Teardown video/photos of Hopper 3 or similar receivers

[Universe93B]

Anyone have any good Hopper 3 teardown videos or photos of what the insides look like for a curious engineering/science mind? Or a similar satellite receiver is good also. Even though I'm not an engineer or mechanic, I always like to learn how things work.

Might as well learn about the device that is on 16 hours a day in my house!

 

[navychop]

It runs on magic smoke kept tightly in these little black boxes held tightly to a circus board. They don’t like for light to be let in by removing the cover.

So long as it works, and you don’t see the magic smoke escaping, it’ll be just fine.

 

[NYDutch]

Navy basically has it right. About the only recognizable devices under the hood are the hard drive and cooling fan, along with a bunch of chips and supporting resistors, capacitors, etc. Trying to trace out who does what is an exercise in futility lacking any schematics and appropriate chip identification data.

 

[Bobby]

Here ya go:

Inside the Dish Network Hopper 2 With Sling Satellite Receiver!!!

These Satellite Receiver Run Hot and Are Dust Magnets… Spring Cleaning! All Dusted Out… HDD 2TB Under The HDD Close Up Of the Power Supply Board.

www.stevenrhine.com

 

[Universe93B]

^
Yup, that's what I was looking for. I guess all the chips and processors will remain a mystery, but my brother is an electrical engineer so can ask about some possibilities.

 

[cpdretired]

So where is this going. Why is the new three day member so interested in the receiver. Hacking possible????

 

[Universe93B]

So where is this going. Why is the new three day member so interested in the receiver. Hacking possible????

Yep, sure. Hacking the receiver so I can then get the Top 250, perhaps more extras and communicate with the Echostar satellites.

 

[Bobby]

Yep, sure. Hacking the receiver so I can then get the Top 250, perhaps more extras and communicate with the Echostar satellites.

If you are being truthful you are out of here. Hacking discussion is not allowed on this site.

 

[Universe93B]

If you are being truthful you are out of here. Hacking discussion is not allowed on this site.

Well frankly, cpdretired started the joking matter, or was it? Why accuse someone who is curious on how things work/interested in engineering of "hacking" just because they are a "3 day old member?"

 

[TheKrell]

I hear you. I had a college roommate (many years ago) who bought a Revox just so he could take it apart and admire it's engineering.

 

[cpdretired]

Yep, sure. Hacking the receiver so I can then get the Top 250, perhaps more extras and communicate with the Echostar satellites.

This is a very strange request for a new member. In the twenty years that I have been in this forum I don’t ever recall a question like this from a new member.

 

[Universe93B]

This is a very strange request for a new member.

Perhaps to you. But I don’t blindly go about the world and not worry about how things work. Always been like that - I’m not a car mechanic, but learn how different parts of a car work. It’s interesting to learn how a tv displays its image. Or how a HDD writes and reads. Or how electromagnetic waves transmit information all across this planet.

I suggest you also take interest in how the human body works - it will be helpful as you age.

And I’ve been lurking on this site for a long time, but only recently made an account.

 

[Strega]

It’s interesting that I can find way more interior pictures and videos on the web of a VCR that I had in 1985 than of the Hopper 3.

I suppose that's partly because VCRs are really complex beasts and you really do find a bunch of interesting stuff going on when you take the cover off. As things get more and more digital/solid-state, there's just less to look at, I guess.

 

[Universe93B]

Here's a great teardown video I found of the Dish receiver 811 (Bell model) but that's so old.

But in contrast to what cpdretired said, it's not about hacking - it's about learning the engineering and science of it and you can see this guy is enthusiastic and trying to see how everything works together. He has good diagrams of what chips/processors he finds and what they do. Great video!



Inside a 20 year old HD Satellite Receiver

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9r4_uiNjrk&t=121s

 

[TheKrell]

This is a very strange request for a new member. In the twenty years that I have been in this forum I don’t ever recall a question like this from a new member.

The descriptive phrase that applies here is "typically exotic". We are all typically exotic around here. Just look at our backgrounds; what a bunch! I'm an electronics hobbyist, though that's not my education. Even though I haven't built anything in 20 years, I sure did before (went nuts when SSI's were invented) and I still like to know how things work.

 

[Strega]

This thread got my brain going on tangents and I ended up reading about mercury delay memory (picture from Wikipedia of mercury memory from the UNIVAC 1)

From Wikipedia: “Other technical drawbacks of mercury included its weight, its cost, and its toxicity. Moreover, to get the acoustic impedances to match as closely as possible, the mercury had to be kept at a constant temperature. The system heated the mercury to a uniform above-room temperature setting of 40 °C (104 °F), which made servicing the tubes hot and uncomfortable work.”

 

[Altitudinous]

I own a Hopper 3 and was thinking about opening it up and sending a few pictures, but then I wondered what is preventing Universe93B from taking out the 4 or so screws from the back and sliding off the cover to take a look. The only factory tamper seal is between the hard drive and its mounting rack.

 

[Szumi]

I fondly remember the days of dishrip and my 501.

 

[Universe93B]

I own a Hopper 3 and was thinking about opening it up and sending a few pictures, but then I wondered what is preventing Universe93B from taking out the 4 or so screws from the back and sliding off the cover to take a look. The only factory tamper seal is between the hard drive and its mounting rack.

Sure. Just thought I’d ask first because usually, you can find most things on the internet if you search or are in the right place. And what great to search or ask than on a Satellite dish Internet forum!

 

[Altitudinous]

Sure. Just thought I’d ask first because usually, you can find most things on the internet if you search or are in the right place. And what great to search or ask than on a Satellite dish Internet forum!

Wasn't trying to be a wiseguy, just encouraging the exploration. I ran some Googleage on it and came up empty as well!

If you want to be prepared for the hard drive failure (I've had two), read the messages that include the term ST2000VM003, seemingly the only hard drive supported by the H3, even though that drive came out in 2012. Or instead of owning the box and replacing the hard drive, others will suggest to just deal with the downtime and return your leased H3 box and wait for the new one to be sent.