A 'cool' VIP222K

[KC9TIK]

I was just a little curious on what exactly was inside of this thing, so I took the cover off. I found the big Broadcom chip to be as hot as a pancake griddle, so I decided to do something about it. The two other ones near the tuners were also hot. I found some heatsinks laying around, and I used Arctic Alumina thermal adhesive to attach them. Now I can rest my hand on it and not get burned. Heat - the enemy of electronics. Here is a picture:

 

[mattb]

Hey now... Uncle Charlie wants you to cook your VIP222K so you can "pay" for the latest hopper or something

 

[navychop]

Gotta ask- leased or owned?

 

[3HaloODST]

If leased -- I wonder how Dish would react whenever it would be sent back? I bet if it broke, not too well, lol. If sent back in working order, maybe they'll say "Bah, why didn't I think of that?" lol.

But yeah, the bean counters at Dish are likely the main reason for most of the design shortcuts... They probably figure it's cheaper to let them overheat and replace with another refurb than to pay for the extra copper/aluminum for the heatsinks...

Customers complain about fan noise (especially the cheap ones utilized in the receivers) so they either use no fan at all or if there is one they keep it so slow that it's barely putting out enough CFMs to amount to anything (especially with small/cheap fans.)

Sent from my iPhone 4S using SatelliteGuys

 

[costanzas_wallet]

I like this guy. Welcome to satguys.

 

[KC9TIK]

I own it. Leasing usually costs more in the long run, but I haven't calculated it for Dish.
The LED's on the front may be next... orange, green, blue - almost a Christmas tree.

 

[Tyralak]

I own it. Leasing usually costs more in the long run, but I haven't calculated it for Dish.
The LED's on the front may be next... orange, green, blue - almost a Christmas tree.

Leased vs. owned, there's no difference in price with Dish.

 

[Mochuf]

Leased vs. owned, there's no difference in price with Dish.

Except you're paying extra due to the initial purchase. And since you can't "take" your equipment with you like you can with a Tivo using cable providers, owning doesn't make sense.

 

[garys]

I own it. Leasing usually costs more in the long run, but I haven't calculated it for Dish.
The LED's on the front may be next... orange, green, blue - almost a Christmas tree.

Not true when dealing with Dish, you have to buy the receiver and maybe pay an activation fee if it is a new account. Replacement if the receiver goes bad is usually the same. Depending on your package, you may not have access to several freebies. Only advantage it getting money back if you leave and sell the receiver. But if you stay for a long time, you may not get too much if you sell. So I have to ask, "How does leasing a Dish receiver usually cost more in the long run?"

 

[KC9TIK]

As I had said, I hadn't calculated it. Purchase with OTA module was about $200. I should double check that.

Edit: After doing a little research, I probably should have leased it. I purchased it without running the numbers.

 

[knotle]

That's the only way to keep it cool if you have the OTA module. I have put 2 different modules in my 222k and it would run hot. I could remove the module and the receiver would stay cool. Thanks for the pic. I have some heatsinks that will now be put to use.

 

[gpflepsen]

What's it worth to have a piece of equipment you own and can tinker with in the manner the OP is? Some would say priceless is a good deal at $200.

 

[dare2be]

What's it worth to have a piece of equipment you own and can tinker with in the manner the OP is? Some would say priceless is a good deal at $200.

I was just about to say the same thing. Leasing would cost him a lot more if he tried to mod a leased receiver.

The only mod I did on my leased receiver was to plug in a USB external fan to pull air out the left side of the receiver.