Nova-HD-S2 faulty card or duff drivers

[bobthebob1234]

As you may or may not have gathered I got a Nova-HD-S2 a few weeks ago. It worked fine when I got it, then it progressively got worse, until last week it would record 1 program then 'die' (Wouldn't record anything else, live tv said partial lock). A reboot later and it would do the same thing. Now the hard drive in it was dodgy to start with and made some interesting rattling. So got a new hard drive and install mythbuntu 12.04. I installed linux-firmware-nonfree, and that allowed me to scan and watch some channels. Then it died again. Countless reboots and cold boots later I can't even watch live tv after it turns on (Partial lock), or scan for channels (scan command or mythtv backend scan). I have tried the latest firmware which the linux tv wiki suggests, but to no avail. So took my only other desktop in the house down stairs to try in using windows and it corrupts my bios, and the computer won't even boot into BIOS...

So do I return to seller asking for a new one or is there something else I could try first?

[Dutch_Master]

Did you get it new? If so, you have warranty on it. If purchased via fleabay or similar, your "warranty" ends on the doorstep. Of the seller

[bobthebob1234]

Brand new from dabs

So you saying that I should look into returning it?

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Sounds like a hardware fault, certainly.
Mind you, the card needs to supply 50VDC for the LNB, so maybe the PSU is a problem?
BY the way, how did you get on with multi-channel recording?

[bobthebob1234]

Well the comp which the tuner wouldn't even let boot has 850W PSU, and I took out 1 of my graphics cards and unplugged all bar 1 of my hard drives so that should have been fine.
As for the comp I want to use it in it worked when it first turned up then didn't. Comp still turns on, etc

I can (could) record stuff on the same MUX, (like Channel 5, 5* & 5 USA for example) at the same time, the myth setup only allows you to record 5 things at the same time on 1 tuner but I think the max I recorded was 3, so can be done so long as on the same MUX


It couldn't be the actual cable? Does the wire in the middle need to be perfectly straight?

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Yes, it does need to be straight, sharp bends and crushing can stop it working.
Coax needs an airspace between the core wire and the braid, that is where the RF signal waveform actually travels, in the dielectric, not in the actual core.
I had a customer install a cable, and when pulling it through the roofspace, they got a kink in it where it had folded back on itself, which totally wiped the signal.

[Bruno]

Hmmm, I'm not sure about your explanation here. I thought that once received by an antenna, the signal is no-longer a radio wave but an electrical current of radio frequency, no?

I'm pretty sure that the thick insulation between the core and the braid is to reduce the stray capacitance between the two, thus reducing attenuation in long cable runs, due to RC (or LC) losses.

[bobthebob1234]

Well whilst you to argue about how wires work, I have returned to dabs, hopefully I will get a new one soon and find it was the card not the drivers

[Bruno]

No arguments, just discussions. It's difficult to establish that in print, I know

On a serious note though, good luck with Dabs. I've had bad customer service from them in the (not recent) past re: returning faulty goods that are still under warranty. However, it was over 5 years ago and also since your purchase was made less than 6 months ago, your mileage may vary.

[Ram]

your mileage may vary.

Depends on the driver I suppose.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Hmmm, I'm not sure about your explanation here. I thought that once received by an antenna, the signal is no-longer a radio wave but an electrical current of radio frequency, no?

I'm pretty sure that the thick insulation between the core and the braid is to reduce the stray capacitance between the two, thus reducing attenuation in long cable runs, due to RC (or LC) losses.

The aerial and the cable are just a means of getting the RF signal to the tuner. whether it is a radio wave or an electrical current, it still operates at radio frequency, The Coax functions almost as a waveguide.
Unlike DC, AC exists within the dieletric, as a fluctuation between the shield and the core. That's how capacitance works.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_ca ... ropagation

[bobthebob1234]

On a serious note though, good luck with Dabs. I've had bad customer service from them in the (not recent) past re: returning faulty goods that are still under warranty. However, it was over 5 years ago and also since your purchase was made less than 6 months ago, your mileage may vary.

Well I gave it to the garage round the corner hopefully the collect+ people will come get it and give it to dabs. Dabs have made an order on the website for me and say it will be shipped as soon as they get the broken one, we shall have to wait and see

If collect+ works I think it is a great idea!

[dandnsmith]

Well I gave it to the garage round the corner hopefully the collect+ people will come get it and give it to dabs. Dabs have made an order on the website for me and say it will be shipped as soon as they get the broken one, we shall have to wait and see

If collect+ works I think it is a great idea!

I returned a motherboard package in this way a year (?) back - there was a short delay, but then a new item was shipped which worked with no problems. Interestingly, the detail was slightly different from the original, which means that, either they'd had other problems with that deal, or the original stock had run out.

[sledgehammer]

The Coax functions almost as a waveguide.

To become almost like a waveguide at UHF the co-ax has got to be above 6" diameter. Not a problem for us with our pathetically narrow co-ax but can be a problem for the broadcasters whose larger feeders are about 6"

S

[wyliecoyoteuk]

The Coax functions almost as a waveguide.

To become almost like a waveguide at UHF the co-ax has got to be above 6" diameter. Not a problem for us with our pathetically narrow co-ax but can be a problem for the broadcasters whose larger feeders are about 6"

S

If you read the link in my post, there is a pretty clear explanation there.
The signal travels between the core and the shield as an AC electrical signal, not as radio wave. That is how capacitance and AC work. Basic stuff really.