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My Humax Forum » Freesat HD » FOXSAT HDR

1. 

   tiffy2
   

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   Joined: Dec '12
   Posts: 35

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   Having a problem with my HDR which is just over a year old, it has a number of times switched itself to one cable (tuner) mode for no apparent reason, usually only noticed when a "conflict of recording" message appears on multi-recording attempts, the method I have been using to restore normal, 2 cable mode is to restore factory defauls and re-tune.

   I have absolutely no doubts regarding my dish, LNB cable'ing and all asociated connections, these have all been recently replaced, the "single cable" switching was occuring before & after system refurbishment.
   I have a professional satellite meter and the signal strength & quality are both optimal for my location.

   The HDR diagnostics always shows two excellent LNB signals even when the unit has reverted to the single cable mode !

   Have tried contacting Humax support directly over a period of weeks with somewhat disappointing and "insulting" results, after finally suggesting that a power cut may have been the source of the problem I politely requested an escalation of the issue to a more technical level, have not heard anything since !

   I am running on the latest firmware revision, always check for new revisions and have updated twice during the units life to date.

   Anyone else experienced this issue ?
   Is this a known fault, Humax certainly don't appear to think so ?
   Any suggestions as to any possible cause ?

   I am aware of the "hidden menu" option and can access, this indicates "1 cable" mode when the fault occurs.
   To date, I have never remembered to attempt changing back to "2 cable" mode from here rather than restoring factory default settings to see if that worked, as far as I know, both options require re-tuning anyway.

   Any comments, suggestions appreciated.

   | Thu 27 Dec 2012 10:41:18 #1 |
2. 

   grahamlthompson
   

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   Joined: Feb '11
   Posts: 14,442

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   Never heard of this before. Number of cables is normally only detected during a first install/reset. My HDR dates from late 2008.

   When it happens do you lose your recording schedule and reset user settings to defaults (Box Volume 50% for instance).

   And yes if you use the Antenna Settings menu to change connection type it does a retune for you.

   | Thu 27 Dec 2012 11:01:46 #2 |
3. 

   tiffy2
   

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   Joined: Dec '12
   Posts: 35

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   Many thanks for your prompt response and comments.

   Can't honestly say regarding the loss of recording schedules, myself and the wife only tend to use the basic recording features "on the day" so to speak, the problem really only manifests itself on the occasions when we need to record 2 programs at the same time and a "conflict" is displayed.

   So, other than using the "hidden menu" to display the number of "cables" in use or trying the dual record test it's not immediatly apparent that the situation exists.

   Humax certainly did not appear to believe that it was possible, I am convinced that it has indeed occured a number of times !

   | Thu 27 Dec 2012 11:59:30 #3 |
4. 

   grahamlthompson
   

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   Not surprised Humax don't think it can happen. Unless you can find a repeatable way of creating the condition it's going to be more than difficult to find a reason and fix it.

   At a guess it must be some sort of hardware problem with your specific box. Faulty NVram maybe. A software bug would surely have cropped up for other users by now.

   You don't leave the box unpowered for long periods do you ?

   | Thu 27 Dec 2012 12:14:50 #4 |
5. 

   tiffy2
   

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   Posts: 35

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   Yes, I appreciate exactly what you are saying and realise that in my case with the limited usage of the unit it's certainly very difficult to tie the perceived fault down to any particular event or chain of circumstances.

   You have already answered my question regarding this being a known issue with the HDR, you are obviously a very knowledgeable and long term forum member who would be aware of any such issues.

   Regarding down-powering the box for long periods, no, it remains on S/B. mode when not in use, never switched off.

   I will make an effort to check the "number of cables in use" menu on a regular basis to try and establish the frequency of the perceived event and establish if it is random or can be attributed to any specific event or chain of events.

   I am surprised that the diagnostic menu always displays 2 healthy LNB inputs when the unit has reverted to "1 cable" use, would the HDR be likely to switch to this mode if it were to spuriously see one of the inputs as unhealthy ?
   However, as stated earlier, this has happened on two different LNB's and sets of cable !

   | Thu 27 Dec 2012 12:45:04 #5 |
6. 

   grahamlthompson
   

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   You always get two tuner indications if the box is correctly connected for single cable working. Tuner 2 get's a signal from the lnb1 out socket. A short loop cable is required.

   Basically the box expects both tuners to have an input, only during a reset or first install is tuner 2 confirmed as having an independent lnb.

   You can still record two channels and watch a third using only 1 cable (with some restrictions of course).

   http://myhumax.org/forum/topic/what-can-i-record-and-watch-using-1-or-2-cables

   If the infeed to tuner 1 fails you get a message that says no signal at tuner 1, not sure what happens if tuner 2 input fails. Easy to find out disconnect the tuner 2 cable and boot the box.

   Never known one to switch connection modes whatever you do with the lnb cabling.

   You might be able to precipitate what happens in your box by trying a reboot with the different combinations of connections. Tuner 1 only fed and then tuner 2 only fed.

   | Thu 27 Dec 2012 12:58:58 #6 |
7. 

   tiffy2
   

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   Joined: Dec '12
   Posts: 35

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   I did run on a single cable mode for a period using the short LNB 1 out to tuner 2 in jumper connection before I organised a second LNB feed, worked surprisingly well subject to the high/low band & polarisation limititations as would be expected.

   I would agree that it is unlikely that the unit would switch to 1 cable mode in the event of any perceived failure of either of the LNB signals which should eliminate the possibility of anything external to the box going faulty even if the fauly was of an intermittant or sporadic nature.

   I accept that this is certainly not a common issue, as you can see, there are no replies to date from any other forum members reporting a similar issue, as such, it would be very difficult for Humax to diagnose and offer meaningful support.
   Perhaps I should have pushed for a unit replacement as the issue was raised before the warranty period expired ?

   As per your earlier diagnosis, it would seem that the issue is peculiar to my unit and agree that it would be more likely to be hardware than software related, unfortunately, the HDR being just out of warranty I will likely have to live with the issue.

   I am currently monitoring the status, 1 or 2 cable connection, on a daily basis rather than just waiting for a "record conflict" error to appear, this may establish the frequency of the perceived fault and hopefully establish if the occurance is random or associated with an event or sequence of events.

   Again, many thanks for your help & support with the issue, very much appreciated.

   | Fri 28 Dec 2012 13:20:17 #7 |

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