# Spectrum TA Issues



## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

Hi, I got a four tuner Bolt and Cisco cable card installed. I get stations up to around fifty or so. We wanted to increase channels and so just got a Cisco TA from Spectrum that was sent to our address here in Florida.The TA registers solid green after blinking for about ten minutes. I really only have one usb connector to the bolt from the TA since I hooked up pre TA with RG cable. I'm not getting any functionality from using the TA as a matter of fact the Bolt does not even see the TA anyone know what I'm doing wrong thanks for any input


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

mobouser said:


> I really only have one usb connector to the bolt from the TA since I hooked up pre TA with RG cable.


Don't know what this means.

The TA and BOLT must be connected via a direct USB cable. And both devices must be connected to the coax - though the BOLT must not be connected via the TA's pass-through port if the BOLT has MoCA enabled.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks for the quick response. Out of the wall the coax runs to a 3 way y splitter which in turn feeds the the TA and the Bolt


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

I only have a USB Cable running from the TA to the Bolt. The cable card is in the Bolt not the TA


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Your physical connections are correct. You may need to add a Moca filter at the input of your TA in order for it to function, if you have Moca enabled in your system.

Can you clarify how your current location relates to your cable service address. It appears you're from NY, living temporarily in FL and that you ordered your TA from Spectrum in NY which was shipped to FL?

Sounds like you may have also brought your cable card from NY since you get so few channels. For your cable card and TA to function, they must be linked to an account that is active for your current service address, the same address you're watching from. You can't subscribe to service in another state and plug it in elsewhere and expect it to work. 

A TA on Spectrum will typically add only 20 or so additional channels, most of which are premiums, sports and foreign language channels, assuming it's active on the account at your service location.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

Might just need to restart the Tivo.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks again, I don't have Moca, Were in Tampa cable area but closer to Orlando. The cable service is totally separate from our upstate NY residence. We get cable down here thru our Townhouse Community, Spectrum is the only allowed service. I ordered the cable card and later the TA since the TA was not included with the cable card. The usb cable for the TA has the printer type B style connector to the TA and it is not a flush plug in. Im not sure its a true connection and so I think that's my problem.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Push it in harder.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

mdavej said:


> .......
> A TA on Spectrum will typically add only 20 or so additional channels, most of which are premiums, sports and foreign language channels, assuming it's active on the account at your service location.


This varies with the region. On some systems the TA is required to get many important mainline HD channels.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

In Orlando a great deal of the channels are SDV.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Regardless, anybody in a multi-home situation would be a lot better off with streaming than with cable. Using Youtube TV in two households in lieu of cable/satellite saves me about $175/month. I get pretty much the same content I had on cable with none of the hassles of cable cards and TAs or equipment to move from place to place.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

I get services thru the developer (new Construction). Right now I only pay for the cable card.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

mdavej said:


> Regardless, anybody in a multi-home situation would be a lot better off with streaming than with cable. Using Youtube TV in two households in lieu of cable/satellite saves me about $175/month. I get pretty much the same content I had on cable with none of the hassles of cable cards and TAs or equipment to move from place to place.


Thread crapper. How does this help the OP?


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

mobouser said:


> I get services thru the developer (new Construction). Right now I only pay for the cable card.


Did you get the TA from your headend facility? A TA needs to be authorized in the system. Might be worthwhile to check that out. Also, if it is connected and the Bolt "sees" it, disconnecting the USB or rebooting the TA should immediately cause a screen to pop up from the Bolt saying that there is no TA connected. If this isn't happening, I'd worry about the USB cable or the connection.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

UCLABB said:


> Thread crapper. How does this help the OP?


Meh, sometimes it can take a bit of a shake to see things differently, and it wasn't strictly "c****ing" as (1) it offered a legit alternative with real cost and functionality benefits, and (2) it was a followup post to their prior reply directly addressing the TA issue.

All I am saying... is give peace a chance.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks for all replies. Some history on the order I called Spectrum general number and ordered the unit this Friday midday and got it on Saturday fedex, which was super fast for Spectrum. The unit does blink green for a few minutes then goes to solid green as it should but its not registering with my Bolt I checked by going to the cable card listing. I think it could be the USB and will change that with another cable from Amazon and with all the information here will try again on Tuesday will report any luck with this then.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

mobouser said:


> Thanks for all replies. Some history on the order I called Spectrum general number and ordered the unit this Friday midday and got it on Saturday fedex, which was super fast for Spectrum. The unit does blink green for a few minutes then goes to solid green as it should but its not registering with my Bolt I checked by going to the cable card listing. I think it could be the USB but I don't have another at this location to check but maybe not the cable so I will return the unit. I want to thank all commenters who tried to help with this issue.


As @UCLABB posted above, you'd need to contact your cable provider to the the TA paired with your BOLT, similar to the pairing needed for the CableCARD.

It would be worthwhile confirming the CableCARD authorization, as well. (Something to do with the "Val" setting in the CableCARD setup screens on the DVR, I believe; others here are pretty well versed on CableCARD troubleshooting.) For example, @JoeKustra:


JoeKustra said:


> A cable card is paired when the Conditional Access display has a "VAL: V" in it. The number after that is the count of times the card has been paired. This is for a Motorola M-Card, but it should be similar:
> View attachment 47681
> 
> Note that the cable company can not determine if the card is paired.


p.s. Quote taken from what may be a worthwhile thread to review, including the suggestion to make an FCC complaint (fairly easy to file) to nudge Spectrum to take care of you. See: Cisco Tuning Adapter STA1520 issue, Spectrum cable


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

krkaufman said:


> As @UCLABB posted above, you'd need to contact your cable provider to the the TA paired with your BOLT, similar to the pairing needed for the CableCARD.
> 
> It would be worthwhile confirming the CableCARD authorization, as well. (Something to do with the "Val" setting in the CableCARD setup screens on the DVR, I believe; others here are pretty well versed on CableCARD troubleshooting.) For example, @JoeKustra:
> ​p.s. Quote taken from what may be a worthwhile thread to review, including the suggestion to make an FCC complaint (fairly easy to file) to nudge Spectrum to take care of you. See: Cisco Tuning Adapter STA1520 issue, Spectrum cable


I don't think TAs are actually paired with the TiVos just simply authorized, i.e., in the system. I've moved TAs to different TiVos without issue. It could be since the TA gets a solid light that it is in the system.

To the OP, did you do as I suggested and reboot the TA or remove the USB and see if you got the warning screen that the TA was disconnected?
Do you have a spare USB cable for a printer? I believe that's the style connection that goes into the TA.

FCC complaint is probably moot these days sine the FCC no longer requires cable card support.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

UCLABB said:


> I don't think TAs are actually paired with the TiVos just simply authorized, i.e., in the system. I've moved TAs to different TiVos without issue. It could be since the TA gets a solid light that it is in the system.
> 
> To the OP, did you do as I suggested and reboot the TA or remove the USB and see if you got the warning screen that the TA was disconnected?
> Do you have a spare USB cable for a printer? I believe that's the style connection that goes into the TA.
> ...


Getting another cable will report back with any luck. I don't have a complaint with Spectrum at this time


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

mobouser said:


> Getting another cable will report back with any luck. I don't have a complaint with Spectrum at this time


Just to double check: you did reboot the Bolt, right? I've experienced issues where even though the TA has been rebooted and working, the Bolt also needed to be rebooted to get things working.

Also, you never answer this: *To the OP, did you do as I suggested and reboot the TA or remove the USB and see if you got the warning screen that the TA was disconnected?*


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

UCLABB said:


> Just to double check: you did reboot the Bolt, right? I've experienced issues where even though the TA has been rebooted and working, the Bolt also needed to be rebooted to get things working.
> 
> Also, you never answer this: *To the OP, did you do as I suggested and reboot the TA or remove the USB and see if you got the warning screen that the TA was disconnected?*


Yes I rebooted the TIVO many times just removed the USB and got no warnings. Also tried running the TA without any cables connected and it never stops blinking but when its hooked up it blinks but goes to solid green.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Does it matter which USB port on the BOLT is used?

Just plugging the TA in to the BOLT isn’t sufficient, is it? There’s some menu dialog used to initialize the connection? Or should that dialog automatically pop-up when the USB connection is made?


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

krkaufman said:


> Does it matter which USB port on the BOLT is used?
> 
> Just plugging the TA in to the BOLT isn't sufficient, is it? There's some menu dialog used to initialize the connection? Or should that dialog automatically pop-up when the USB connection is made?


I think I read that the top port is used but I tried both ports. I got a new usb cable to try but that made no difference. I gues I have to try Spectrum again and make sure both TA and cable card are paired together


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

Are you sure entire lineup is available to you, some of the business lineups are 50 or so channels. Might have to make arrangements with and pay spectrum for whole lineup.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

cannonz said:


> Are you sure entire lineup is available to you, some of the business lineups are 50 or so channels. Might have to make arrangements with and pay spectrum for whole lineup.


No I get all stations in the spectrum app on my ROKU not a business setup limited stations just due to cable card and TA.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

mobouser said:


> I gues I have to try Spectrum again and make sure both TA and cable card are paired together


As posted earlier, there's no pairing together. You just need to make sure your cable card is actually paired (check for that non-zero V number) and that the TA is actually on your account and enabled. The fact that you get a solid green light tells me it is.

I would go through guided setup again and see if the TA gets detected then.

Since you said the plug isn't flush, it still sounds like it's not actually plugged in all the way. The end that's the shape of a house has a notch that clicks it into place that takes some force to plug in fully.


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## nooneuknow (Feb 5, 2011)

Spectrum - Activation Home


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

I will try guided setup again. I wont be able to work on this until Thursday will post more than. I do have a cable card number for Spectrum to share it is 866-532-2598 if anyone interested.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Okay, I'm guessing there is something wrong with either the Bolt or the TA. If you are not getting the warning screen when disconnecting the USB cable, something is amiss with one of the boxes.


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

UCLABB said:


> Okay, I'm guessing there is something wrong with either the Bolt or the TA. If you are not getting the warning screen when disconnecting the USB cable, something is amiss with one of the boxes.


I was able to do a guided setup today and no changes. I do get some benefit from the cable card and so my guess is the TA. I will be returning the TA since that's my best guess. The Bolt has been flawless. Thanks again for the assistance Ive gotten on this issue


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

mobouser said:


> I was able to do a guided setup today and no changes. I do get some benefit from the cable card and so my guess is the TA. I will be returning the TA since that's my best guess. The Bolt has been flawless. Thanks again for the assistance Ive gotten on this issue


Could be some problem with the USB port/wiring and since the Bolt has two, the odds are the problem is with the TA. Let us know the result. Good luck.


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

Has it been fixed?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

@mobouser, you seem a good candidate to review this fresh TA how-to write-up:

This might solve some of your Tuning Adapter issues...


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## mobouser (Sep 14, 2005)

Yes finally fixed. For one my original TA was defective could not connect with my TIVO. Just got back down to Florida and ordered another TA which connected to the TIVO immediately but I was unable to get half the channels still had issues but not the TA and TIVO since they linked OK. I remembered that every time I called Spectrum they told me I had two accounts and I had to explain which account had issues. I also remembered reading somewhere that the TA has to communicate with your account to get the channels that you have.
and so I called again and had the operator remove the false account and bingo a few hours later after running the startup steps for a TA, now we get every channel. Thanks for all the assistance I got from everyone 
on this board.


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