Seeking replacement satellite receiver/recorder

[fla_independent]

Hello

My Humax Foxsat box has died after two years. I was very happy with the way it worked; not quite so impressed by how long it lasted!

I'm now looking for a new receiver/recorder, which needs to work with two satellite dishes (fed via a DiSeqC switch) to one television.

Is a Humax Foxsat still the best option? There seems to be quite a lot of chat about Technomate, too. Would one of their models be better? Or some other alternative?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks

 

[sonnetpete]

My VU+ Solo is working with four dishes and 16 LNB's. I'd recommend it personally but I'm sure other people on here have their own favourites. The Skybox F3 seems quite popular too...and it's cheap....

 

[Lazarus]

If I were you, I'd fix the Foxsat: They tend to fail as a result of poor quality Power Supply Smoothing Capacitors and these can be replaced easily and cheaply by anyone vaguely competent with a Soldering Iron.


Have a look here

 

[fla_independent]

My VU+ Solo is working with four dishes and 16 LNB's. I'd recommend it personally but I'm sure other people on here have their own favourites. The Skybox F3 seems quite popular too...and it's cheap....

thank you! I will investigate those...

 

[fla_independent]

If I were you, I'd fix the Foxsat: They tend to fail as a result of poor quality Power Supply Smoothing Capacitors and these can be replaced easily and cheaply by anyone vaguely competent with a Soldering Iron.


Have a look here

Wow – that's interesting. My symptoms aren't like the ones describes in the other thread: generally, the box boots itself okay, then says that it can't find any satellite signal – which I know is not the case, as my other TV and box are working fine with the same satellite dishes. Is this still likely to be the capacitors? If it is, I'll have a go at some DIY!

 

[timo_w2s]

Just make sure the LNB output or the cable isn't faulty by moving the box to another room or known working output.

 

[Lazarus]

If the problem persists after checking the things timo mentioned, then yes it could well be the Capacitors. The symptoms of degraded Capacitors can maifest themselves in a variety of ways (We know this all too well as various other Boxes eg some notorious BSkyB types exhibit all sorts of curious behaviour before they give up the fight!).

 

[fla_independent]

Just make sure the LNB output or the cable isn't faulty by moving the box to another room or known working output.

Good tip! I will do some more checking, before jumping to conclusions...

 

[fla_independent]

Just make sure the LNB output or the cable isn't faulty by moving the box to another room or known working output.

Not the cables or LNB - I've got my back up box working with them... guess I'll brave the capacitors!

 

[timo_w2s]

Good luck!

 

[Lazarus]

Shouldn't be difficult - You can either source the relevant ones piecemeal or just get the Mike Cartwright kit mentioned in the linked Topic. It should then give you another couple of years of service.

C12 2200 microfarad 10v and C23 680 microfarad 25v are the culprits: The former seems to be responsible for boot-loop and the latter "no signal".

But good luck from me also. Less than a tenner ought to give you another couple of years of service.

 

[skomedal]

Bit off topic but still humax related.

Have a humax 2000 hdci and have had to replace same bulging cap on the psu ( power supply unit ) twice now in this box.
Last swap ( 3 years ago ) upgraded the cap to same micro farads ( 2200uF 10V - 2200uF 35V ) but a higher voltage seems to work, remember to get the polarity right -pol has a stripe.

Good luck

Tivu posted while I was typing but good/same advice

 

[PaulR]

If you're sourcing the power supply capacitors yourself make sure that you get 105 °C rated ones instead of the normal rated ones at 85 °C. They will last considerably longer.

 

[hexah]

I strongly recommend raising the unit up another centimetre or two to get a proper chimney effect. I have done that to my receiver and it feels much cooler especially on the HD channels where it has to work harder.

Routers are really bad for overheating. Lifting it up just two centimetres makes a massive difference after a few hours of operation. I think it is a deliberate strategy to shorten their life so you have to keep buying new ones.

Heat is the enemy of all electronics and adds noise in tuners so it could make a difference on marginal channels. Computer lovers might take it to another level but I don't think I will be using liquid nitrogen any time soon.

 

[Lazarus]

I don't think I will be using liquid nitrogen any time soon.

Especially refreshing with a drop of Ginger Ale.

 

[Riverblue]

Especially refreshing with a drop of Ginger Ale.

I don't think I will be using liquid nitrogen any time soon.

What sort of pubs do they have round your way???

 

[Lazarus]

What sort of pubs do they have round your way???

They are really Cool!

 

[Riverblue]

They are really Cool!

-196℃!! Yeah, that's bloody cool!

 

[Huevos]

Like the others have said, if you like the Humax try to fix it. It's pretty easy. Just undo a few Phillips screws and pull out the psu board.

As far as other receivers go, if you want the tv guide (EPG) the only receivers that can do that properly are Sky, Freesat and E2. If you want to watch tv and record you need 2 tuners or more. To have full control over the multiple dishes and have the tv guide the only practical option is E2. Many E2 boxes can handle USB terrestrial tuners as well which means you can mix Freesat and Freeview channels in the same channel list and record from either. Twin tuner E2 boxes compatible with all of the above are Vu+ (Duo, Solo2, Ultimo, & Duo2), or Xtrend (ET9000/9200). Out of them the Duo is the cheapest and is similar in price to a Foxsat PVR, and the sky is the limit when it comes to controlling dishes and having access to many useful plugins.

 

[PaulR]

I remember a news item some months ago about a club that served cocktails with liquid nitrogen - presumably for the billowing clouds of mist that it would give.

An unfortunate twenty something year old (woman I think) had swallowed it wrongly, or perhaps too much, and wrecked his/her stomach necessitating its removal. A severe impact on your quality of life after that!