How to maximise the life of your Sky Digibox

jez

Lads,

Just looking for some opinions relating to maximising the life of the standard digibox.

Is it best to switch off totally at socket each night OR leave on standby constantly.

Reason for asking is that I assume everytime it reboots/switches back on it is using a different part of the engine to that needed when it is left on constantly.

ie. when u first switch on it has to search for channels for a couple of minutes but when it is left on the channels are always ready for viewing instantly.

Obviously this must relate to chips/capacitors etc and someone may have an opinion.

watty

keep it cool.. enclosed space / heat is biggest enemy

Unplug phone line if weather bad. A strike ANYWHERE between you and phone exchange even 1/2 mile from cable in ground can induce failure in modem.
The electricty mains is shared with every house, phone isn't and also substation transformer is a good anti pulse filter (it only goes bang on a very near or direct hit!)

Unplug if away.

Yes, it has no on/off. Standby is an illusion. But don't unplug it every night as it could miss key and SW upgrades. Also there is a Switch on surge. Left plug in but very cool. Unplug if away more than a day. (fire risk, lightning damage etc)

jez

Thanks for that Watty. However, how do mean a surge when you switch on.

Also, is it not an issue anymore from a safety perspective of leaving appliances i.e. tv's videos etc plugged in and on standby constantly??

Thanks

Capt'n Midnight

That's the most you can do..

Mine on it's side with the PSU uppermost - that way there is good airflow across the main board. You can fit fans too - but better to make sure has plenty of ventalitatioin.

PSU these can fail when switched on again at the mains... so may be better to leave in standby. -also none of that searching for listings and failing to lock on..

note: the LNB is powered in standby on most boxes - so they always run warm - ie. not much power saved - since can upgrade the SW the tuner must run also and I'd say the CPU runs in standby so it is really (guess) just the outputs that aren't powered.

You can get surge protectors for Plugs and Phone line if you live in a high or flat area..

watty

All modern Powersupplies take about x 5 current at switch on. This is called a surge.

Yes only othe RF modulator and AV sockets are turned off. The Digibox will receive SW updates while in standby.

Yes there is of course a safety issue, though not as much as with TV.
The TV has a "real" on off switch.

Most PCs don't have a real on/of anymore, even off, the mother board is still "live" and the PSU running.


Always unplug all the gear if going away.

Aviod soft furnishings near equipment.

Mike 1972

Ive heard a couple of repair people say that digiboxes are a pile of overpriiced badly designed crap. Among other things they run far too hot and reallyshould be kept in a well ventilated area and not placed on top of/underneath a video or TV set or in a cabinet