I have a feeling that what you are calling the failed amplifier may actually have been the power supply for the masthead amplifier, the square box just below the aerial. If it only had two sockets, one Aerial and one TV then that is possible. It should also say that it is an aerial power supply.

That might explain your signal issues. If the masthead amplifier has no power then it will seriously affect the signal passing through it.

As I posted earlier the Humax has the ability to power a masthead amplifier. Make sure the aerial lead is plugged directly into the Humax and turn on Antenna power as I described above.

Give that a try and see what effect it has on the signal strength. There is a possibility the masthead amplifier itself is faulty so always possible it will make no difference. But from what you've described it does sound like there is a masthead amplifier and the box you removed was it's power unit.

Perhaps you could put up a picture of this unit, especially any labels it has, to confirm.

The unit you have posted a picture of is a simple two output aerial amplifier. It would be used to feed one aerial to two TVs as implied by the socket labels. If the unit you removed was a power supply it would not be a direct replacement for it. So it may not help much in this case.

So in summary. Try the Antenna Power option on the Humax and post a picture of this failed unit.

That was an interesting little exercise (and quite frightening !). I checked signal strength beforehand, it read Signal 42%, Quality 100%. The aerial lead duly plugged directly into Humax, I turned on the SV Antenna Power, as you suggested, and up popped the dreaded message (the one that started this whole thing off ) "The terrestial antenna is short-circuited".
I quickly turned the Antenna Power off again and, thankfully, TV returned to normal. Checking again the signal strength again, it had gone down to 40% !

When I turned the SV Antenna Power off again, I noticed a note at the bottom of the screen which said "The Antenna Power should be turned on if your receiver is connected to an active live antenna that requires external power". Any idea what this means ?


Here are two links showing two sides to the white box behind the TV. You'll see that it has screwed in connections which I understand are F-type plugs.
http://i.imgur.com/E9Dzr8o.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/W5BCrTG.jpg


Seeing the 12V label, perhaps the white box is supplying power to a mast head amplifier - but you might tell me otherwise.

Can the Distribution box act as a boost for anything ? And, just for info, could it replace the Y piece if I wanted to connect another TV; would this be a sensible move, given the size of the box ?

On other issues we have discussed, which I have discovered latterly, the small boost in the loft is just for the kitchen TV which, of course, is no longer required.

We also mentioned picture adjustment on my lounge TV because it was not a full picture. I subsequently altered it to zoom, which was OK, but since then I have found how to adjust it to the correct size, ie. 16 x 9. The supplier of the TV tells me that, given its age, it will not show the signal strength it is receiving which is a bit frustrating.

Back to the Humax, I read somewhere that it can be updated by searching the internet for updates and transferring data via a memory stick. Should I be doing this ?

Ultimately, what I would like to know, now that the TV is back to normal, is a way to boost the signal in case, at some point, it fails. 40% seems rather low.

I'm sorry this whole thing has gone on a bit, but it's been very useful and informative. I think we might just be nearing the end of it unless, heaven forbid, something else untoward occurs, in which case I might revert to radio only.

Fortunately the Humax is well enough designed that it isn't damaged at all if the antenna power is shorted. An aerial on it's own can look like a short circuit at DC depending on the design of the aerial. So the Humax is able to cope with that scenario.

However that suggests that if there is a masthead amplifier up there, which seems likely given your description, that the amplifier is faulty.


It just means that you only really need it when there is an amplifier, either a separate masthead type or built into the aerial.


That is indeed a masthead power supply. One of the more popular makes in fact. So that does suggest that there really is a masthead amp under the aerial. If the power supply has popped and the Humax does not like powering it then there may be a fault with the amplifier.

Or something else has been installed between the masthead and the power supply that is preventing the DC from the PSU getting to the amplifier. A cable fault could also explain it but that would likely affect the signal more seriously than seems to be the case here.

One thing that might cause it is if a splitter has been fitted to feed multiple locations. Some types have DC passthrough so that they can be fitted after a masthead amplifier and still allow the amp to be powered. Some types allow pass through from any output to the amplifier and others only from one output. So if a splitter has been installed and only has one pass through port there is a chance that the power supply (and the Humax) are on the wrong port. Which could mean trying the power supply on the other aerial points might locate the one that passes power to the amplifier.

Mind you if there is such a splitter and it was installed by a professional aerial rigger you would hope they would have checked the amplifier was still being powered properly.


I suspect that the main cause of the problem is you have a masthead amplifier that is either faulty or not getting power. That should be addressed first. There is no point boosting the signal at the end of the aerial lead. If the signal coming out of the aerial lead is weak and being affected by noise then boosting it will just make both the signal and noise stronger. It cannot make the signal stronger alone. So you can easily end up no better off really. There is no substitute for a good strong raw aerial signal. If you need electronic assistance the best place for it is as close as possible to the aerial where the signal is strongest and cleanest.


The latest version of Humax software for the HDR Fox T2 is FHTCP1.02.32. You can check on the Humax by going into the Settings Menu then System then System Information. If you are already on that version then no need to do anything. If not you can get it here

http://beta.humaxonline.co.uk/downloads/hdr-foxt2

The download is a ZIP file (which Windows can handle OK) containing two files, one the software file and a text file of instructions. Dead easy to do if you have a USB stick.

Oh by the way I did my HDR Fox T2 from here so I know it's OK


I think you need to get your system looked at to find out exactly what you've got and how it is all connected up and also what bits may or may not be working anymore. It might be that the masthead amplifier is no longer needed. Some cases before analogue switch off in 2012 a masthead amplifier was needed because the digital signals were much weaker. After analogue was switched off the digital signals had a power boost in many cases so sometimes the masthead amplifier was no longer needed.

Here are some pictures which obviously won't prove if something is working or not but does show the set up and all cables.
The mast showing two attachments
http://i.imgur.com/ZRonzHQ.jpg
The white box attachment, lower of the two
http://i.imgur.com/t9bC3L1.jpg
The round attachment
http://i.imgur.com/jETNxAT.jpg


Way too technical for me but it was installed by a professional rigger so hopefully won't apply.


Makes perfect sense.


I have version ....20 and I see there are three later versions ...28 and ...29 and ....32. I downloaded the zip folder and have got the software and text files. Do I just copy those on to the memory stick and plug into the Humax ? or should I open the software file first - because it doesn't want to ?


As it is working perfectly at the moment, I would rather leave it as it is. Of course, I shall have to go that route if I experience any more problems.

That does suggest there is a masthead amplifier up there. Do you have more than one aerial, eg a TV and FM radio aerial that may be being combined into a single downlead? That might explain the two units strapped to the mast. Assuming of course that both are connected to anything. Not that easy to tell from the photos.


You copy the software file to the USB stick as is. Then switch the Humax off using the power switch on the rear. Plug the USB stick in and then switch the Humax on and it detects the update file and does the necessary.

It is a relatively painless experience but it may wipe any scheduled recordings you have set up and go through an initial set up again. But it won't wipe anything on the hard drive.

I would strongly suggest you get your aerial looked at. There is obviously something wrong if the masthead power supply is not working. I suspect that things will only get worse.

The latest software is FHTCP1.03.12.

It is availble from Humaxdigital.com at http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/produ...ct.php?gid=476

A copy of the official release notes for the different version of the HDRFOX T2's software can be found at https://myhumax.org/wiki/index.php/H...#FHTCP_1.03.12

If in doubt go for 1.03.12.
The second possible choice is 1.2.32 and although this does not have the 1.03.12 corrections navigation within the epg is faster (and IIRC that was the last version that the auto-tuning worked perfectly for those who could recieve from both relay and main transmitters).
The only advantages of 1.02.20 is that the audio description for the standard definition channels works very well and also it does not try to force you to auto-tune when a retune reminder pops up.

Interesting.

Pretty sure last time I looked at the Humax website there was nothing showing for the Fox-T2. Ver 1.2.32 was the latest version I could find anywhere else.

Mine started rebooting constantly yesterday, every 30 secs, it did it for a few hours, i had disconnected the Ethernet connection as i was preparing for a sky install i have tomorrow, when i reconnected it stopped the reboot cycle for some reason.

I googled it and apparently its to do with content share, so i when it moves to the bedroom tomorrow i will need to disable internet on it as i wont have an Ethernet connection in the room.

Hopefully it will still be ok.

They are great little boxes though.

Really? Link to Hunax web site

Hello Chris


Here is a picture of the whole mast. http://i.imgur.com/sAcQhPR.jpg

I agree it's difficult to tell whether cables are connected. Perhaps if I explain exactly what the cables are doing that may help.

The cable at the very top of the mast goes down to the round box. It doesn’t look connected to the round box. It travels down to the square box, where it’s curled in a loop (as if it was too long so has been doubled up). I can't tell if it’s connected to the square box at that point (I assume it must be ?). The cable then travels back up to the round box (where it looks connected) and then back down to the square box, where it could also be connected – hard to tell.

From there the single black cable travels down the tiles of the roof to under the eaves where it passes a small hole in the soffit. Out of this small hole comes two brown cables (attached, I assume, to the booster in the loft that’s meant for an additional TV).

So three cables are now travelling down the wall and through a hole just behind where my TV is situated in the lounge. Then, as you know, the black cable is connected to one side of the white (non-functional) amplifier and one of the brown cables connected to the other side. This brown cable goes directly into the back of the Humax. The other brown cable is spare.

I hope this helps clarify, but I shan't worry if it doesn't because soon enough, no doubt, someone will come along and tell me.

Thanks very much for all info on updating Humax. As there are now 4 updates available, should I update starting with the earliest, or doesn't it matter if I don't have all the earlier ones ?

You can go straight to the latest and if you don't like it you can go back to any of the earlier ones.

It does seem a bit of a faff. Without knowing exactly what those two boxes on the mast are doing it is difficult to work out why it's wired up the way it is. The bottom square one does resemble a masthead amp that would go with the power supply from an earlier post. Quite what the other unit is doing is anyone's guess.

Is it a booster in the loft or a simple passive splitter? A booster would have a mains supply especially if it was a standard indoor one. Though always possible that it is a masthead type being used indoors. If so it does beg the question as to why it wasn't simply put in place of the amp on the pole.

If you really do have two masthead type amps in series and there is no power supply to either then it's a bit of a miracle you are getting anything at all. A photo of the loft unit might help.

It seems to me that a possible solution is to remove both those boxes on the pole and wire the aerial directly into the loft to connect to the booster in there. The rest of the wiring can stay as is. This assumes the loft unit is a self powered booster and does not need anything like the power supply you pictured earlier.

All seems a bit messy really.

Sorry to be a bit naive but not sure what you mean. Are you saying that when I see what the latest update provides (before I update it to Humax), I may not like it ; therefore I could look at the earlier updates, which may be preferable, and then go ahead and update them ?

Ah well, when the whole thing goes kaputt and the aerial man comes along, I'm sure he'll sort it all out. Many thanks for all the help.

Now to get my head around updating the Humax....

Now I don't understand what you are saying. You can apply any update you wish to the Humax in any order. Each software version has its pluses and minuses. The headline is that 1.03.12 will make BBC iPlayer work but for some strange reason moving around in the EPG is significantly slower than in earlier versions.

You can't tell what effect the update has on the Humax without applying it. The list of changes etc on the Humax website won't tell you how it performs, simply how it differs from the previous version.

The only way to tell if it works is to update the Humax. However if it does turn out to be a pile of the brown smelly stuff you can simply download an earlier version and apply that to the Humax.

Well, what I was trying to say was, when you access the link for the updates, there is an explanation about what the update provides (not all of which I understand, to be perfectly honest). I thought, perhaps that is what you meant by if I didn't like it I could go back to earlier updates.


But you don't know what they are until you've updated, which leads me to another question and this could be the daftest question ever. Can you delete an update if you don't like it and revert Humax to it's pre-update state ?


... and that's the reason I ask.

There is only ever one copy of the software loaded on the Humax so the concept of deleting makes no sense. If you want to go back to an earlier or later version then you load that version to the Humax.

Ah, now I understand. Thank you.

I didn't bother checking the custom firmware values.

I had noticed recently, several times in fact, that the original Seagate drive was vibrating excessively. Similar to a CD drive out of balance. I was also getting the odd 'loss of power' on some of the recorded programmes.

I bought a 1 TB Western Digital 'Blue' drive and fitted it. Probably not the best drive for the application, but it seems to work quite efficiently. It formatted fine, and the onboard Humax disk-check function works quickly and concisely. It is noisier than the Seagate, but acceptable to my ears.