What To Do with a Dead or Unwanted HDR-FOX, HD-FOX, or DTR-T1000/1010

Black Hole

Black Hole

May contain traces of nut
We have seen several mentions of people binning units they considered broken and useless, or superseded by a new model, when they might have been repairable or useful as sources of spare parts for repairing other units, or just sold on. I can understand why this is - some people have limited storage space and/or no room in their lives for "clutter", and/or no realisation that others might value what is of no value to them, or think it's too much hassle listing it on eBay.

Well, please don't bin it! Particularly because of our ability to run custom firmware on the HD- and HDR-FOX, there is a large community of users who value their 'FOXes beyond replacing with another model when broken, and would be far more interested in repairing if possible - if spare parts can be salvaged from other broken units. I expect there are also plenty of takers if a working unit can be assembled from several non-working ones, or if an unwanted working unit became available.

With regard to the DTR-T1000: I am told this shares common parts with the HDR-FOX except for the motherboard. Thus a dead HDR-FOX could be a source of parts for it... or more particularly a DTR-T1000 would be valuable as a source of spares for HDR-FOX (no custom firmware for DTR-T1000, so the "user attachment" is lower).

Update: the front panel of a DTR-T1010 may also be of use (with reservations – see https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/what...-hdr-fox-hd-fox-or-dtr-t1000.8419/post-166066).

If you find yourself with an HD-FOX, HDR-FOX, or DTR-T1000/1010 that is unwanted, in need of a spare part, or available as a source of spare parts, please post the details here and we can suggest the options for repair or disposal. Further plans can crystallise as and when units are offered.

Note that a unit with broken HDMI is not useless, it can still be used as a "headless" recorder/server (SCART can be used for configuration).
 
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I have my old triallist BT Youview DTR-T1000 which failed with suspected blown caps in the PSU if anyone wants it for spares / repair.
 
Same here actually - I'm keeping the front panel for spares but the rest is available..
 
everthewatcher said:
May I suggest that this appeal should also apply to the DTR-T1000 as, other than the main PCB, it's the same as the HDR-Fox.
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The PSU for the older version of the HDR-FOX T2s is also different, PW1003 v PW808 and to quote MET
MontysEvilTwin said:
The connectors are different, one has eight wires, the other six. The PW1003 board only outputs 12V, the other board supplies both 12V and 5.8V. The PW1003 PSU is used in both the DTR-T1000 and the HDR-FOX T2 'RE' version.
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everthewatcher said:
May I suggest that this appeal should also apply to the DTR-T1000 as, other than the main PCB, it's the same as the HDR-Fox.
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It looks likes its compatible with the RE version only though which I thought was much less common than the original version ? I was looking at current listings on eBay last night and every box I looked at with rear photos has a vertical tuner arrangement. THIS one has some internal shots and the power supply is the PW1003 as expected...
 
Those photos don't look identical to the original version HDR-FOX PSU, from which I conclude it is indeed the new version PSU (as per post 6).

ETW has dropboxed me some photos of the RE internals, which I will use to update the commissioning thread.
 
I have a HDR-Fox T2 where the system gets into a restart cycle, have tried all of the usual fixes like system reset, system flush etc. to no avail. have managed to rescue the files from the HDD thanks to this forum. Now believe I have a dead motherboard as the HDD Controller does not appear to work. PSU PW808 Rev1, Front Panel, Remote Control and Chassis are serviceable.
What to do with the parts, Ebay?
 
AnnoyedFoxHDRT2 said:
have tried all of the usual fixes like system reset, system flush etc.
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Including trying to run it without the HDD connected?

AnnoyedFoxHDRT2 said:
What to do with the parts, Ebay?
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I guess you could - particularly if you are already an eBay seller. The alternative is to hang onto them until somebody here wants them, or donate them to somebody here prepared to act as a spare parts depot.
 
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Well I tried the fox t2 without the HDD, this was easy as the HDD was already removed so I could access the recordings via a PC. (The fox t2 had been standing in the corner of the room for about 2 months, unused.) No different, "System Starting" kept repeating. I then thought I would reconnect the HDD, not in its caddy, still not working. Tried a full power down with 240v off, still no luck. Switched to Standby, waited a couple of minutes switched it on again then it completed a start up sequence and entered Installation Wizard which was duly completed. Soak tested for 5 hours no problems, switched to Standby overnight and switched back on this morning no problem. All old recordings are still available, just trying a recording from standby to check it still functions. Yep it recorded okay, but it took a couple of attempts to get the t2 to start up so I suspect I still have an intermittent connection to chase down.
I have previously checked out the PSU, seemed okay. Can only assume there was a bad connection on the HDD cabling or the Motherboard somewhere as the HDD would previously only run up for about 2 seconds. I had tried all of the connectors on the motherboard on my earlier attempts at repair to no avail. Perhaps I will have to get a soldering iron out to try and find a dry joint on the motherboard as the fault has returned. Will keep you posted.
 
Hopefully I have solved the problem of repeated reboots on my HDR Fox T2 every 3-4 seconds, for me at least. However my fix is not for the faint hearted as it involves the use of a hot air gun on the motherboard following its removal from the chassis and some soldering for the extra cooling fan!!!
During my previous attempts at repair I noticed that the System on a Chip (SOC) or CPU runs very hot when the system is on so I thought I would investigate further with an eyeglass to look for any broken cct links or solid state capacitors that may have broken due to cct board expansion when it became hot. Didn't find anything obviously wrong on the top or bottom of the motherboard. So next I thought I would try a fix I found that worked on my Yamaha RX-V673 AV Receiver which had no audio output and that involved re-flowing the solder connections to a surface mounted IC. In this instance though the heatsink on the SOC meant that I couldn't get access via the top of the board so I inverted the board and made sure that the board was fully supported by the SOC heatsink and was stable in this position by placing a couple of books on the board away from the SOC area. I then used a hot air gun set to 590 degrees C (very hot indeed) and heated the motherboard around the area of the SOC from about 20mm above with a narrow nozzle for about 10 seconds then removed the heat. At this point DO NOT TOUCH OR MOVE THE MOTHERBOARD as components including the SOC and capacitors etc. will have molten solder and will not be fixed in position. Leave the board for about 20 minutes for everything to cool to room temperature then reassemble the Fox-T2 and check it to see if the fault has been fixed, in my case it had and has been reliable since. As a precaution I have added an extra heatsink on top of the SOC heatsink and an extra 50mm 12vdc fan mounted on the chassis in front of the motherboard to blow air onto the SOC enhanced heatsink to keep the SOC cooler. I have removed the "Common Interface" blanking plug to improve the airflow through the unit now that the extra fan is fitted. Power for the extra fan has been taken from the +5vdc switched supply to the HDD (the RED lead). It could be taken from the +12vdc switched supply to the HDD making the fan run at full speed but also noisy.
 
My HDR-Fox T2 stopped working a few months ago (no function whatsoever, as far as I can tell) and I’ve finally got round to performing a few basic checks (mainly following the helpful advice given on this forum). There is mains power getting to it and a quick poke about inside indicates that the internal PSU is doing something – the voltages at the inter-board connector are (from memory) approximately 12V and 6V. I have taken a close look at the visible areas of both the PSU PCB and the Main PCB, using an illuminated magnifying hand lens. Nothing looks obviously damaged, no tracks lifted etc. I haven’t removed either PCB from the case, so have not checked the undersides. There is nothing illuminated or displayed on the front panel that would indicate that it is doing something useful. I haven’t checked over the front panel PCB yet so cannot confirm whether that is damaged. The T2 apparently does nothing when I attempt to perform a system flush from a USB flash memory using the front connector. It also does not respond to the Humax remote. I’ve also tried switching it on with the HDD connected and disconnected, again with no visible effect. The HDD does not appear to spin up when the unit switched on, so I assume that not much is going on, if anything.

At this point I’ve drawn stumps for now and I was hoping that someone here might be able to suggest some further worthwhile checks I might do. Failing that, I’d be willing to donate it (minus HDD, for which I have another use) to a forum member who wants it for spares.

Thanks.
 
12 Volts and 6 Volts are the correct voltages

You could check USB power by connecting a USB optical mouse to either of the USB connectors of the HDR-Fox T2, (NOTE the mouse will not function on the Humax, you are meant to monitor the LED on the bottom of the mouse), with the rear mains switched off connect the mouse and view the underside, turn the mains power swich on - you should see the LED illuminate a second after switch on and remain on for 40 seconds or so, after 40 seconds a working Humax will go into standby and the LED will go off untill the unit is taken out of standby when the LED will turn back on again
 
Ezra Pound said:
12 Volts and 6 Volts are the correct voltages
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Only when it's in standby. The 5.8V rail as marked on the board isn't regulated and its voltage rises with the demand on the regulated 12V rail. On the unit here it varies between 5.9V in standby, 6.9V when running and rose as high as 7.5V.

As for this unit it's almost impossible to diagnose something as dead as this remotely. Without a service manual I'd get a scope on it, check for any processor/SoC activity and then start comparing things with a known good unit.
 
BucksLad said:
Failing that, I’d be willing to donate it (minus HDD, for which I have another use) to a forum member who wants it for spares.
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I'm very tempted to stick my hand up. As an electronics engineer even if I can't fix it I should be able to find out what's failed and report back.
 
So would you say that when BucksLad reports "approximately 12V and 6V" that this is indicating a problem or not?
I'd get a scope on it, check for any processor/SoC activity and then start comparing things with a known good unit.
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Are you suggesting this is the way forward or would it be better to suggest something he is likely to be able to manage?

I guess he is more likely to donate the Humax to you if you set him an impossible task
 
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