Strange problem with my 721

[Bill Mullin]

I'm in SW Florida and afternoon thunderstorms are very common this time of the year, along with power flickers (power goes out for 1 second or less). Twice this week we've had storms with power flickers. I've had programs set to record late night after the storms, but well after the storms are over. Both times my programs have simply been ignored. Additionally, the programs are still there the next day, even though the time slot has past, and these programs cannot be deleted. When I reboot, the programs are gone. This is very frustrating as the programs look OK following the storm, but they won't work. Do I have to delete, then reprogram my shows following storms? Can anyone shed any light on this frustrating situation?

Thanks, Bill

[SParker]

Maybe try rebooting the machine? I don't know.

[TomCat]

If the 721 is sensitive to power bumps (and most microprocessor-driven equipment is) might I suggest a UPS? They're cheap and provide protection from spikes plus the power is usually "cleaner".

You don't really need a large one...the idea is not to provide long-term power replacement in case of an outage, but to get you over the minor bumps and short outages. Most power companies shut power down completely for a couple seconds when a short is detected, both in the interests of safety and that for a number of reasons this helps get the power back on quicker in many cases, so a 2 or 3 second outage is pretty common as outages go, and a small UPS normally will sail right through that.

[Jacob S]

I know that the 501 is pretty good at getting something recorded if the signal would go out and come back on and may be good at recording the show even if the power goes out then back on but I do not think the 721 is as good at this.

[Bill Mullin]

Originally posted by TomCat
might I suggest a UPS?It's very disappointing to read that I might have to get a UPS to cover what appears to be a software deficiency in the 721! Isn't there a more cost-effective method? If not, I'll just wait and hope that a software upgrade solves the problem.

- Bill

[Scott Greczkowski]

I had had the power go out while recording on my 721, and to my suprise it continued recording as soon as the power came back on (and once it finished rebooting)

Of course now I have my 721 on a UPS so the power going out should not affect the 721.

Its a sad but true fact that any Dish PVR should be hooked up to a UPS. Everyone I know who has a Dish PVR and has them hooked to a UPS do not have many of the wierd problems others who are not hooked up to a UPS do.

[Jason]

Could anyone that has their PVR tell me what brand UPS that they have and which one they recommend. Also, where is the cheapest place to buy it?

[thomasmaly]

what is a ups

[Bill Mullin]

Originally posted by Jason
Could anyone that has their PVR tell me what brand UPS that they have and which one they recommend. Also, where is the cheapest place to buy it? I'd be interested in this also!

[W1CPO]

thomasmaly, UPS stands for Uninteruptble Power Supply.

[jerryyyyy]

We have server from APC- they come in all sizes. Work fine.

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yes my power supply is from APC, it conditions the power and also will power the unit for 30 minutes if the power goes off.

[TerryC]

Originally posted by Bill Mullin
I'd be interested in this also!

Me three! :)

by the way.. don't forget to plug in your SW64's power inserter power supply into the UPS, too..

[steveT]

I've experienced both kinds of power glitches mentioned- the one where it apparently missed the next PVR recording, but then showed it in the PVR list, but wouldn't let me delete it. I ended up pulling the SmartCard.

I also had the other problem where it rebooted during a PVR event, possibly from a power glitch, then resumed recording after the reboot. You end up with 2 timer events, one from before the reboot and one after.

I've been using an All-Path surge protector, but the message from this thread is that maybe I should shop for something better...