Scruit 0 Posted September 25, 2007 Is it common to get a DVR that is DOA right out of the box? My AverMedia EB1304-MB gave me "Checking HD" message on the screen and then turned into a paperweight. The dealer is sending me another one out today (charging me a second time too, until they get the DOA back). I have the worst luck, I tell you. Last year it was a Furnace motor dead out of the box. last month it was a set of rotors for my wife's car that were warped out of the box. I'm starting to get paranoid here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted September 25, 2007 If it got knocked around in shipping, the hard drive could have got damaged. Maybe just try changing the hard drive? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 25, 2007 If it got knocked around in shipping, the hard drive could have got damaged. Maybe just try changing the hard drive? It ships without a hard drive. I tried a couple different drives, and tried without a drive at all (It's hot swap so the DVR should display menu/cameras even without a hard drive installed.) Either way, nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lolo Wolf 0 Posted September 25, 2007 Curious, what was your powersource? Did you bench the unit or install in the auto? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 26, 2007 Curious, what was your powersource? Did you bench the unit or install in the auto? This was on the bench. Power source was an off-the shelf 12v power supply rated for 1.2 amps. One known good camera attached. Dip switches set to TV mode, OSD, NTSC. Output going to a TV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted September 26, 2007 Probably shot then .. make sure the power connector is getting proper contact on the board also .. anyway they are sending a new one so .. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BurstElement 0 Posted September 27, 2007 Did you use the keyswitch to lock the HDD in? The HDD won't work unless you lock it in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 27, 2007 Did you use the keyswitch to lock the HDD in?The HDD won't work unless you lock it in. Yes, I checked that. It said it was "Checking HD" which suggests that it was aware that the HD was there. After that it powered off. Now it's a paperweight. I tried it without the HD attached (drawer closed and locked - same thing. It's a hotswap hard drive so it should run (just not record) with no HD installed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
photys 0 Posted September 27, 2007 Scruit, just to confirm what you already know. When there is no hard drive, the EB series allows full access to all functions (except recording). It's a portable, vibration proof paperweight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 27, 2007 Scruit, just to confirm what you already know.When there is no hard drive, the EB series allows full access to all functions (except recording). It's a portable, vibration proof paperweight. I checked the hard drive before (used it in my prior DVR) and afterwards (plugged it into my computer) and it's fine. Checked the cameras bother before and after - they're fine. Power supply is fine too. I have no clue. Stuff happens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
photys 0 Posted September 27, 2007 Power source was an off-the shelf 12v power supply rated for 1.2 amps. Power supply supplied with the EB1304net is 4amp. Your camera would have drawn 0.3amp leaving 0.9amp for the unit. Whoever gave you the info that 1.2amps would be enough could be to blame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 27, 2007 Power source was an off-the shelf 12v power supply rated for 1.2 amps. Power supply supplied with the EB1304net is 4amp. Your camera would have drawn 0.3amp leaving 0.9amp for the unit. Whoever gave you the info that 1.2amps would be enough could be to blame. Needs 4amps max if it's passing power through to 4 cameras and a hard drive. Doesn't need 4 amps if it's just powering itself. The DVR alone consumes 520ma continuous current. Powering the DVR plus hard drive and one camera is 1.36a, and the camera was self-powered. When I was experimenting with my previous DVR over this last year and I discovered that the starter cranking would cause the DVR to reboot due to low voltage/current... It certainly didn't fry it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 28, 2007 Just to add... I plugged my old DVR into the same power/camera/hard drive as the DOA AverMedia unit. Worked great, no problems. Huh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
photys 0 Posted September 29, 2007 The DVR alone consumes 520ma continuous current. I was looking for those specs for my 1304net. Still waiting for the Avermedia rep to reply. Can you post me a link? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted September 29, 2007 http://support.aver.com/faq.php?categoryid=5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RickA 0 Posted October 1, 2007 If I am reading the info right you need 1.3 amps to start that dvr without the harddrive and 1.2 is not going to do it, you need a larger Transformer for that DVR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted October 1, 2007 Finalized all the camera and power wiring in my car for the DVR. I plugged in my old DVR instead to make sure everything was working OK - everything great. Sees the camera, records, plays back etc. No problems. Powe is a switched ignition 12v source. Plugged in the EB1304-MOB. Behaves exactly the same as it did on the bench. It's not voltage or current. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted October 3, 2007 (edited) Wish me luck... The replacement DVR is here and I am installing it... Step 1: No HD or cameras - just connected power and video out so I could configure date/time etc. No problems so far. Power is connected to the car battery. Step 2: Installing hard drive, one from the recommended HD list. No problems. Hard drive formatted ok. Step 3: Power up cameras etc via the power pass-through... Er... Well.. It's late and I don't have the time or energy to install the 5A inline fuse, so I'm gonna pack it away tonight and come back to it tomorrow. I don't want to start going gung-ho with only the 15Am cig lighter fuse on it. Edited October 3, 2007 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted October 3, 2007 Why a Car Battery? Maybe thats what fried it last time? Im hoping this time its at least connected to an AVR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted October 3, 2007 Why a Car Battery? Maybe thats what fried it last time? Im hoping this time its at least connected to an AVR A car battery, becuase it's a mobile DVR and the instructions say connect it to the car battery. Tech support said conencting to a switched ignition source is ok, but needs fuse to protect from spikes. So far I've not had the engine running, so the voltage was 12.34v. I want the voltage regulator and fuse in place before I fire up the engine with theis thing attached. I actually have a 5A 12v voltage regulator that I'm going to put a 5A fuse on inline with, and the output from the voltage regulator will be the input to the DVR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted October 3, 2007 ok, sorry didn't realize it was a portable DVR .. my bad Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scruit 0 Posted October 3, 2007 ok, sorry didn't realize it was a portable DVR .. my bad No problem at all. I'm desperately trying to figure out if it was me that burned up the last DVR because if it was, and I do the same thing again, then I'm only gonna wind up burning this one up too. For the life of me I simply cannot figure it out. I plugged in another DVR in it's place and that one worked fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
