Does anyone know where I could get a replacement can tuner for a Hitachi HDB73 STB?

The tuner model is TDTV-G051D and it's a 5v, 11-pin can. I can order 200 from various companies in China but I only want one.

Also happy to risk a non-identical replacement (i.e. not this exact model) as long as it's fairly cheap - just in case it doesn't work.

I hate throwing things away so would like to repair the STB if at all possible.

Presumably it's a Vestel unit?, and the only part I can find listed is a replacement remote control. which also fits "Grundig, Matsui, Luxor, Bush, Hitachi, Toshiba, Alba, Blackdiamond, Techwood, Goodmans, Wharfedale, Logik, Proline, Akura, Pacific, Seg, Durabrand, Crown, Lodos, Strong, Aurex, Digihome, Technika, Digilogic, Black Diamon, Asda, Acoustic Sol, Linsar, Onn, Setanta"

So you might try looking for spares for any of those brands?.

But the low price of STB's means it's quite possible there are no spares available at all, and if there were a tuner might easily cost more then the STB did.

I'm tempted to suggest that if you really want to play with it that the cheapest option might be to find someone with a dead box of the same type and swap the tuners over. Assuming the other box died from some other cause of course.

That might only cost a drink or two

As Nigel says it is probably a generic Vestel box so you might find the same guts masquerading as any number of different makes. I once saw four different Freeview boxes with different makers badges on in Tesco. It was pretty obvious they were in fact the same basic unit with four different badges on. And four different prices as I recall???

Thanks for the advice. I've already got searches set for "spares or repairs" boxes on a well-known online auction site, hoping that one might come up with very low p&p to make it worth the risk.

I think it's a real shame that parts aren't available to repair an otherwise perfectly good box, but I guess that's just how it goes nowadays. At least the remote control can be sold for reuse.

The problem is the 'give away' prices on new gear, a new tuner as a spare part is almost certainly going to cost more than the retail price of the whole unit, which is why there aren't any spares available.

its the same across the board with all cheap entry level consumer tech ,,,,,,,when you can buy a microwave for as little as 25 quid , you just buy another when it goes wrong after 12months


everybody has their own threshold price to weigh up with extended warranty's etc ,,,,,,,, but its simply not worth it for me if ive paid 6 quid for a toaster from argos.

I agree. I understand the economics but, being from a more "make do and mend" generation, it just annoys me that easily repairable kit is being sent off to be recycled (best case) or thrown in the bin (worst case). I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it.

unless as said , you can find another defunct unit and make 1 worker out of them both

nothing wrong with being from a make do n mend gen mate

So you'd happily pay £60-£100 for a replacement tuner?, which is probably the figure you'd be looking at.

You can't have it all ways, you buy the gear for next to nothing, and one reason it's so cheap is no spares and no service - just throw it away if it goes wrong.

The other option would be to greatly increase the retail price of the unit, order a suitable percentage of all parts to be kept as replacements for an number of years, set up a large warehouse and distribution system and country (actually EU) wide service organisation to do repairs on them.

The HDB73 is indeed a badged Vestel (I'm not sure of the original part number). It's only a standard STB though, around 6 to 7 years old, so I suspect that the most cost-effective repair would be to take a tuner from a dead box.

I have to say though that this box is essentially worthless in today's market; for the cost of repair you could probably buy an HD PVR in all honesty.