Another tale of red light of death

[satmanbasil]

Hi guys

Was cleaning the display unit today whilst cleaning i pulled the power lead from the back of the duo (original) the unit was in standby at the time so i simply pluged the power back in but noticed the display didnt light only the RED light.
Knew this was a problem so instantly powered down and left the box for a few hours, tryed again but still the same. Left it again for a few hours and this time i thought i try a reflash using working usb stick and loading the latest vix image I started the install procedure but without any luck, the front panel remains blank the usb stick didnt light up.
By the way forgot to mention I read up many times about this and had everything unpluged not even the usb hdd would register any power.
So next question is it bricked or does it need a cap replaced as i read in one post here or details of a uk repair shop who can bring it back to life

regards

[micscave]

Hi satmanbasil
I've got the same problem, I'll post a link to a thread on another forum with a tutorial and pics on how to fix this. I'm going to do mine this weekend, I bought the updated cap from amazon for a couple of quid I think it was. I bought an ultimate too before I found the fix so has proved bloody expensive in the long run. I'll let you know how the repair goes

[Mr. Mister]

Hi guys

Was cleaning the display unit today whilst cleaning i pulled the power lead from the back of the duo (original) the unit was in standby at the time so i simply pluged the power back in but noticed the display didnt light only the RED light.
Knew this was a problem so instantly powered down and left the box for a few hours, tryed again but still the same. Left it again for a few hours and this time i thought i try a reflash using working usb stick and loading the latest vix image I started the install procedure but without any luck, the front panel remains blank the usb stick didnt light up.
By the way forgot to mention I read up many times about this and had everything unpluged not even the usb hdd would register any power.
So next question is it bricked or does it need a cap replaced as i read in one post here or details of a uk repair shop who can bring it back to life

regards

I would send the sponsor a message..

Dont quote me on this.. But i think i saw somewhere that he can fix this..

[micscave]

Mr.mister is right, Stefan can fix it, I spoke to him a couple of weeks back. I thought I'd have a go my self though.
Here is the link h**p://www.vuplus-community.net/board/threads/vu-duo-is-dead.3616/

Hope this helps.

[satmanbasil]

Hi guys


So possible the cap 807 will work?

Where can i get this done quickly dont wish to try myself as my skill with a soldering iron is zero having bricked my dream 7000 last year lol

regards

[micscave]

Hi satmanbasil
Stefan the sponsor can do it, he offered to do mine. The more I read that thread I posted a couple of posts ago, the more I thought I'd give it a go myself & can confirm that I just did mine 10 minutes ago and my duo is up and running again. It took maybe 30 minutes to do. I got the cap from here:
h**p://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004182V3Q/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

Could have saved myself the cost of an Ultimo had I not been so impatient.
If you do have a go yourself then you can ask my advise no problem. It's a great feeling to mend stuff lol.

micscave

[Donnie]

Hi satmanbasil
Stefan the sponsor can do it, he offered to do mine. The more I read that thread I posted a couple of posts ago, the more I thought I'd give it a go myself & can confirm that I just did mine 10 minutes ago and my duo is up and running again. It took maybe 30 minutes to do. I got the cap from here:
h**p://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004182V3Q/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

Could have saved myself the cost of an Ultimo had I not been so impatient.
If you do have a go yourself then you can ask my advise no problem. It's a great feeling to mend stuff lol.

micscave

How much ???
Next time check out the bay :D

[manicscrewdriver]

Theres a guy on ebay selling 5 of those capacitors for £1.65 including postage :D

£4.45 is a bit pricey just for one :eek:

Is the one on Amazon made of some sort of precious metal :lol3:

[micscave]

I only paid a couple of quid each for them, I bought the last 4 so they've bumped the price up since. I went for the Panasonic ones thinking they might be better quality but maybe not the case.

[manicscrewdriver]

Must be honest i always go for the National Semiconductor or Rubycon ones if i can get hold of them.

I have a friend that modifies older Marantz CD players, and he swears by NS or Rubycon ones :D

He has a Marantz CD63 SE that sounds better than some +£600 CD players, so he knows what hes talking about.

Nano

[micscave]

Must be honest i always go for the National Semiconductor or Rubycon ones if i can get hold of them.

I have a friend that modifies older Marantz CD players, and he swears by NS or Rubycon ones :D

He has a Marantz CD63 SE that sounds better than some +£600 CD players, so he knows what hes talking about.

Nano

Thats interesting, I have a 20 plus year old Marantz CD player CD-52 MK II. Would his mods work on that?

Just noticed that you're in the Black Country too.

[satmanbasil]

@ micscave

Glad to hear you had a good result with the installing new cap ... gives me hope that all bears well for my box too.
Best outcome is you now have a good backup box on hand if any other problems arise or a quick way to raise some much needed cash if times get hard these boxes sell like hotcakes on ebay.

Awaiting reply from the boss to see how to get this fixed thanks again for your input to my problem

regards

[manicscrewdriver]

Would his mods work on that?

Not really anything to do with the thread so I've PM'd you instead.

Nano

[micscave]

@ micscave

Glad to hear you had a good result with the installing new cap ... gives me hope that all bears well for my box too.
Best outcome is you now have a good backup box on hand if any other problems arise or a quick way to raise some much needed cash if times get hard these boxes sell like hotcakes on ebay.

Awaiting reply from the boss to see how to get this fixed thanks again for your input to my problem

regards
No problem mate & I'm sure he'll be able to fix your Duo. I've now got my Duo as a second box in the bedroom for my wife using Remote stream Convert which works brilliantly. But yes it's good to know I've got a spare backup box too.

Hope you get yours sorted soon mate.

Regards

[satmanbasil]

Hi

Anyone here from essex that has good electronic skills able to solder a cap into my vu duo please contact me via pm due to lack of help from sponsors.

Or know of a good satellite repair shop that can do the work

regards

[mickyblueys]

Honestly mate go on you tube, see how easy it is. It'll take you minutes.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[satmanbasil]

@mickyblueys

Yeah seen vids looks simple enough but like i said never been great with the iron my last try resulted in a bricked dream 7000 lol so dont wish to repeat it again.
happy to send it away for repair as long as its done right

[Larry-G]

Contact the sponsor see what he can do for you.

[paul362]

Ill do it for you If you can post it to me (surrey) Just PM me for details of address m8.:thumbsup:

[satmanbasil]

@micscave

Just a thought looking at the circuit board last night did your cap show any sign of blowing as mine looks intact?

regards

[paul362]

They don't always look knackered !!

[micscave]

No sign at all mate. Just in case this makes a difference, once I'd taken the board out to unsolder the knackered cap, I couldnt get it to come away from the board so I just cut the prongs and soldered the new cap to them. Point being that the repair is possible without stripping the box down. Also you gotta make sure the cap is facing the right way.

Hope this helps.

[satmanbasil]

Hi mate

Thanks for that info mate and paul362 one thing i did gleem from reading up was to make sure you put the negitive right lol

regards

[paul362]

Oh yes make sure your negative is positively right LOL :D:D

[freshy]

Another case here, I'm not confident in my soldering skills can anyone help me?

[paul362]

Offer stands from me if you cover postage to me and parts.

[satmanbasil]

Hi,

What is the procedure for repairing faulty stb is there any uk base service center to speak of or can we at least compile a data base of repair shops who can handle vu+ repairs.
Looked at the vu+ site the other night i didnt see any link there for service backup only a registration link that didnt work .

regards

[Larry-G]

Generally speaking there are not a lot of serviceable parts in these receivers but most decent shops or electrical engineers can do most repairs.

The sponsor can do some although i dont know the extent of the repairs he can perform.

[micscave]

Hi Satmanbasil
The sponsor did offer to do mine when I spoke to him, are you not getting any joy there ?

[Alanp]

Hi

Anyone here from essex that has good electronic skills able to solder a cap into my vu duo please contact me via pm due to lack of help from sponsors.

Or know of a good satellite repair shop that can do the work

regards

Its really not difficult to change CAP 807 if you have a soldering iron you can buy them from Maplin in the high street

[Sicilian]

Guys, so that you aware before starting, replacing this cap does not work every-time.

[bobi]

Yeep exactly, replacing this CAPACITOR is noit allways the gateway to a working box. The worst thing here is how come that so many have problems with this boxes ( including me ) and there is no help from VUPLUS. i have send them maybe 4-5 e-mail and have never ever got ananswer from them. The worst company when it comes to helping costumers. Not even Dream-Multimedia is so crap to service.

Seing around on diferent forums i see that many ppl have this bootup problem with Solo and especialy Duo boxes. I my self have had this problem, and when i aksed for replacement from the shop they could not becouse i had changed the Capacitor my self, idiots. Now im happy with Xtrend and lately the TM Single, 2T and TwinOE, best buy for my money.

I would say, if you have the box under warranty, send the box back to the shop you buy it from and ask them fix it for free. just pay for postage and you are donne :-)



cheers


bobi

[Rob van der Does]

Yeep exactly, replacing this CAPACITOR is noit allways the gateway to a working box. The worst thing here is how come that so many have problems with this boxes ( including me ) and there is no help from VUPLUS. i have send them maybe 4-5 e-mail and have never ever got ananswer from them. The worst company when it comes to helping costumers. Not even Dream-Multimedia is so crap to service.
In all honesty: do you also write mails to Volkswagen in Nürnberg when you have a problem with your car? Doesn't seem logical to me...... :confused:

[satmanbasil]

@ Rob van der does

Your quite right with your volkswagen answer but then again least the dealers for cars have knowledge of the product they sell in a straw pole of 10 tv/satellite repair shops i contacted not one knew or had knowledge of how to repair a vu+ receiver.

Seems some knowledge is gleemed by those brave enough maybe with some electronic knowledge to experiement have given us some help like the cap exchange but as sicilian has informed us no gurantee this is the answer to the red light problem.

All im asking is a little more exchange of knowledge in who can do what and what can be done to repair these receivers when they do go down, I really hate to think just how many of these boxes are right now being used as expensive door stops through lack of information from the manufacture.

Dont know what the boss thinks but could we have a area on the site where at least sound knowledge can be collated in one area regarding fixes relating to the receivers as when i did my research i almost went cross eyed reading every post on topic. Of course it will need to be policed in a way to make sure no shared knowledge could deliberate damage a receiver but also a warning advising any person doing such repairs does so at there own risk and maybe void any warranty.
regards

[digidude]

I repair blown power supplies from satellite receivers most weekends. If anyone wants to post me either the removed power supply (lighter and cheaper) or the receiver, and cover the price of return postage and the capacitor, ill replace the cap for you

most switch mode power supplies have a weakness, and its nearly always caps, ive bought faulty 40" LCD TVs off ebay, and had them working for less than £3 worth of parts many times, but as mentioned, it could also be another problem stopping it from powering up properly

[satmanbasil]

Hi Satmanbasil
The sponsor did offer to do mine when I spoke to him, are you not getting any joy there ?

Hi mate

I did ask but dont think the boss is not sold on the idea its the solution to all red light problems however seeing i wasnt in the process of flashing a image at the time having all my updates up to date it was just the power lead commin unplug that caused the problem possible power spike anyway the search goes on locally for someone i can take it to next week.

[micscave]

Hi mate

I did ask but dont think the boss is not sold on the idea its the solution to all red light problems however seeing i wasnt in the process of flashing a image at the time having all my updates up to date it was just the power lead commin unplug that caused the problem possible power spike anyway the search goes on locally for someone i can take it to next week.

Hi mate
No problem, mine wasn't a result of flashing either. Mine was up to date and was stuck in a boot loop. I went went to bed on the Friday night, all working okay & when I came to it the following morning it was in a boot loop. After i unplugged it for a while and then tried switching it back on, thats when it just stuck on the red light.

I'm just wondering if this is something that happens a lot at a certain age of some Duos. This was my original Duo bought in May 2010, I'm guessing yours is about the same age? Mine has been very heavily used, yours?

Now I've put the beefier cap in, it does seem to be more stable again regarding re booting. Before it died, for maybe the last year, if I had to reboot it, I would have to leave it off for at least a minute or so. Now 10 seconds and it boots just fine.

Re finding someone locally, I would think any electrical repair man could do it if you supplied him the cap and show him which one to replace.

Good luck mate.

[ford]

Hi

Anyone here from essex that has good electronic skills able to solder a cap into my vu duo please contact me via pm due to lack of help from sponsors.

Or know of a good satellite repair shop that can do the work

regards

Hi Basil.

Am in hayes west London.

30+ years component level electronics engineer!

I'll do it for you bruv if you can pop over.

FOC of course.

Without the circuit schematics, am guessing it's used to start up part of the power regulator on the main board.

Mine went dead last night, so will pop in to RS components, and grab a bag at the proper price Lol

Guys..

If you want me to fit this for you oin a professional manner, and safe antistatic environment, please buzz me.

Let you know how i get on here

[Larry-G]

Hi Basil.

Am in hayes west London.

30+ years component level electronics engineer!

I'll do it for you bruv if you can pop over.

FOC of course.

Without the circuit schematics, am guessing it's used to start up part of the power regulator on the main board.

Mine went dead last night, so will pop in to RS components, and grab a bag at the proper price Lol

Guys..

If you want me to fit this for you oin a professional manner, and safe antistatic environment, please buzz me.

Let you know how i get on here

Very decent of you to offer your services, this should help those users who are not confident with such jobs.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[ford]

You are very welcome my friend.

Have many yeas as a radiocommunications engineer, and thank you guys for your thanks.
That is very moving:thumbsup:

PM me if you need any help.

Tc :)

[satmanbasil]

@ ford

Have a word with the boss he might be able to put some work your way minus a finders fee lol
lets us know how you get on

regards

[ford]

Ohhhhh lol
Well. have hundreds of walkie-talkie radios to fix, but thanks for thinking of me bud.
Will consider that tho:cool:

[ford]

If you need that cap fitted, let me know pls.
Need to get the circuit diagram tho me thinks!

[satmanbasil]

Hi

Anyone given it a go lately ??

@ford I have a photograph showing the cap in question if you need it and it location on the board

regards

[ford]

Hi

Anyone given it a go lately ??

@ford I have a photograph showing the cap in question if you need it and it location on the board

regards

Cheers bro.

Already took a couple of pics, and will post tomorrow.
All fully working here now:thumbsup:
220mfd/16 volt Electrolytic cap on the motherboard, in relation to the dc-dc conveter:p

[shotlad]

my protek satilite box has go red eye its stuck in standby anyone no how it can b fixed please

[satmanbasil]

Hi Guys

Just to let you know they can be recovered from the red light of death mine is once again singing and dancing

regards

[Berggren]

I have the same problem with the box not booting up anymore.
The hdd spins up but nothing on the display.

Changed the C807 to a new one but no luck for me.
It didn´t solve my problem and I´m still stuck with a faulty box.
When I changed the cap i saw that the 8 legged Ic next to it doesn´t look right. It seems that it has amost busted open in one corner.
But I can´t fins the IC anywhere, maybe some of you have more luck than me?

The writing on the IC is as follows:

On the top row: Z1021A1
On the lower row: ZA9213

Guessing it has something to do with the DC-DC converter but not sure.

Does someone have more info about this IC?
Thanks in advance.

Berggren

[Berggren]

Some pictures of the IC I mentioned in my earlier post.

2440324404

[cwebb66]

Some pictures of the IC I mentioned in my earlier post.

2440324404

looks to me as if it has blown but i could be wrong

[touriga]

Alas, my Vu+Duo went bye-bye tonight. My wife is devastated. No more German TV.
The fault is identical to that described. IC U801 burnt out. It is indeed a Z1021AI. It's a fairly large surface mount with large leads so replacing it should have a high chance of success.

I have spent the past 1hour searching the internet for suppliers. All shipping from HK or China which means a loooong wait.

Does anyone know of a local UK supplier or one that ships fast at ta reasonable rate?

[wullboy]

Ive just had my box returned to me, with a new 220mf 16v capacitor and a new Z1021A1 semi-conductor chip fitted, and everything is working again Was told that if you want to replace the chip, then a gas soldering torch is the safest way to do it, as you can lift the tracking very easily with a normal soldering torch, so be aware ????