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Thread: Uec dsd 4121

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    Default Uec dsd 4121

    does the decoder really have to be switched on standby all the time ?
    Or can you pull the plug when not in use.



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    you can pull the plug when not in use.

    After a couple of weeks with power off, it will take some time to get channels.

    To speed this up go to & reactivate card number with box turned on, it's instant.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Always remember these things are intended to run continuously and unplugging and replugging CAN affect them.
    If you live in a very cool to cold climate, leaving them on standby could help keep the internals at a basic temperature rather than being ice cold and then being turned on.
    I used to have problems with a VCR when it got really cold as it would activate the 'Dew' warning and wouldnt work until it warmed up for a couple of hours.
    If your thinking of the power saved, I doubt it would amount to much and possibly when plugged back in it actually may briefly use a fraction more on start up.
    The same applies to any mains surges, blackouts or lightning strikes, some recommend removal from the wall plate and others say leave it in as it can use the house Earth as a ground but unless you disconnect the cable from the LNB as well, its still at risk.
    Those on 12V (Caravaning) or home lighting where power is restricted dont have much choice but to turn it off when not in use.
    Last edited by gordon_s1942; 24-01-14 at 01:38 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    Always remember these things are intended to run continuously and unplugging and replugging CAN affect them.
    If you live in a very cool to cold climate, leaving them on standby could help keep the internals at a basic temperature rather than being ice cold and then being turned on.
    I used to have problems with a VCR when it got really cold as it would activate the 'Dew' warning and wouldnt work until it warmed up for a couple of hours.
    If your thinking of the power saved, I doubt it would amount to much and possibly when plugged back in it actually may briefly use a fraction more on start up.
    The same applies to any mains surges, blackouts or lightning strikes, some recommend removal from the wall plate and others say leave it in as it can use the house Earth as a ground but unless you disconnect the cable from the LNB as well, its still at risk.
    Those on 12V (Caravaning) or home lighting where power is restricted dont have much choice but to turn it off when not in use.
    Thanks for your reply guys. The reason I want to unplug the unit is that it gets rather warm. Knowing that most crap is made in china I was a little worried. I only would unplug it during the day when no one is watching TV.
    Last edited by Body; 24-01-14 at 05:26 PM.

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    Shouldn't worry too much about the warmth, that is normal & they are designed to be on 24/7.

    I used to leave mine on 24/7 as I used it a lot. Now I have a UEC 4639 as well, so the 4121 is in the bedroom, where it doesn't get used much so I turn it off to save power & extinguish the standby lights.

    Although the power supplies in the 4121 have had a reliability issue in the past, mine has done 2 years of always on & 1 year of mostly off & is still working as it should.

    My advice is if you use it regularly leave it on, if not turn it off.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tiny View Post
    Shouldn't worry too much about the warmth, that is normal & they are designed to be on 24/7.

    I used to leave mine on 24/7 as I used it a lot. Now I have a UEC 4639 as well, so the 4121 is in the bedroom, where it doesn't get used much so I turn it off to save power & extinguish the standby lights.

    Although the power supplies in the 4121 have had a reliability issue in the past, mine has done 2 years of always on & 1 year of mostly off & is still working as it should.

    My advice is if you use it regularly leave it on, if not turn it off.
    Thanks for the tip.
    My first unit stopped working just after the warranty finished, but the power supply seems to be ok so I keep it as a spare for my newer one. Shame there were no other manufacturers then. Won't buy another of Altech.
    Last edited by Body; 24-01-14 at 05:55 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Body View Post
    Thanks for the tip.
    BTW As your new to the forum; none of us get paid here, we do however get great satisfaction in someone clicking the thanks button on useful posts or the reputation (star) button.

    Quote Originally Posted by Body View Post
    Won't buy another of Altech.
    I used to think that, however UEC worked very hard to "polish the turd" & made the 4121 into a usable entry level box.

    The Satking maybe a little better; I can't say as I don't have one to compare, however the lack of fault complaints is a good indication.

    The UEC 4639 is an excellent box & I would buy one again if I needed another. It too had some niggling bugs that, were mostly caused by reception issues related to the loop thru from tuner 1 to tuner 2, resolved & problems solved.

    The Humax 1003 was reported initially to be a brilliant box, however the subsequent list of bugs in software are so concerning to me that I won't buy one.
    Just my opinion of course, as I hope I'm entitled to.

    Have look around the forum for more info.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    Quote Originally Posted by Body View Post
    Thanks for your reply guys. The reason I want to unplug the unit is that it gets rather warm. Knowing that most crap is made in china I was a little worried. I only would unplug it during the day when no one is watching TV.
    Most satellite receivers get warm - but "warm" is a subjective term. "Warm" does not mean the same temperature to all people.

    Ensure that there is plenty of space around the unit so that internally generated heat can disperse/escape quickly.

    If the equipment is located inside a cupboard of some sort, leave the cupboard doors open - better still, remove them! Remove the rear panel also.

    And don't place units on top of another heat-generating appliance, as that will exacerbate the problem.

    Adequate ventilation is essential, particularly in the harsh Australian summers.

    One of the problems with modern electronics equipment arises from their use of so-called "universal" (i.e. 110v-240v) switch-mode power supplies.
    When operated at the top of the voltage range, power supply componentry (switchmode IC's, power FETs and other voltage regulator IC's) has to dissipate much more power (in the form of heat), which pushes them to the limits of what they were designed for. It's really a design problem!

    This has detrimental effects when operated in countries where the mains supply is up around the 240-250 volt range, i.e. Australia.
    If your premises happens to be close to a mains distribution transformer, you can bet that your mains voltage will be near to or even exceeds the nominal supply voltage rating, so this compounds the problem.

    Don't be too quick to malign appliances made in China, as not all is of the same quality (or "lack of" as the case might be).

    Japanese-made electronics went through the same phase, as did Korean stuff, but nobody maligns equipment manufactured in those two countries today. Over time, most manufacturers learn not to take short cuts.

    China is rapidly starting to build much good quality gear at reasonable prices.

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    The net is full of messages condemning the power supply on these units. Pity I threw away my Aurora box as the power supply may have fitted my now dead DSD4121 PVR. Am trying to get the voltages coming out of the power supply and have already one answer already but wish to get confirmation for it. The factory just wrote

    3.3 5 12

    on the supply side, which is not very useful as there are seven lines. As a pensioner I wish to fix it myself and buying a new power supply ($55-$65) and finding the old one has messed up the sat board next to the power board would be a little bit too harsh. Am at the end of a power line in North Walpole with its own transformer and as another member said, we can have 240V +/- 7% (?) and that really stresses this unit. My unit is dead now after a night time recording and while the TV was on stand-by and did not get killed the UEC DSD did.

    Can you help with voltages? Thanks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tristen View Post
    Don't be too quick to malign appliances made in China, as not all is of the same quality (or "lack of" as the case might be).

    Japanese-made electronics went through the same phase, as did Korean stuff, but nobody maligns equipment manufactured in those two countries today. Over time, most manufacturers learn not to take short cuts.

    China is rapidly starting to build much good quality gear at reasonable prices.
    Those UEC boxes are made in South Africa I found out after I left a message on a forum saying my unit showed a 'bE 1' error and this chap from SA told me he has lots of dead units under his bed. By the way, China will learn how to build better equipment; the web is full of, e.g., advice how to put better components, like caps/MOSFETs into grid tie inverters to fix the cheap Chinese-built ones. And local importers advise the factory how to fix persistent problems and even tell them to get them AS/NZ4777 endorsed.

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    Australia now runs on 230 volts Plus 10% and minus 6% but still supplies 240 volts to consumers. My voltage is never below 250 and often a little above 260 without causing any issues to my UEC or Humax receivers.

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    It seems most appliances will operate from as low as 100V to 250 V and are 'happy' with 50 or 60 Hz.

    The VAST stb from UEC did suffer from Power failures in the first 18 months or so but so did Humax with 3 Capacitors and a diode failing on the Power supply board.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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