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The 9200 --:-- clock problem.


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Old 14-06-2010, 18:16
mr.susan
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Big-les you are a gent and a scholar

I've just been to the chemist and picked up the surgical (without oils) spirit and cotton buds... It's my day off tomorrow so I will report back as soon as I have a result.

Cheers.
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Old 14-06-2010, 18:57
Me
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What can I say?

Another success!!!

With the Australians departed to their next host, I set to.

I used Maplin's isopropyl alcohol which, incidentally comes in an aerosol spray! I started cautiously by spraying some into the cap of the can and using a brush as instructed. However, largely because it was dissolving some handwriting on the board which was then spreading, I threw caution to the winds and sprayed the board directly, allowing the ink to run off.

If I might add a couple of thoughts of my own -
I found it slightly easier to remove the HDD connecter from the main board rather than the drive
and, the mains cable of my unit is wrapped in cable tidy and then connected to a multi-plug so I thought that I would have to dismantle everything on the lounge carpet BUT, in fact, once you get the case off, it's easy to remove the mains connector from the circuit board.


While I had the box open, I did something I've wanted to do for some time - lead the USB cable out of the back of the box. I used to keep the box behind the TV, permanently plugged into my computer but last year my trusty B&O Avant died and I now have a more conventional set-up and, though the front USB port may be more convenient for plugging in a laptop, it didn't suit me.

I won't give details here except to say that it's straightforward, involving drilling a hole in the rear of the casing and extending the USB cable. If you want to do it and are capable, you'll be able to work out how.

One final point. I've had the unit for 4 years and it's been on 24/7 most of the time. Not only was it behind the TV, but it was mounted vertically. This means that, unusually, the clock board was horizontal. The contaminant, whatever it might be, was clearly visible on both sides of the board, in the area of the oscillator circuitry. After cleaning, there was a slightly lighter patch where it had been.

Now the EPG is cached and the clock works again, I might well switch it off at night!

Thanks again Big-les
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Old 14-06-2010, 19:24
Max Demian
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As for your suggestion that the super capacitor....
One thing I don't quite understand is why they bother with a supercapacitor to keep the clock going. The Humax can't actually do anything with the power off, and the first thing it does on powering up is to boot up and then go into standby. Surely this would give the box the opportunity to set the real time clock from the broadcast signal?
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Old 14-06-2010, 19:56
westendred
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Could someone put the guide to replacing the clock board somewhere that can be accessed. I've registered for the hummy.org forums but still won't let me access the guide. Will post how I get on fixing my clock problem if I can figure out how to access the board.
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Old 14-06-2010, 19:58
Big-les
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.....
I used Maplin's isopropyl alcohol which, incidentally comes in an aerosol spray! I started cautiously by spraying some into the cap of the can and using a brush as instructed. However, largely because it was dissolving some handwriting on the board which was then spreading, I threw caution to the winds and sprayed the board directly, allowing the ink to run off.
.....
I did mention the felt tip pen markings in my instructions.

So did you get the contamination off simply by spraying? Thanks for the report.
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Old 14-06-2010, 20:00
Big-les
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Could someone put the guide to replacing the clock board somewhere that can be accessed. I've registered for the hummy.org forums but still won't let me access the guide. Will post how I get on fixing my clock problem if I can figure out how to access the board.
PM me your e-mail address and I'll send it.
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Old 14-06-2010, 20:07
Me
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So did you get the contamination off simply by spraying?
No, it was a combination of brushing (which I think got rid of most of the contaminant) and spraying to flush away the felt tip residue. I happened to be in a cheapo stationers this morning and got a set of 15 artist's brushes for 99p. The one I used was a little on the firm side, which I think might have been an advantage.
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Old 14-06-2010, 20:10
Big-les
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One thing I don't quite understand is why they bother with a supercapacitor to keep the clock going. The Humax can't actually do anything with the power off, and the first thing it does on powering up is to boot up and then go into standby. Surely this would give the box the opportunity to set the real time clock from the broadcast signal?
That's exactly right, it goes into standby, it doesn't switch on and bring up a broadcast signal therefore it can't set the time. The oscillator driving some registers in the chip all powered by the super capacitor keep the time while the mains is off. One of the big problems with the PVR-8000 was the lack of this back up, a brief power cut and it would forget the time so subsequent recordings failed.
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Old 14-06-2010, 20:13
Big-les
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No, it was a combination of brushing (which I think got rid of most of the contaminant) and spraying to flush away the felt tip residue. I happened to be in a cheapo stationers this morning and got a set of 15 artist's brushes for 99p. The one I used was a little on the firm side, which I think might have been an advantage.
I used the brush to do a bit of flushing to finish it off. I don't think you can beat a bit of scrubbing though to start with.
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Old 14-06-2010, 21:01
westendred
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PM me your e-mail address and I'll send it.
Thanks, I figured it out, it wasn't hard. Will have to wait ill tomorrow till I get some cleaner though. The back of the clock board seems a bit sticky in patches. I guess that's what you're cleaning.
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Old 14-06-2010, 21:30
Big-les
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Thanks, I figured it out, it wasn't hard. Will have to wait ill tomorrow till I get some cleaner though. The back of the clock board seems a bit sticky in patches. I guess that's what you're cleaning.
The contamination on the first board I fixed was not really obvious so just give it a good clean as per my instructions.
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Old 15-06-2010, 05:14
JefUK
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Could someone put the guide to replacing the clock board somewhere that can be accessed. I've registered for the hummy.org forums but still won't let me access the guide. Will post how I get on fixing my clock problem if I can figure out how to access the board.
Try this direct link
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Old 15-06-2010, 11:45
creddish
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It didn't work for me. Reports the file is corrupt?

Colin
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Old 15-06-2010, 11:56
Big-les
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It didn't work for me. Reports the file is corrupt?

Colin
What is wrong with Hummy.org then that stops some people from downloading the file, or is it their browser set up? I can download it from my own link and JefUK's link no problem and not logged in.
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Old 15-06-2010, 13:11
westendred
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What is wrong with Hummy.org then that stops some people from downloading the file, or is it their browser set up? I can download it from my own link and JefUK's link no problem and not logged in.
I managed to download the document from the link this morning, had to log in first though.
I don't think you need to disconnect the hard drive, as described in the document, to clean the circuit though.
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Old 15-06-2010, 13:57
Big-les
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I managed to download the document from the link this morning, had to log in first though.
I don't think you need to disconnect the hard drive, as described in the document, to clean the circuit though.
Removing the HDD gives easier access to the white ribbon cable. You could probably unscrew the display board from the front panel and then remove the cable from that end, looks more fiddly though.
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Old 15-06-2010, 14:22
Me
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You can't really clean the board properly (both sides) without removing it completely from the unit and, as Big-les says, you have to remover the HDD from the board to access the connector. Mine's all back together now, but it didn't look as if the board end of the cable came away easily.

I did, however, find it easier to disconnect the HDD cable from the board rather than from the drive though.
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Old 15-06-2010, 14:25
Big-les
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You can't really clean the board properly (both sides) without removing it completely from the unit and, as Big-les says, you have to remover the HDD from the board to access the connector. Mine's all back together now, but it didn't look as if the board end of the cable came away easily.

I did, however, find it easier to disconnect the HDD cable from the board rather than from the drive though.
The ribbon cable comes away equally both ends but removing the HDD and removing the the cable from the motherboard is much less likely to cause accidental damage.
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Old 15-06-2010, 14:39
creddish
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What is wrong with Hummy.org then that stops some people from downloading the file, or is it their browser set up? I can download it from my own link and JefUK's link no problem and not logged in.
I should have made it clear that I was able to download the .pdf but when I attempted to open it using Adobe I got a message saying the file was "damaged and could not be repaired"

Colin
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Old 15-06-2010, 14:44
Big-les
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I should have made it clear that I was able to download the .pdf but when I attempted to open it using Adobe I got a message saying the file was "damaged and could not be repaired"

Colin
Did you try downloading it again?
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Old 15-06-2010, 19:46
mr.susan
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*Reporting in*

I followed the directions to the letter and cleaned it three times with a dry off period in-between. I put the Humax back together with the lid off just in case It didn't work (doubting myself not you Big-les), switched it on and bingo, the clock in stand by was showing 13:00...

Thanks Big-les, kudos to you my friend.
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Old 15-06-2010, 19:54
creddish
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Did you try downloading it again?
Yes I did and got the same result.

Colin
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Old 15-06-2010, 20:36
Big-les
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*Reporting in*

I followed the directions to the letter and cleaned it three times with a dry off period in-between. I put the Humax back together with the lid off just in case It didn't work (doubting myself not you Big-les), switched it on and bingo, the clock in stand by was showing 13:00...

Thanks Big-les, kudos to you my friend.
That's spot on with no aerial connected, was that the case? Hopefully it corrected to the right time when you connected the aerial. Glad it worked for you.
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Old 15-06-2010, 20:39
be more pacific
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I managed to clean mine with cotton buds, a paintbrush and some alcohol from an old CD-cleaning kit. I now have a fully-functioning 9200t once again.

Thanks Les!
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Old 15-06-2010, 20:43
Big-les
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I managed to clean mine with cotton buds, a paintbrush and some alcohol from an old CD-cleaning kit. I now have a fully-functioning 9200t once again.

Thanks Les!
It's made the job worthwhile now that you're all getting your 9200s fully functional again, not sure Humax will be very pleased with me though. Maybe they'll drop the price of a new board to a fiver for those owners with a dim display, as a good will gesture.
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