part of the setup, right? Does my computer have to be connected to my router with a cable, or is a wireless connection sufficient here?

Da Goon · 12-26-2006, 09:03 PM

Installation simply requires plugging the turbonet card into the motherboard and then running an ethernet cable out of the tivo. You can either cut a new hole in the back or possibly use one of the holes on the bottom of the machine.
Detailed hardware installation info can be found here : http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=991
Software installation info here : http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=995
As far as a serial cable is concerned, you can use any serial cable you can find. They can be purchased from tivo.com or from the9thtee.com or you can even build your own if you'd like.

kjledford · 12-27-2006, 10:30 AM

hi there - i had a series one and i used a friends phoneline for the initial setup - then used the turbocard - it was easy to install and use. I used hardwire for a while then swithed to the wireless without problem....

even if you are not very technical - its not that hard to do...

the9thtee com had all the supplies and pretty straight forward instructions... with pictures even =)

classicsat · 12-27-2006, 12:37 PM

For Serial PPP, a USB serial adpter should work. It should work over wireless.

You can use the plain serial cable from tivo.com, they are the same. But that cable is for control of a cable or satellite box, if that is what you want. To connect it to your computer, you need a gender changer and null modem with that cable, or another sort of cable that has the female and is wired to directly connect to the serial port on your computer.

A Series 1 network card connects somewhat like a PC network card, except the slot is on the card, which plugs onto a male connector on the TiVo mainboard. If it is an ethernet card, you need to bring an ethernet cable outside the case somehow, possibly by making another hole. The modem is not removeable, as it is part of the mainboard.

Sheffer Stroke · 12-27-2006, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by classicsat

You can use the plain serial cable from tivo.com, they are the same. But that cable is for control of a cable or satellite box, if that is what you want. To connect it to your computer, you need a gender changer and null modem with that cable, or another sort of cable that has the female and is wired to directly connect to the serial port on your computer.

I decided to go with the PPP solution. The way I am envisioning it is as follows: tivo serial jack <-> tivo serial cable (the "plain" cable from tivo.com) <-> null modem cable <-> serial/usb adapter <-> usb port on my computer. Is that correct? Are you saying that I will need a serial gender changer between the tivo serial cable and the null modem cable?

Thanks.

classicsat · 12-27-2006, 04:49 PM

If the cable isn't an F-F null modem cable, you will need a through gender changer. At the end of the dat, you need some circuit that has to DE-9Fs, with at least pin 5 to 5, 1 to 2, and 2 to 1.

Sheffer Stroke · 12-27-2006, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by classicsat

At the end of the dat, you need some circuit that has to DE-9Fs, with at least pin 5 to 5, 1 to 2, and 2 to 1.

Sorry. You lost me there. I know what "pins" are, so "5 to 5" makes sense, but I don't understand the rest of the sentence. What's are "dat," "DE-9Fs," and "1 to 2, and 2 to 1"?

Thanks.