Another Dead Jynx

[Shark1959]

Hello all:

I picked up a V.1 Jynxbox box at Christmas as a gift to myself and it now appears to have died. This post is rather long as I wanted to include all the steps I’ve taken to this point so that you would have all the information, so please bare with me.

The box currently has file 237 loaded on it, along with 110, 119 and 129 birds and it worked perfectly well up until Monday night when I shut it down after a night of viewing. I went to turn it on last night to hopefully learning more about getting the extended EPG to work and the unit would not start. I thought Hmmmmmm this is not good and checked to make sure it was plugged in and sure enough it was. When I say dead, I mean as in no response to turning the power switch on and off, you would get the same result if it wasn't plugged in. No lights on the display whatsoever, no red light in the SPDIF outlet for the audio when you pull the small plug protecting the connection point and lastly no activity with the Ethernet, as I can see activity on my Ethernet switch if there was.

Next I thought ok this is a bit more serious, so I disconnected all the cables connected to it and tried plugging in the receiver with only the power cord and still nothing, zip, nada, zilch, response :( With my limited knowledge of electricity I went and got my multimeter to test the basics, the wall outlet measured 119 volts. Next I removed the power cable to see if the cord was good, again 120 volts through the cable, so I knew power was entering the circuit board. I then turned to the web to looking for answers and I found a couple others on this site who have experienced this same problem. I went further and Goggled a “dead Jynxbox” and found a few more instances of this as well, so I no I’m not alone, although it doesn’t make me feel much better.

I read one post where they found the problem to be a bad on-off switch, so I pulled the switch connector from the board and using the ohm meter verified the switch itself was indeed good. Next I set the multimeter to DC voltage and measured the reading from the bi-pin on the circuit board where the switch cable connects and it measured 12.25 volts DC. I also read that if you removed the JB100 module that could have an impact with regards to booting up, sadly that didn’t help either. So that concluded my testing last night and I left it till this morning hoping something miraculously might happen overnight, after having read leaving it overnight could help, though I don’t see how. Same result this AM no response.

I’m now at a loss as to what I can do. I know its not even a month old and the warranty is good for a year but, seeing as how its been flashed I’m not sure how the warranty will hold up. How does one install factory firmware to return it when its dead as described above?

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post people.

Cheers :)

Jack

[Anubis]

The unit is dead so returning it with 237 on it should not be a problem. How are they going to verify it has the factory file on it?
Where did you purchase this from?

[iq180]

Hello all:

I picked up a V.1 Jynxbox box at Christmas as a gift to myself and it now appears to have died. This post is rather long as I wanted to include all the steps I’ve taken to this point so that you would have all the information, so please bare with me.

The box currently has file 237 loaded on it, along with 110, 119 and 129 birds and it worked perfectly well up until Monday night when I shut it down after a night of viewing. I went to turn it on last night to hopefully learning more about getting the extended EPG to work and the unit would not start. I thought Hmmmmmm this is not good and checked to make sure it was plugged in and sure enough it was. When I say dead, I mean as in no response to turning the power switch on and off, you would get the same result if it wasn't plugged in. No lights on the display whatsoever, no red light in the SPDIF outlet for the audio when you pull the small plug protecting the connection point and lastly no activity with the Ethernet, as I can see activity on my Ethernet switch if there was.

Next I thought ok this is a bit more serious, so I disconnected all the cables connected to it and tried plugging in the receiver with only the power cord and still nothing, zip, nada, zilch, response :( With my limited knowledge of electricity I went and got my multimeter to test the basics, the wall outlet measured 119 volts. Next I removed the power cable to see if the cord was good, again 120 volts through the cable, so I knew power was entering the circuit board. I then turned to the web to looking for answers and I found a couple others on this site who have experienced this same problem. I went further and Goggled a “dead Jynxbox” and found a few more instances of this as well, so I no I’m not alone, although it doesn’t make me feel much better.

I read one post where they found the problem to be a bad on-off switch, so I pulled the switch connector from the board and using the ohm meter verified the switch itself was indeed good. Next I set the multimeter to DC voltage and measured the reading from the bi-pin on the circuit board where the switch cable connects and it measured 12.25 volts DC. I also read that if you removed the JB100 module that could have an impact with regards to booting up, sadly that didn’t help either. So that concluded my testing last night and I left it till this morning hoping something miraculously might happen overnight, after having read leaving it overnight could help, though I don’t see how. Same result this AM no response.

I’m now at a loss as to what I can do. I know its not even a month old and the warranty is good for a year but, seeing as how its been flashed I’m not sure how the warranty will hold up. How does one install factory firmware to return it when its dead as described above?

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post people.

Cheers :)

Jack
very good post, now if we could get every one to do that, LOL.
now back on topic, i would say try the loader cable and reload 237 bin, if it want connect then i think it has a blown cap.

[fta]

i would say it is a poped cap in the psu try looking for a bubbled cap or a burnt cap... does the unit have that "let the smoke out" smell?

[Shark1959]

Hey guys thanks for the quick replies, appreciate it


The unit is dead so returning it with 237 on it should not be a problem. How are they going to verify it has the factory file on it? Where did you purchase this from?

I thought that maybe they would make the repair and see what file it had, given that most people use these boxes for other than true FTA. I bought it from a friend of mine who got me into this hobby if you will, back in the N2 days, he had purchased a large number of them to resell.


very good post, now if we could get every one to do that, LOL

Thanks, well I know how frustrating and a waste of time it is to just say "My box died. HELP" so I got a little carried away with my findings.


i would say it is a poped cap in the psu try looking for a bubbled cap or a burnt cap... does the unit have that "let the smoke out" smell?

That was one of the first things I did when I removed the cover (with the power pulled from the wall just in case :) ) was to stick my nose to the board and no burnt smell, it actually has that new electronic smell. I did check the caps to see if any of them had a buldged top but, they all appeared flat to me. I've included a picture of the board,though not sure you can tell from the picture. Given the power supply comes in on the left rear of the photo, I take it this is where the PSU is as well?

Cheers :)

Shark1959

[AeonFlux]

My own personal experience of same thing... (Only I am an electrical engineer)
Tried same switch thing = nada, 12VDC power supply was good, no burnt caps, absolutely nothing obvious. Then I noticed that the main chip with the big heat sink was not getting warm at all. I got out my scope and probed it a bit. Sure enough it was deader than a door nail. No activity = CPU gave up the ghost. When I look at this design, the first thing that pops right out at me is switching the 12VDC. Any time you switch DC you run the chance of generating spikes in the system. Not good juju. On my replacement I use an external switch on the AC and don't use the rear switch at all anymore. I first use remote to put it on standby (on/off) red button. Then turn off external switch. I also do not turn off with switch very often. I use the remote and just put on standby.

I bought mine from a really great dealer who got me a replacement right out. Can't say enough nice things about him. I bought from him in the past and I will buy from him in the future. Probably not proper of me to say on this post but PM me and I will give you his name. I hope your friend has a replacement for you. If not, PM me.

[Angel Eyes]

for some crazy reason..v1 and 237 don't work well
the unit gets real hot...

going back works well

[publicsd]

Well I just came back tonight from my Jynx dealer with a brand new V2 because the previous one reacted the same as yours.

Actually, we isolated the problem down to this: the JB200 appeared to have fried, just like that, with no warning.

With my previous box, a few weeks ago, it happened a first time: the box stopped working while we were watching a movie. Shortly put, I googled the problem, tried a few things, including testing the back switch, and then took out the JB200 module. Tadam, the box came back to life.

I had my JB200 module replaced by my original seller, got the box working again with the new module, but it did it again 3 days later. I finally had it replaced altogether tonight and I hope I won't be jynxed again with the same problem.

I have a powerbar with a surge-protection for my coaxial conection, and the antenna cable was plugged into it. I'll try giving the box a straight connection to the antenna, I hope it'll help because I haven't found yet what causes those mishaps.

Try it: remove the module and see what happens. Can't do any harm.

[Nostradamus]

for some crazy reason..v1 and 237 don't work well
the unit gets real hot...

going back works well

no problem here, unit barely warm and it never gets turned off

[iq180]

Well I just came back tonight from my Jynx dealer with a brand new V2 because the previous one reacted the same as yours.

Actually, we isolated the problem down to this: the JB200 appeared to have fried, just like that, with no warning.

With my previous box, a few weeks ago, it happened a first time: the box stopped working while we were watching a movie. Shortly put, I googled the problem, tried a few things, including testing the back switch, and then took out the JB200 module. Tadam, the box came back to life.

I had my JB200 module replaced by my original seller, got the box working again with the new module, but it did it again 3 days later. I finally had it replaced altogether tonight and I hope I won't be jynxed again with the same problem.

I have a powerbar with a surge-protection for my coaxial conection, and the antenna cable was plugged into it. I'll try giving the box a straight connection to the antenna, I hope it'll help because I haven't found yet what causes those mishaps.

Try it: remove the module and see what happens. Can't do any harm.
do you have a power inserter, if not, you should, because the jynx is under powered and it will kill the jb module.

[Shark1959]

Try it: remove the module and see what happens. Can't do any harm.

I wrote that I tried that in my original post with no luck, but thanks for that suggestion nonetheless.

Cheers :)

Shark1959

[publicsd]

do you have a power inserter, if not, you should, because the jynx is under powered and it will kill the jb module.

Thanks for the tip. That's probably what happened to my two other JB200s. Any recommendation before I take the first one showing on a eBay search?

[Anubis]

Thanks for the tip. That's probably what happened to my two other JB200s. Any recommendation before I take the first one showing on a eBay search?
You are now high jacking the OP's thread. Start your own please.

[Shark1959]

My own personal experience of same thing... (Only I am an electrical engineer) When I look at this design, the first thing that pops right out at me is switching the 12VDC. Any time you switch DC you run the chance of generating spikes in the system. Not good juju. On my replacement I use an external switch on the AC and don't use the rear switch at all anymore. I first use remote to put it on standby (on/off) red button. Then turn off external switch. I also do not turn off with switch very often. I use the remote and just put on standby.

Thanks for the headsup on that Aeonflux, I had no idea this box was not like the many others I've had and I'm sure there are more like myself who are unware of this as well. Whenever there is a glitch or some little problem that pops up with your receiver, one of the first things your told to do in the forums is to turn your receiver ON and OFF from the rear switch. Doing so reboots the box and most times this clears up the problem. I'll make sure I do as you noted above for the replacement unit, should I get one.

Cheers :)

Shark1959

[publicsd]

You are now high jacking the OP's thread. Start your own please.

Already done. Thanks. I realized shopping for a power inserter isn't like buying bottled water...