# Bolt heat issue with OTA coax cable



## Nana93 (Jan 21, 2016)

Grandma need help!
I'm using Bolt with HD Anntenna, so far everything looks fine except very hot Bolt's coax cable connector...Is this normal? or How can I fix it?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Nana93 said:


> Grandma need help!
> I'm using Bolt with HD Anntenna, so far everything looks fine except very hot Bolt's coax cable connector...Is this normal? or How can I fix it?


One person's very hot is another person's warm. The coax connector has always been a hot spot. If it's_ really_ hot, there may be a problem. But if all your channels look good, get a fan. I use one with my Mini.

Also on the third page of System Information, your MBT (motherboard temp) is shown in C. A temp of 40C is good.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Nana93 said:


> Grandma need help!
> I'm using Bolt with HD Anntenna, so far everything looks fine except very hot Bolt's coax cable connector...Is this normal? or How can I fix it?


Does your antenna have to use a power supply of its own?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

How hot are we talking about here? If it's too hot to touch without burning yourself, then there is a problem. If you can grab it and hold onto it without burning yourself, then it's probably fine and I wouldn't worry about it.


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## alleybj (Dec 6, 2000)

tarheelblue32 said:


> How hot are we talking about here? If it's too hot to touch without burning yourself, then there is a problem. If you can grab it and hold onto it without burning yourself, then it's probably fine and I wouldn't worry about it.


 What if it's not so hot that you can't touch it, but if you keep your fingers on it for more than a few seconds it starts to become uncomfortable? Is that normal? I don't see the motherboard temperature in system information. Is it supposed to be there? Thanks


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

alleybj said:


> What if it's not so hot that you can't touch it, but if you keep your fingers on it for more than a few seconds it starts to become uncomfortable? Is that normal? I don't see the motherboard temperature in system information. Is it supposed to be there? Thanks


http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10852657#post10852657

It is in C for a Roamio. I think it's in F for a Bolt.


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## alleybj (Dec 6, 2000)

JoeKustra said:


> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10852657#post10852657
> 
> It is in C for a Roamio. I think it's in F for a Bolt.


Thanks. ODT is 70. Is that normal. So, do Bolts naturally run hot to the touch? Or is mine defective? My Roamio is cool as a cucumber. Thanks


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## eric102 (Oct 31, 2012)

alleybj said:


> What if it's not so hot that you can't touch it, but if you keep your fingers on it for more than a few seconds it starts to become uncomfortable? Is that normal? I don't see the motherboard temperature in system information. Is it supposed to be there? Thanks


My coax connector used to run very hot also but once I took the Bolt off the shelf it was sitting on and leaned it against a wall so the underside is exposed to unlimited fresh air the connector is now cool to the touch and the ODT is 52.

Also the case is cool to only slightly warm where as it used to be very hot in spots.


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## alleybj (Dec 6, 2000)

eric102 said:


> My coax connector used to run very hot also but once I took the Bolt off the shelf it was sitting on and leaned it against a wall so the underside is exposed to unlimited fresh air the connector is now cool to the touch and the ODT is 52.
> 
> Also the case is cool to only slightly warm where as it used to be very hot in spots.


Thanks. Would it be ok to turn it upside down?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

alleybj said:


> Thanks. Would it be ok to turn it upside down?


Not while running. Put it in Standby and then power off first. It will be curious to see what effect there is on the temperature.

I don't know what the ODT measures, but 50 would be hard to explain. My Mini is almost 50C without a fan.

My basic Roamio boxes are warm-ish at the RF connection.


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## alleybj (Dec 6, 2000)

Also, I hear no fan noise at all. I've heard some complain that the fan is loud. Could mine be broken?


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

70 ODT is warm but in normal range for a Bolt. Atlanta is hot, so that's not unusual. 

My cable has always been on that edge between warm and hot after a few seconds. I don't think it's a problem.


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## eric102 (Oct 31, 2012)

alleybj said:


> Also, I hear no fan noise at all. I've heard some complain that the fan is loud. Could mine be broken?


You should hear some fan noise.


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## alleybj (Dec 6, 2000)

So, is the consensus that the Bolt runs warm to very warm to the touch, as opposed to the Roamio?


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

My new Bolt is very hot to the touch, and reports an ODT of 74. The fan is running, but hardly pushing any air. I'm not so that this new "distinctive, arched design" is serving as a "clever cooling system" as advertised.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

windracer said:


> My new Bolt is very hot to the touch, and reports an ODT of 74. The fan is running, but hardly pushing any air. I'm not so that this new "distinctive, arched design" is serving as a "clever cooling system" as advertised.


That seems very hot. My two bolts typically run in the upper 50's to low 60's(57C to 63C). The only time they will get up to 70C is when transcoding content and streaming it to a device. And both of my Bolts have 4TB drives in them.


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## i2k (Apr 3, 2008)

Tested mine with a temp gun on the antenna input -- 33.9C.


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## aspexil (Oct 16, 2015)

So high temperatures may be the way it is for OTA antennas into devices with multiple tuners? I noticed the warmer than I'd like temp on my Bolt's connector too. I'm also beta testing a multi-tuner device and felt the connector on that device and it too is warm. So I'm wondering if multi-tuner devices run hotter on the antenna coax connector? I don't have any other devices like Tablo or ChannelMaster to compare to. But so far I'm 2 for 2 on warm temp on the coax connector.


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

windracer said:


> My new Bolt is very hot to the touch, and reports an ODT of 74. The fan is running, but hardly pushing any air. I'm not so that this new "distinctive, arched design" is serving as a "clever cooling system" as advertised.


 People with the 4 tuner Romaio have reported this warm/hot coax issue also. There is a lot of equipment that runs warm these days, some streaming boxes and blu-ray players can get very warm and don't have fans. An extra fan never hurts if only for your peace of mind. Back in the day, I remember people using whisper fans to circulate air around their two channel equipment.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

tenthplanet said:


> People with the 4 tuner Romaio have reported this warm/hot coax issue also. There is a lot of equipment that runs warm these days, some streaming boxes and blu-ray players can get very warm and don't have fans. An extra fan never hurts if only for your peace of mind. Back in the day, I remember people using whisper fans to circulate air around their two channel equipment.


Good idea ... I think I still have a USB-powered fan somewhere I can try and see what effect that will have.


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## bzt8fs (Apr 6, 2012)

Just to share another data point. New Bolt+. Sitting out in the open and been running for about a week now. Room temp is ~73°F.
Coax connector is ~93°F.
Top of the case in the middle, in line with the coax connector is ~122°F.
ODT reports ~66°C (151°F). Fan sounds like it's running, but slowly, not in high-speed mode.
This is in idle, not transcoding or anything, I haven't run those numbers yet.
While they consider this "normal" it is much hotter than previous generations. To me, the case is way too hot, I'll be adding an external fan.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

bzt8fs said:


> Just to share another data point. New Bolt+. Sitting out in the open and been running for about a week now. Room temp is ~73°F.
> Coax connector is ~93°F.
> Top of the case in the middle, in line with the coax connector is ~122°F.
> ODT reports ~66°C (151°F). Fan sounds like it's running, but slowly, not in high-speed mode.
> ...


Tuners aren't especially known for running hot, because the currents involved aren't all that great.

I'd be tempted to check your incoming co-ax for some stray AC or DC that's finding a conductive path inside the TiVo.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

unitron said:


> Tuners aren't especially known for running hot, because the currents involved aren't all that great.
> 
> I'd be tempted to check your incoming co-ax for some stray AC or DC that's finding a conductive path inside the TiVo.


I agree with your logic, but on my basic Roamio, the (very) warmest location is the corner of the box with the RF connector. My motherboard temperature is 37C in a 72F room.


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## cybergrimes (Jun 15, 2015)

I put an $8 USB powered laptop cooling pad under my Bolt, lowered the ODT from a constant 63 to a range of 53-55.

I've seen enough devices with hot coax inputs that I wouldn't consider it abnormal if a bit hot. The exception being the short lived & ill executed Boxee TV that would get so hot you couldn't touch it. That was awful.

Here's the pad I found at local Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Onn-Laptop-Cooling-Pad/47891427


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