Foxsat HDR - Tuner/Signal Issue - Fixed!

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Foxsat HDR - Tuner/Signal Issue - Fixed!

(15 posts)

alexis

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Hi there,

I have just spent an hour or so reading this forum and using the information to fix my broken Foxsat HDR. I thought it only reasonable that in exchange for the information I should post my experience here in the hope that it will help another reader.

My HDR has worked flawlessly for around 4 years. Yesterday however it started giving trouble. Initially it would not view channels saying there was no signal. Recordings could still be accessed. After rebooting no channels could be viewed and the recordings could not be accessed either. The menu could be accessed which showed there was no signal being received. Boot time had dramatically increased to 60-120 seconds.

I carried out the following steps...

I performed a factory reset which was successful and upon reboot I got the set up wizard. It then still said there was no signal and it wouldn’t accept the postcode. I could not do anything else at this stage. I could not exit the wizard or access the menu. Rebooting, including via rear switch, only loaded me back into the wizard.

I looked at the dish and the cable. Dish looked in the same position and the cable appeared intact.

I dug out an old Sky box and hooked it up to the lnb feed. This worked fine with good signal strength and quality. I now knew the problem was with the Humax.

I opened the Humax (three PH2 screws at rear - unplug first as there is 230V inside!) and took a look around. I got a torch and carefully inspected all the capacitors for signs of swelling (denoting failure) and looked around the circuit board for any signs of burns or arcing. All looked good.

I then disconnected the two cables running to the hard drive. It’s easier to disconnect them from the board rather than the drive itself.

I switched on and booted the Humax. The wizard appeared but this time it found signal. I was able to complete the setup and tune.

Next I powered down and switched off. I reconnected the drive and rebooted. It recognised the disk with no problems and all the recordings were visible and playable.

Replaced lid, had a cup of tea and informed a much relieved wife that her collection of Neighbours and Home and Away was safe.

| Tue 29 Jul 2014 23:10:18 #1 |
alexpearce

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I know this is a very old post, but just wanted to say that I had the exact same issue today.

Tuner appeared dead, no signal, postcode wouldnt verify, opened it up, disconnected hard drive (power + sata, sata alone didnt work) and started up and all was good again.

| Tue 13 Sep 2016 14:22:34 #2 |
REPASSAC

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"I dug out an old Sky box and hooked it up to the lnb feed. This worked fine with good signal strength and quality. I now knew the problem was with the Humax."

An assumption - The Humax, after a reset, will look for frequency
11428 H and report no signal if it cannot receive it. A failing LNB could receive vertical frequencies but not horizontal and there have been many examples of this.

One thought - both posts could also be a sign of a failing power supply. Hopefully they looked good when the case was open.

| Tue 13 Sep 2016 16:43:06 #3 |
staceydsf

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Thankyou for this post, the very same thing happend to me the other day, I was watching as usual and changed channel and lost both lnb feeds. Checked the lnb with a borrowed box and was about to give up when I found this thread. Disconected the HDD rebooted and all came back. Thanks again!!

| Wed 29 Aug 2018 21:53:11 #4 |
Troubledshooter

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I have recently experienced a similar problem. I had a 9 year old Foxsat HDR which had worked perfectly up to a couple of months ago, when I got the 'No/Bad Signal' box on the screen.
I did all the normal checks/reset/ etc. but found there was no signal present on either inputs, so I put it down to box failure and purchased another used Foxsat HDR in near new condition. It worked perfectly until 2 days ago when I once again got the 'No/Bad signal' box.
I followed the advice above regarding the disconnect of the HHD with no effect whatsoever, so I'm back to square one as I know of nobody who repairs Humax Freesat HDR's and have found no one who seems to know much about them.
I realise these are discontinued boxes but mine worked perfectly for many years, and I don't like the menu system on the new boxes, so would rather stick to the Foxsat box, but it's getting expensive.
Hopefully I have an engineer coming tomorrow from the company that maintains the communal aerial system, so I will see what he has to say.

| Wed 21 Nov 2018 17:14:56 #5 |
Troubledshooter

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I should have mentioned that I had the original 9 year old Foxsat HDR from new.

| Wed 21 Nov 2018 17:16:20 #6 |
REPASSAC

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Can you get into non-freesat mode and do a search?

| Wed 21 Nov 2018 17:23:34 #7 |
Troubledshooter

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Foxsat HDR is Freesat only.

| Wed 21 Nov 2018 17:39:30 #8 |
REPASSAC

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Troubledshooter - 7 minutes ago »
Foxsat HDR is Freesat only.

No it's not - Graham can you post how to get into non-freesat mode I think it was simpler than the G2 units on one of the setup menus? (it's an EEC requirement)

| Wed 21 Nov 2018 17:49:10 #9 |
grahamlthompson

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REPASSAC - 1 hour ago »

Troubledshooter - 7 minutes ago »
Foxsat HDR is Freesat only.

No it's not - Graham can you post how to get into non-freesat mode I think it was simpler than the G2 units on one of the setup menus? (it's an EEC requirement)

The Foxsat-hdr is a pretty advanced generic FTA receiver in it's own right. In its early days coveted by owners in areas difficult to access 28.2E and also multi orbital point capable for those with offset lnbs or motorised dishes, thanks it's very sensitive tuners that could could hang on to a weak signal that lesser boxes could not. It's design is based on a advanced Humax Germany Icord model.

http://www.astra2sat.com/freesat/diseqc-settings-on-freesat/

Firtly to get a non freesat mode you have to tune some channels using manual tune.

Might as well do a full FTA scan. This should find approx 477 channels (many regional variants).

https://en.kingofsat.net/freqs.php?&pos=28.2E&standard=All&ordre=freq&filtre=Clear

Menu Setup - Manual Tune right -Leave Transponder at all. Change Network Network Search to Enable. This enable a blind scan of transponders that don't currently have freesat channels so missing from the box transponder database.

Leave Channel Type at all

Down to search and press OK

After the search save the results and exit.

You are now in Non-freesat mode with a new menu option to return to Freesat mode. In non-freesat mode you now are able to view and manually record Channel 4-HD (missing from the Freesat epg).

The custom firmware channel editor can make channel 4-HD visible in Freesat mode with loads of other goodies

This also allows you to setup manual Channel-4-HD recordings without leaving Freesat mode.

| Wed 21 Nov 2018 19:49:20 #10 |