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Receiver reliability problems.

C

Chuck

Maybe it is just me. I have several HD radios that we use around the radio station because of their much better than average analog reception. A couple of them are running translators. The HD part is never used. We are strictly analog.

In the last week or so, I've been bit twice. Our nearly two year old Sangean HD-1 took a dump during the middle of a remote. It had made some odd noises prior to this that sounded like static or adjacent channel interference. We just figured it was bad reception at the remote location. Now it just makes white noise, like it was tuned between stations or had no antenna. (It does have an antenna). Since it is out of warranty, it is probably going in the dumpster.

I replaced it with a nice new Sony XDR-F1HD fresh out of the box. I never thought about checking it out prior to the next remote need. It was defective on first power up. All it says on the screen is "Sony XDR-F1HD - Wait." The clock works, but no radio. That is very un-Sony-like. It has gone back to Sony for replacement, and we are now using a GE Super Radio which has given several years of dependable service. It doesn't look very cool, but at least, it works.

Has anyone else had above average failures, or is this just an isolated instance?
 
I think this is what Sony does to its HD radios/tuners. When I turn my XDR-F1HD on, its screen says "XDR-F1HD" and the word "Wait" blinks. I wait for a few seconds during this warm-up, or whatever it is, and then the tuners starts working. I think there is nothing wrong with the tuner. I also have the XDR-F3HD table radio; when I turn it on, it says "XDR-F3HD" and "Wait" for a few seconds and the radio starts.
 
ddsparxx said:
I think this is what Sony does to its HD radios/tuners. When I turn my XDR-F1HD on, its screen says "XDR-F1HD" and the word "Wait" blinks. I wait for a few seconds during this warm-up, or whatever it is, and then the tuners starts working. I think there is nothing wrong with the tuner. I also have the XDR-F3HD table radio; when I turn it on, it says "XDR-F3HD" and "Wait" for a few seconds and the radio starts.
Click to expand...

This one says, "wait" forever. It never moves on to the next stage, nor is there ever any audio. It is clearly defective. Sony thinks so too and gave me a repair authorization number and service center address. Still, it is very inconvenient, and I have to pay the shipping to Laredo, TX where they "fix" these things. Worse yet, I was at a remote site with no working tuner.

Obviously, I should have checked it before leaving the station, but Sony stuff usually works. So much for that delusion.
 
Although I'm extremely happy with my Sony XDR unit, I have occasional issues with it, and have heard the same from other DX'ers.

My Sony runs 24/7, generally recording an open frequency for FM DX purposes, and a few times I've found it switched off, or switched to AM 530, and completely frozen. No buttons on the tuner or remote function. The reset button will work, but the buttons will still be frozen so the unit will sit in "standby" state with no way to turn the tuner on. Each time this has happened, the only way to fix it is to leave it unplugged for at least several hours, and it usually becomes functional again.

I've read from other DX'ers that it will sometimes freeze when faces sporadic behavior from HD signals, or have other glitches similar to my issue.

Thankfully my unit functions properly 99% of the time, and the excellent performance is worth the glitches for me.
 
Sometimes when my unit has "HD" blinking and there's no audio, I just press the tuning buttons and back to the station I was listening to and the tuner goes back to working.
 
The adventure continues. This morning I received an email form Sony, an excerpt is quoted: "The estimated charge for your exchange will be $74.62. <snip> Please contact us at your earliest convenience by phone or email to approve or refuse this estimate."

This unit was purchased on July 27, 2009. Since it was mail order, I didn't receive it for about a week after that date, and it sat on a shelf until I needed it last week. Sony says it was actually manufactured in April of 2007. I didn't know they'd been making these things that long. Obviously, I should have returned it to the seller, rather than to Sony, but when I discovered the problem, I called Sony Tech support to see if there was any "quick fix," like holding in the reset button and powering it up. When they couldn't help any further, they guided me to return it to their "Customer Satisfaction Center."

I spent quite some time on the phone this morning with a nice young lady from Sony, who was quite helpful, despite my probably grumpy behavior. You'd probably be grumpy too if they wanted $74.62 to fix something that you paid $79.00 for brand new. Hopefully, the problem is resolved and I'll be getting a replacement in a week or so.

I have three of these radios, and have found them to be excellent analog performers. My only previous problem has been the problem of switching "off" at the slightest power glitch, and then reverting to "530 AM" when it is powered on. There is a warranty busting cure for that, but this radio has been untouched.

Mostly I was wondering if others have had problems with them too. They do run very hot, and that is a concern for long-term reliability.
 
I've got both - neither have given me any problems. I've used both for HD and analog, primarily analog due to excellent reception characteristics.
 
There are many analog radios that still work today after decades of service. I have a boombox older than me (and I can legally drink) that still functions well. That boombox had, in the past, been left on 24/7 for 9 months of the year, 2 years in a row, plugged into a computer to stream a radio station, and it never hiccuped.
 
The early boomboxes made in the 70s and 80s were fun to have around, but today's boom boxes are garbage; those with CD players and lousy digital tuners.
 
At my station's old facility we had a couple HD tuners (a JVC car radio mounted on a panel for general listening, a Sangean tuner and two Sony tuners).

All of these radios have acted up several times -- at random. I'd have to either turn them off and back on...or unplug and plug back in.

Over the years I've had to do this with various things. The damned things are micro computers....and what do computers do? They crash.

I still remember the first time I "crashed" a digital cable TV box. We entered a brave new world. *sarcasm off*
 
StephanieNYC said:
Over the years I've had to do this with various things. The damned things are micro computers....and what do computers do? They crash.

I still remember the first time I "crashed" a digital cable TV box. We entered a brave new world. *sarcasm off*
Click to expand...

I just crashed a - SOLDERING IRON - yesterday. Yep - I got a message on the screen that said "password required" - what the _____??!! did that mean? I restored it to operation by turning it off and then back on again.

These problems are the problems of the software authors who do too much in C and not enough in assembly, leaving bulky, buggy code around in these microcontrollers. Last time I checked, they execute their own assembly language, not the high level cr@p that is so popular. If the compiler is cr@p that translates C to assembly, then the software will be cr@p and crash.

The first time I encounter a toilet that says "password required", I am depositing my opinion on the floor in front of the contraption.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
The first time I encounter a toilet that says "password required", I am depositing my opinion on the floor in front of the contraption.
Click to expand...

You may wish to avoid traveling to Japan, then.
 
LynnW said:
rbrucecarter5 said:
The first time I encounter a toilet that says "password required", I am depositing my opinion on the floor in front of the contraption.
Click to expand...

You may wish to avoid traveling to Japan, then.
Click to expand...

I avoid setting one foot out of the United States of America, and every time I absolutely have to go somewhere else, I can't wait until I get back here!
 
The "rest of the world?" Think, "United Nations." Also known as the cantina scene from the film Star Wars.

There's a reason why everybody's crashing our borders to live here.

OTOH: the rest of the world is rejecting HD Radio....so there IS some common sense out there. (Just keepin' it on-topic.....)
 
Hi all,
Sorry to dig up and old topic but I really want this recorded where others can find it. I resisted for this forum just so that I could get this out to the Sony XDR-F1HD community.

I bought a unit off of eBay with exactly the symptoms described in this topic. It would turn on and then wait forever at the "Sony XDR-F1HD - Wait" screen. With a bit of troubleshooting I found that the problem was caused by poor soldering of diode D915 on the main board. (D915 is the large black diode on the front-right corner of the main board. It is type 1N5401.) One lead was not inserted all of the way through the board prior to being soldered, causing a poor connection. Thus, if anyone else has this problem, try unsoldering both sides of D915, insert the diode into the board correctly and resolder. It may just fix your problem.

Thanks,
Matthew D'Asaro
 
7jp4-guy said:
Hi all,
Sorry to dig up and old topic but I really want this recorded where others can find it. I resisted for this forum just so that I could get this out to the Sony XDR-F1HD community.

I bought a unit off of eBay with exactly the symptoms described in this topic. It would turn on and then wait forever at the "Sony XDR-F1HD - Wait" screen. With a bit of troubleshooting I found that the problem was caused by poor soldering of diode D915 on the main board. (D915 is the large black diode on the front-right corner of the main board. It is type 1N5401.) One lead was not inserted all of the way through the board prior to being soldered, causing a poor connection. Thus, if anyone else has this problem, try unsoldering both sides of D915, insert the diode into the board correctly and resolder. It may just fix your problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, Matthew. You might also pass this along to Brian, [email protected] for inclusion in his XDR webpage:
http://www.ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm

By the way, two commercial grade FM receivers using this chipset were introduced by BW Broadcast at the recent NAB show. I looked at them at the BW booth and I plan to test one at some difficult reception sites. They only demodulate the analog signal (no HD) but have enhanced RDS capabilities, web interface, AES output, etc:
http://www.fm-receiver.com/
 
Re: HD Receiver reliability MAJOR problems.

I have (had) two Directed Electronics HD radio tuners. ONE is DEAD, one still works so-so.

The Directed Electronics HD tuner add-on unit in my car has died - locked-up for eternity - display will show frequency, but no audio, shows full signal on every frequency, never goes to HD, so after just two years of use, it is shot - and it was a huge pain in the arse to install. I'm not even going to take it out - just put a piece of black tape over the display and use my factory radio. But really torques me off is that Directed Electronics will not reply to my requests for assistance, no email help, no warranty, no phone number listed on their website- not a word.
Anybody have a buddy there that might help me get it repaired / replaced or I'd love to mail it with a present from my dog in the well-sealed box if they can't help me repair it?

My Directed Electronics HOME heater unit, I mean HOME receiver with speakers, is still "working" with only an occasional lock-up when I go to an HD station that is a preset. Power off/on then it works again. Locals work just okay in HD. My biggest bitches about my Directed Electronics tabletop HD radio are: #1: AUX input is nothing but a continuous clicking sound, making it totally unusable, #2: The AM antenna must be farther away than the cord provided to avoid receiving digital crud from the tuner itself, 3: Even with an external FM antenna upstairs, I can't HD-'DX' a grandfathered 100KW in Detroit 60 miles away - then again, it's not a DX unit - 50KW Radio Disney unavailable in HD. None of the AM's appear to be in stereo either. #4 - Blue display will burn-out your retinas if you even think about using this as a bedroom alarm clock - forget it - plus it generates heat too.

Is there anybody home at Directed Electronics, or did they stop making radios an only make car alarms and that crap now?


Maybe it's the 'lead-free solder' that's the problem with current electronics?
 
In the past few months, I've visited two large market radio stations which were supposed to distribute Directed Electronics HD Tuners as prizes. These units are still piled up in shipping boxes in the prize closets, taking up space. Apparently, the promotion staff can't give them away!
 
They sound like they run hot enough to cause a fire hazard.
Heat accumulation is death to solder joints, and this new leadfree solder crystallizes easily.
Perhaps the major market stations do not wish to hand out devices that expose them to liability.

Question, Johnny. Did you notice any insertion loss or reduction in AM sensitivity from the HD add-on?
IS there an input and output trimmer cap on the box where the signal splits to the box?
I would be shocked if they had somehow properly engineered the antenna impedance to maintain AM performance.

I have one Becker shortwave auto adapter that when trimmed properly, gives no detectable insertion loss.
 
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