V2 dead

[kingcasey]

Screen froze and failed to respond to remote.
Pressed the front power button and no response.
Pulled the power cable and the unit turned off.
Re-inserted the power cable and no response.
Tried alternate working power adapter.
Still no response.

[kingcasey]

Overwhelmed by the helpful community.
I finally solved the issue.
A refurbished Fetch Mighty has solved my problem.
Over and out.

[MrQuade]

You didn't ask a question.......

[kingcasey]

Well anybody with a modicum of sense would see that
I have a dead V2 Beyonwiz.
In the meantime somebody pointed out that their Beyonwiz
required a replacement power capacitor.
I assumed that the capacitor located in the power input area
was worthy of replacement due to no alternative tips or suggestions.
It is a 100uf 16V DC and I got a replacement from Jaycar.
Since I soldered this one in and re-assembled the V2..
The power now comes on and I just get 'Boot' menu.
However this is now the end of the road as no further
progress has been made.
Attempts to reload the firmware via the tutorial bears no fruit.
I aint returning the Fetch Mighty anytime soon.

[prl]

In the meantime somebody pointed out that their Beyonwiz
required a replacement power capacitor.

That was most likely for a Beyonwiz that has an internal power supply, rather than an external one, like the V2 has.

Attempts to reload the firmware via the tutorial bears no fruit.

If anyone is going to try to help, they'll need a bit more than "I tried to reinstall the firmware, but it didn't work". What did you do, and what, exactly, happened?

FWIW, I think that the most likely problem is that one of the power supply regulators on the mainboard isn't working, but there's really so little information to go on that it's really hard to offer any more sensible advice than that if it's really not possible to re-install the firmware, it's likely a hardware problem, and the only place I know of that does Beyonwiz repairs is Nasa Electronics in Sydney (https://www.nasaelectronics.com.au/).

[kingcasey]

Well I attempted a USB firmware installation by following the switch power on whilst holding down the front power button. The logo does not turn red and the 'boot' menu remains the same.

I don't think it is economically viable to send it off to Sydney.
So after a 4 year stint it is now a paper-weight.

Puts me off getting another one that's for sure.

Cheers, Mark.

[Twizzle]

And where would you get a replacement V2?

[prl]

Well I attempted a USB firmware installation by following the switch power on whilst holding down the front power button. The logo does not turn red and the 'boot' menu remains the same.

I still don't understand what you mean by "the 'boot' menu remains the same". Do you mean that when you try to enter the boot screen to do the firmware re-installation, the front panel display doesn't change from "boot" to "updt" (and then to "neco")? What do you see on the TV screen while this is happening, if anything? And if the "logo" (I presume you mean the power icon on the power button) doesn't turn red, what does happen to it? It should start blue, change to red, and then back to blue when the boot screen displays.

Anyway, from what you've said, it still looks like a hardware issue, and if that's the case, the choice is repair or disposal, and you already seem to have chosen disposal.

[IanL-S]

Rather than sending it to landfill, someone might be interested in taking it off your hands in the hope that Nasa can fix it.

[kingcasey]

Well I seem to have made some progress.
Initially I downloaded the firmware and extracted it to a USB drive.
Plugged the USB into the back of the V2, pressed the front power button and flicked on the power switch at the back.
At this point I thought I got lucky as the power button turned blue and 'boot' appeared on the screen.
This is as far as it went.

After a few days of rumination, I gave it another go and connected it via HDMI to a PC monitor,
This time the button turned from blue to red and the 'updt' appeared.
Scrolled down to the 'download from USB' option and I got 'download failed'.
Went back to the downloaded zip file and extracted it again to the USB.
This time the update function started.

Only difference was that I had something plugged into the HDMI port.
V2 is now sitting back in service and I'll tentatively wait and see if it doesn't bunk off again.
Cheers, Mark.

[prl]

Glad you got it sorted. It looks as though something might have messed up the firmware flash memory.

[kingcasey]

Cheers Peter.
Still cannot be certain what caused the issue.
It now has a new (wall wart) power supply which after 4 years was probably due for replacement.
I replaced one of the capacitors which may not have been necessary.

Fetch Mighty does not have an adjustable skip function which drove me
to perservere with fixing the V2.

[prl]

Fetch Mighty does not have an adjustable skip function which drove me
to perservere with fixing the V2.

I've never used a Fetch (any model), but from what I've read on other forums, its fast forward can be quite usable once you get used to it. But I think I'd still prefer skips.

[kingcasey]

Oh dear, the V2 had a re-lapse.
Started with frozen picture and does not respond to
any remote control input.
Pressing the front power button does nothing.
Switch off the rear power switch and then switch it on again...
Nothing. Completely dead again.

I also noted that the device seemed overly hot.
Don't know if this is a normal condition but definitely warmer than
I'd feel comfortable with.

[kingcasey]

V2 finally started and I am back to the 'boot' screen.
When I plugged in HDMI I get the Beyonwiz logo and it just sits there.
Tried plugging in the USB and ran the update procedure.
So it's back up and running, but who knows how long?

[peteru]

Was your replacement capacitor a high quality, low ESR part? A generic Jaycar capacitor is probably not sufficient for power supply duties.

And are you now using the new (high quality?) external power supply? I would be a bit wary of the original Beyonwiz power brick after a couple of years of continuous use, but it sounds like you have replaced it.

The power supply may not be the root cause, but it is one of the first things you need to eliminate when troubleshooting intermittent and inconsistent problems. Just because a power supply shows the right voltage doesn't mean it's any good. Too much ripple is a problem. Voltage sag, caused by fluctuations in current demand, is another issue in poor quality power supplies.

As far as operating temperature is concerned, I'd expect the V2 case to be no more than about 15℃ ~ 20℃ above the ambient temperature. Individual components on the board vary, but majority of them should be good to operate up to about 90℃.

[peteru]

Here is a story from my end. I don't expect that you are in the same boat, but here it goes...

I have a V2 on the pile of "see if I can fix it later" things. It's a pre-production or very early production unit that I used to develop the V2 firmware. Initially it would have a random crash once or twice a day. Then it would occasionally fail to boot and need a power cycle to come good. Then I started seeing random frame buffer corruption. At that stage I realised that this is a hardware problem.

When troubleshooting, first I replaced the power supply. That seemed to help for a few days, but then the problem came back. While I was waiting for a replacement unit, I experimented a bit and discovered that mechanical stress on the board or a specific temperature range affected the level of reliability. The most likely explanation for my scenario is some kind of a mechanical fault. Either a bad solder joint or a microfracture. The V2 PCB has a much higher component density than the T4, so repair is less appealing. However, if that V2 was my last remaining Beyonwiz, I'd probably still give repair a shot.

[kingcasey]

Interesting response.
I have no idea if the replacement capacitor was better or worse than the original.

Decided to re-located the V2 to a back room to see how long it would last.
It seems to be stable for now but doesn't get much use to test for reliability.
I have programmed it to record the odd TV program and it seems to be performing as normal.

There are a few default channels available on the Fetch Mighty so for now and
I'll live with the annoying skip function...hoping I can find a hack to fix it.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

Here is a story from my end. I don't expect that you are in the same boat, but here it goes...

.....However, if that V2 was my last remaining Beyonwiz, I'd probably still give repair a shot.

OOI, do you think a failed HDMI output is repairable?

b0b

[Paul_oz53]

... I experimented a bit and discovered that mechanical stress on the board or a specific temperature range affected the level of reliability. The most likely explanation for my scenario is some kind of a mechanical fault. Either a bad solder joint or a microfracture.
...

A lot of the repair videos on YouTube involve reballing ICs with a bad solder connection. Think it likely that may be the issue if you ever decide to seek a fix.

Microfractures are very hard to impossible to repair for the experts so let's hope that's not the underlying problem.

[Paul_oz53]

Hi,

Here is a story from my end. I don't expect that you are in the same boat, but here it goes...

.....However, if that V2 was my last remaining Beyonwiz, I'd probably still give repair a shot.

OOI, do you think a failed HDMI output is repairable?

b0b

If the connector - yes, or, if a common chip is involved - maybe.

[IanL-S]

Hi,

Here is a story from my end. I don't expect that you are in the same boat, but here it goes...

.....However, if that V2 was my last remaining Beyonwiz, I'd probably still give repair a shot.

OOI, do you think a failed HDMI output is repairable?

b0b

Given the potential stresses put on connection points, it could just be a matter of replacing the port assuming it has a generic connection to the main board. I would contact Nasa Electronics for advice on repairability. They have always given me good advice.

If the connector - yes, or, if a common chip is involved - maybe.