Televisions

[Pachapapa]

Perhaps new TV has an onboard integrated Sat Receiver, fairly common these days. Check manual specs or look on back of TV., if two aerial connections one of them could be for sat.
Most problems are high wind moving dish and poor aerial cable connection.
F connectors are notorious at causing problems. Does the Humax light up when turned on?

[hughnique]

Someone, I believe, mentioned a firestick earlier on. I had a conversation with someone about a year or so ago, if I bought one of these firesticks from Amazon he would come round and for a fee of 50€ would put some app on the device, which would allow me to obtain all the sky channels and various other pay for services for free. Anyone know if this was a con or can it be done, also what do you get with these firestick things channel wise?

[Char]

That is an absolute Bummer Char.

Are you sure it is the box? It could be a connection - at either end - or the lnb itself, let alone dish alignment.

I say this as one who has suffered all of these except the lnb failing.

Grandaughter was watching Netflix and the humax box went off and it won't turn back on again, no lights no nothing - OH's going to take it apart later and look at it.

[Char]

Does the Humax light up when turned on?

It does nothing at all, 'tis as dead as a dodo.

[RobertArthur]

@ Char, check the external power supply, output should be around 12 V dc. Other standard problems: our sometimes notorious friend, the cheap electrolytic capacitor.

@ Hughnique: firestick, can it be done? Not having a firestick, easily satisfied with a simple rateau on our roof and the free French TNT channels, only a link to these remarks about firesticks, countries of origin and VPN services.

[Char]

@ Char, check the external power supply, output should be around 12 V dc. Other standard problems: our sometimes notorious friend, the cheap electrolytic capacitor.

When plugging in to the mains the heat sink gets warm and checked with volt meter it gives 12 volts - now off to look at the link you've kindly given.

[RobertArthur]

@ Char, so you've got an additional electric heater.....Heat sinks however should not get too warm, lukewarm is okay, really hot is an indication of something going wrong. Diagrams being hardly available for the many Humax boxes, I suppose that downstream of the 12 v supply there will be another voltage dropper, probably a standard little voltage regulator of the 7805/7905 family, feeding the logic circuits with 5 V or perhaps 3.3 V. In the company of another 'smoothing' electrolytic capacitor.

[Char]

Circuit boards aren't my forté - I'm OK with computer insides as long as it doesn't mean playing around with the motherboard.
Here's piccies of the inside -

IMG_20211212_111821.jpg

IMG_20211212_111815.jpg

IMG_20211212_111809.jpg

[RobertArthur]

...if these indicator lights and the display get their electrons from the 5 V or 3.3 V supply rail, this might be something to check. Modern soldering techniques, without lead: prone to dry solder joints. Resoldering, fine tip needed, of essential components, the little 5 V or 3.3 V regulator sometimes helps. Touching these joints with a ultra low-cost plastic device - the other side of a toothbrush brought into pointed shape - helps in identifying these weak or intermittent links.

Edit: I'll have a closer look at the pictures of the printed circuit board later this afternoon. Do you have a type or production number of this Humax box?

[hughnique]

@ Hughnique: firestick, can it be done? Not having a firestick, easily satisfied with a simple rateau on our roof and the free French TNT channels, only a link to these remarks about firesticks, countries of origin and VPN services.

Thanks, I did pose the question of a VPN to this man but he said it was not required, obviously it is, in which case that means shelling out a subscription, ouch, and if I do get a VPN then my TV has all the Iplayer etc on it so won't need a firestick.