Has my Duo finally disgraced itself totally??

Analoguesat

Analoguesat

Administrator
Staff member
My Satellite Setup
TM 5402HD
Sky+ UK.
My Location
Scottish Borders
Its always been the receiver Ive liked least but it looks like its quit on me completely now.

It was working fine up to mid week, then I had to switch it off (rear switch) to get to some cables round the back of the telly. When I flicked the power back on I got a red led showing on the front panel..... And thats it. Absolutely zip else. Pressing the power button the the rcu (or any button) - no change.

I left it switched off overnight still zipperty doo dah.

Ive pulled it out from under the telly popped the top off and blown all the dust out of it (we have an open coal fire so EVERYTHING gets dusty here.....) Still zippo. No sign of any bulging caps round the psu area which was my immediate first thought.

Ive never liked the bloody thing but the picture quality was ok & its the first time its let me down totally. :(
 
Analoguesat said:
Its always been the receiver Ive liked least but it looks like its quit on me completely now.

It was working fine up to mid week, then I had to switch it off (rear switch) to get to some cables round the back of the telly. When I flicked the power back on I got a red led showing on the front panel..... And thats it. Absolutely zip else. Pressing the power button the the rcu (or any button) - no change.

I left it switched off overnight still zipperty doo dah.

Ive pulled it out from under the telly popped the top off and blown all the dust out of it (we have an open coal fire so EVERYTHING gets dusty here.....) Still zippo. No sign of any bulging caps round the psu area which was my immediate first thought.

Ive never liked the bloody thing but the picture quality was ok & its the first time its let me down totally. :(
Click to expand...
might be caps in the psu ...but unlikely ...
It is usually a defective regulator device ...and is tiny surface mount ..
cct ref U801
rgds
VS
How goods yer soldering ??
Steady hands and good eyesight needed foe this one ...but do-able.
be careful if you attempt it ...
NOT to damage the fine pcb print.
 
Vipersan said:
How goods yer soldering ??
Steady hands and good eyesight needed foe this one ...but do-able.
be careful if you attempt it ...
NOT to damage the fine pcb print.
Click to expand...

Not a chance. I normally burn myself on the rare times at work when I attempt any soldering...... Or melt the power cable.....

The date stamp inside is Feb 2011 - so its only 5 years old. A 300 quid receiver should last longer than that.

Maybe I'll take it outside & stick a pickaxe through it like Ive threatened to do in the past :-lmao
 
Sooo what to replace it with? What the new bad boy on the streets????
 
Oh dear. Favourite or not, that's a bit of a booger.
 
Analoguesat said:
Not a chance. I normally burn myself on the rare times at work when I attempt any soldering...... Or melt the power cable.....

The date stamp inside is Feb 2011 - so its only 5 years old. A 300 quid receiver should last longer than that.

Maybe I'll take it outside & stick a pickaxe through it like Ive threatened to do in the past :-lmao
Click to expand...
And if you do that it will only bugg** up the wood burner afterwards
 
Google "vu red light" and it's all about replacing capacitor C807. Which does involve soldering but according to some is fairly simple. Ebay even have a kit of parts since the red light issue is so common.
 
If you fancy a trip down here ...or even post it to me AS ..I'll see what I can do for ya...
 
Thanks VS - I'll probably be passing down the M6 at some point over the summer to visit my folks so I may well drop in. :)
 
Vipersan said:
If you fancy a trip down here ...or even post it to me AS ..I'll see what I can do for ya...
Click to expand...
Now there is an offer none of us would like to accept, or refuse, because we all like to sleep at nights. Sorry VS, you scare me too!
 
Milamber said:
Now there is an offer none of us would like to accept, or refuse, because we all like to sleep at nights. Sorry VS, you scare me too!
Click to expand...
Ahhh ..but he has been here before and lived to tell the tale ...
but then ...he did bring formidable backup in the form of his missus...
lol
 
I have indeed had the honour of visiting VS - I eyed his Christina up but shes a one bloke girl :D
 
Lots of information on the vuplus community forum, regarding the VU+ Duo, and the red light issue.
It's a very cheap fix.
Code: 
http://www.vuplus-community.net/board/threads/vu-duo-is-dead.3616/page-4
 
So putting cheap Chinese parts inside a 2/300 quid receiver causes problems.

Well what a surprise that is.....
 
Fisty McB said:
PS - NSFW unless you turn the volume down!
Click to expand...

Remind me of a cable tv boast when they offered to take down the satellite dish after you converted to cable then place the dishes in a skip & jump on them :eek:
 
If you do decide to replace the Duo, i wouldn't go near the Xtrend range. Most models have a stupid security board in it with a battery. Once the battery dies or it becomes dislodged the box is scrap unless you decide to send it back to the manufacturer. Bloody stupid design if you ask me as if the Chinese decide to clone them they will figure a work round as they always do.

Apparently Xtrend will release a firmware patch which will allow the box to work with out the security board, but i'm not holding my breath that this will come anytime soon.

As far as i'm concerned its just a built in expiry on the box to make sure it definitely dies long before its supposed to. Its a pity really as i cant really fault my ET9500, good quality picture and it works well. Its just that damn battery which will make sure i never buy another thing made by Xtrend ever again.
 
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