Its just the way that fan is wired, the fan needs to much power to be connected to the normal fan connector on the motherboard, so it uses the main power connectors that power things like the hardrive and DVD drive, this has no speed sensor so a 2nd connector with the speed senor plugs in to the normal place. It is possible to buy lower power fans that have the normal connector, this fan is a super powerfull cooler for extreme cooling.

The thermocouple input is on the fan. The wire has on the end of it the temperature probe, which is very thin plastic with a very thin piece of metal in side it, ideal for sticking inbetween things.

Can we get a Humax response on whether there is a new Humax 9200T version of the box?

I sent Humax an email yesterday about the fan, no response yet.

The signal wire is used to tell the motherboard how fast the fan is spinning, its up to the motherboard if it uses this information or not.

I've had two new Humax PVR9200's,from two different retailers, in a week.The first one went back because of what I considered as a noisy fan. The replacement sounds exactly the same as the first.

The Fan is silent in Stand-by, and NOISY when on.

I think Humax have changed the 9200 recently, because I can't believe people on here who say the 9200 is silent when in use (apart from a few hard drive clicks) It might of been once, but it's not anymore.

If I wasn't so impressed with the box I might of got a refund on the second.
I've decided to put up and shut up(I wish my Hummy's fan would)

I bought one a couple of weeks ago from currys and same as the one bought last year. Where did you get both of yours from. There are a couple of other people on forums who have reported the same as you so probably not just a one off, but the rest buying recently saying its quiet. I think Humax should be informed - which I'll do - in case there is a batch or to find out if they know about this.
Last edited by marcdavis : 07-11-2006 at 15:29

Marc, the first was from Comet (only refunded under duress, very difficult to hear in a noisy shop) My second is from Comet.

It is the most disappointing aspect of the box. And both of them sound only a little quieter than a desktop PC or the original x-box

Something is not right if that is the case, when it's on the fan is very quiet indeed and can only be heard when there is no ambient noise at all and by being quite near it. I have an home cinema system, xbox and pc and all are a fair bit louder, in that order (ascending). Obviously the box is louder when on because the drive is spinning but still nowhere near as loud as a pc or xbox.
Last edited by neilleeds : 07-11-2006 at 15:50

Hi Marc

You can hear the fan in my new 08 humax when it is in on ,but it is not any noisier than my old one with 06 firmware

The new one with 08 firmware/loader turns the fan off in standby so I'm really happy with it

Psychologically I think this may be a home goal. You always ignore something that is there all the time, but once you can compare it to complete silence, it's gotta be loud, hasn't it.

Right, it seems we are all agreed that it does turn off in 1.08 if you have a4.09 loader. Now does it turn off in 1.08 with a4.08?

Baz, sorry to keep asking for more info so hope you dont mind. We might have to do some too'ing and thro'ing on this a couple of times....

This is my estimation of whats going on based on my machines and most others - which may not apply to your experience if it is definately defective or different granted:

1) The fan runs constantly whether the machine is on or off standby and doesnt get faster or slower depending on whether it is on or off.

2) Therefore the noise coming from your unit is when the hard drive is on. The disk is spun down when in standby. When on, even if it is not recording, the disk is spinning constantly - but that should not cause a lot of noise. It can sound like the faint sound of a fan ut it is the hard disk. To test, put the unit in standby with the room silent and your ear to the machine. You should hear the noise go away when you hear the disk spin down 5 or 10 seconds after pressing the standby button. The fan will still remain as is - i.e. fan still on.

If this disk noise is too loud to be right it probably isnt right. The fact that yours came from Comet and your replacement did and another who bought from the same place had this problem, it could mean there is a batch. Mine 2 weeks ago was from Currys and is again fine.

By the way, on top of the noise the hard disk makes when on - even when not recording - say when it is on a blank channel like 303 - if you lift the machine off the ground does the noise die down a bit. I.e. is the shelf/cabinet distorting/amplifying the sound or is the machine causing viration with where it is sitting?

Thanks
Last edited by marcdavis : 07-11-2006 at 16:05

I have version 4.09 loader and has been accompanied with firmware .06, .08 and the test software I have been examining. The fan is always on. Northern Soul could have a one off possibly defective unit with regards to the fan. Is there anyone who can confirm the fan is off in standby when looking into the unit - i.e. undo the philips screw and look in?

@ The Cringe



I'll put it another way then

the only difference noise wise between the 06/08 is the fan turns off in standby with 08

I would suspect comet may have a bad batch

marc

Humax Tech Support have confirmed the fan should switch off in standby,I had a chat with them yesterday on the phone just to make sure

There is also another member who has posted in this thread,and his also turns off

Oooops. So we don't all agree yet...

I've just spoken to Humax and they havent heard back from Korea yet as to whether they have changed anything with the fan so that it stops in standby. His opinion is that he would be very suprised if they did change it and its more likely that a couple of people have a defect in their unit causing the fan to stop in standby - albeit a desirable one. Perhaps Northern spoke to one of the new gusy in the helpdesk who may have made a mistake. If he gets any info back from Korea about it he'll pass it on though.

Its good here init

Hi Marc, thanks for your reply.Can I just say my first box was from Comet, and my second is from Currys both loader 4.09 and .08 software

in response to your questions

1) Both of them are completely silent when in standby. so quiet I can't tell if the fan is on or off

2)It must just be the hard drive I can hear spinning, always thought that hard drives clicked not sounded like fans. What I can't understand is people on here describe the 9200 as virtually silent, both of the ones I've had I would say are not.If the 9200 is the only thing on in the room, I can hear it from 10ft away.

As I said, think it is a great bit of kit otherwise, and I must just have sensitive hearing because I can't have been unlucky enough to have 2 faulty ones surely?
Last edited by Preston Baz : 07-11-2006 at 16:40

Yeah it ain't bad

At least my new humax is covered with a 2 year guarantee
so I'm not worried

On the fan question:

Why would the fan need to run in standby at all
the toppy manages quite well without one
Last edited by Northern Soul : 07-11-2006 at 16:45

Bought my 9200 in Nov 05. Updated with 1.08 and a4.09 about 2 weeks ago. Juat had a look around the back and the fan is still running in standby (could only just hear it). I switched off at the rear to make sure I could see the blades stop. It hasn't been out of standby since last night so it was cold.

You might be sensitive to the noise but then again I think there have a been a couple of people, and only in the last couple of weeks might I say, from various forums saying the noise is more than they would expect, even from a hard disk based system. It seems like a minority given everyone else is saying the opposite but to me that just makes me think there are probably batches out there that are just plain noisier or some people are sensitive to hard disk based PVR sound. Not heard yet from people complaining about the sound coming from another PVR but have seen reports of people swapping out noisy machine for another which resolved the problem

The toppy gets warm and when in an enclosed cabinet under a TV (which is not going to be unusual given its application) some people may find it get very hot. So I guess Humax just went the extra mile - or in the case a couple of quid. There was a thread started recently on toppy.org.uk which is now several pages long about adapting the toppy with a fan. I dont think the toppy gets failures even when it gets very hot so I presume people are just more comfortable with it having some air circulation nothing more than that.
Last edited by marcdavis : 07-11-2006 at 17:02

That's definite enough for me!

Do you have a new box purchased in the last 3-4 weeks though

I bought mine in Oct 2005 and the fan has always remained on in standby no matter what software and loader was installed.

When I saw this thread that seemed to imply that 1.08 and a4.09 changed this behaviour I rushed to check. The unit had been in standby since the end of the previous night but alas the fan was still going even with the unit being ice-cold to touch.

I powered it off, saw the fan stop, then powered it back up again, and the fan started again even though it went into standby.

One thing though, I've never done a factory reset.
I've always avoided it as I've made many configuration changes over time and always seem to have a full list of 20 repeating timers both of which I don't want to lose.

I'll be looking out for Humax Korea's response as the fan does make an annoying droning noise in a quiet room and my bigger concern is if the fan is running continuously how long is it going to last before it burns out and the unit overheats?