Leave STB Powered Up In Cold Weather?

[Cosmo Blatz]

I haven't turned off the Mini HD SE since late November. (It did lock up once and need a restart.) My theory is that it is better to leave things turned on than 'shock' the Stab electronics and LNBF to life when it's cold. (HIGH temp today will be about 2 degrees F.) True, LNBF's are cheap to replace, but it just seems like keeping the system powered up is the right thing to do. And yes, the LNBF is a PLL so stability is not an issue like in the 'old days'.
Anybody else leave their STB on all the time?

 

[primestar31]

I leave mine on all the time. However, I believe most boxes power the lnb's 24/7 even if they are turned off.

 

[Magic Static]

My LNBs are powered separately 24/7/365

 

[KE4EST]

Yep same here I never shut off my boxes, I never even use standby. I can't see that much difference in power conversation. If I was living in a RV or solar power yes it would probably make a difference.

 

[migold]

Mine are on 24/7

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

I leave mine on all the time. However, I believe most boxes power the lnb's 24/7 even if they are turned off.

Just checked to verify. Amiko HD SE - In power off (actually standby mode) the LNBF is not powered. It's a good thing because that's the mode I've been using when connecting/disconnecting the components!

 

[FaT Air]

Rarely powered down to 'mess with LNBF's or switches., The S9 Openbox was (and still is) powered ON 24/7/365.
And the GBox shuts down automatically, because LNB poer is 'lost', when the connected receiver is in standby.
Still programming the mini HD SE, and it will also be ON forever (unless a LNBF or switch re-work)
BTW so is the Pansat 3500, ON 24/7/365.
If using a diseqc switch, only the selected LNBF is powered.

 

[Lone Gunman]

ALL of my systems are powered off at the power strip when not in use. I turn off the power strip on computers when not in use also. I've done this with my systems since I stopped using that GI920 receiver I have 4 or 5 years ago and I've never seen any problems to date except for lightning strikes taking out a few LNBFs during the summer months.

It's said that power consumption when they are not in use isn't that much but my thinking is that a dollar saved is a dollar earned especially when you're on a fixed income.

 

[Mr Tony]

I was the opposite and turned mine off when not in use. And it could get to -25 or -30F at night and no issues with LNB. Had the same one up there for 3 or 4 years (until I swapped it out with the GeoSatPro when that came out)

 

[fred555]

I leave everything powered on 24/7.
I figure coal miners, power plant workers and lineman all need to eat too.

 

[lost_mesa]

I live off grid, so everything is on power strips. Some days I may power up my sat gear 2 or 3 times a day. Sometimes it's off for a week. This has never caused any problems with the equipment. I do have to set the clock if I want to record something, but I don't do much recording.

BITD, when I had a subscribed 4DTV, I'd miss getting a hit 2 or 3 times a year, so would have to phone in for one.

 

[Cham]

Always leave my sat receivers powered up, the extra heat they develop helps heat the house. (please disregard the wattage lost on the LNBs and motor(s) outside)
Having said that, I do have one system that isn't powered most of the time. It fires up along with the TV when I switch the power bar on. Has always worked perfectly. Powered it up earlier this am and watched the news for a few minutes. It's a uHD, diseqc switch, 22KHz switches, and several C and Ku LNBFs.

Works whether it is +40C or -40C outside.

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

Just for kicks, I put an ac watt meter on the Amiko Mini HD SE for 18 hours.
Total power consumed was 0.11 KW. Since the meter does not read thousandths of a KW, I rounded up to 0.12 KW.
Computed out, that comes to 0.16 KW for 24 hours. Electricity costs 14 cents per Kilowatt/hour here.
The cost to power the STB is approximately 2.2 cents per day. (Includes some use of the Stab 90.)

 

[harshness]

For equipment that uses single or double-sided printed circuit boards it probably isn't that big a deal. If you were talking about something like the receiver that has multiple layer boards with lead-throughs and wave soldered components, you have to limit the shock on that kind of stuff.