Inside the Hopper.

[harshness]

I find it fascinating that people often try to apply principles that they learned in a different field (and often in a different decade) to something substantially different. DVRs are little like personal computers or even DVRs of old and to make key comparisons between them is probably not wise. If they can put a quad core 1.3GHz processor w/GPU in a tablet without a substantial fan, it seems quite reasonable to do what DISH has done.

If you're ensconcing your DVR in an home entertainment oven, you deserve all of the difficulties you get (and more for ignoring the warnings). Not hearing a fan buzzing is not a design flaw.

 

[Hall]

There are also the bean counters at Dish that have apparently decided that replacing overheated receivers is cheaper than adding more fans. For example, the Joeys have a spot on their PCB for supplying power to a fan. However the connector is missing (and if course the fan too.) That is most likely the result of the bean counters.

I suspect that the bean counters actually have hard data that proves it's cheaper to replace a "few" receivers vs the fixed cost of adding -- to EVERY receiver -- connectors, fans, the freight cost to get those components, inventory costs for stocking those components. It may seem like pennies to us, but to them, it clearly adds up.

I remember when Dell started having their own motherboards produced with NO serial, parallel, PS2, or mouse ports. They went all USB. If you had an older device that used one of those, you either had to get an adapter or replace the device. On the other hand, and it probably applied to the vast majority of Dell's customers, it was a non-issue. Their keyboard, mouse, printer, etc, etc were all USB anyway, so they were good to go ! Why did Dell do that ? 1) It saved them money, 2) because they could, and 3) Intel pushed it.

 

[3HaloODST]

I bet you that at least a few times when bugs are encountered (sudden reboots and the like, things not quite acting right until a reboot) can be attributed to internal components overheating, particularly the CPU.

I see it all the time in computers with clogged up heatsinks or other general heatsinks failure. The CPU is fine until the temp reaches a certain point and there is either a software glitch or a reboot.

Now I know that the DVR components are not exactly the same as your typical PC components. The chips are designed generally to be able to withstand higher temps, but fact of the matter is that they are still silicon.

It is rare to find chips that can withstand 100+C and it doesn't take long for an improperly cooled chip to reach 100+. There are millions of transistors generating heat. Dish DVRs are indeed designed with the absolute bare minimum in cooling. Things do get HOT in there.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using SatelliteGuys

 

[3HaloODST]

As for what I do about said heat: Nothing. I just make sure to keep the receivers out in the open and that's it. It is what it is. So far that method has worked fine. *knocks on wood*

Sent from my iPhone 4S using SatelliteGuys

 

[Hall]

I used a laptop cooler underneath my 622 and it did a very good job of keeping the average temperature down. Problem is, it only lasted a year and for a few months prior to it dying, it got noisier and noisier (fan bearings going bad).

Also, remember that one downside of vents and fans is that they tend to suck in dirt/dust and once inside, there's so much stuff in there, that dust gets stuck as the airflow isn't sufficient to pull it through all the nooks and crannies. People wonder why Dish often doesn't vent their receivers on the top panel and it could be because dust, for example, can easily fall inside. It's a lot harder to fall inside the vents on the sides like they often do.

Finally, before anyone suggests opening up the case and blowing them out with a can of air, how many average people would ever do that ? Do those same average people ever do it with their PC ? 90% of the time the answer is "no".

 

[gadgtfreek]

I used to care and ran cover off or with a USB fan fan. Now I just dont enclose them and spend little time caring what happens.

 

[GaryPen]

Yes. Go into network setup, tests, view counters, use the page down button to scroll.

Sure. That's the logical place one would expect to find temp readings. Ironically, this is one item one would expect to find under "diagnostics", which is where they keep stuff that has nothing to do with diagnostics.

 

[DishSubLA]

I wonder could you stick a Y adapter on the power supply add a fan that ran all the time moved the fan they have over then close the box back up so you still have a pretty hopper sitting there that doesn't look altered. Didn't I read somewhere that dish doesn't cool their box's real well because all people do is complain and bi*** because they are too loud and they can't sleep because of the fan and blah, blah blah.

I do believe this is why Dish doesn't have larger fans or more effective fans. Yes, they've have had to deal with a lot of "my box is too noisy" complaints taking up expensive CSR time at toll-free telephone costs to the company, especially folks who have DVR's in the bedroom, in the past. However, the the Seagate Pipeline is supposed to tolerate case temps as high as 71 Celsius or 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the Seagare Pipeline is among the quietest, if not THE quietest, HDD out there today, and it is targeted for DVR use. All in all, it seems this is a fine DVR HDD and a good one for "HOT" Dish boxes

 

[TheKrell]

It's also a 5900rpm drive.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Good info on the Pipeline drive. I am only familiar with the AV-GP drives from WD.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Here is the Pipeline HD info:

• 20 simultaneous streams of HD content
• 24x7 operation
• With an AFR of 0.55%, Pipeline HD® hard drives feature industry-leading reliability for always-on devices like DVRs and home theater systems.
• 40% less heat production than comparable drives during the same duty cycle.
• And the Pipeline HD drive can take the heat in the most demanding 24×7 devices. This hard drive improves system reliability with a capability of operating at temperatures of up to 75° C.
• 5900rpm
• SATA 3GB/s
• Cache 64MB
• Actual operating range - 0-75 degrees C

 

[Skytrooper]

I used a laptop cooler underneath my 622 and it did a very good job of keeping the average temperature down. Problem is, it only lasted a year and for a few months prior to it dying, it got noisier and noisier (fan bearings going bad).

Also, remember that one downside of vents and fans is that they tend to suck in dirt/dust and once inside, there's so much stuff in there, that dust gets stuck as the airflow isn't sufficient to pull it through all the nooks and crannies. People wonder why Dish often doesn't vent their receivers on the top panel and it could be because dust, for example, can easily fall inside. It's a lot harder to fall inside the vents on the sides like they often do.

Finally, before anyone suggests opening up the case and blowing them out with a can of air, how many average people would ever do that ? Do those same average people ever do it with their PC ? 90% of the time the answer is "no".

Fans do bring in a lot of dust. Do not mount electronic equip. in a closed stand. I am 1 of those people that blows out the dust with my air compressor. Never caused any problems. The amount of dust that comes out of a PC is unreal.

 

[coinmaster32]

I'm one of those people that never use a ground strap when working on computers. I think they are a myth. 10+ years of working in computers and never had a problem. I actually like using a vacuum on my computer, compressed air is full of moisture and can knock parts off the motherboard.

 

[gadgtfreek]

compressed air is full of moisture and can knock parts off the motherboard

Dont turn the can upside down and use sparingly, and dont use a jet turbine for your air source.

 

[coinmaster32]

I'm talking about compressed air from a air compressor.

 

[manteca]

adjust the air compressor psi output, maybe 10 to 15 psi is enough to work with electronic equipment and be sure to include a regulator with a water trap

 

[gadgtfreek]

adjust the air compressor psi output, maybe 10 to 15 psi is enough to work with electronic equipment and be sure to include a regulator with a water trap

Ding ding ding.

 

[coinmaster32]

Meh. Plus that makes a big dusty mess. I'l stick with my 2 horse shop vac.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Then you might suck a part off the board LOL

 

[Hall]

Meh. Plus that makes a big dusty mess. I'l stick with my 2 horse shop vac.

Blow them out outside, not inside...