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Broken Fan

jdtanner

jdtanner

New Member
Hi all,

I've been experiencing some strange behaviour with my Hummy for the past few weeks, namely intermittent signal problems and random reboots. I think I've now established that the root cause of these problems is a defective fan (3.2 Mega Ohms between -ve and +ve), so I think I need to source a new one.

The fan details are as follows:

Manufacturer: Nidec
Model: H35755-58 hum
Voltage: 12V
Current: 0.04 A

Despite some serious googling...I've been unable to find a direct replacement. Can anyone recommend an aftermarket spare?

Cheers,
John
 
If you have the Custom Firmware installed, it might be worth checking Web-if >> Diagnostics >> Hard Disk >> Attributes >> Line 194 >> Worst, this figure in Degrees centigrade is the highest temperature that your hard disk has reached, you should be expecting a figure below 60 Deg. C. If you don't have the CFW installed you can check if the fan ever spins, from cold this should not happen until the unit gets warm (about 1.5 - 2 hours) and is then cycled on and off roughly 50 : 50. The fan air flow can be seen by placing a flap of thin paper partially over the fan and watching for movement. If your unit's metal base feels hot to the tough, the unit is probably too warm
 
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Worst is 87 Deg C, so I'm guessing there is a problem? I've just dismantled the Hummy and tested the fan with a 9V battery...it works. So, I'm now thinking that I might have a dodgy temperature sensor :/
 
Yes, 87 Deg. C is too hot. I'm not sure whether the Humax uses any feedback from the fan in order to control it, it obviously measures something but it could be using the figures in line 194. You would need to determine if the fault is in the fan or the power feed from the Humax, obviously replacing the fan will only work if it is faulty. As I'm guessing you do have the CFW installed, I would also try removing the 'Fan' package if it is installed, just in case it is causing your problem
 
Ok, thanks. I didn't have fan installed, but I might give that a go and see if I can kick start it into action.

Technology...meh
 
With the 'Fan' package installed the fan should spin even when the unit is cold, you can also set it to 100% working which will make testing easier, as the power from the Humax should be always on full and easier to measure
 
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A fan is a fan. If the existing unit works but the Humax isn't running it properly, you can either hard-wire it to power or cobble a replacement and pick up 5V from the USB supply. The disadvantage is that the fan will then be running constantly.

The way I advocate checking fan operation is given here: Commissioning an HDR-FOX (click).
 
When the 'Fan' package is installed the fan runs constantly anyway, so there would be no disadvantage in #8. The OP could feed the fan from a 12V supply via an in line resistance value that resulted in let us say a 45 Deg. C running temperature and there would be virtually no difference in operation to running 'Fan'
 
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But it's makes it easier to see if it's running at all, as it should be running all the time.
 
Well, looks like I've managed to get the fan back to life using the fan package.

However, the sporadic signal interference is still there which makes me think there are other issues afoot. Having done a search of the forums, it looks like I'm not the only one who has experienced intermittent signal problems. So, the next likely culprit is a faulty tuner I think :/

Looks like my hummy is slowly dying :(

Sent from my Hudl 2 using Tapatalk
 
Black Hole said:
But that assumes the fan driver output isn't kaput. If it is, fan will be of no use.
Click to expand...
My suggestion in #9 wouldn't use the fan driver output, it was commenting on using a constant voltage supplied to the fan via a limiting resistor. I had added to #9 in an effort to make it clearer
 
jdtanner said:
sporadic signal interference is still there which makes me think there are other issues afoot.
Click to expand...
The 87 Deg. C measurement almost definitely indicates that parts of your Humax have been running considerably hotter than this, possibly for some time, this may have permanently damaged components in your Humax
 
Hello,

It appears that my problems were actually caused by a dodgy connection (or too strong a signal) rather than a broken fan. By placing a variable attenuator in the rear antenna input I was able to stop the signal interference. I'e "dialed" up the attenuation to drop my signal strength to approximately 70% and things are now fine.

For anyone who is interested, this is the attenuator that I bought.

Thanks for all your help,
John
 
If your signal strength (displayed in Settings >> System >> Signal Detection) was above say 90% before adding the attenuator, then you probably did need it, If however it was lower that 90% another possibility is that moving the HDMI cable from Humax to TV, away from the UHF aerial cables, may have had the same effect as adding the attenuator. This is because the HDMI cable can interfere with the UHF input, especially if V-format is set to 1080P
 
Ezra Pound said:
If your signal strength (displayed in Settings >> System >> Signal Detection) was above say 90% before adding the attenuator, then you probably did need it, If however it was lower that 90% another possibility is that moving the HDMI cable from Humax to TV, away from the UHF aerial cables, may have had the same effect as adding the attenuator. This is because the HDMI cable can interfere with the UHF input, especially if V-format is set to 1080P
Click to expand...
Hi,

Yeah it was nearly 100% a lot of the time. I didn't move the HDMI cable when I installed the attenuator, but I suppose I might have without realising :)

TBH I think there is a loose connection on the antenna in socket. This would make sense as the problems started just after a load of OpenReach engineers came around to our house to try and troubleshoot a REIN issue (after lightning) in the village. They unplugged everything, and the wife says they weren't exactly careful.

Hey ho

Sent from my Hudl 2 using Tapatalk
 
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