odd ballz

My supplier said no to a fan, as they were designed to be used in air conditioned areas. As I use one in a shed, it got "ouch thats HOT" so on the advice of my supplier I got a fan off ebay from the computer section, it needs to be 40mm x 40mm x 10mm, go for the lowest ampege model you can find, mine were 0.12A the connection is a standard 3 pin fan connector and is easy to find inside the box. Thanks JungleJim! I see the value added for a fan; and certainly understand why we should be keeping our units in a controlled environment. I will probably try hooking up another HDD to the unit, even though it was built for 1 HDD. Per the firmware, it seems I can reach up to 4 devices (2 Masters, 2 Slaves). So this fan will certainly help if I am successful. Thanks again.

Scorpion, I agree... we are all professionals, and we have jobs... how else can I afford this "hobby". Ok, so it's not really a "hobby". It certainly is intended to be a surveillance system while we are away from our residence. Yes, I really do want to know, for the family's sake and mine, if we are being staked out by "future" criminals or nosy neighbors. And why else would I be on this forum if not for your posts. Yes, you. I read a lot of your posts, and was hoping to "pick your brain" for some hints. You asked in a previous post #2, "What did the manual say?" Well, it listed some very very old IDE drives... and it said "Master"... so is the goal to research and purchase antiquated technology to satisfy a manual written ages ago? The answer is "I hope not." Would you believe my first stop was google, yahoo, and so on? Maybe you were more specific on your data mining... but seriously, have you read the things google finds? It's horrible...except for one thing... this forum and its users. Yes, I did find scorpiontheater and it was wonderful! Hence, I refer back to you. Perhaps other forums exist, that I've yet to uncover... but that is for another day. So what's the big deal, right? I expressed in one of my posts that I would contact the vendor on Monday. Well, problem solved, now to the next tech challenge. As for my problem... I don't know how many of you experienced the pain in getting the unit to recognize the HDD... probably a few? maybe some? I searched... but couldn't uncover my answer. I use the term "noob" only because, well, I'm new to this. If everyone interrupts "noob" as "idiot", then perhaps I used the wrong term. I've been using electronics for decades... but this is the first time I've ventured into this arena, and frankly speaking, I love it. If I got everyone a bit ticked off, then I apologize. My opinion was to get us (all of us) talking, and sharing ideas. Just because one idea works with one unit... who says it doesn't with another. Is this expensive? Sure is... no doubt. But I'm the type of engineer who will test the limits within reason of my unit i.e. perhaps run 2 HDDs when my unit is made for 1; though the firmware shows 4 devices can be used... USB drive... fan... CD/DVD burner... These are all ideas, and everyone has limitations. I asked about a fan... response: be cautious... could burn out your PS board. I haven't contacted AvTech directly yet, but it's in the works. If anyone knows the limitations, they should... will they share? It depends. I see from the forum (or google search) that people have gotten very quick responses. I believe if we have something to say, and it can benefit others... then let it ring. I never intended to "slam" anyone... and I plan to keep it that way. If I have nothing good to say, then I should keep it too myself. I've learned the hard way in the corporate world... and I certainly don't want others to follow that same path. It's economically unsuitable. And with economies struggling at best now... it isn't the time or place. I appreciate everyone reading this forum, and especially those like scorpion who are willing to express their opinions and offer help when they can. After all, if it wasn't for you, I would probably be elsewhere. I don't mean to leave others out. Thanks, and I look forward to contributing here to help others, Odd Ballz

New Update: Well, as I experiment as a noob, I've validated that Seagate drives when the jumper is set to CS (cable select) will work. Western Digital requires CS. Hitachi = I don't know?; Maxtor = I don't know?; Others... I would presume Cable Select IS the way to go, and the AV-760M does label it as MASTER-HDD-1. If you are having problems when you upgrade your HDD, then may I suggest you try CS first... before trying anything else. I would imagine it will be the same on all DVR units. I also see that newer 16MB cache drives also work. When I get a chance, I'll do another test, and publish my results. If someone has successfully done this with the AV760, then we want to hear about it! Also, if anyone has used a SATA-IDE adaptor to get SATA drives working, then that is news we want to hear. Odd Ballz

Joe, if logic applies... the security feature is intentional. Why would you want a criminal to just "shut down" your recorder... ok, that doesn't make sense... because odds are they are going to unplug it, or as a criminal, steal your unit. But what happens if your kids get to the box, and try to shut it off... oops... it doesn't work... and of course, if they physically unplug it, then someone is going to get a bottom beating. So it auto recovers, and yes, I guess it would. I've been abusing my unit, by shutting it hard off with the physical plug... and it seems to keep alive. Now, that I've got the HDD recognized, there is no need for that thanks to you and others. Good luck, Odd Ballz

Joe, I probably would not have pursued going to test with SLAVE or CS cable select since I confirmed my DVR worked with Seagate, but since you gave me the idea... I did it anyway. Would you believe it WORKED!!! I'm really excited about this. Oh, when I formatted it with Clear HDD on the DVR... like others have confirmed before, it no longer is recognizable on the PC as anything immediately useful. It does register as UNKNOWN disk drive with Computer Management/Disk Management in Windows XP... so salvaging a drive later for PC use can happen. Thanks Joe!

Hi all, Unless someone corrects me, I'll make a bold statement that the "blink red LED1" on the main circuit board is normal. I've got the unit up and running for as perfect as I can for now... and it is still there. I would guess it is a security warning... or a "hey dummy, there is live power here" sign. Any experts can explain the LED1? Thanks, Odd Ballz

Ok Joe, you've helped me out. I'll answer your on/off question next, and yes it is confirmed. Update: I've got the HDD working! Hurrah for the ideas that got me to Step 2... yes, Step 2... I have so much more to learn. I am using a 200GB IDE Seagate, STM3200820A... and yes, it recognizes it. Now, I'm going to listen to Joe and switch to CS and see if that resolves the Western Digital problem. I did change the IDE ribbon cable with another one, but seriously, I doubt that was the problem. As for formatting, I used Windows XP and an IDE-USB adaptor for "initializing" it with Disk Management. I did NOT use Windows to format. I followed the steps until it asked me to format, and I said "no". I went to dos prompt using the "cmd" command, and ran "fat32format :"... no special clusters or anything... keep it simple son (KiSS) method usually works when you are in an unknown state. And that was it. Joe, did you enter your password when you try to shut down the unit? You must have a video (whether console, or internet). I use firefox or internet explorer. I type "192.168.1.10" and log in to my unit. I see everything my console sees live. I hold the Power button for 5 secs until I see a prompt on my monitor asking for Password. Since I left it default, it is 0000. So I hit the "enter" button on the firefox window (not physical keyboard), and after 4 hits, I get a "power down... please wait" message. Does that work? Thanks to all, Odd Ballz

I really like this post. It has potential since IDE HDDs are becoming more scarce while SATA is living and breathing, at least for now. What SATA to IDE devices are people using successfully in DVRs? We could build this message with successes, and post as a sticky for others to follow. It would be great to have a diagram on their device install/layout as a 1-2-3 guide. Ideas? I was thinking about going SATA, but for know... my problems are with IDE. Thanks for listening. Odd Ballz

Hi scopion, Thanks. Here's my concern with this unit. 1. I know of 2 units suffering exactly, and I do mean exactly the same problem. So I am ruling out that they are bad units... they could be... but are the odds really that good that they are. I can replace the IDE cables, and the power supply can be measured with a multimeter, the P/S connector is molded, and the HDD does spin up. 2. From the forum, it seems many people are just "plug and playing" IDE drives with success... if true, could I get some Make and Models of those using with AV760? I want to learn as a noob, but why recreate the wheel? If you don't mind sharing, I really want to know. 3. I've been building computers for about 15 years. I look at these units as portable, yet proprietary video recorders (without the full functioning computer), and if so, then am I only limited by this "darn" firmware... what's up with updates... the box claims it can handle over 500GB, but if so, then the firmware would have been updated? Can I hear from you experts and novices, and what IDE drives you are using? The vendor is closed till tomorrow, but I'd really love to start playing with this unit. Next step, is to get this on the net/email/ftp/alerts. Please help. Odd Ballz P.S. Here's what I'm going to do for testing: try the current IDE HDD as SLAVE; next, replace IDE cable: repeat, and then MASTER and cable select; measure voltage out of P/S connector; and finally try another IDE HDD.

Hi Davec, I tried your recommendation. And the system reports No HDD, and an OK button. I guess my #1 challenge is for the HD to be recognized. Does it matter that I formatted it with fat32format? and I set clusters to -c128 (64k bytes)? Thanks, Odd Ballz

Hi Kiwi, Thanks. I held the Power button for 5 secs, and then on my monitor it asks for a Password. Of the 4 units, it displays only 1 unit at a time. Since it showed "0", I just hit enter... and kept hitting enter until all 4 digits were done. Next message was Shutting down... please wait. And yes, it went back to the shipping status with a red led on front for power. Thanks much, still struggling with my other problem: No HDD. Cheers, Odd Ballz

I have not changed any passwords. Would it be: 0000 (zeros), or "admin"?