Strong 5390 PVR problem

[Ext User(Gary Slater)]

Hi there,

Strong SRT 5390B Set top box with PVR.

I have one of these units which I have had for about 18 months now (6 months
out of manufacturers warranty)

The machine has worked fine for all this time, other than the occasional
glitch during playback.

Here is a bit of history of my unit, I have taken the time to include all
these details with the hope that someone may be able to help me with the
problems I am having with my unit

I have upgraded to two firmware versions at the times they were released
(V073 and V077) which made the unit a much more refined thing to use.

In the last few weeks the unit has failed to record the whole of the time
frame it was programmed to record (ie: program to record for 2 hours, only
records 50 mins) and when viewing the part that was captured to HD there is
heaps of sync errors (picture and sound way out of sync) with occasions of
picture pausing and sound continuing even when pause / ffwd pressed.

If the record "hot key" is started sometimes the unit will record for a few
minutes, sometimes it can get to half an hour, then picture and sound gets
very choppy, sorts it self out for a few seconds then everything freezes (no
remote control keys work at all) during this time there are some horrible
"clicking" type sounds which seem to be coming from the HD. The machine then
goes into "blue screen of death" type mood (usually pixelated pink or green
stationery blocks on the screen) and turns itself off and re-starts itself,
but looses the time and date setting.

When viewing real time broadcast the unit operates perfectly, Problem only
happens when viewing programs saved to HD or while recording to HD.

I have spoken to the "tech guy" from the retailer who sold me the box (Todds
Hi Fi @ Tingalpa, Brisbane) about the HD reset feature which appeared in the
latest firmware update to try and find out what it actually does ie: I
thought it could be a format or defrag type operation but the process seems
way to quick to be either of those operations on an 80G drive. He said that
they have some "additional HD tweaks" and firmware updates that Strong
provide only to "service agents" like themselves and he asked me to bring
the unit to their store and he would apply the latest firmware and do
something like a "re-format" to the drive. They had the unit for 1 week to
do this and we got the unit back last night with the usual "it's been
working great for us!" send off. I don't know how much was actually recorded
by them but there was only a couple of "a few minutes duration" recordings
left on the HD after I set the unit back up on my system at home. The first
show I tried to record was ABC's Quantum which recorded for the full half
hour but with very choppy sound and video sync, virtually unwatchable in
some areas but it did go for the full half hour. The second program I set
the machine to record was for 3 hrs later that night. Only 50 minutes was
captured with the majority of it in unwatchable state. The machine has not
improved at all after their "tweaks" and the firmware version and date is
the same as the latest version I had last upgraded to myself (V077)

My wife called Strong earlier today who could only recommend sending the
unit to them via one of their service agents for repair at our own cost, but
if there is some bugs "including one nasty hardware one that cannot be
easily fixed." that has been mentioned in an earlier thread I would be
tempted to save the repair $$ and get something else seeing the price of the
cheaper options for other machines which are mentioned in the thread, which
might just have to do until a Hi Def box with Hard drive is available at an
affordable price.

BUT...Having had a little experience with computers and hard drives (By no
means an expert!) I have the feeling the HD in the box may be failing. Is
this one of the hardware bugs that has been mentioned in other threads on
this group or in your opinion, a possible cause to the problem that my unit
has? I have taken the cover off the unit and had a look at the drive, just
to see what type it is (Seagate 80G IDE drive, didn't note the rpm speed or
any other details though)

Being just an IDE hard drive, is it a simple matter of slipping in a new
unformatted drive (Maybe upgrading to 120GB+ while I am in there?) or does
the new drive need to be formatted in a specific format before installing
into the machine? The drive seems to be mounted on a soft rubber like pad. I
take it this is used to cut down the noise of the drive. If I can have a go
at trying another drive, how does the original drive come out of this rubber
mounting? If the drive does need to be pre-formatted before installing, what
does it need to be formatted to and is there any files required on the HD
that the machine uses to function?

Any comments or suggestions to the above would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers for now,

Gary..

PS to reply direct remove the dots and whats between to address correctly!,
thanks..

[Ext User(Justin)]

I've got a 5290 that tends to have some interesting quirks. The first thing
I'd be checking is the actual signal levels of the channels (not the
quality). You may have to go in to the manual channel search menu & view
both bars. The 5290 seems to have some of the problems yours has when the
signal strength gets down to 66% & below. I believe the actual tuner module
in my 5290 is dying as the signal strength levels are slowly dropping over
time.

Having said that, the hard drive would be my bet. I think you just throw
another drive in (no special formatting). The unit will function as a
straight STB without the drive. The whole hard drive bracket comes out (you
unscrew it) & the hard drive is screwed to the bottom (as I remember it). I
know 120GB drives are fine, but I'm not sure about anything bigger. Just
fire it back up & find the format option.

Might be worthwhile doing a bit of research as to which is the quietest/most
reliable drive you can get. My personal experience would steer me away from
Maxtor & Seagate, & towards Western Digital.


"Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:H0IIe.72454$oJ.39303@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Hi there,
>
> Strong SRT 5390B Set top box with PVR.
>
> I have one of these units which I have had for about 18 months now (6
> months out of manufacturers warranty)
>
> The machine has worked fine for all this time, other than the occasional
> glitch during playback.
>
> Here is a bit of history of my unit, I have taken the time to include all
> these details with the hope that someone may be able to help me with the
> problems I am having with my unit
>
> I have upgraded to two firmware versions at the times they were released
> (V073 and V077) which made the unit a much more refined thing to use.
>
> In the last few weeks the unit has failed to record the whole of the time
> frame it was programmed to record (ie: program to record for 2 hours, only
> records 50 mins) and when viewing the part that was captured to HD there
> is heaps of sync errors (picture and sound way out of sync) with occasions
> of picture pausing and sound continuing even when pause / ffwd pressed.
>
> If the record "hot key" is started sometimes the unit will record for a
> few minutes, sometimes it can get to half an hour, then picture and sound
> gets very choppy, sorts it self out for a few seconds then everything
> freezes (no remote control keys work at all) during this time there are
> some horrible "clicking" type sounds which seem to be coming from the HD.
> The machine then goes into "blue screen of death" type mood (usually
> pixelated pink or green stationery blocks on the screen) and turns itself
> off and re-starts itself, but looses the time and date setting.
>
> When viewing real time broadcast the unit operates perfectly, Problem only
> happens when viewing programs saved to HD or while recording to HD.
>
> I have spoken to the "tech guy" from the retailer who sold me the box
> (Todds Hi Fi @ Tingalpa, Brisbane) about the HD reset feature which
> appeared in the latest firmware update to try and find out what it
> actually does ie: I thought it could be a format or defrag type operation
> but the process seems way to quick to be either of those operations on an
> 80G drive. He said that they have some "additional HD tweaks" and firmware
> updates that Strong provide only to "service agents" like themselves and
> he asked me to bring the unit to their store and he would apply the latest
> firmware and do something like a "re-format" to the drive. They had the
> unit for 1 week to do this and we got the unit back last night with the
> usual "it's been working great for us!" send off. I don't know how much
> was actually recorded by them but there was only a couple of "a few
> minutes duration" recordings left on the HD after I set the unit back up
> on my system at home. The first show I tried to record was ABC's Quantum
> which recorded for the full half hour but with very choppy sound and video
> sync, virtually unwatchable in some areas but it did go for the full half
> hour. The second program I set the machine to record was for 3 hrs later
> that night. Only 50 minutes was captured with the majority of it in
> unwatchable state. The machine has not improved at all after their
> "tweaks" and the firmware version and date is the same as the latest
> version I had last upgraded to myself (V077)
>
> My wife called Strong earlier today who could only recommend sending the
> unit to them via one of their service agents for repair at our own cost,
> but if there is some bugs "including one nasty hardware one that cannot be
> easily fixed." that has been mentioned in an earlier thread I would be
> tempted to save the repair $$ and get something else seeing the price of
> the cheaper options for other machines which are mentioned in the thread,
> which might just have to do until a Hi Def box with Hard drive is
> available at an affordable price.
>
> BUT...Having had a little experience with computers and hard drives (By no
> means an expert!) I have the feeling the HD in the box may be failing. Is
> this one of the hardware bugs that has been mentioned in other threads on
> this group or in your opinion, a possible cause to the problem that my
> unit has? I have taken the cover off the unit and had a look at the drive,
> just to see what type it is (Seagate 80G IDE drive, didn't note the rpm
> speed or any other details though)
>
> Being just an IDE hard drive, is it a simple matter of slipping in a new
> unformatted drive (Maybe upgrading to 120GB+ while I am in there?) or does
> the new drive need to be formatted in a specific format before installing
> into the machine? The drive seems to be mounted on a soft rubber like pad.
> I take it this is used to cut down the noise of the drive. If I can have a
> go at trying another drive, how does the original drive come out of this
> rubber mounting? If the drive does need to be pre-formatted before
> installing, what does it need to be formatted to and is there any files
> required on the HD that the machine uses to function?
>
> Any comments or suggestions to the above would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Cheers for now,
>
> Gary..
>
> PS to reply direct remove the dots and whats between to address
> correctly!, thanks..
>
>
>

[Ext User(Gary Slater)]

Justin,

Thanks for your reply.

I will check out the signal strength meter you spoke about. I have noticed
the antenna signal has dropped a bit when watching analogue tv recently. I
use a signal strength amplifer on the ant. lead which may be giving up (I
have had it for 20 yrs or so..!) that could be causing the problem you
mention.

I will fiddle around with it over the weekend and post the outcome!

Thanks again for your help!

Regards,

Gary.


"Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
news:42f35562$0$8999$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au ...
> I've got a 5290 that tends to have some interesting quirks. The first
> thing I'd be checking is the actual signal levels of the channels (not the
> quality). You may have to go in to the manual channel search menu & view
> both bars. The 5290 seems to have some of the problems yours has when the
> signal strength gets down to 66% & below. I believe the actual tuner
> module in my 5290 is dying as the signal strength levels are slowly
> dropping over time.
>
> Having said that, the hard drive would be my bet. I think you just throw
> another drive in (no special formatting). The unit will function as a
> straight STB without the drive. The whole hard drive bracket comes out
> (you unscrew it) & the hard drive is screwed to the bottom (as I remember
> it). I know 120GB drives are fine, but I'm not sure about anything bigger.
> Just fire it back up & find the format option.
>
> Might be worthwhile doing a bit of research as to which is the
> quietest/most reliable drive you can get. My personal experience would
> steer me away from Maxtor & Seagate, & towards Western Digital.
>
>
> "Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
> news:H0IIe.72454$oJ.39303@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> Hi there,
>>
>> Strong SRT 5390B Set top box with PVR.
>>
>> I have one of these units which I have had for about 18 months now (6
>> months out of manufacturers warranty)
>>
>> The machine has worked fine for all this time, other than the occasional
>> glitch during playback.
>>
>> Here is a bit of history of my unit, I have taken the time to include all
>> these details with the hope that someone may be able to help me with the
>> problems I am having with my unit
>>
>> I have upgraded to two firmware versions at the times they were released
>> (V073 and V077) which made the unit a much more refined thing to use.
>>
>> In the last few weeks the unit has failed to record the whole of the time
>> frame it was programmed to record (ie: program to record for 2 hours,
>> only records 50 mins) and when viewing the part that was captured to HD
>> there is heaps of sync errors (picture and sound way out of sync) with
>> occasions of picture pausing and sound continuing even when pause / ffwd
>> pressed.
>>
>> If the record "hot key" is started sometimes the unit will record for a
>> few minutes, sometimes it can get to half an hour, then picture and sound
>> gets very choppy, sorts it self out for a few seconds then everything
>> freezes (no remote control keys work at all) during this time there are
>> some horrible "clicking" type sounds which seem to be coming from the HD.
>> The machine then goes into "blue screen of death" type mood (usually
>> pixelated pink or green stationery blocks on the screen) and turns itself
>> off and re-starts itself, but looses the time and date setting.
>>
>> When viewing real time broadcast the unit operates perfectly, Problem
>> only happens when viewing programs saved to HD or while recording to HD.
>>
>> I have spoken to the "tech guy" from the retailer who sold me the box
>> (Todds Hi Fi @ Tingalpa, Brisbane) about the HD reset feature which
>> appeared in the latest firmware update to try and find out what it
>> actually does ie: I thought it could be a format or defrag type operation
>> but the process seems way to quick to be either of those operations on an
>> 80G drive. He said that they have some "additional HD tweaks" and
>> firmware updates that Strong provide only to "service agents" like
>> themselves and he asked me to bring the unit to their store and he would
>> apply the latest firmware and do something like a "re-format" to the
>> drive. They had the unit for 1 week to do this and we got the unit back
>> last night with the usual "it's been working great for us!" send off. I
>> don't know how much was actually recorded by them but there was only a
>> couple of "a few minutes duration" recordings left on the HD after I set
>> the unit back up on my system at home. The first show I tried to record
>> was ABC's Quantum which recorded for the full half hour but with very
>> choppy sound and video sync, virtually unwatchable in some areas but it
>> did go for the full half hour. The second program I set the machine to
>> record was for 3 hrs later that night. Only 50 minutes was captured with
>> the majority of it in unwatchable state. The machine has not improved at
>> all after their "tweaks" and the firmware version and date is the same as
>> the latest version I had last upgraded to myself (V077)
>>
>> My wife called Strong earlier today who could only recommend sending the
>> unit to them via one of their service agents for repair at our own cost,
>> but if there is some bugs "including one nasty hardware one that cannot
>> be easily fixed." that has been mentioned in an earlier thread I would be
>> tempted to save the repair $$ and get something else seeing the price of
>> the cheaper options for other machines which are mentioned in the thread,
>> which might just have to do until a Hi Def box with Hard drive is
>> available at an affordable price.
>>
>> BUT...Having had a little experience with computers and hard drives (By
>> no means an expert!) I have the feeling the HD in the box may be failing.
>> Is this one of the hardware bugs that has been mentioned in other threads
>> on this group or in your opinion, a possible cause to the problem that my
>> unit has? I have taken the cover off the unit and had a look at the
>> drive, just to see what type it is (Seagate 80G IDE drive, didn't note
>> the rpm speed or any other details though)
>>
>> Being just an IDE hard drive, is it a simple matter of slipping in a new
>> unformatted drive (Maybe upgrading to 120GB+ while I am in there?) or
>> does the new drive need to be formatted in a specific format before
>> installing into the machine? The drive seems to be mounted on a soft
>> rubber like pad. I take it this is used to cut down the noise of the
>> drive. If I can have a go at trying another drive, how does the original
>> drive come out of this rubber mounting? If the drive does need to be
>> pre-formatted before installing, what does it need to be formatted to and
>> is there any files required on the HD that the machine uses to function?
>>
>> Any comments or suggestions to the above would be greatly appreciated!
>>
>> Cheers for now,
>>
>> Gary..
>>
>> PS to reply direct remove the dots and whats between to address
>> correctly!, thanks..
>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Ext User(Raimon Hennecke)]

"Justin" wrote:
> "Gary Slater" wrote

it's probably in both cases the power supply of the unit -
(possibly some ageing capacitor(s) there)

Ask someone to measure the voltages
(easiest to do at the power connector to the harddrive)
and check how low the 5 Volts perhaps already became ;)

--Raimon--

[Ext User(Damon)]

Common fault, capacitors C15 and C16 fail on the Power Supply Board. Strong
in Melbourne will fix it for free or you can change them yourself if you are
competent with a soldering iron. They should be replaced with 220uF 25V
105C low ESR capacitors that are available from Altronics or Jaycar. Don't
use Dick Smith ones or it will be broken again in weeks. If you are in Perth
let me know and I can do it for you?

rgds Damon


"Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:5QIIe.72521$oJ.38793@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Justin,
>
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> I will check out the signal strength meter you spoke about. I have noticed
> the antenna signal has dropped a bit when watching analogue tv recently. I
> use a signal strength amplifer on the ant. lead which may be giving up (I
> have had it for 20 yrs or so..!) that could be causing the problem you
> mention.
>
> I will fiddle around with it over the weekend and post the outcome!
>
> Thanks again for your help!
>
> Regards,
>
> Gary.
>
>
> "Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
> news:42f35562$0$8999$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au ...
>> I've got a 5290 that tends to have some interesting quirks. The first
>> thing I'd be checking is the actual signal levels of the channels (not
>> the quality). You may have to go in to the manual channel search menu &
>> view both bars. The 5290 seems to have some of the problems yours has
>> when the signal strength gets down to 66% & below. I believe the actual
>> tuner module in my 5290 is dying as the signal strength levels are slowly
>> dropping over time.
>>
>> Having said that, the hard drive would be my bet. I think you just throw
>> another drive in (no special formatting). The unit will function as a
>> straight STB without the drive. The whole hard drive bracket comes out
>> (you unscrew it) & the hard drive is screwed to the bottom (as I remember
>> it). I know 120GB drives are fine, but I'm not sure about anything
>> bigger. Just fire it back up & find the format option.
>>
>> Might be worthwhile doing a bit of research as to which is the
>> quietest/most reliable drive you can get. My personal experience would
>> steer me away from Maxtor & Seagate, & towards Western Digital.
>>
>>
>> "Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
>> news:H0IIe.72454$oJ.39303@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>> Hi there,
>>>
>>> Strong SRT 5390B Set top box with PVR.
>>>
>>> I have one of these units which I have had for about 18 months now (6
>>> months out of manufacturers warranty)
>>>
>>> The machine has worked fine for all this time, other than the occasional
>>> glitch during playback.
>>>
>>> Here is a bit of history of my unit, I have taken the time to include
>>> all these details with the hope that someone may be able to help me with
>>> the problems I am having with my unit
>>>
>>> I have upgraded to two firmware versions at the times they were released
>>> (V073 and V077) which made the unit a much more refined thing to use.
>>>
>>> In the last few weeks the unit has failed to record the whole of the
>>> time frame it was programmed to record (ie: program to record for 2
>>> hours, only records 50 mins) and when viewing the part that was captured
>>> to HD there is heaps of sync errors (picture and sound way out of sync)
>>> with occasions of picture pausing and sound continuing even when pause /
>>> ffwd pressed.
>>>
>>> If the record "hot key" is started sometimes the unit will record for a
>>> few minutes, sometimes it can get to half an hour, then picture and
>>> sound gets very choppy, sorts it self out for a few seconds then
>>> everything freezes (no remote control keys work at all) during this time
>>> there are some horrible "clicking" type sounds which seem to be coming
>>> from the HD. The machine then goes into "blue screen of death" type mood
>>> (usually pixelated pink or green stationery blocks on the screen) and
>>> turns itself off and re-starts itself, but looses the time and date
>>> setting.
>>>
>>> When viewing real time broadcast the unit operates perfectly, Problem
>>> only happens when viewing programs saved to HD or while recording to HD.
>>>
>>> I have spoken to the "tech guy" from the retailer who sold me the box
>>> (Todds Hi Fi @ Tingalpa, Brisbane) about the HD reset feature which
>>> appeared in the latest firmware update to try and find out what it
>>> actually does ie: I thought it could be a format or defrag type
>>> operation but the process seems way to quick to be either of those
>>> operations on an 80G drive. He said that they have some "additional HD
>>> tweaks" and firmware updates that Strong provide only to "service
>>> agents" like themselves and he asked me to bring the unit to their store
>>> and he would apply the latest firmware and do something like a
>>> "re-format" to the drive. They had the unit for 1 week to do this and we
>>> got the unit back last night with the usual "it's been working great for
>>> us!" send off. I don't know how much was actually recorded by them but
>>> there was only a couple of "a few minutes duration" recordings left on
>>> the HD after I set the unit back up on my system at home. The first show
>>> I tried to record was ABC's Quantum which recorded for the full half
>>> hour but with very choppy sound and video sync, virtually unwatchable in
>>> some areas but it did go for the full half hour. The second program I
>>> set the machine to record was for 3 hrs later that night. Only 50
>>> minutes was captured with the majority of it in unwatchable state. The
>>> machine has not improved at all after their "tweaks" and the firmware
>>> version and date is the same as the latest version I had last upgraded
>>> to myself (V077)
>>>
>>> My wife called Strong earlier today who could only recommend sending the
>>> unit to them via one of their service agents for repair at our own cost,
>>> but if there is some bugs "including one nasty hardware one that cannot
>>> be easily fixed." that has been mentioned in an earlier thread I would
>>> be tempted to save the repair $$ and get something else seeing the price
>>> of the cheaper options for other machines which are mentioned in the
>>> thread, which might just have to do until a Hi Def box with Hard drive
>>> is available at an affordable price.
>>>
>>> BUT...Having had a little experience with computers and hard drives (By
>>> no means an expert!) I have the feeling the HD in the box may be
>>> failing. Is this one of the hardware bugs that has been mentioned in
>>> other threads on this group or in your opinion, a possible cause to the
>>> problem that my unit has? I have taken the cover off the unit and had a
>>> look at the drive, just to see what type it is (Seagate 80G IDE drive,
>>> didn't note the rpm speed or any other details though)
>>>
>>> Being just an IDE hard drive, is it a simple matter of slipping in a new
>>> unformatted drive (Maybe upgrading to 120GB+ while I am in there?) or
>>> does the new drive need to be formatted in a specific format before
>>> installing into the machine? The drive seems to be mounted on a soft
>>> rubber like pad. I take it this is used to cut down the noise of the
>>> drive. If I can have a go at trying another drive, how does the original
>>> drive come out of this rubber mounting? If the drive does need to be
>>> pre-formatted before installing, what does it need to be formatted to
>>> and is there any files required on the HD that the machine uses to
>>> function?
>>>
>>> Any comments or suggestions to the above would be greatly appreciated!
>>>
>>> Cheers for now,
>>>
>>> Gary..
>>>
>>> PS to reply direct remove the dots and whats between to address
>>> correctly!, thanks..
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Ext User(Justin)]

Does the 5290 suffer from any similar probs? Some users have reported that
using an outboard power supply (from a PC) for the hard drive eliminates a
lot of the problems.

Justin

"Damon" <damon@bigpudle.com> wrote in message
news:MEYIe.73156$oJ.45925@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Common fault, capacitors C15 and C16 fail on the Power Supply Board.
> Strong in Melbourne will fix it for free or you can change them yourself
> if you are competent with a soldering iron. They should be replaced with
> 220uF 25V 105C low ESR capacitors that are available from Altronics or
> Jaycar. Don't use Dick Smith ones or it will be broken again in weeks. If
> you are in Perth let me know and I can do it for you?
>
> rgds Damon
>
>
> "Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
> news:5QIIe.72521$oJ.38793@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> Justin,
>>
>> Thanks for your reply.
>>
>> I will check out the signal strength meter you spoke about. I have
>> noticed the antenna signal has dropped a bit when watching analogue tv
>> recently. I use a signal strength amplifer on the ant. lead which may be
>> giving up (I have had it for 20 yrs or so..!) that could be causing the
>> problem you mention.
>>
>> I will fiddle around with it over the weekend and post the outcome!
>>
>> Thanks again for your help!
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Gary.
>>
>>
>> "Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
>> news:42f35562$0$8999$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au ...
>>> I've got a 5290 that tends to have some interesting quirks. The first
>>> thing I'd be checking is the actual signal levels of the channels (not
>>> the quality). You may have to go in to the manual channel search menu &
>>> view both bars. The 5290 seems to have some of the problems yours has
>>> when the signal strength gets down to 66% & below. I believe the actual
>>> tuner module in my 5290 is dying as the signal strength levels are
>>> slowly dropping over time.
>>>
>>> Having said that, the hard drive would be my bet. I think you just throw
>>> another drive in (no special formatting). The unit will function as a
>>> straight STB without the drive. The whole hard drive bracket comes out
>>> (you unscrew it) & the hard drive is screwed to the bottom (as I
>>> remember it). I know 120GB drives are fine, but I'm not sure about
>>> anything bigger. Just fire it back up & find the format option.
>>>
>>> Might be worthwhile doing a bit of research as to which is the
>>> quietest/most reliable drive you can get. My personal experience would
>>> steer me away from Maxtor & Seagate, & towards Western Digital.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
>>> news:H0IIe.72454$oJ.39303@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>>> Hi there,
>>>>
>>>> Strong SRT 5390B Set top box with PVR.
>>>>
>>>> I have one of these units which I have had for about 18 months now (6
>>>> months out of manufacturers warranty)
>>>>
>>>> The machine has worked fine for all this time, other than the
>>>> occasional glitch during playback.
>>>>
>>>> Here is a bit of history of my unit, I have taken the time to include
>>>> all these details with the hope that someone may be able to help me
>>>> with the problems I am having with my unit
>>>>
>>>> I have upgraded to two firmware versions at the times they were
>>>> released (V073 and V077) which made the unit a much more refined thing
>>>> to use.
>>>>
>>>> In the last few weeks the unit has failed to record the whole of the
>>>> time frame it was programmed to record (ie: program to record for 2
>>>> hours, only records 50 mins) and when viewing the part that was
>>>> captured to HD there is heaps of sync errors (picture and sound way out
>>>> of sync) with occasions of picture pausing and sound continuing even
>>>> when pause / ffwd pressed.
>>>>
>>>> If the record "hot key" is started sometimes the unit will record for a
>>>> few minutes, sometimes it can get to half an hour, then picture and
>>>> sound gets very choppy, sorts it self out for a few seconds then
>>>> everything freezes (no remote control keys work at all) during this
>>>> time there are some horrible "clicking" type sounds which seem to be
>>>> coming from the HD. The machine then goes into "blue screen of death"
>>>> type mood (usually pixelated pink or green stationery blocks on the
>>>> screen) and turns itself off and re-starts itself, but looses the time
>>>> and date setting.
>>>>
>>>> When viewing real time broadcast the unit operates perfectly, Problem
>>>> only happens when viewing programs saved to HD or while recording to
>>>> HD.
>>>>
>>>> I have spoken to the "tech guy" from the retailer who sold me the box
>>>> (Todds Hi Fi @ Tingalpa, Brisbane) about the HD reset feature which
>>>> appeared in the latest firmware update to try and find out what it
>>>> actually does ie: I thought it could be a format or defrag type
>>>> operation but the process seems way to quick to be either of those
>>>> operations on an 80G drive. He said that they have some "additional HD
>>>> tweaks" and firmware updates that Strong provide only to "service
>>>> agents" like themselves and he asked me to bring the unit to their
>>>> store and he would apply the latest firmware and do something like a
>>>> "re-format" to the drive. They had the unit for 1 week to do this and
>>>> we got the unit back last night with the usual "it's been working great
>>>> for us!" send off. I don't know how much was actually recorded by them
>>>> but there was only a couple of "a few minutes duration" recordings left
>>>> on the HD after I set the unit back up on my system at home. The first
>>>> show I tried to record was ABC's Quantum which recorded for the full
>>>> half hour but with very choppy sound and video sync, virtually
>>>> unwatchable in some areas but it did go for the full half hour. The
>>>> second program I set the machine to record was for 3 hrs later that
>>>> night. Only 50 minutes was captured with the majority of it in
>>>> unwatchable state. The machine has not improved at all after their
>>>> "tweaks" and the firmware version and date is the same as the latest
>>>> version I had last upgraded to myself (V077)
>>>>
>>>> My wife called Strong earlier today who could only recommend sending
>>>> the unit to them via one of their service agents for repair at our own
>>>> cost, but if there is some bugs "including one nasty hardware one that
>>>> cannot be easily fixed." that has been mentioned in an earlier thread I
>>>> would be tempted to save the repair $$ and get something else seeing
>>>> the price of the cheaper options for other machines which are mentioned
>>>> in the thread, which might just have to do until a Hi Def box with Hard
>>>> drive is available at an affordable price.
>>>>
>>>> BUT...Having had a little experience with computers and hard drives (By
>>>> no means an expert!) I have the feeling the HD in the box may be
>>>> failing. Is this one of the hardware bugs that has been mentioned in
>>>> other threads on this group or in your opinion, a possible cause to the
>>>> problem that my unit has? I have taken the cover off the unit and had a
>>>> look at the drive, just to see what type it is (Seagate 80G IDE drive,
>>>> didn't note the rpm speed or any other details though)
>>>>
>>>> Being just an IDE hard drive, is it a simple matter of slipping in a
>>>> new unformatted drive (Maybe upgrading to 120GB+ while I am in there?)
>>>> or does the new drive need to be formatted in a specific format before
>>>> installing into the machine? The drive seems to be mounted on a soft
>>>> rubber like pad. I take it this is used to cut down the noise of the
>>>> drive. If I can have a go at trying another drive, how does the
>>>> original drive come out of this rubber mounting? If the drive does need
>>>> to be pre-formatted before installing, what does it need to be
>>>> formatted to and is there any files required on the HD that the machine
>>>> uses to function?
>>>>
>>>> Any comments or suggestions to the above would be greatly appreciated!
>>>>
>>>> Cheers for now,
>>>>
>>>> Gary..
>>>>
>>>> PS to reply direct remove the dots and whats between to address
>>>> correctly!, thanks..
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Ext User(tonymy01)]

"Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
news:42f5ac8c$0$23738$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u
> Does the 5290 suffer from any similar probs? Some users have reported
> that using an outboard power supply (from a PC) for the hard drive
> eliminates a lot of the problems.
>
From what I have read on http://www.dtvforum.info forums, the 5290 does have
capacitor probs in the PSU too...
regards
--
Tonymy01
http://tonyspage.abock.de for Topfield TAPS, links etc.

[Ext User(Damon)]

Don't know sold mine years ago. It seemed to have an underrated PSU. You
could try beefing up the Capacitor values around the Hard Drive area of the
PSU.

rgds Damon

"Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
news:42f5ac8c$0$23738$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> Does the 5290 suffer from any similar probs? Some users have reported that
> using an outboard power supply (from a PC) for the hard drive eliminates a
> lot of the problems.
>
> Justin
>
> "Damon" <damon@bigpudle.com> wrote in message
> news:MEYIe.73156$oJ.45925@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> Common fault, capacitors C15 and C16 fail on the Power Supply Board.
>> Strong in Melbourne will fix it for free or you can change them yourself
>> if you are competent with a soldering iron. They should be replaced with
>> 220uF 25V 105C low ESR capacitors that are available from Altronics or
>> Jaycar. Don't use Dick Smith ones or it will be broken again in weeks.
>> If you are in Perth let me know and I can do it for you?
>>
>> rgds Damon
>>
>>
>> "Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
>> news:5QIIe.72521$oJ.38793@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>> Justin,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your reply.
>>>
>>> I will check out the signal strength meter you spoke about. I have
>>> noticed the antenna signal has dropped a bit when watching analogue tv
>>> recently. I use a signal strength amplifer on the ant. lead which may be
>>> giving up (I have had it for 20 yrs or so..!) that could be causing the
>>> problem you mention.
>>>
>>> I will fiddle around with it over the weekend and post the outcome!
>>>
>>> Thanks again for your help!
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Gary.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
>>> news:42f35562$0$8999$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au ...
>>>> I've got a 5290 that tends to have some interesting quirks. The first
>>>> thing I'd be checking is the actual signal levels of the channels (not
>>>> the quality). You may have to go in to the manual channel search menu &
>>>> view both bars. The 5290 seems to have some of the problems yours has
>>>> when the signal strength gets down to 66% & below. I believe the actual
>>>> tuner module in my 5290 is dying as the signal strength levels are
>>>> slowly dropping over time.
>>>>
>>>> Having said that, the hard drive would be my bet. I think you just
>>>> throw another drive in (no special formatting). The unit will function
>>>> as a straight STB without the drive. The whole hard drive bracket comes
>>>> out (you unscrew it) & the hard drive is screwed to the bottom (as I
>>>> remember it). I know 120GB drives are fine, but I'm not sure about
>>>> anything bigger. Just fire it back up & find the format option.
>>>>
>>>> Might be worthwhile doing a bit of research as to which is the
>>>> quietest/most reliable drive you can get. My personal experience would
>>>> steer me away from Maxtor & Seagate, & towards Western Digital.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:H0IIe.72454$oJ.39303@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>>>> Hi there,
>>>>>
>>>>> Strong SRT 5390B Set top box with PVR.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have one of these units which I have had for about 18 months now (6
>>>>> months out of manufacturers warranty)
>>>>>
>>>>> The machine has worked fine for all this time, other than the
>>>>> occasional glitch during playback.
>>>>>
>>>>> Here is a bit of history of my unit, I have taken the time to include
>>>>> all these details with the hope that someone may be able to help me
>>>>> with the problems I am having with my unit
>>>>>
>>>>> I have upgraded to two firmware versions at the times they were
>>>>> released (V073 and V077) which made the unit a much more refined thing
>>>>> to use.
>>>>>
>>>>> In the last few weeks the unit has failed to record the whole of the
>>>>> time frame it was programmed to record (ie: program to record for 2
>>>>> hours, only records 50 mins) and when viewing the part that was
>>>>> captured to HD there is heaps of sync errors (picture and sound way
>>>>> out of sync) with occasions of picture pausing and sound continuing
>>>>> even when pause / ffwd pressed.
>>>>>
>>>>> If the record "hot key" is started sometimes the unit will record for
>>>>> a few minutes, sometimes it can get to half an hour, then picture and
>>>>> sound gets very choppy, sorts it self out for a few seconds then
>>>>> everything freezes (no remote control keys work at all) during this
>>>>> time there are some horrible "clicking" type sounds which seem to be
>>>>> coming from the HD. The machine then goes into "blue screen of death"
>>>>> type mood (usually pixelated pink or green stationery blocks on the
>>>>> screen) and turns itself off and re-starts itself, but looses the time
>>>>> and date setting.
>>>>>
>>>>> When viewing real time broadcast the unit operates perfectly, Problem
>>>>> only happens when viewing programs saved to HD or while recording to
>>>>> HD.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have spoken to the "tech guy" from the retailer who sold me the box
>>>>> (Todds Hi Fi @ Tingalpa, Brisbane) about the HD reset feature which
>>>>> appeared in the latest firmware update to try and find out what it
>>>>> actually does ie: I thought it could be a format or defrag type
>>>>> operation but the process seems way to quick to be either of those
>>>>> operations on an 80G drive. He said that they have some "additional HD
>>>>> tweaks" and firmware updates that Strong provide only to "service
>>>>> agents" like themselves and he asked me to bring the unit to their
>>>>> store and he would apply the latest firmware and do something like a
>>>>> "re-format" to the drive. They had the unit for 1 week to do this and
>>>>> we got the unit back last night with the usual "it's been working
>>>>> great for us!" send off. I don't know how much was actually recorded
>>>>> by them but there was only a couple of "a few minutes duration"
>>>>> recordings left on the HD after I set the unit back up on my system at
>>>>> home. The first show I tried to record was ABC's Quantum which
>>>>> recorded for the full half hour but with very choppy sound and video
>>>>> sync, virtually unwatchable in some areas but it did go for the full
>>>>> half hour. The second program I set the machine to record was for 3
>>>>> hrs later that night. Only 50 minutes was captured with the majority
>>>>> of it in unwatchable state. The machine has not improved at all after
>>>>> their "tweaks" and the firmware version and date is the same as the
>>>>> latest version I had last upgraded to myself (V077)
>>>>>
>>>>> My wife called Strong earlier today who could only recommend sending
>>>>> the unit to them via one of their service agents for repair at our own
>>>>> cost, but if there is some bugs "including one nasty hardware one that
>>>>> cannot be easily fixed." that has been mentioned in an earlier thread
>>>>> I would be tempted to save the repair $$ and get something else seeing
>>>>> the price of the cheaper options for other machines which are
>>>>> mentioned in the thread, which might just have to do until a Hi Def
>>>>> box with Hard drive is available at an affordable price.
>>>>>
>>>>> BUT...Having had a little experience with computers and hard drives
>>>>> (By no means an expert!) I have the feeling the HD in the box may be
>>>>> failing. Is this one of the hardware bugs that has been mentioned in
>>>>> other threads on this group or in your opinion, a possible cause to
>>>>> the problem that my unit has? I have taken the cover off the unit and
>>>>> had a look at the drive, just to see what type it is (Seagate 80G IDE
>>>>> drive, didn't note the rpm speed or any other details though)
>>>>>
>>>>> Being just an IDE hard drive, is it a simple matter of slipping in a
>>>>> new unformatted drive (Maybe upgrading to 120GB+ while I am in there?)
>>>>> or does the new drive need to be formatted in a specific format before
>>>>> installing into the machine? The drive seems to be mounted on a soft
>>>>> rubber like pad. I take it this is used to cut down the noise of the
>>>>> drive. If I can have a go at trying another drive, how does the
>>>>> original drive come out of this rubber mounting? If the drive does
>>>>> need to be pre-formatted before installing, what does it need to be
>>>>> formatted to and is there any files required on the HD that the
>>>>> machine uses to function?
>>>>>
>>>>> Any comments or suggestions to the above would be greatly appreciated!
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers for now,
>>>>>
>>>>> Gary..
>>>>>
>>>>> PS to reply direct remove the dots and whats between to address
>>>>> correctly!, thanks..
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Ext User(Gary Slater)]

Good evening all,

Thankyou for the responses to my problem.

Over the weekend I made the trip up onto the roof and tweaked the Antenna to
achieve a little better signal strength reading on the meter as described by
Justin with no obvious improvement.

Thankyou for the responses to my problem. I took interest in the PSU
capacitor faults mentioned by Damon, and sent another Email to Strong
including all the details contained in my original post.

I have since had a more favourable reply from Strong Technologies in
Melbourne who have offered to repair the unit at no cost, even offering to
cover overnight Air-freight costs with an expected turnaround of 3-4 days
door to door. Now thats service! I have enough competency with the soldering
iron to have a go at changing the caps myself, but with their offer of free
transport and repair it was too good to refuse, given all the mucking around
I would have to do to chase up the caps and do the job myself.

The PSU capacitor problem seems to be their opinion of the cause of the
fault also.

I will post the results of the service and repair once the unit is returned.

Once again, Thankyou all for you interest! This is a very helpful and
informative group.

Regards,

Gary.

[DEJ710]

Gary, thought you might like to read this as it may be of interest to you.

Hi,

I have recently got hold of the latest (and last) firmware update for the Strong 5290B PVR (No Games) which is v1.0.7 and is dated 6/10/2004.

Interestingly, the Strong Web Site only has the last official firmware update as v1.0.6 dated 18/2/2004.

The latest update fixes the following and adds some features!!!

1. Time Shift does actually stay turned on after a timer recording has finished!
2. There is a floppy disk icon to prompt you to save your timer settings
3. This is the best!!! (New functionality)

The PVR now works exactly like a VCR whereby it will automatically switch to the required channel for recording even if it is already being watched on a different channel!!!

Similar updates may also be available for 5390 via the Strong Web site.

As a side issue, I have also been successful in replacing the HDD from 80GB to 160GB. The BIOS only formats it as 130GB though and that's the best you'll get even if you put a 200GB HDD in it. It's still better than 80GB though.

I used a Sea Gate Barracuda Ultra ATA 7200 RPM. I chose Sea Gate for the current settings and also as they are very quiet. Maxtor, WD all seem to be too high with their current draw.

The trick for any HDD upgrade is try and get the current (Amps) to match for both the +5V and the +12V setting.

The settings required are as follows:

+5V 0.72A (720ma)
+12V 0.35A (350ma)

This info and settings were read off a 120GB Ultra ATA HDD taken out of a 5390 PVR by a Strong Technician in Melbourne last week.

Some believe that it's also to do with the HDD not supporting 48 bit LBA. Whatever??? I believe what the Strong Tech said and it works so it's good enough for me.

Hope this helps. I love my Strong 5290 PVR particularly now it has a bigger HDD and the updated software!!!

NOTE: According to Strong, v1.0.7 was never released to the Web and nor will it ever be. I had it emailed to me and am very grateful to Gavin from Strong Melbourne.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

Jason

[Chipoff]

Thanks to the inspiring stories in this forum I was able to fix my PVR. Here is my story.

I have owned a Strong SRT 5290 PVR (with Games) for several years now and apart from the fiddly remote control, I love it. But recently I had problems with the picture breaking up severely and the audio clicking and popping. I could not play back any programs that I had prerecorded either, despite their names showing on the play list. Sometimes the Strong’s on-screen menu did not display properly, instead it just showed incomplete or broken graphics.

Hoping an update would repair the problem, I downloaded the firmware from Hantrex’s Web site that happened to be a more recent version than Strong’s. The firmware for the Strong with GAMES was dated 30 August 2004.

You need to use a null modem cable to upload from your PC to the PVR. These are becoming more difficult to find in the shops, but places like Jaycar and Hantrex still sell them. Using this cable, I initially had some difficulties uploading the software by following Hantrex’s instructions from their Web site. Their site says:
“Plug the power lead for the set top box into the power point. Switch the power on using the rocker switch on the back of the set top box. Software will start downloading automatically.”
I needed to press the front button (or the remote control Power button) after I used the rocker switch before the software would upload automatically.

During the upload process, the PVR indicated the percentage uploaded at that particular moment. It was completed in just over a minute and it tested fine when I reconnected the PVR to the TV.

Unfortunately the upgrade did not fix it which meant that I still had problems with both picture break-up and playback.

I bought a new hard disk drive (HDD) and replaced the existing one. Now everything works well with the added bonus of new firmware and a larger HDD.

I chose a standard IDE computer HDD. It was a Seagate Barracuda Ultra ATA/100 7200rpm 160GB 8MB cache to replace the old Seagate 5400rpm 80 GB with 1MB cache. I formatted the new disk following the Strong’s menu and it formatted to 130MB which is the maximum size for the Strong 5290. It was very easy to remove and replace the HDD but I had to be careful in maneuvering it not to knock and damage any of the electronic components on the circuit boards.

The best feature of the updated firmware is the Time Slip now restores after a Recoding to disk instead of having to go through the menu system, inputting the password and turning it on again. I use the Time Slip feature all the time and my PVR is turned on most of the time which is probably why the HDD failed after several years.

I am happy now that everything is up and working as expected.

[hammo25]

After reading the threads on this problem (and particularly comments by Damon on what to replace what components to use) I decided to have a go at replacing the capacitors myself armed with a very cheap soldering iron and some pretty amateur (read none) soldering experience.

A quick read up on PCB soldering techniques online and about 10 minutes of my time and problem fixed - can't believe how easy it was.

I have 2 of these boxes and both have been fixed by Strong at least once. I believe Strong are great to deal with, but in the past I have gone back through the retailer - a very disappointing experience (they even lost one of the boxes and replaced with an old very beaten up floor unit).

Happy to help anyone with advice as needed.

Jamie

[peterhalstead]

Hi all, I have had my PVR fixed by strong a couple of years ago but now have the same problem again - I am guessing teh capacity issue. I have just had a look inside and checked caps C15 and C16. C15 is 16V 220uF and C15 is a 16V 100uF. I am guessing one or both have failed again. Maybe strong only replaced one of them? any comments neither capacity matches what damon suggested.

[hammo25]

After my post I bit the bullet and had a go at doing it myself. Was pretty easy actually - and I'm a novice with a soldering iron

[crystalsinger]

Common fault, capacitors C15 and C16 fail on the Power Supply Board. Strong
in Melbourne will fix it for free or you can change them yourself if you are
competent with a soldering iron. They should be replaced with 220uF 25V
105C low ESR capacitors that are available from Altronics or Jaycar. Don't
use Dick Smith ones or it will be broken again in weeks. If you are in Perth
let me know and I can do it for you?


Hi Damon,

Do you happen to know which capacitors would need replacing on the 5290 model, and with what ratings? Is the power supply board similar enough in both models to make it pretty much the same fix?

I've attached a photo of the power supply board on my 5290 - hope it's clear enough for you to make out. I can e-mail you a higher res if it helps.


Many TIA,

Jessica
--
If the apocalypse comes, beep me.

[OzCP]

Whilst I have had my Strong 5390 for some time and it may be a bit old hat these days I've always been happy with it until lately where the reception seemed to be progressively getting worse. With the HD spinning the reception is perfectly stable but as soon as it shuts down (due to inactivity) the signal chops up extremely badly to the point that it reports "bad or no signal".

I took a punt on changing the 2 caps as suggested by one of the earlier posts and I'm happy to say that the reception is once again spot on after the HD spins down.

Jaycar did not have 2 x 220uf 25v caps so I elected to buy 2 x 220uf 35v units. Slightly larger but no problem fitting them in.

I also removed the existing 120Gb drive (so that I can lift the programs off via my PC) and fitted a 160Gb drive which also works perfectly albeit only at 130Gb capacity for reasons already covered in this thread.

Thanks to all who have posted useful information.

Cheers
Chris