Oh yeah, it tripped 2 GFIs in my shop that day too, one of which had the Micro HD connected to a turned off power strip. Oh, and like FTA4PA it got the gigabit NIC card in my shop desktop computer....AGAIN, which is now draft N wireless.
Vbox7 zapped (@#$% lightning!)
- Thread starter FTA4PA
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 86
- Views 6K
- Status
Oh yeah, it tripped 2 GFIs in my shop that day too, one of which had the Micro HD connected to a turned off power strip. Oh, and like FTA4PA it got the gigabit NIC card in my shop desktop computer....AGAIN, which is now draft N wireless.
sorry to hear of your losses FTA4PA. you're on the right track to getting it fixed.
I probably would for a big ticket item like my audio receiver but my deductible is more than items damaged - then there's having them come out and nose around at everything to find a way to blame me for it all...
.Kind of ironic, I learned how to solder so I could build my first race car. I was sixteen and the car was 24th scalesad to say but the Lone Gunman can't solder and doesn't have much in the way of electronics background. Journeyman Industrial Maintenance Machinists don't usually have those skills but I could build another race car though.
The car I built brought home a 1st place trophy too
Well, I tested the diodes in the power supply section and they are good. I got the regulators pulled out. With them out of the circuit, voltage on the trace that feeds the input of LM7812CV is 19.8VDC. The board is set up so that the input of the LM7805CV is fed 12VDC from the output of the LM7812CV. (Thumbnailed pics follow)
Hi-Res:
Low-Res: 
I tested both regulators out of circuit and they run fine (and cool). The LM7805CV outputs a stable 5.0VDC and the LM7812CV outputs a stable 12.1VDC:
LM7805CV:
LM7812CV: 
While looking over the board I noticed something I didn't see the first time with my bad near vision. One of the pins on the Holtek chip has what looks like burn marks on it and the area around the chip is questionable as well (see yellow arrows):
Hi-Res:
Low-Res: 
Any ideas on where to go from here? Is it worth proceeding?
Hi-Res:
Low-Res: I tested both regulators out of circuit and they run fine (and cool). The LM7805CV outputs a stable 5.0VDC and the LM7812CV outputs a stable 12.1VDC:
LM7805CV:
LM7812CV: While looking over the board I noticed something I didn't see the first time with my bad near vision. One of the pins on the Holtek chip has what looks like burn marks on it and the area around the chip is questionable as well (see yellow arrows):
Hi-Res:
Low-Res: Any ideas on where to go from here? Is it worth proceeding?
I would say unless you find the firmware for that chip, probably not
After finding that damage on the chip and talking about it with KE4EST I think I'm gonna keep this for spare parts. The voltage regulators are already out and tested. I will pull and test the relays, etc and save them for future use. Thanks to all for your well wishes and input! 
I've never taken apart my C2WPLL, but seeing as how one side still works on yours, the lightning may have just blown the trace off where the F connector is soldered. A lot of stuff with F connectors, tuners, etc, have a squiggly trace on the circuit board right there at the solder point and it blows off before anything else gets whacked. Jump across it with a strand of wire and good to go, usually, when it's that.
I may just give that a try - definitely worth a shot!
Well, I removed the lnbf from the dish and opened it up this morning.
High Res: 
Low Res: 
I just bought these off of ebay to aid my poor near vision.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131558681505I saw the traces you mentioned . Raine but sadly they were both intact. You can't see it in the picture but using those glasses I did find that near the probe for the side that's not functioning a small wire appears to have been blown loose from a surface mount component (not sure what that component is but it's most likely fried).
I have no surface mount equipment although I've been looking at some. Only have my Dad's old Weller Expert 100W/140W soldering gun (which is a little heavy duty for the task) and a Radio Shack 64-2060B desoldering iron
but I will try to reattach the wire to see if it will function. If I fail, I can still use it as a single lnbf.
After finding that damage on the chip and talking about it with KE4EST I think I'm gonna keep this for spare parts. The voltage regulators are already out and tested. I will pull and test the relays, etc and save them for future use. Thanks to all for your well wishes and input!
FTA4PA,you could advertise it on Ebay as :
"VBox7 for fixed dish system.Guaranteed to hold position! "
Somebody would probably buy it.lmao
All jokes aside,sorry you lost it.
That's funny!FTA4PA,you could advertise it on Ebay as :
"VBox7 for fixed dish system.Guaranteed to hold position! "
Somebody would probably buy it.lmao
All jokes aside,sorry you lost it.
We do need to laugh when things like this happen!
I always told customers with lightning damage that I'd make a quick attempt but I wasn't going to waste a lot of time on it.
I did partially resurrect DSR922(4DTV) once,but I trashed the unit ID in the process.Still using it to move my Pinnacle and it'll get whatever "free" DCII is still there.
I did partially resurrect DSR922(4DTV) once,but I trashed the unit ID in the process.Still using it to move my Pinnacle and it'll get whatever "free" DCII is still there.
If you have a 20 to 30 watt pencil soldering iron it could be an easy fix....
but I will try to reattach the wire to see if it will function. If I fail, I can still use it as a single lnbf.
However, I have ruined 2 C2PLLs in modification attempts.
Both times, I was trying to shorten the length of the antenna wires for better performance around 4 GHz. By my calculation, they are about 1-2 mm too long to be 1/4 wavelength, especially the one in back. Before I could shorten the wires, I had to desolder the 2 feed wires in order to remove the circuit board from the LNBF. Both times, some extremely fine traces on the circuit board lifted up and rendered the units non-functional.
No such animal here - just not set up for doing any surface mount work (yet). The 45w Radio Shack has a hollow tip for solder removal so it definitely won't work. The Weller has a very thin tip, and that's what I'll have to use, but even at the low setting it will probably burn the traces right off the board.If you have a 20 to 30 watt pencil soldering iron it could be an easy fix.
However, I have ruined 2 C2PLLs in modification attempts.
Here is what you need to order: http://www.ebay.com/itm/WELLER-WLC1...482948?hash=item58b678a904:g:e0IAAOSwBw5XRUdd
Is there a number visible on the top of that smd component? I can't see in the picture, like you said, where it's burnt.
The iron like N6BY suggested and the one Ke4est posted a link to will work if you have decent eyesight and a steady hand. I wouldn't really recommend trying it with your Weller gun. For single smd component work, I'll usually just use my Hako station that's like the one Ke4est posted because I sold all my smd stations when I closed my repair shops years ago and went into the electronics recycling.
The small stuff like smd devices have been real hard for me the past few years though, my eyes have gotten really bad these past few years. Very frustrating, fresh out of trade school I worked repairing hearing aids under a microscope, then for years afterward worked in my own repair shops. Now I restore cars and my darn eyes are getting too bad for that even.
Lightning's a funny beast. When I owned my repair shops, I loved thunder storms rolling through our area, so much work would come in from them. Most stuff would be fixable, but sometimes it would just totally trash stuff or hit really odd areas and components. Back then though, stuff was a bit tougher than now.
On your V-Box, the chip that's burnt, you could try pulling it out of circuit and put the regulators back in circuit, see if your regulator voltages are normal then. But then I think Ke4est mentioned you'd have the problem of flashing a new chip, I think? But there may be a way for that. Course, it might be more than just that too. I plan on popping the cover off of one of my V Boxes soon so I can know the circuit better, never had to work on one of them yet. Check out that chip too, while I'm in there.
Too bad it wasn't just the trace in the LNB, that would've been nice and easy!
The iron like N6BY suggested and the one Ke4est posted a link to will work if you have decent eyesight and a steady hand. I wouldn't really recommend trying it with your Weller gun. For single smd component work, I'll usually just use my Hako station that's like the one Ke4est posted because I sold all my smd stations when I closed my repair shops years ago and went into the electronics recycling.
The small stuff like smd devices have been real hard for me the past few years though, my eyes have gotten really bad these past few years. Very frustrating, fresh out of trade school I worked repairing hearing aids under a microscope, then for years afterward worked in my own repair shops. Now I restore cars and my darn eyes are getting too bad for that even.
Lightning's a funny beast. When I owned my repair shops, I loved thunder storms rolling through our area, so much work would come in from them. Most stuff would be fixable, but sometimes it would just totally trash stuff or hit really odd areas and components. Back then though, stuff was a bit tougher than now.
On your V-Box, the chip that's burnt, you could try pulling it out of circuit and put the regulators back in circuit, see if your regulator voltages are normal then. But then I think Ke4est mentioned you'd have the problem of flashing a new chip, I think? But there may be a way for that. Course, it might be more than just that too. I plan on popping the cover off of one of my V Boxes soon so I can know the circuit better, never had to work on one of them yet. Check out that chip too, while I'm in there.
Too bad it wasn't just the trace in the LNB, that would've been nice and easy!
Over the past few years my near vision has become terrible. I can't see anything tiny like that without some kind of magnification, hence the reason I bought the glasses in post 51 above.Is there a number visible on the top of that smd component? I can't see in the picture, like you said, where it's burnt.
The iron like N6BY suggested and the one Ke4est posted a link to will work if you have decent eyesight and a steady hand. I wouldn't really recommend trying it with your Weller gun. For single smd component work, I'll usually just use my Hako station that's like the one Ke4est posted because I sold all my smd stations when I closed my repair shops years ago and went into the electronics recycling.
The small stuff like smd devices have been real hard for me the past few years though, my eyes have gotten really bad these past few years. Very frustrating, fresh out of trade school I worked repairing hearing aids under a microscope, then for years afterward worked in my own repair shops. Now I restore cars and my darn eyes are getting too bad for that even.
Lightning's a funny beast. When I owned my repair shops, I loved thunder storms rolling through our area, so much work would come in from them. Most stuff would be fixable, but sometimes it would just totally trash stuff or hit really odd areas and components. Back then though, stuff was a bit tougher than now.
On your V-Box, the chip that's burnt, you could try pulling it out of circuit and put the regulators back in circuit, see if your regulator voltages are normal then. But then I think Ke4est mentioned you'd have the problem of flashing a new chip, I think? But there may be a way for that. Course, it might be more than just that too. I plan on popping the cover off of one of my V Boxes soon so I can know the circuit better, never had to work on one of them yet. Check out that chip too, while I'm in there.
Too bad it wasn't just the trace in the LNB, that would've been nice and easy!
The SMD part you mentioned has some form of epoxy over it so I will have to remove that to see if there is a part number. As far as the Vbox7 goes I've decided to just use it for spare parts. Considering what I found (burn marks on ic pin/board) I don't really feel comfortable putting it back into service, especially considering the recent issues these have had. - Status
