Risks benefits of going uncovered

[Cband55]

I post this to the experts

Would it make a significant difference in temperature if I leave my Sonicview 8000 uncovered, it’s overheating and that lil fan I don’t think it cools that much.

I have the Sonicview under a tv table so below it it protects against some stuff.

Has anyone read something on this subject

 

[Mr Tony]

how much clearance do you have for air?

I know some of the HD receivers run really hot unless you have a fair amount of room for air to get in. My CS8000 ran very warm unless I put it on top of the entertainment center I had. Even with 3 inches of clearance it still ran way too hot

 

[migold]

As a general rule - heat is the enemy of electronics. Iceberg is correct, look for good air clearance, if you don't have good clearance, do something to allow more ventilation. Even having a small fan blow air across the top of the unit can help keep the temperature down.

 

[pro96]

I've used a laptop usb fan on both SV8000HD & CS8000HD and seem to work a lot better and run much cooler then them cheap fans they come with. In fact, the CS8000HD built in fan is disconnected and using the lappy fan is 1000% quieter too.

 

[toucan-man]

I scrounged a cooling fan from an old pc power supply, and attached an old Nokia wall wart as the power supply -- the fan runs "under-clocked", haha -- and then Velcro'd the fan to the top of a Pansat 9200HD -- the case does not feel warm to the touch at all any longer. Without the fan, you could fry eggs over easy or keep a pot of fondue fully liquid. Quite a temperature difference for no cash outlay.

 

[McGuyver]

In addition to the other's posts, the under side of the stb should have good air space as well in the event it's overheating. Don't place it on top of other devices and even if it's not, you can try placing some thin wood strips (one on each side parallel to one another but be careful not to cover the vents if possible) or something of a similar shape under the box to raise it up an extra inch or so, this is providing you have enough clearance above the box. In any event I suggest a large fan mod and put the cover in place, too many chances of accidental inncidents.

 

[Mr Tony]

I've used a laptop usb fan on both SV8000HD & CS8000HD and seem to work a lot better and run much cooler then them cheap fans they come with. In fact, the CS8000HD built in fan is disconnected and using the lappy fan is 1000% quieter too.

heck the original batches of CS8000 has NO fan in them

 

[Anole]

With 120mm fans selling for $2, $3, $5, at all the electronics stores, I see no reason to not ventilate.
The 120's usually run slow 'n quiet even on full voltage.

 

[ACRadio]

I recently had to recap a SonicView 360 Premier power supply that had failed. I have heard reports of power supply caps going bad in the 8000's so while I was ordering I got a good set of Panasonics to put in my 8000. Mine didn't get really hot but it would get fairly warm. After replacing the caps I noticed it was quite a bit cooler. Some of these receivers designed for the pirates aren't bad receivers at all, but in most of them the power supply caps are crap...

 

[McGuyver]

I recently had to recap a SonicView 360 Premier power supply that had failed. I have heard reports of power supply caps going bad in the 8000's so while I was ordering I got a good set of Panasonics to put in my 8000. Mine didn't get really hot but it would get fairly warm. After replacing the caps I noticed it was quite a bit cooler. Some of these receivers designed for the pirates aren't bad receivers at all, but in most of them the power supply caps are crap...

I agree AC, it appears that only a selective few receivers have descent PSU's, all of the other's have sub standard PSU's. Not only are the Caps crap, so are all the other components. The PSU's are not manufactured by the mainboard manufacturers so in many models the mainboards can be of a high quality standard while the PSU's are junk, not a good match IMO.

 

[truckracer]

I run my pansat 9200's with the covers off. I thought of installing a 120 volt line powered pc fan in them. Just connect to the power cord on the switch side. Not connecting Any more load to the power supply making more heat