Repairing a Freeview box (was Freeview STBs and TiVo)

Yep, capacitors (especially within PSUs are a common failure)

Maplin, if you can't get same voltage, higher will be OK.

Actually they don't seem to do much of a range of single electrolytics now, this one has tags rather than plain wire leads

Maplin order code DT72P should do the job if you have a convenient store, otherwise I find eBay can be cost effective for small quantities of parts when including P&P.

Heh, their own search page failed to turn that up ...

Quite possibly, bad capacitors were a major cause of computer failures from about 2001 onwards due to a stolen recipe for the electrolyte by chinese companies, which caused just the effect you're seeing.

I had a motherboard myself with this problem, and i've diagnosed a few more over the last couple of years (my "dead" machine failed just over

Any electronics shop, Maplin etc should be able to provide one.

Yeah, it's probably great if one wants a bangin' car stereo for one's Corsa 1.0 with blue lights in the washer jets but a pain in the butt if you want to find a capacitor :-/

Funny you should mention that, it did turn up a 1Farad capacitor for smoothing power supply to car stereos, $DEITY knows how big it actually is, but it comes with a 4 digit LED display ...

Spray it with WD40 (well, don't)

Should be easy - Maplin, CPC, RS etc

You're more likely to find one in a 16v range, I probably have some (and if not will be putting in an RS order in the next few days)

Try these:

The one linked to fits the bill and I understand that Farnell do free post for small web orders so you'll get 5 of these (min order qty) for just over a quid.

The ones linked to from Maplin don't show a spec so there's no way of knowing if they are up to the job.

Any stock problems and these will also work and have a slightly better spec (at a slightly higher cost):

Actually, that's wrong, they haven't given up. :-)

The TiVo remote control database (and suggestions etc..) is still in active support for newly released set-top boxes in DTT, Satellite and Cable.

For really new set top boxes, and with access to a Philips Pronto learning remote, the IR commands of the original remote control can be captured and sent to TiVo Inc.

Good luck with the cap repair!

Yes. The 105C suggests it's in a SMPS and that is the most likely source of trouble.

Um, where's this list of STBs that they're now supporting (that's newer than

No doubt they CAN be, but is that happening fast enough to cope with the speed with which new STBs are coming out? I haven't got a Pronto or know anyone who has. A support system that relies on the goodwill of the TiVo community isn't what I'd call proper support by a manufacturer.

Having said that, given the age of my TiVo, I'm amazed that I get any support at all. ;-)

Thanks

Tim

Updated in your Tivo. Unfortunately it's ordered by an assortment of manufacturer names including some like "freeview 1 of 3" before dropping to the second level list of receiver codes to try out.

Agreed, it would be helpful if this list were published.

Unfortunately Thomson, the manufacturer quit any type of support a long long time ago.

TiVo US are still up and running and supporting the software update services, as contracted. They don't obviously have anyone here employed to purchase every set-top box sold in the UK market and make tests with the UK TiVo hardware, so it's down to volunteers.

to fit. Strangely: Farnell do these for 59p each exc. VAT, min. qty. 5, free postage, total £3.44 CPC do these for 55p each exc. VAT, min. qty. 1, postage £5.95, total £7.48 seeing as Farnell and CPC are supposedly the same company...

Support from them when they were still flogging the machines was pretty crap IME...

I'm amazed there are still TiVo users here - I was begining to think I was the only one left ;-)

Really wishing I'd paid the lifetime though....

Talking of TiVo, mine is beginning to get sick (bubbling mud in quiet parts and disk whine). While I'm sure it could be repaired I'm pondering giving up and jumping to Virgin Media V+

Anyone here got experience of V+ box? People complain it's slow to change channel but I'm used to TiVo controlling Skybox so...

Darren

I know TiVos were well respected, though I've never used one, do they still have "killer" features that aren't available anywhere else?

We took on gamble on it when we bought ours (just as they were disappearing from the shops. So glad we did now. ;-)

Ours eventually needed a new hard-drive from tivoland but other than that, has been absolutely reliable. Probably worth a shot if your's is getting whiney.

Tim

In my limited experience, the software & ergonomics of the TiVo still stands head and shoulders above other PVRs. We have a Sony PVR as well which is a huge pile of poo by comparison. You can request it to record programs by genre or keywords in titles, a feature that I don't think is available in other machines. It's easy say to ask it to record anything with "cycling" or "athletics" or "sheep shagging" in the title. ;-)

Also, left to it's own devices, it will automatically record programs similar to ones that you've recorded in the past building up a library of "TiVo suggestions". These will never overwrite any specifically requested recordings and are the first to be automaticaly deleted if space is needed.

Of course it will never do HD recording but I'l keep mine until it dies or I die.

Tim

Thanks to all for the advice. I've ordered a capacitor and will let you know the outcome.

Tim

The Topfield has the ability to load in your own software - called TAPS. And there is a lot of it out there. Could be someone has written exactly what you need.