Weird experiance with a clone

[Seymour Butts]

I've been buying VU Duo clones for some time now and have been setting up family and friends with them.
I've never had a problem with any of the units I've come into contact with, they have all 'Just Worked' the minute they have been turned on.
Recently a good mate asked for some advice on what to buy, specifically he wanted to be able to watch one and record another and all in HD so I advised VU DUO.
The box was ordered and subsequently arrived and on plug in worked well except that it had a black-hole image on it. Easy fix, I backed up my own PLI image onto a trusted USB then migrated it to the new VU.

On the restart the image was there, looking good and appeared to be working well, that is until we attempted to rescan the satellite, from all appearances it appeared to be that the box couldn't see the satellite - we tried every variable imaginable, all to no avail.
After about three hours we decided to put the box away and try at a different location the next night - our reasoning being that perhaps there was an inherent problem with his Sat dish install, at this point we were clutching at straws but it was all we could come up with.

The next night my mate bought the VU over to my place and we plugged into my working setup and FM the box wouldn't even fire up. It started with a dim red blinking light on the display panel and very little else.

I decided to start again from scratch, we took the hard drive out and removed all cables, I then reattached all cables (power supply to main board, screen etc etc) on the restart we then got a display on the VU screen but the image load would only get about half way and then would throw to a blue screen then when I attempted to re image the VU wouldn't recognize the data stick. - the same data stick we used last nigh to put the image on.
It seemed that the VU was breaking down incrementally - a little bit at a time. Sometimes the problem felt like it was heat or power supply related and at others it really pointed to a tuner problem.
In the end I formatted an brand new data stick and from an entirely different VU DUO, backed up another image.

We inserted this stick and all of a sudden the VU burst into life and accepted the stick.

We managed to get the new PLI image installed and with seconds had pictures. We re installed the hard drive and the entire unit started to work to perfection. - we then shook it and thumped it and in general attempted to cause it to crash but it just kept working away, taking everything we could throw at it.

It all seems so obvious now.
The original image didn't take and there was possibly loose connections between components on or off the motherboard.

The unit has now traveled back across to the other side of town and this morning we will hopefully find out that when it's plugged into my mates setup everything continues as it did last night.

Man - what a ride

[LeroyPatrol]

Do you find you need to use hacked images for the clone Vu or do all the normally released images work?

Leroy

[Seymour Butts]

Hi Leroy, These clones take take any old image, the supplier I use does the patching prior to sending me the box. So all normal or hacked images work.

[DUDE]

Theres no such thing as hacked, patched or cloned images for Vu clones. Its the box that is patched nothing at all is done to the image.

on another note there is a very steadily growing number of clones going down with dodgy PSU's so much so that the cloners are now also selling PSU's as well.

[Seymour Butts]

Theres no such thing as hacked, patched or cloned images for Vu clones. Its the box that is patched nothing at all is done to the image.

on another note there is a very steadily growing number of clones going down with dodgy PSU's so much so that the cloners are now also selling PSU's as well.

It's probably a very valid comment however I don't see particularly as a 'clone' problem, I think I've at one time or another changed the PSU on almost every box I've ever owned - and thats been a few, funnily enough I've never had to change the PSU on any of my VU Duo's (I have 4 of them)

[Vic]

Theres no such thing as hacked, patched or cloned images for Vu clones. Its the box that is patched nothing at all is done to the image.

on another note there is a very steadily growing number of clones going down with dodgy PSU's so much so that the cloners are now also selling PSU's as well.

No big deal just about every decoder box I have owned I have had to change the caps in the PSU.

[DUDE]

It's probably a very valid comment however I don't see particularly as a 'clone' problem, I think I've at one time or another changed the PSU on almost every box I've ever owned - and thats been a few, funnily enough I've never had to change the PSU on any of my VU Duo's (I have 4 of them)

I totally agree however there are a lot of people receiving their clones with already dead PSU's or they fail within the first few weeks / months of the receivers life. now even for a clone thats a unacceptable failure rate in my opinion.

[LeroyPatrol]

That's why I sell and recommend UltraPlus receivers. Made in Korea and 2 yrs warranty

(Shameless plug lol)

Leroy

[warbo]

I've sold nearly 300 vu's in aus and so far have swapped out 5 psu's. The reputable members here have received their parts before they even sent them back.

It's cheaper to buy clones but you won't get the after sales service or the ease of mind when updating your stb. I've sold about 30-40 mainboards and psu's to clone buyers where ever they have bought them from. Makes me laugh when the buyer insists the part is genuine lol.

Obviously I am biased but I wouldn't risk a clone after what Gemini did a couple of years ago. Not worth the penny pinching imo.

[Seymour Butts]

Thats a very valid point Warbo and I'm sure there are users and members here that value your undertaking, indeed I do as well, however In my opinion everything electronic regardless of the name badge on the front has a built in use by date (and YES the use by on a clone should be regarded as much shorter than an original) but when it comes to the clones and the price that I pay for them they only have to last a year and I feel I have got my monies worth, if they last longer I will see it as a bonus. If any of my clones died tomorrow I would simply replace them, indeed even if my one and only genuine VU died tomorrow I would probably just replace it reegardless of the dollars I paid for it, however I feel relatively safe in the assumption that it wont

[efab]

I've sold nearly 300 vu's in aus and so far have swapped out 5 psu's. The reputable members here have received their parts before they even sent them back.

I have 3 from you and they work 24/7 with no rest.
Never had any issues and they are to me what the humax was 10 years ago.

[LeroyPatrol]

Thats a very valid point Warbo and I'm sure there are users and members here that value your undertaking, indeed I do as well, however In my opinion everything electronic regardless of the name badge on the front has a built in use by date (and YES the use by on a clone should be regarded as much shorter than an original) but when it comes to the clones and the price that I pay for them they only have to last a year and I feel I have got my monies worth, if they last longer I will see it as a bonus. If any of my clones died tomorrow I would simply replace them, indeed even if my one and only genuine VU died tomorrow I would probably just replace it reegardless of the dollars I paid for it, however I feel relatively safe in the assumption that it wont

The disposable society I would like to think they last longer than 12 months.

Leroy

[Seymour Butts]

Look, in reality I want them to last as well but I would also like to think I'm a realist. I tend to break things down to the smallest component so in my mind if something costs me, lets say, just to keep the maths simple, $520.00 and it's an item that I use 24/7, such as a sat box then again in my simple processing mind the box to me has an intrinsic value of about $10.00 per week or 2 cups of (very good) coffee. If it dies in 12 months time it's really not the end of the world but if it lasts 24 months I start to think I'm really on a bonus and after 36 months you cant wipe the smile off my face.

I guess it's all relative

[warbo]

I have 3 from you and they work 24/7 with no rest.
Never had any issues and they are to me what the humax was 10 years ago.

Thanks Efab, I didn't know that. It's handy to have a website to buy from but a lot of the time I don't get to correlate the real names with the austech members.

I had a clone DM7020 for ages and I think I paid the same pice if not more than a vuduo is worth now!. It did go strong for a couple of years until the power board went. It was time to upgrade by then anyway