Ever had HDHomeRun tuners go bad? Network stack / OS still works

Playground Hardware
#1

About 2-3 weeks ago, I had both of my tuners hooked up to the same antenna stop working at the same time. You could still log into their web interface, and try to tune to things, but they never detected a video stream, and upon rescanning they were both picking up no channels.

They'd not been updated in about 2 years, so I updated firmware and restarted, but that did not work.

The antenna is at a remote site (family member's house), so I just got out there yesterday and did some diagnosing, the antenna still works, hooking TV's up to the antenna worked, but the tuners in the HDHomeRun do not. Tried full power cycles, unplugging everything.

The antenna was on the roof of a house, at the top of a hill, in a clearing but surrounded by higher trees. I realized when troubleshooting that there was no ground wire on the antenna (I did not install). The antenna goes into a powered amplifier which then goes out to other TV's, and there is a branch network switch right there that everything was wired to.

I would have thought a lightning strike would take out more than just specifically the tuner hardware, and leave everything else untouched? These units have been in use since late 2020/early 2021, so if something just 'burned out' over time, I wouldn't think they would both go at the same time...

Wondering if anyone else has any experience with tuners failing over time, in this really weird specific way?

#2

I haven't, but I've heard of others that have. Put a support ticket in with your tuner info and the trouble you have on their website, and they'll likely replace it for you.

https://www.silicondust.com/contact-support/

1 Like
#3

A lightning strike near an un-grounded antenna could certainly knock out both units.

Ground the antenna if you want to avoid burning the house down. If damage to the home is ever determined to be a result of improper installation, an insurance company may deny claims.

Mike Holt's Illustrated Guide

#4

Absolutely, that is happening before any new equipment goes in. HAM and 20 years in the IT space. This is at a family member's house (I don't live in an area with any reception) and did not realize the family member did not ground things when they put up a new antenna a few years ago (but the old antenna install from 40+ years prior had been grounded).

#5

Looks like their warranty is 2 years, these are pushing 5, still worth it?

#6

IMHO, chalk it up to lesson learned and move on.

#7

YES, try it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Just tell them it quit, and you don't know why, because you really don't know. Let them decide what's next.

Worst scenario, you have to buy new ones. No biggie if that's what happens.

#8

I'll give it a try.

If I had to get a new one, trying to weigh Quattro versus Flex. Every ATSC 3.0 channel in the region is DRM protected EXCEPT the one low VHF channel that gets really poor reception, so switching to 3.0 for that would be great, but who knows how long it will be unencrypted...

#9

an actual lightning hit would likely leave visible signs and probably take out a few surge strips because it WILL find a ground.
have you tried without the amplifier?
also have you tried a different power supply for the hdhr's? they may have enough power for ethernet/cpu but not the internal amplifier.

#10

I would absolutely ask. I can't guarantee they'll step that far outside a warranty, but I purchased a used Quad tuner unit on Ebay and after a week of troubleshooting problems with Silicondust they confirmed there must have been a hardware problem and sent me a new one - and they knew the unit was second hand. That was way above and beyond the call of duty for any company. I can't say enough about my experiences with that company over the last 20 years. I still have the first (2) beige 2-tuner models, both in working condition.