522 Overheating

bpickell

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Aug 16, 2005
196
0
I have a 522 that seems to overheat everyday. I am currently working on building a cooling system for it, however I need to know how to find in setup or wherever it is, the temp guage. I know it has one, because everyday when I get home from work I get the error message that my receiver is at 135 degrees. Is there a way to know what the temp is without it overheating?

I would like to be able to see if my cooling unit is working by monitoring the temp. I plan on puting a variable speed fan control on it and need to monitor it to see at what speed will maintain the temp, for lowest possible noise output.

Thanks in advance.
 
There is a high, low, and average temp in the diagnostics "view counters" area.

Quickest fix you can probably do is make sure it has plenty of airflow around it, and completely remove the top cover (unless there are kids or animals around that might drop things inside or touch the voltage)
 
So there is nothing that shows current temp them... That kinda throws a wrench into my plan. I guess I will have to invest in one of those laser thermometers. I didn't really want to spend too much on this since I only have about 15 bucks into it now, and it functions.

I didn't feel that was too bad concidering how comparible units sell for about 150 bucks online.
 
I had the same problem, I got a little 3 inch very quiet computer fan and mounted it on the left side blowing in through the vents. Powered by an extra 9v wall wart I had laying around, and it has been fine ever since.

StevenE
 
fan those flames !

Good idea. 9 volts to a 12 volt fan should be very quiet and still move a little air.

There were several internal mods published for the 501/508/510's .
One made the fan run all the time, and in any kind of equipment cabinet, that's necessary.
Another caused the fan to run at low speed even when it was supposed to be off.
If I recall, the firmware didn't turn the fan on even when the unit was pretty hot.

Mine sits at the top of a stack of equipment, about eye level, and it's too high for anyone to put anything on it.
Sounds like the 522 suffers from the same lack of attention to detail.
.
 
I came home one night and found mine at 138-140'F with the error message on it. Did you have any thunderstorms lately that could have smoked it?

I ended up RMA'ing my unit. If it is *yours*, you might want to stand the unit on its side to create more airflow with the vent holes facing up. (or remove the cover as Pepper suggested but only if you own it.)

Standing it up is impractical, but is a temporary fix since heat rises and cooler room air will be drawn into the fan slot and pulled up through the power board and exit above through natural convection.

My new one runs at an average of 87' with a high temp of 96'F.

I think it is more of an internal case temp than actual hard drive temp. You could have a power circuit going bad on the main board. A temp probe may just isolate your heat problem and save you replacing the drive for no reason but unless you are tech savvy, I'd shy away from component level replacement.
 
Laser temperature pointers are interesting, BUT temp reading will vary all over the lot:(

Its so specific to be useless for such use.

If you still want one try harbor freight...
 
I had the same problem with my 942. I just put quarter inch spacers under each foot and it cooled right down and never did it again. The unit was on a top shelf with no walls or other equipment near it and it still overheated every day. Since adding the spacers (6 months now) it has not repeated the problem.
 
DallasBill said:
We also have a 522 and I noticed it heated up pretty good on first day out of the box,my solution:take the cover off= problem solved :yes

Been off for a year and runs cool.

If I took the cover off mine, it would be dead in a month. 2 Dogs and 4 cats.
 
unlikely, but...

You know... that's something to think about.
A cat who curls up on top of something to enjoy the warmth.
Personally, I think a PVR would be too hot, but for anyone with animals, do check for hair on top of your overheating unit. ;)
 
The cat's don't get on the equipment, I'm talking about pet hair, getting inside the equipment. At least with the cover on I can dust it, and keep it somewhat clean.

now I might consider taking the cover off and using a rotozip to cut vents into it and using a foam mesh on the inside as a filter for the pet hair.
 

Yet another actually happy 942 owner

Another upgrade question (510)