I've had a DHD400 since they came out, which was (I think) about April 2004. It's served me very well but has now stopped working (details below). Does anyone know whether it's possible to fix or has it died forever?

Over a few days the box kept crashing (stopped responding to remote/front buttons) or wouldn't display a picture, requiring me to pull the plug and reboot. Now when I plug it in the orange light flashes 20 times, goes solid orange and does nothing more. The hard drive doesn't spin up but it sounds like it's making a very feeble effort to do so (regular tick sound comes from the unit).

I've opened the box up and replaced the hard drive with a new one, but that didn't help. I also connected the hard drive power to a computer PSU in case that was blown, but although the hard drive then spun up, I didn't get to the red light.

There's black residue on the case over the PSU, so I wonder whether the capacitors have blown - they look ok but you never know. I'm not likely to learn how to solder quickly, so buying the capacitor kit I've read about on another thread wouldn't be too helpful. Is there any way to know whether the unit would work with a new/fixed PSU and is there any alternative to doing the soldering?

If not, it looks like I'll have to decide between a Humax or Toppy as a replacement. Shame since the Thomson has been very good to me over the years...

Thanks for any help.
-Dave

The Satcure website at http://www.satcure.com/gds200.htm does mention a repair service who will do the work for you. It sounds as if it could well be the power supply, but you may get the capacitors changed and it might still not work - that's the gamble you take.

Pop

That was how mine went - the drive did eventually get full speed and a quick power off/on at the mains did bring it back to life. I changed the capacitors and all came good. Not sure about externally powering the drive, that should work I suppose, but then there might not be enough power to drive the rest of the stuff.

I used to solder years ago and this was a challenge for my eyesight but I took it slowly and got there in the end. It was £6 well spent

The only question mark in my mind is the black residue noticed. Electrolytic caps can make a mess when they go bang, but it is usually a very noticeable mess and it isn't black. It could be another component that is getting hot, which might be down to failing capacitors, or it could be another cause.

As an extra note, if anyone decides to go for a Relkit from Satcure, then please take the advice on the Satcure website and check your power supply against the photos they have. The PSU in my DHD4000 doesn't match any of their photos, but I bought the Relkit 33e as this seems to work for other 4000's. On checking the capacitors against the ones in my PSU most were ok for value and ratings, but I had to find three replacements myself. I also found suitable replacements for the "too-tall" caps from the States. Not fitted yet, just bought for future use when needed or if I get a spare moment beforehand.

Pop