Cooling a satellite decoder or similar

[David]

As previously posted, my Humax FoxSatHD-G is starting to fail - going to green screen over HDMI after a while. This may be overheating or it may be something else.

This was bought to replace the Bush one which always ran massively hot and had to be turned off now and then.

About 3 years down the line, the Bush still works and still runs very hot. So far occasional not permanent use, so it may start failing again.

We now have two TVs using satellite decoders.

Replacing the Humax is likely to cost at least £70 and that still doesn't improve the Bush. So I've been looking at ways to cool the boxes down.

Laptop coolers (powered by USB) seem remarkably cheap.

For example

where the cheapest is £9.95 including shipping.

These seem to be powered by USB, but we have plenty of USB wall warts for charging phones and tablets (plus a few powered USB hubs) so hopefully this will not be a problem to power without a laptop.

Has anyone tried a laptop cooler or anything similat to give extra cooling to decoders or PVRs?

At the moment I am struggling to find a small one which does not have a major tilt built in.

Cheers

Dave R

[Jim Lesurf]

I have a few small cooling fans which I think I got partly from CPC and partly from various old kit. Not sure of the voltages, but many run with a much lower voltage that specified. So have a look at CPC, etc, and see if they can help. There *is* a world beyond Amazon - although they seem to be doing their best to get rid of it!

Jim

[Roderick Stewart]

It's just so damn convenient though. I've lost count of the number of times I've ordered things from other companies who have failed to deliver in a reasonable amount of time despite claiming the item is in stock. Or the number of times I've tried to find something in the shops, only to give up and go home and do what I probably should have done in the first place and order it online.

If I were to be asked who deserves my custom - is it the companies who can provide things I want and deliver them quickly, or is it the ones who can't? - then I wouldn't have to think very hard for an answer.

Rod.

[Jim Lesurf]

Understood. I get the same sorts of problems. e.g. yesterday I went around town looking for somewhere to buy a metal 'credit card case' because my bank has sent me a new cart that is "contactless".

I didn't want or ask for this. But, of course, being a bank, they don't care what *I* want.

Alas, no local shops had the type of case I want. So I'll have to see if one of the catalogues that get shoved though our letterbox - again without asking us - have one. And if I then decide to put up with being pestered with more such firelighters if I actually buy something from them.

But the underlaying question in my mind is: To what extent are the failing of local and other alternatives down to their operating being hampered by large, tax dodging, employee-exploiting, quasi-monopolists that have captured so much of the market because so many people use them without any care or thought for the long term consequences for us all?

Sadly, I fear we will wait a long time before the law does anything about the above. So it comes down to us realising we may me selling off our own freedom of choice, and future prosperity, because it is "easier" to do so.

How to boil a frog...

Jim

[brightside S9]

Try searcing for "contactless card wallets" Amazon has dozens of varieties, maybe one there to suit you.

[snip]

[Jim Lesurf]

I refer m'lerned friend to my previous comments to the effect that I don't use Amazon or fleabay.

Jim

[brightside S9]

For some not from fleabay or amazon go to

and put rfid in search box. Take deep breath before you look at the results. ;-)

Or of course you could resort to drills, stanley knives, soldering irons, etc to disable the contactless feature.

[Martin]

or wrap your card in aluminium foil as recommended by a Dutch security expert. You can probably snip a bit out of your foil helmet. :-)

[David]

Time to x-post to uk.d-i-y?

[David]

In fact,

and a sewing machine should do nicely.

Cheers

Dave R