[adb94103]

Has anyone seen this behavior with the Hughes E86:


You tune to any directv HD channel like HBOHD or SHOHD or HDNET, then when you tune to any other standard def channel like IFC or Sundance you get "searching for satellite signal". It will remain that way indefinitely unless you press the channel up key several times then the signal returns to normal levels (between 88 and 100) and will remain problem free until you tune in another HD channel then try to tune a standard def channel. This behavior is consistent every time and prevents effective channel surfing. It does not do this when going from an OTA HD signal and a standard def directv channel.


Mine just started doing this. I tried unplugging it and letting it cool all the way down to room temperature but it still continues with the above behavior. I admit I haven't purchased a supplemental fan for it -- I shouldn't have to since it sits alone with plenty of ventilation on all sides. Can someone suggest a website that sells suitable, quiet fans with an included power-supply so I can just plug it in the wall? You'd think that Hughes would provide them free of charge.


Has anyone seen this and remedied it short of returning it to Hughes for another? This would be the fourth return for me (all different problems) and frankly I'm ready to throw in the towel and just buy something more stable, if there is such a set top box out there. I'm wondering whether these refurbished boxes they keep sending have actually been fixed completely.

 

[ksmith4]

There have been other threads about switching between the different satellite "birds" - 101 and 119 I think - and issues with doing so. As to the cooling fans, try this thread - there are a few different makes/models of cooling fans - I bought the notebook cooler, you'll just need to make sure it comes with an AC adapter, and not a serial port adapter. I went to RS and changed the power supply to lower the voltage - so it runs slower and quieter than with the original (12v) power supply:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ighlight=menus


Good luck - the fan helps a lot. I run mine on top of the unit sitting upside down (easier to pull hot air up than down).


Kendal

 

[wjbjr]

I went through four new free standing HD5 and E86 boxes and was about to swap again when I finally succumbed to Greywolf's nagging and added an already owned 9" very quiet desk fan that sits behind and blows across the top of the box. Available for about $10 at Office Depot and similar stores or web sites. No problems after five weeks (knock wood).

 

[Benji]

I went through 7 Hughes boxes until I struck gold. I've had my current box for over one year (with no fan sitting on top of a 65"Mits with 3 other components) and have had no problem. Keep exchanging until you get the right one.

 

[adb94103]

I'm wondering just how widespread the need to keep exchanging these are, based on these posts. Any other consumer electronics equipment that needs to exchanged 4, 6 or even 7 (!) times before you get a good one would surely be called a lemon. It would make an interesting poll question to find out how many times people here have had to swap equipment. (I don't know how to do it, though).


If the fix is as simple as adding a fan, then shouldn't Hughes be sending them out free of charge? I would think it would be in their best interest.


I still suspect that most of the refurbs they are sending out haven't been completely refurbished.

I'd be curious to know exactly what they do with the returns -- do they actually replace board components?

 

[TomF]

My first SR-HD5 died after about three months. The replacement was DOA right out of the box. The third one was a charm, no trouble in 1-1/2 years!

 

[easy9]

i bought my huges 1 year to this date over at good guys electronics in northern calif, and it went to crap last month, sorry to say i missed all of ncaa tournament,

but any way just got my receiver back yesterday and it has a sticker on the back of the unit that says refurbished, didn't notice this till i got home, i was pissed and went back to the store demanding what the hell it was that they were doing , my biff with them was that i bought a new item and that i should get the same one fixed or replace it with a new one, and not a used one which i got,. i got the extended warrnaty till 2007, and they are claiming that it was hughes call to send me a refurb and not a new one, and that there was notthing they could do about it,

what do uguys think, is this a bunch of bull or what,

 

[Apps1]

Quote:

Originally posted by easy9 i bought my huges 1 year to this date over at good guys electronics in northern calif, and it went to crap last month, sorry to say i missed all of ncaa tournament, but any way just got my receiver back yesterday and it has a sticker on the back of the unit that says refurbished, didn't notice this till i got home, i was pissed and went back to the store demanding what the hell it was that they were doing , my biff with them was that i bought a new item and that i should get the same one fixed or replace it with a new one, and not a used one which i got,. i got the extended warrnaty till 2007, and they are claiming that it was hughes call to send me a refurb and not a new one, and that there was notthing they could do about it, what do uguys think, is this a bunch of bull or what,

That is standard operating procedure from my experiences in dealing with equipment mfg's. You sent them a used unit that didn't work and they sent you back a used unit that does(hopefully). At least you know you will have a working unit for the next 5 years.

 

[easy9]

i don't know , this is kind of shaddy if u ask me, i missed out on a whole month of hdtv for a refub model, how long does it take to realize that your unit is not repairable,

i just think this practice sucks for the amount of money that we are dishing out

 

[greywolf]

I think I'd rather have a unit that somebody actually repaired, checked and tested than one that nobody ever looked at. I had 2 replacement Toshiba DST-3000s that were bad right out of the box.

 

[Benji]

I agree with Greywolf. As long as it works properly, it doesn't matter if it is a refurb or not.