Yep that's the one.

For a while the original problem was cured by fitting new cells at 1.62 v
It came back when the cells fell to 1.52 v

That seems an uneconomical way of using batteries.

David

Hi, Don't know if this might help but have you tried Energiser Lithium batteries. I have a Magic mouse on my Mac which is heavy on AA batteries (alkaline). A few days after inserting a new set the battery indicator for the mouse on the Mac starts going down from 100%. I got a suggestion from fellow user that I should try Lithium. Ordered a set on-line put them in (end of Feb) battery indicator still at 100%. I think you can get them in AAA. Might be worth a try. When my current batteries in my remotes including Humax run down I might start using these. Looks like they have a very level discharge rate. Maybe they will go from 100% to 0% overnight

Might be.
Do you know which type he used, there are dozens of types, not just makers. See Wikipedia.

David

Cathode Material Average Voltage
LiCoO2 3.7 V
LiMn2O4 4.0 V
LiNiO2 3.5 V
LiFePO4 3.3 V
Li2FePO4F 3.6 V
LiCo1/3Ni1/3Mn1/3O2 3.6 V
Li(LiaNixMnyCoz)O2 4.2 V

And many more at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery

I thought that doubling the voltage might be an issue !

Reminds me of how the term 'Sh*t or Bust' was used for the original Microwave Scatter systems..
Hence i would be more inclined to look as much at the other end of the System.. viz the 'Light Emitter'.
About 6 months ago we re-illuminated our Night garden..
Some of the Multi-element emitters in each of the lamps have failed..
Very reputable suppliers.. so how many now virtually no light output??..
On 2 specimens only 4 outputs are working out of 20+ originals..
so why not check the output of the emitter in a more precise way than just seeing it on a Camcorder..
as it might be that therein lies the problem?

I don't have a camcorder, but have a digital camera.
So how bearing in mind I don't have a "good" remote to do a comparison.
I'll give a few flashes to the camera to see if & what.

David

I trawled around google a bit & got
http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/lithiuml91l92_appman.pdf
Clicking on "System Comparisons" gets a graph of Volts v power used & they do indeed stay near 1.5 for much longer than alkaline types.
I'll try them, thanks CanonMan.

David

Ok, i've just managed to open my Humax remote and actually, its surprisingly easy once you get it started...

1. Remove batteries (no, there aren't any screws to remove!) You can snap the battery door back shut again as it doesn't need to be off to get the main case apart. (but you do need the batteries out so that the springs release easily)
2. Find yourself a small very thin penknife blade (I used a Swiss Army Knife one - the smallest blade)
3. Without the knife, just get hold of the remote with both hands at each end and twist it back and forth to make sure it will flex.
4. The indents are on the top plate at regular intervals. The "hooks" are on the side of the base. You just need to find the first one to spring...
5. Holding the remote horizontally, i/r window to the left (I'm right handed) with the side of the remote facing you, peak over the top and draw an imaginary line across the remote towards you from the top of the "OPT+" button.
6. Where this "line" comes over the edge, place the point of your knife in the join and push in with a firm pressure. You should hear a click and the case will start to part...
7. Quickly put your thumbnail in the opening and twist... The next catch is about 6cm up on that side (line across the "MEDIA" & "GUIDE" buttons.
8. Once you get these two open, the rest are relatively plain sailing. They are ALL the same, all the way round; even at the ends. Pressure on the top plate inside the gap releases them. The bottom compartment is over them.
9. Remember that everything is carried by the upper plate (the circuit board and button rubber is lightly clipped to it); including the battery springs which should lift out of their holders as you prise the cases apart.
10. Voila! One Humax remote disassembled.

Putting it back together is simpler, you just need to remember to assemble everything into the top plate (under the latches either end for the circuit board) and then offer up the battery springs first as you place the two halves together...

We've been having issues with the remote as well - at first suspected batteries and changed them. After a couple of weeks the issues resurfaced. Definitely not the box as I noticed that the little lights on the remote (PVR/TV/DVD/AUDIO buttons) were not illuminating when a button was pressed.

Perhaps co-incidentally the remote worked again if the batteries were wiggled (or percussion adjusted depending on how urgently the remote was required to work). Might be time to try the Energiser Lithium batteries as well.

I thought I would just add that when you put the remote back together, it is not "ended" as such. By that I mean that you don't have to offer it together any particular end first. In fact, both halves should be exactly parallel to each other (which is why I said "offer up the battery springs first" which are just about in the middle) and with the battery springs sliding into their receptacles, bring all edges together and snap the whole thing shut evenly all round.

As an aside, I noticed while I had it apart that the i/r led is one of the very tiny ones, much smaller than typical for a remote in my experience. I would guess that this is probably lower power which may explain (partly) the bad performance of these remotes that we are all noticing?

Thanks a lot CPN ! & no chainsaw!!
I followed your steps except at "7" I substituted a 4mm screwdriver for my thumbnail.
The insides were not as gunged up as I had expected, it was only really visible under the EXIT & BACK buttons.
My experience of Sky remotes saw much more oily looking gunge.
I cleaned up everything with a methylated spirits soaked paper tissue & reassembled without difficulty.
Text down-paging has not since changed channels, which was my original problem, though I've only done 30 mins testing.

Time alone will tell.

Thanks again CPN.

David

I changed to Energiser Ultimate Lithium batteries, 2 days ago.
This seemed to clear the "unwanted subtitles" that arose after pausing.
Channel changing when trying to move down text pages was NOT cured. Although as in my previous post this was cleared by opening & cleaning with meths. (SO FAR !!)

A word of warning about Energiser Ultimate Lithium batteries. Their open circuit voltage was 1.82v.
Even after 2 days use they are still 1.75v
These are not the Humax recommended cells or voltage, but I was so irritated that I took that chance.

David

Spoke too soon!!!
Remote has learnt a new trick.
If I scroll down, anything, it goes into a continuous scroll.
Only stops if I either remove batteries or switch-off at the HDR.
I'll perform another open & clean & go back to normal batteries.

David

PS I sense a Harmony coming on

Cured the continuous scrolling problem.

I reopened it & think that I had miss assembled the silver ring.
The ring to rubber sheet location is fixed by 4 very small lugs fittinginto notches positioned at 11, 1, 5 & 7 o'clock. I presume that I had it displaced round from that.

Good news that continuous scrolling absent & it doesn't switch channel while navigating text pages. Lithium or alkaline batteries make no difference.

Bad news the unwanted subtitles, after quitting pause, are back.
Lithium or alkaline batteries again make no difference.

David

Ah yes, I should have mentioned that silver ring in my instructions...

Good to hear that at least you got the worst of it sorted... I would have thought that the extra 0.2V per cell wouldn't have made too much difference to the inner chip. I expect its supply voltage tolerance will be higher than that... (it probably has a working range of about 2V to 4Vish anyway...)

Colin

I didn't even see the lugs 1st time


The lithium AAA cells were £6.99 for 4 (same price for AAs, in Tesco) So a bit of a luxury! No actual benefit arose.

Eliminating channel scroll while changing text pages is a gain, probably due to cleaning the PCB, after opening, thanks Colin.

The gunge was much less than in Sky remotes.

I feel that its been an interesting & constructive thread, thank-you to all the contributers.

David

YMW!

Yes, I noticed that also. In fact, I'd go as far to say that in terms of the physical, I rather like the design of the Humax Remote actually. However, that of course, doesn't excuse its other failings as documented in here elsewhere...

Indeed and it's what DS is good at most of the time really...

Given that the IR LED is a tiny one (presumably bigger is better?), does anyone have the required technical skills (unlike me) to be able to advise if replacing it with a bigger one would improve things?

Well, the one that is in there is a 3mm device (pretty much standard now) but I can get a high power 5mm one from my local Maplin store and knowing that there is room in the remote to fit it, I may just go and get one and see if it does improve things... Watch this space...

Ok, I've got some good news and some good news!

The first bit of good news is that I managed to change the standard I/R diode to a new high power part (Maplin Part No. YH70M) and the even better bit of good news is that first impressions seem to suggest that it has transformed the Humax's abysmal Remote Control performance! In the wife's words... "it's like going from normal definition to HD!" (and there was no sterner critic of the Humax's remote than her... )

However, as in all these things, there are some considerations to take account of. You'll be replacing a 3mm LED with a 5mm part and that may not sound much but it is when you take account of the construct of the lens end of the remote.

So, having taken the case apart as previously described, take the circuit board out completely. There's no need to remove the actual flexible keyboard itself. You'll need a small 18-25W soldering iron with a small bit, some damp cleaning sponge for the bit, solder (of course) and importantly, some de-soldering braid. You could use a soldering sucker if you have a good one but personally, I much prefer braid as it makes a tidier job of scavenging the old solder from the joint. If the sound of anything in this paragraph has your palms sweating, then go no further! This conversion is not for you!

Ok, if you are still with me, before you remove the smaller diode (LED) from the board, offer up the new one making sure you match the flats on the side of the lens (also if you look inside the diode, the cathode/anode shapes should match - you'll see what I mean) and make sure you get the bend distance EXACTLY the same as the existing diode. It's important that the back of the LED is hard up against the circuit board in its cut-out. Having put a 90 degree bend in the new one's leads, remove the old one and clean up the mounting holes. They're single sided and so clean up easily.

Now mount and solder the new one in. You can put its leads flat to the circuit board if you want or leave the 90 deg "knee" 1mm clear of the board. Either way will work.

Right, this is the bit that will definitely void your warranty! If you offer up the cct board into the top half of the case, you'll notice that even though everything fits fine, the new diode is parallel to the board and given that the lens in the lower half of the case has a slope, you'll quickly realise that although the case will close OK, it won't fully close around the new diode. If you look under the diode (top half of case) you'll see a small rib between the two hooks that hold the circuit board. You'll need your small penknife (or craft knife) to gently pare down a small semi-circle into the centre of this rib to allow the new diode to sink into the gap about 1-2mm. Don't go too far as it will weaken the rib. If you've got it right, the LED should end up at about 5-10degs off parallel in relation to the circuit board and the case will go back on and all should snap shut fine with a good seal and now you can put the batteries back in and enjoy your new super sensitive remote!

The new LED has a 40deg beam angle and I'm sure this helps, along with the higher output, to improve the Remote overall. One little bonus I found out through all of this is that the remote does NOT drop all of its programmed settings (TV, DVD & AUDIO) even when the batteries are out for extended periods; which is great! Saves me having to search out the darn manual!

@CPN I hope Humax are reading this because looking at the component cost this seems to be a good replacement for the part used at the moment.

Personally I haven't tried it as my remote works fine, but it seems from yoiur reports to be a vast improvment.

How are you cleaning your pcb btw? Maplin sell electrical PCB cleaner which might be a good solution as it evaporates away without residue: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=27521

I've used their contact cleaner before but this sounds better still.

Indeed. I'm very pleased at the resultant performance improvement for an outlay of £1.09p However, it has to be said that for it to be a manufacturer mod, the case would need to be altered properly really...

Well it's certainly been that way for us but to be honest, we are probably pushing the limits for all the boxes we have since they are all mounted on a shelf which is at 90degs to the viewing area anyway (geographically) and so I have employed a remote extender on our Sky box, HDR & the Sony HXD860 and the receiver for that faces into the viewing area. Even with that, the Humax's Remote was always a "pain in the ass" (as my wife would say - she's American!) in comparison to the others. Now, it performs the same if not better than them...

Tend to use medical type Steri-wipes but sometimes a damp tissue is all that is needed. I have to say that actually, the Humax Remote seems to seal better that most remotes and therefore doesn't seem to get very dirty at all inside... (unlike the Sky remote for example...)

I'll check that out...

Out of adversity comes progress.


I also saw very little mess inside, but am now fretting that opening it has made the seal less good. Now wondering about augmenting the seal. Might look stylish with a thin line of BlueTack.

Did the Humax design engineers have a remit to reduce power on everything to "just enough"
Their standby wattage is less than any other device of this ilk. afaik.

David

It's a EEC directive all new kit of this ilk has to have a sby power requirement <1W.

Oh there's a surprise!

The suits in Brussels get their oar in again...