Dish 522 Problems!

[deebred]

I have been using the Dish Network 522 receiver since June 1, 2004. The initial install went well but shortly after, the 522 lost its brains a few times. With the help of Dish support I had to do the power reset 3 different times and get the downloads. Finally the system seemed to settle down. Since that time I have experienced slow response from the remotes and picture freeze up's at times but most of the time things ran pretty well. Although the big problem happened last night. Signal dropped and a message on the screen stated that the drive was being cleared! I knew this was not good. But instead of just a few minutes to perform the task and restart as it stated it turned into a "NEVER COME BACK" mode. Called Dish support and we tried all their magic to get it back with NO success. Finally they said that the disk clear could take up to 4 hours and I should call back if it didn't finish after that time frame. It was still doing its thing this AM. Called back and they are now sending me a new unit. What is so frustrating about this is that when a drive (DVR) goes out to lunch, this system goes to single TV mode and into standbye and will not allow any signal through until the drive clear program finishes. That really sucks in my opinion. I was out of service the entire evening waiting and now totally out until a new 522 arrives from Dish in 2-5 days. I can't believe a bad drive can hang up this whole system. I would have thought they designed this to keep on trucking in the event of a failed drive. At least that way you could view programs until the drive is cleared or worse case replaced. Also I noticed a lot of heat generated from this unit which may be some of the problem. The fan runs continuously. Has anyone else experienced problems like this? My 522 unit had issues from the start but I do understand the nature of electronic equipment. Just wondering if there is a pattern of failure to the 522's.

 

[SimpleSimon]

There ya go - continuous fan = overheat = you fried it.

If you understand electronics, then you understand that they need a lot of cool air. Examine where you put the thing, and make sure the case is never more than "a bit warm" to the touch.

There are valid design reasons why a PVR won't operate without it's hard drive. In order to implement things like buffering live TV, all incoming signals are sent directly to the HDD. You are NEVER watching something truly "live" when using a DVR.

 

[chaddux]

test

 

[chaddux]

There ya go - continuous fan = overheat = you fried it.

If you understand electronics, then you understand that they need a lot of cool air. Examine where you put the thing, and make sure the case is never more than "a bit warm" to the touch.

There are valid design reasons why a PVR won't operate without it's hard drive. In order to implement things like buffering live TV, all incoming signals are sent directly to the HDD. You are NEVER watching something truly "live" when using a DVR.

I still never hear the fan unless I do a hard reboot. My house must be really cold.

 

[deebred]

Thanks for the tip on avoiding an overheating problem, BUT I have worked with computer equipment for 20+ years and do know the effect of heat on components. This box was setting in a open room and the fan still continued to run. So it was my thought that it should be running continuously since it was anyway. What I really was trying to find is; DO THESE 522 SYSTEMS HAVE A HISTORY OF FAILURE? IF SO I HAVE MADE A BAD DECISION ON THE TYPE OF SATELLITE EQUIPMENT TO USE.

 

[ibleedblue]

DO THESE 522 SYSTEMS HAVE A HISTORY OF FAILURE? IF SO I HAVE MADE A BAD DECISION ON THE TYPE OF SATELLITE EQUIPMENT TO USE.

Have you looked over these forums at all?!? The success rate seems marginal at best. Most of the satisfied customers are the ones who don't mind random signal drops, randox acts of pixelation, A/V synch issues, random cleanings with no warning, random color loss and guide of death occurances to name a few. Those of us who DO mind these problems don't like the 522. I just hope you didn't get suckered by the install company to sign a contract. I'm driving down that road now waiting on pins and needles for February.