# Refurbish DirecTivo



## Rhughes (Jan 14, 2001)

I bought two DSR708's, neither of which are very good cosmetically. One had no drive. I want to take the best parts from both to make one good one. I have a couple of questions.

1. What is the best way to wash really dirty circuit boards. I'm thinking liquid dish washing detergent in warm water with a paint brush. Then thorough rinsing and drying. These doesn't seem to be any components on the boards that would be hurt by water. Other ideas?

2. Any harm in removing and replacing the lithium battery? I assume the unit serial number, etc. are in non-volatile memory and won't be affected by taking the battery out. Correct?

3. Were there any significant differences over time in design of the DSR708? The cleanest of the two Tivo's was built in 2004. The other was built in 2005. Both power supplies seem to be the same rev number. Can't tell about the main boards. Don't know yet if either of the main boards is any good. Guess I will just have to build one up and try it out. I have a new, modified hard drive ready to go into whichever one I use.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

Search PC board cleaning.

The battery only keeps the clock. It will eventially get set when you set up.

There aren't any significant differences. Heck, there aren't any differences in all Series 2 D-TiVos to worry about, except the R10.


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## captain_video (Mar 1, 2002)

One thing you should keep in mind when using parts from different Tivos. The serial number and Tivo service number are tied to the mainboard so be careful to use the information that pertains specifically to the hardware you'll end up using. I'd recommend keeping the mainboard with the chassis you decide on and swap out the faceplate and any other components with the other DTivo, as necessary. This will ensure that the nameplate data matches the mainboard when you activate the unit.


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## Rhughes (Jan 14, 2001)

captain_video said:


> One thing you should keep in mind when using parts from different Tivos. The serial number and Tivo service number are tied to the mainboard so be careful to use the information that pertains specifically to the hardware you'll end up using. I'd recommend keeping the mainboard with the chassis you decide on and swap out the faceplate and any other components with the other DTivo, as necessary. This will ensure that the nameplate data matches the mainboard when you activate the unit.


Thanks. I did consider that. There is a good possibility that I will have to switch boards and chassis to get the best of the two. In that case, I will photocopy the label from the correct chassis, and tape it to the other chassis. Not the most elegant solution, but will have to do.


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## Rhughes (Jan 14, 2001)

I have to say that these TiVo's were designed to survive. I decided to just use liquid soap, warm water and a paint brush to thoroughly scrub the main board and power supply. Of course all the other parts got washed too. Then I rinsed them with fairly hot water and set them outside in the sun to dry out. Put it all back together and it actually works! I'm impressed.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Just FYI, when circuitboards are populated, one of the final steps is a cleaning process. They literally wash the circuitboards with soap and water (often the regular tap kind, not distilled or fancy processed water). This gets out all the flux and loose solderballs as well as any other processing grime. They also are scrubbed, then dried thoroughly. If you buy new electronic components like piezo speakers and such, they often have little pull tabs covering the sound hole - that's to keep the water and stuff from entering the device.

Just make sure there's no power flowing through the board when you do this - the ions can cause stray currents to flow that destroy electronic parts. Batteries tend to be OK though as most are too low a voltage to do anything bad. And of course, it can't be salt water. Fresh water only!


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