Hello folks, I have a Foxsat HDR and the hdd has failed, tried to re-formatt it but won't allow me. Guess its frazzled. Anyway I have my eye on a Buffalo Ministation 500gb 2.0 USB external HDD, my query is- do i have to open up my Foxsat and remove the failed internal hdd before using the aforementioned Buffalo External hdd? Sorry if this is a silly question but I'm just not very "techy". Thanks in advance

It would be a few pounds cheaper to replace the internal drive with a larger 1 TB drive than the Buffalo 500 KB external drive. (£49 v £62.49)
This internal 1TB SATA replacement is £49
http://www.google.co.uk/products/cat...d=0CIABEPMCMAA

The external Buffalo--
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/3235/25...k/Product.html
costs £62.49

! TB is the maximum size that the HDR will self format.
You could go larger but would then have to format in a PC which had been Linux enabled.

David

You can't record to a USB external drive so yes you have to remove the internal drive and connect the sata drive connections directly to a drive. You can extend the internal sata using an esata cable and mount the drive externally if you wish. Best to just buy a 1TB bare drive from the WD AV-GP range. PC drives aren't really suitable for use in pvrs.

eg

http://www.ebuyer.com/340651-1tb-64m...FZMmfAodEx2HOg

Yes that is more suitable than the PC one I mentioned.
Replacing the internal drive is a little daunting, first time.
Unplug the HDR & everything connected to it.
What I do is work on an earthed metal surface, a stainless steel sink is good, & frequently touch it to avoid static build up.
The top cover is held on by 3 Philips screws going into the back.
At that point I photographed the insides so that reassembly was obvious.
You will find an internal holder held down by 4 screws. Inside, it the drive is held in by 4 screws in the side of the holder.
Release the external electrical connector, release the 8 screws that hold the holder & the drive & pull-off the next connector (a wide one) & you have the failed drive in your hands.
Swap drives & reverse the operation.
After that the HDR will prompt you to permit a reformat, then you are in business.
David

Swapping the hdd is actually very easy.

Some pictures and details here

http://foxsatdisk.wikispaces.com/Simple+HDD+swap

If you don't use the Music/Photo partition then after the initial format open the format menu elect to format both partitions and use the slider to reduce the music/photo partition to it's minimum of 1GB. This will maximise recording space.

Thanks for all your great replies. I'll disregard the Buffalo External hdd then and replace with a new internal hdd. Seems relatively straightforward even for me! Thanks so much for all the Links too.

I like the idea of tidy web links for ty webb.

David

Al Czervik sends his regards

You mean:-
Al Czervik: Last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it

David

Tip! If you use a metal sink as a work surface make sure the sink plug is inserted before you remove any small items. Those tiny screws have a tendency to head straight for the drain!

I have never had any problem with static with modern kit.

Providing you avoid actually touching the bare connections There is very little chance of any problems.

Years ago when actually working with sensitive kit you used a static discharging wristband when soldering ot touching components and the printed circuit board. That's very different to just swapping a HDD which really isn't any difference than plugging in a usb or esata device to a PC.

My internal HDD on my Foxsat is actually in an external cradle, I can unplug it in seconds and plug into a similar cradle on my laptop. Of course you wouldn't do this live.



Anyone touch the sink before sticking a usb device into a PC.

Good one !!

I should also have mentioned earthing.
A modern house will/should have an earthing connection identified by an aluminium tag, under the sink.
If it hasn't, or you only have ceramic sinks,then a good earth can be made be connecting an earth-wire into a 3 pin plug WITH NO OTHER WIRES & a crocodile clip at the other end. This clamps onto the HDR metal box.

I also read Grahams comments--- Maybe I'm more clumsy than average but each time I've done this I've touched the PCB or some components, if for no other reason than to retrieve a screw that I dropped.
So I prefer to to use earthing. It may well be over the top but it doesn't cost much time or cash

David

Even if you have a ceramic sink the taps should be earth bonded. Why not just touch a plugged in kettle or any other appliance that's not double insulated. In any case the kind of static voltages we are talking about run into thousands of volts. Discharging this doesn't need an earth connection capable of carrying any current. Touching the cat will do it , How many get a static shock when touching a car (thats on 4 rubber insulators ).

Once any charge is discharged you don't really need a continously connected earth.

Don't try dancing naked on a bri-nylon carpet when the atmosphere is very dry before changing the drive though

Indeed, in fact the wrist bands that we used when I worked for Xerox included an umpteen million ohm resistor for safety yet still kept me at earth potential, the "prayer mats" were also attached to this chain that terminated at a 13 amp plug with just a metal earth pin (others plastic).

Damn! that's where I went wrong with my expired 2 TB drive.
Video to follow on Rude Tube,

"What did you shoot today Ty?"
"Oh you know i don't keep score Judge"
"How do you measure yourself then?"
"By Height"

Just an update, awaiting delivery of a Western Digital AV-GP 1tb HDD, cant wait to get my Humax up and running again. Thanks again

If you are really concerned about earthing away the static, you should also seriously consider the clothing that you wear at the time - no man-made fibres and consider the soles of your footwear too - sweaty cotton socks are best..

40 yrs experience associated with static precautions and explosives.

I'll dig out "her indoors'" sweatiest socks Superplum Cheers mate

Dont forget the German hat with the spike . The voltage gradient is higher the smaller the radius. Hence the points on lightning conductors and the sharp points on gizmos like Wimshurst machines . Dry air breaks down and becomes conducting at 70kV/cm. That's the blue corona discharge you can sometimes see on high voltage power lines in the dark and the crackling noise . As well as a significant power loss it causes rf interference .

Unlike explosives, modern ic's with high impedance inputs have had built in static protection for years.

I wish I was a cartoonist this thread gets more hilarious with nearly every post

I have the ultimate solution, build yourself a metal box large enough for you and Foxsat. Every point inside the box is the same potential even if it's at 10 million volts, no potential to generate a current, no potential for damage. That's how hands on live line working at 400kV is possible. Google Faraday Cage.

Do I get the prize for the most extreme but 100% effective solution

Now I really am lost! Only wanted to know how to change/replace a HDD. Anyway, the "Faraday Cage" is most intriguing GLThompson

There is no requirement for supplemental earth bonding on kitchen sinks or taps. Never has been. Someone might put some on, but they don't need to.

Under certain circumstances, there is no longer a requirement for supplemental earth bonding in the bathroom either.

I swear many electricians don't really understand this, but let me be quite clear: the point of all this earth bonding is not to make your kitchen sink at the same potential as the ground outside of your house, or to make it a substitute for an anti-static mat. It might do very well at this job (sometimes it will be perfect!), and it might not matter anyway, but it could be no better than nothing, or even worse than nothing.


The job isn't entirely equivalent to plugging in a USB connector, in terms of static discharge. There are tests applied to external connectors for robustness against static discharge that are irrelevant to internal connectors. This doesn't mean I'd worry about it myself, I'm just saying...

Cheers,
David.

There was, it's not in the 17th edition of the regs but was in the the earlier editions (not sure when it was dropped), the relaxation in bathrooms is subject to the provision of a rcd.

Found this

http://www.mybuilder.com/questions/v...s-this-correct

I think that's the usual confusion. I shall go and check my copy of the 15th ed!

I wouldn't trust any thread found on the internet, but IMO this one is correct...
http://www.electriciansforums.co.uk/...y-bonding.html

The old pre 14th ed regs were on the IET website, but are there no longer. They're referred to in this thread...
http://www.theiet.org/forums/forum/m...eadid=%2029855

EDIT: Google found this...
electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/27/bonding.cfm?type=pdf
...but that doesn't say what was in place before 1981, only what the situation was after (15th ed) - and you'll probably need an EE degree to follow it

EDIT: and this is the reason it's often still done...
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=h...20sink&f=false


Cheers,
David.

Ty Webb: Guys, don't include me in this.
Al Czervik: Come on, Ty, you're an ace. Everybody knows it.

( http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0010117/quotes )

The OP's job is to light the blue touch-paper. Then stand back & watch the display, just be careful not to stand on a duck, as you step back, the emissions are flammable.

Graham is making me wonder a bit :--


Is he working part-time as a set designer for a certain kind of night club.

The punters wouldn't see it as a hands on display.

David