Another "rare re-watcher" here. There are some (very few) movies I'll re-watch, and I occasionally have to re-watch features/serials for research and/or work purposes, but as a general rule once I've seen it I move on. Life's too short.

Graham, is there anything "standard" left on your HDR ? :

Rgds.

Les.

The relay box 12v feed is fed from a standard plug scrounged from the local computer shop and connected to the mother board hdd power socket (you could use the rear usb port for power). The relay (from maplin) plus a couple of diodes (to prevent the relay coil back emf getting back inro the hdr circuitry) is mounted in a standard plastic box with an 20A overide switch (one from my bits box a much smaller switch would suffice), so you can use the drive with a PC without having the hdr on. The box is mounted in a standard 13A extention with a double socket with the esata power supply and the modulator plugged in. There are no physical mods to the hdr so apart from the fact the original HDD carrier and fan is in a drawer it's bog standard . I did not fancy having to leave the external drive permanently powered.
Last edited by grahamlthompson : 29-04-2009 at 16:25

Thanks all for your comments. A special thanks to Graham and Les for pointing me in the right direction for the eSata docking units. I think this is my route forward. I will just have to take a risk on the warranty side on the box. I was hoping that there might be a really viable USB route to avoid that.

I don't ever - well almost never re-watch films. Explaining once to my wife after 10 minutes (that we don't know yet why the chap has done that?????) is more than enough. I only wish to keep progs like the recent Yellowstone series and its like - simply stunning in HD.

Thanks again - happy viewing

Dave

whooooosh !!!!

Interesting though, as I had wondered about leaving the external HDD powered up all the time. Is there still power to the internal disk in both of the Standby modes? So, is there much difference in leaving the external HDD powered?

Also, I note you didn't return the cradle & fan to the HDR. Does it still run cool enough internally?

Rgds.


Les.

The HDD is unpowered in both sby modes. The box feels barely warm after hours of use. Remember that not only is the hdd not generating heat but also the power supply is relieved of the hdd load. The HD feels like a toaster in comparison

Yes that makes total sense.

I wonder if people who have done the esata HDD mod would suffer less problems/lockups due to overheating (if this is, indeed, a contributory factor to them), and better reliability/longevity?

Thanks for bearing with me

Rgds.

Les.