Power Timer Unreliable

[Black Hole]

I've had a daily 15-minute off period set on my HDRs (via Menu >> Settings >> Preferences >> Time) for the last couple of months, with the idea of ensuring there is a proper reboot at least once a day even if I happen to leave them on idle for long periods.

I have noticed that the function is not always reliable. I wouldn't know whether they go off OK (I could examine the logs), but by the morning I don't always have a full set up and eager.

 

[prpr]

I have about 4 hours off during the night on my remote one and it's always come on without fail.

 

[antipodean]

I've had a daily 15-minute off period set on my HDRs (via Menu >> Settings >> Preferences >> Time) for the last couple of months, with the idea of ensuring there is a proper reboot at least once a day even if I happen to leave them on idle for long periods.

I have noticed that the function is not always reliable. I wouldn't know whether they go off OK (I could examine the logs), but by the morning I don't always have a full set up and eager.

Mine seems to be reliable - assuming the Hummy hasn't locked up. If the Hummy locks up it doesn't respond to the interrupt from the front panel timer and so doesn't go into power down.

However because of the lock up problems I am going to put a timer in the power lead so it gets a hard power off every day irrespective of a lockup. It is about the only way to make sure it recovers while away on holiday.

 

[Owen Smith]

Lockups? I can't remember the last time mine locked up, certainly so long ago I assumed it was a bug which has since been fixed.

 

[Black Hole]

Even my completely up to date HDR locks up from time to time.

 

[Stummery]

However because of the lock up problems I am going to put a timer in the power lead so it gets a hard power off every day irrespective of a lockup. It is about the only way to make sure it recovers while away on holiday.

I have mine on a plug-in digital timer with it set to go off and on again every day of the week, off at 2am and on again at 5pm. If I want to record anything between those times (unusual apart from the odd recording at weekends) I set a separate timer, or modify the original.
I think that it also avoids any OTA update problems.
I have not missed any holiday etc recordings.

 

[Black Hole]

I presume you arrange that the system is only in standby at the "hard" off time.

 

[Stummery]

I have it set for full power saving in standby. It would be in standby and not recording at that time, so unless it has woken itself for any checks it should be OK ?
I have never had any problem with missed recordings or HDD corruption.

 

[Black Hole]

Whether power saving is on or off is irrelevant. I only meant that the operating system has shut down and the disk turned off in a controlled manner prior to having mains power forcibly removed.

Sometimes there is no choice, but best avoided if possible and as a routine.

 

[martinr]

Which brings us back to the possible use of a remote wifi-controlled plug, which would allow you to reboot in extreme circumstances such as when the box has frozen and should eliminate the possibilty of interupting a recording or rebooting when fully powered

http://hummy.tv/forum/threads/hdr-fox-t2-occasionally-freezes-mains-disconnect-necessary.6412/

Also discussed in the posts following:

https://www.avforums.com/threads/me...elease-4-part-5.1829374/page-26#post-22060271

That said, I've yet to find one where the customer reviews are consistently positive, and the build quality of one or 2, as reported by users, would make me worry about yet another active electrical item left unattended in the house.

 

[TonyC]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but it seems better than starting a new one as I have the same issue.

Like many people, my 'Fox crashes occasionally (1 -2 times per month) and needs a mains power cycle to reset it. Normally this isn't an issue because I'll notice fairly quickly, but I'm off on holiday later this year and there is at least a 50/50 chance it will crash and I'll lose everything planned to record after that.
As a "fix", I've got two option:

1. A simple timer switch, that will cycle the power every day at (say) 5 am - when the Fox is normally in standby anyway
2. A WiFi-enabled switch, so if I notice via Remote Scheduling that the box isn't "talking" any more, I can remotely cycle the power

Both methods seem to have advantages and disadvantages - any thoughts?
For a WiFi switch, I found this https://www.amazon.co.uk/SMJ-GHOMA-GHOMAP-Wi-Fi-Plug/dp/B013UV6ZDG, which looks reasonable. I'd probably only leave it plugged in for the duration of my holiday, rather than all the time, because of fears about IoT security.

 

[Trev]

I found the Questions and answers interesting on this plug where some user talks about 'giving the device his WiFi WEP code. Does anyone use WEP these days? (Rhetorical as obviously the person who answered does)
Further to that, according to "an internet security consultant" who only gave it three stars, your WiFi credentials are sent in plain to a server in China. Why do they need your WiFi credentials in these days of WPS?
I think that the OP is possibly right to be wary of the possible security implications.

 

[Black Hole]

A simple timer switch, that will cycle the power every day at (say) 5 am - when the Fox is normally in standby anyway

At least one other user has reported doing this - it's a quick and cheap solution.

A WiFi-enabled switch, so if I notice via Remote Scheduling that the box isn't "talking" any more, I can remotely cycle the power

I am aware of somebody doing this too.

Both methods seem to have advantages and disadvantages - any thoughts?

I might have comments on your thoughts if you say what they are, but I would favour a solution that works on its own rather than having to keep an eye on it. If you are worried about putting extra power cycles on the HDD, I don't think a brief power interruption is too much of a problem - just as long as it doesn't have time to cool down.

For a WiFi switch, I found this https://www.amazon.co.uk/SMJ-GHOMA-GHOMAP-Wi-Fi-Plug/dp/B013UV6ZDG, which looks reasonable. I'd probably only leave it plugged in for the duration of my holiday, rather than all the time, because of fears about IoT security.

So what are you worried about - somebody hacking in and being able to turn your HDR on and off??

The biggest problem I can see is that, having rebooted the box, it comes back up in standby.

 

[Black Hole]

The biggest problem I can see is that, having rebooted the box, it comes back up in standby.

Actually... that's bollox. When I reboot my HDRs they come up and stay on - but I don't understand why. Maybe something to do with the state they were in when they crash?

 

[MontysEvilTwin]

TonyC - take a look at this thread here. I use an electronic mains timer switch (bought from Tesco a few years ago for less than £10) to cut the mains power between 6-6:30 AM when the unit is in standby. I found that this is enough as long as you have no expired entries in your schedule: the unit will return to standby, without spinning up the hard drive, under these circumstances. If you have expired entries the unit will boot up and stay in the half awake state. However if you schedule a reminder to start after the power has been restored, the unit will return to standby at the end of the reminder.

 

[TonyC]

Thanks - I think I'm also going to go down that route. As BH mentioned, this has the advantage that it will "just work", instead of needing me to notice that it's gone wrong (plus I can get a mechanical timeswitch for £4 whereas the Internet thing is £20). I'll set it up some time before going on holiday to make sure there are no unexpected bad consequences.

 

[MikeSh]

Depending on the reliability of your mains it might be worth spending a few quid more for an electronic timer that will keep time through a power cut. If my reckoning is right with a mechanical one set for about 4am a 6-8 hour cut (or a couple of shorter ones) will place the off-time nicely to screw up every evening's schedule until the next longish cut

(But I'm not sure ... maybe it will go the other way. Still a risk though.)

 

[BMAX]

TonyC - take a look at this thread here. I use an electronic mains timer switch (bought from Tesco a few years ago for less than £10) to cut the mains power between 6-6:30 AM when the unit is in standby. I found that this is enough as long as you have no expired entries in your schedule: the unit will return to standby, without spinning up the hard drive, under these circumstances. If you have expired entries the unit will boot up and stay in the half awake state. However if you schedule a reminder to start after the power has been restored, the unit will return to standby at the end of the reminder.

Interesting... We had a power cut during the night recently and in the morning one of my two machines was half awake, which puzzled me. I do know that one of them had an expired entry in the schedule, which nicely explains things. Unfortunately, I can't remember which machine was half awake........

 

[TonyC]

Thanks - I think I'm also going to go down that route. As BH mentioned, this has the advantage that it will "just work", instead of needing me to notice that it's gone wrong

Just to complete the story: I did indeed buy a mechanical timer and set it to power cycle the Humax at about 5 am every day. Good job I did, because part way though day 3 of my 14-day holiday it stopped talking to Remote Scheduling and didn't come back until the next morning - so I'd have missed 11 days of programs without the power reset!

 

[Deleted member 473]

There is a WeMo socket you can use from anywhere you have internet access, also a Kasa one, Samsung Smartthings do one too.

Most require some sort of hub to work and communicate between your WiFi network and the internet. Sadly, that itself can hang, though I have found WeMo to be the most reliable. The switch does not require the WeMo hub.

The worst system I have found to be the Samsung system. Just a simple application of using motion sensors to control a hall light defeated it entirely, so god knows how it would cope with a plug.

All allow timed on and off, as well as manual control and control from their apps. Wemo also works with IFTTT.