# Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter installation tip



## Thebreen (Nov 24, 2013)

Spectrum install and activation with Cable card and Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter

After going thru MANDATORY install ($49.99) and NOT getting Tuning Adapter TA function the 3rd tech who was dispatched told me the TA is very picky: he has found that it must be connected to Cable and then powered up, allowed to boot up then 'pinged' by home to ensure it is on the account and paired with the Cable card before connecting it to the TIVO USB top port (on the Roamio+) for the Roamio to recognize TA, otherwise the TA is bricked and will not function without reconditioning.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

Thebreen said:


> Spectrum install and activation with Cable card and Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter
> 
> After going thru MANDATORY install ($49.99) and NOT getting Tuning Adapter TA function the 3rd tech who was dispatched told me the TA is very picky: he has found that it must be connected to Cable and then powered up, allowed to boot up then 'pinged' by home to ensure it is on the account and paired with the Cable card before connecting it to the TIVO USB top port (on the Roamio+) for the Roamio to recognize TA, otherwise the TA is bricked and will not function without reconditioning.


I've self installed several T/As ;never experienced or heard that story, I call







.
Did you call the cable card help desk?


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

*Spectrum (Charter, Insight, and Time Warner Cable)*

Support: 833-267-6094
Support Site
Self-Install Guide


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

So what exactly does "pinged from home" mean? All equipment must be properly provisioned on your account. Isn't this ping just part of that? (I have to wonder what any Spectrum tech I've had in my home would respond if I told them my TA needs to be "pinged from home" ) There is a subscription renewal signal that must be sent about every 25 days (or less) to keep TA's functioning.

For many of us the TA periodically (ranging from every night to once per month) must be power cycled to maintain functioning.


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## mlsnyc (Dec 3, 2009)

At least you got a CC+TA for your installation.

I tried to sign up and had nothing but trouble. The installation date was rescheduled twice without my knowledge. Each time I spoke to a CSR to sort out a new date, I emphasized I wanted CC+TA knowing they discourage that. Each time they strung me along and said that’s what’s on the order. Of course when the installation finally does happen, the technician says the order didn’t say anything about a CC and says I requested a STB. So have to call in again and this time the CSR feeds me the BS that Spectrum no longer offers TAs. I said they’re required to provide them, letting her know it’s something that can be reported to the FCC. After being put on death hold the CSR comes back to say they don’t stock them anymore and all they can do is go ahead with the install with their STB and I can buy a CC and TA on my own. They’d reimburse me for the cost and waive the installation fee. At this point I had it and cancelled the order. Before she closed off the call, the CSR gave me one more lecture that what I was asking for was unsupported. Also, the technician walked away in a huff because I’m sure it was going to cost him in some way. He better have been p*ssed with Spectrum and not me.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

You are likely to get almost any kind of BS from Spectrum about TA's and CableCARD's. I recently had a problem that caused their national CableCARD/TA support desk to decide I needed to try a replacement TA. So they scheduled a tech visit. The tech arrived not only without the TA, but not even knowing what one was. His initial reaction was it was obsolete equipment that they don't stock anymore. He spent an hour or so cleaning up my cable runs and left without any move to see about finding a TA for me. The clean up was probably a good thing and by that time the problem I was having had not been occurring any more, so I just let it ride. My TA functioning has been back to "normal" (requiring power-cycling every month or so) since then, so obviously the diagnosis that I needed a replacement was wrong anyway. My hunch is my problems had been caused by glitches associated with repairs done as a result of the Memorial day tornados that came within a mile or two of my house.


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## mlsnyc (Dec 3, 2009)

dlfl said:


> You are likely to get almost any kind of BS from Spectrum about TA's and CableCARD's. I recently had a problem that caused their national CableCARD/TA support desk to decide I needed to try a replacement TA. So they scheduled a tech visit. The tech arrived not only without the TA, but not even knowing what one was. His initial reaction was it was obsolete equipment that they don't stock anymore. He spent an hour or so cleaning up my cable runs and left without any move to see about finding a TA for me. The clean up was probably a good thing and by that time the problem I was having had not been occurring any more, so I just let it ride. My TA functioning has been back to "normal" (requiring power-cycling every month or so) since then, so obviously the diagnosis that I needed a replacement was wrong anyway. My hunch is my problems had been caused by glitches associated with repairs done as a result of the Memorial day tornados that came within a mile or two of my house.


That's really bad. Your service call was specifically about replacing the TA but that wasn't even what they put on the work order.

This is what's terrible about their CS now from what I can see. I had them a couple of years back and my experience back then was actually positive. They provided prompt and reliable service when needed, my CC and TA included. Now it looks like their CSRs yes you to death, saying they'll make sure to follow your specific instructions when that's not what's actually in the system.

Maybe they did input it into the system exactly the way you told them but somewhere in the workflow the system changed it. My guess is the screen the CSR was looking at didn't have an option for what you specifically asked for or that option is buried somewhere hard to find. So they pick something else, but they tell you they've entered your specific instructions. Whatever the case, if you go the CC+TA route now, be ready for a hellish ride. That wasn't my experience years ago.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Thebreen said:


> Spectrum install and activation with Cable card and Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter
> 
> After going thru MANDATORY install ($49.99) and NOT getting Tuning Adapter TA function the 3rd tech who was dispatched told me the TA is very picky: he has found that it must be connected to Cable and then powered up, allowed to boot up then 'pinged' by home to ensure it is on the account and paired with the Cable card before connecting it to the TIVO USB top port (on the Roamio+) for the Roamio to recognize TA, otherwise the TA is bricked and will not function without reconditioning.


Filing the FCC complaint online will help the higher ups at Spectrum find the few people that they have working for them who knows how to properly activate these devices on your account. Submit a request - FCC Complaints
Other than insuring the physical connections are correct on your equipment, there is absolutely nothing a tech in your home can do to get your cable card and TA working, unless, because of prior experience they happen to have found one of the few folks who know what to do *at the headend *which is where the correct information must be entered.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

fcfc2 said:


> Filing the FCC complaint online will help the higher ups at Spectrum find the few people that they have working for them who knows how to properly activate these devices on your account. ..........


Yes, although "prod" would be more accurate than "help". This is the way it's always been for TA's and CableCARD support. For some 12 years now we've been seeing what happens when you try to force someone to do things that are not in their best interest. No government agency (e.g., the FCC) has the horsepower to make things work smoothly in such a case.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

+ 1 on FCC complaint.
Filing a FCC complaint DOES get their attention... 
Expect follow up calls and emails from the cable co and FCC.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

dlfl said:


> Yes, although "prod" would be more accurate than "help". This is the way it's always been for TA's and CableCARD support. For some 12 years now we've been seeing what happens when you try to force someone to do things that are not in their best interest. No government agency (e.g., the FCC) has the horsepower to make things work smoothly in such a case.


Sure they could. If they started issuing large fines, say $10,000 per FCC complaint filed against them for CableCARD/Tuning Adapter problems, then you'd see Spectrum prioritize getting them to work right without having to go through the roadblocks they seem to intentionally set up for customers wanting to use them now.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Sure they could. If they started issuing large fines, say $10,000 per FCC complaint filed against them for CableCARD/Tuning Adapter problems, then you'd see Spectrum prioritize getting them to work right without having to go through the roadblocks they seem to intentionally set up for customers wanting to use them now.


I think you are overly optimistic about this -- not considering the political (even in a Democratic administration), administrative, and staffing issues associated with actually implementing such a hard-nosed regime, not to mention the clever foot dragging tactics the MSO's would come up with using their teams of lawyers to fight the due process issues that would have to be implemented for such stringent fines. Example of my point: the drug war. Look how much enforcement effort has gone into that, and how well is that going?

But it's not worth arguing about. It's never gonna happen. The CableCARD/TA battle was lost long ago. Personally I think the fiasco was predictable considering human nature and the business models involved.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

dlfl said:


> I think you are overly optimistic about this -- not considering the political (even in a Democratic administration), administrative, and staffing issues associated with actually implementing such a hard-nosed regime, not to mention the clever foot dragging tactics the MSO's would come up with using their teams of lawyers to fight the due process issues that would have to be implemented for such stringent fines. Example of my point: the drug war. Look how much enforcement effort has gone into that, and how well is that going?


Yes, enforcing laws are hard because people always want to try to break them, so let's just not bother trying.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Yes, enforcing laws are hard because people always want to try to break them, so let's just not bother trying.


Not my point at all! My point is, in essence, that we don't have the political will to provide the resources to enforce $10,000 per incident fines - the level of which you are underestimating. (And this would still be true regardless of what party is in control in DC.) Another good example of this is prohibition, a 15 year fiasco that finally had to be abandoned.

I wish things were different -- poor implementation and support of TA's by TWC/Spectrum over the last ten years have by far been the most disappointing aspect of my TiVo experience.


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