# Hot weather and TiVo



## Furball (Dec 6, 2001)

Cant see anything else on the forum about this, so I was just wondering how everybodys TiVos are coping with this heat wave  

Mines up at 45C today  hottest I've ever seen it , question is when will it go poof or is it time to unplug and leave him off during the hottest part of the day ??

Fur


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## Hunty (Nov 6, 2001)

Just checked mine its at 49c  i hope the fan works


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

42C here.


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## leemcg (Nov 9, 2003)

Mine's in a cupboard along with my other AV which I really, really keep meaning to find a way to ventilate without spoiling the asthetics. But it's working just fine... 

Currently reporting 48C, although was 49 when it sent out the daily email at 7:20 this morning.

I did get nervous the other day and left the cupboard doors open all night with the room's air conditioning on, but generally there seem to be no problems.

Welll - not quite true: there is one - the sticky pad that keeps the IR output in place on my Sky box had melted this morning and fallen off! I haven't checked my recordings from the last day or so, but I fear the worst.

Lee


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## swuk (Jan 19, 2004)

42C on mine at the weekend. And as I had to replace the disc, I've left the cover open a crack anyway in the meantime. It still reported 42 as 'normal' though. Anyone seen anything other than 'normal'?


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

Tivo One (at floor level) 40C
Tivo Two (3 foot above floor level) 43C


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

44C for mine.


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

47C for me - my Tivo is in a big cabinet with amp, scorchingly hot cable box and a variety of other big shiny boxes. The back is completely open but there isn't a whole lot of air flowing.
My cable box is more likely to die before the Tivo (based on previous experience) but I still wonder...


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## aitcheff (Mar 23, 2003)

Both of mine are 42. I'm a bit surprised that they are exactly the same temperature as they are in totally different parts of the house - one in a sweltering room and the other quite cool. Also different size disks in each.


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

38 and 39 at the mo


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

Aww, I thought I had the coolest TiVo around coming in at 39 - but ozsat beat me to it!

Has anyone ever had their TiVo shut down on them because it's too hot? I think there's a procedure that kicks in place if the internal temperature gets too hot. TiVo has an internal message for such a scenario - you can see it as the last but one image in this gallery.


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

I wonder what temp that would be ?


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

IIRC a previous version of the system sofware controlled the fan dynamically to keep the temperature down but the 2.5.5 release set a fixed speed. I also vaguely remember someone posting some experiments on the over heat protection with Tivo merrily reporting "75C - normal" or something similar!


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

44 (the one on top) & 38. 

Do I get joint 1st place for my 38 or must I average it?


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

blindlemon said:


> 44 (the one on top) & 38.
> 
> Do I get joint 1st place for my 38 or must I average it?


No.

As moderator, I enforce the rule that it is the first one to be lowest is the winner


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## leemcg (Nov 9, 2003)

Just checked mine again - has now hit 50!


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## bigwold (Jun 4, 2003)

Evening dailymails showing 
'_TiVo temperature is 46C / 114.8F (Starting to run hot! Watch it!)_'
'_'TiVo temperature is 48C / 118.4F (Starting to run hot! Watch it!)_' with an associated warning message of _'WARNING: The TiVo temperature is at high levels - currently 48C / 118.4F !_' but it is 31C in here!

Perhaps the prize shouldn't be for the lowest absolute temperature but for the lowest relative to the ambient temperature?


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## katman (Jun 4, 2002)

47C here 

Still running a lot cooler than the PC though!!!!


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

Living Room
Current Temperature: 39C 
Software System: 2.5.5a-01-1-023 
Remote Address 
Uptime 11d 6h 02m 11s 

Bedroom
Current Temperature: 46C 
Software System: 2.5.5a-01-1-023 
Remote Address 
Uptime 60d 22h 26m 50s 

Kitchen
Current Temperature: 42C 
Software System: 2.5.5a-01-1-023 
Remote Address 
Uptime 115d 5h 06m 25s 

Automan.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Oh don't start with uptimes  That's a whole other thread


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Well, I have just checked my log (Have a cron running logging the temp every few minutes, and it is ok!!)..

Here is a cut and paste of the last 24 hours..

Interesting, as the Xbox 360 sits under it in the cupboard and my Son was playing on it at 7am, it makes the tivo heat up a few degrees.

_
Wed Jul 19 06:02:55 localtime 2006 : 41C
Wed Jul 19 06:07:55 localtime 2006 : 41C
Wed Jul 19 06:12:56 localtime 2006 : 41C
Wed Jul 19 06:17:57 localtime 2006 : 42C
Wed Jul 19 06:22:57 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 06:27:58 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 06:32:59 localtime 2006 : 44C
Wed Jul 19 06:37:59 localtime 2006 : 45C
Wed Jul 19 06:43:00 localtime 2006 : 45C
Wed Jul 19 06:48:01 localtime 2006 : 45C
Wed Jul 19 06:53:01 localtime 2006 : 46C
Wed Jul 19 06:58:02 localtime 2006 : 46C
Wed Jul 19 07:03:03 localtime 2006 : 47C
Wed Jul 19 07:08:05 localtime 2006 : 47C
Wed Jul 19 07:13:06 localtime 2006 : 48C
Wed Jul 19 07:18:07 localtime 2006 : 47C
Wed Jul 19 07:23:08 localtime 2006 : 48C
Wed Jul 19 07:28:09 localtime 2006 : 47C
Wed Jul 19 07:33:10 localtime 2006 : 46C
Wed Jul 19 07:38:11 localtime 2006 : 46C
Wed Jul 19 07:43:12 localtime 2006 : 46C
Wed Jul 19 07:48:13 localtime 2006 : 45C
Wed Jul 19 07:53:13 localtime 2006 : 45C
Wed Jul 19 07:58:14 localtime 2006 : 44C
Wed Jul 19 08:03:15 localtime 2006 : 44C
Wed Jul 19 08:08:15 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 08:13:16 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 08:18:17 localtime 2006 : 44C
Wed Jul 19 08:23:17 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 08:28:18 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 19:07:52 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 19:12:53 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 19:17:54 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 19:22:54 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 19:27:55 localtime 2006 : 43C
Wed Jul 19 19:32:56 localtime 2006 : 44C
_


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

It is not a heat wave. It is a few days of hot weather during the summer. Shock horror.

Err, TiVo running fine, as always.


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

davisa said:


> It is not a heat wave. It is a few days of hot weather during the summer. Shock horror.


The Met Office are the ones who decide whether it is a heatwave. 
According to *this page*, they say it is.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

davisa said:


> It is not a heat wave. It is a few days of hot weather during the summer.


See Wikipedia.

TiVo currently running at 47C.


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

ericd121 said:


> The Met Office are the ones who decide whether it is a heatwave.
> According to *this page*, they say it is.


"The reason for the heatwave is a prolonged period of very settled weather".

Which we just haven't had. Three days of sun isn't a 'prolonged period' in my book, so I'll continue to stick my head in the sand if you don't mind


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## richw (Jul 27, 2002)

Am I the only person sad enough to graph the temperature of my TiVo?

http://batfink.kill-9.org.uk/mrtg/tivotemp.html


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

davisa said:


> "The reason for the heatwave is a prolonged period of very settled weather".
> 
> Which we just haven't had.


That sentence gives the reason for why the heatwave *has occurred*; it isn't a definition of the term. 
The fact that you disagree with that reason doesn't deny that a heatwave has happened (in Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire  ).


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

richw said:


> Am I the only person sad enough to graph the temperature of my TiVo? http://batfink.kill-9.org.uk/mrtg/tivotemp.html


If I say yes, will you get upset


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## richw (Jul 27, 2002)

cwaring said:


> If I say yes, will you get upset


Not really. I'm used to it


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

cwaring said:


> If I say yes, will you get upset


Nah - I'll get upset too...  <-- click


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

To me, it _is _ a heatwave. The only argument is to its wavelength.


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## Quinten (Jun 4, 2002)

richw said:


> Am I the only person sad enough to graph the temperature of my TiVo?
> 
> http://batfink.kill-9.org.uk/mrtg/tivotemp.html


Nope: http://www.fckd.net/graphs/graph_19.html


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Does anybody know exactly which component on the TiVo motherboard is the temperature sensor? 

A friend's TiVo started giving the dreaded "too hot, shutting down" message at startup the other day and although we managed to determine that it wasn't actually too hot, and managed to bypass the startup check so it would boot, it would be nice to know which 5p part he needs to replace!!

Oddly enough, although the system information screen was displaying "temperature unavailable" for a while afterwards, it's now displaying an apparently normally-varying temperatire again, so it looks like the sensor is just a bit dodgy rather than totally knackered.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

It could be an internal function of the CPU.


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

What's the easiest way to extract the temperature information in order to gather statistics like these?

I know it's shown on TiVoweb, but there must be a better way that web-scraping the TiVoweb page every few minutes.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

I've got Konfabulator widgets that display the TiVo temperature, but they just scrape the web page at http://tivo/info. I presume there's no RSS server available for the TiVo.


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## Ian_m (Jan 9, 2001)

aerialplug said:


> What's the easiest way to extract the temperature information in order to gather statistics like these?


I used "cat /proc/therm" in my CRON task to log temps.


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

I'd always assumed the temperature was the HDD SMART temp, 
but I guess older HDDs didn't have that when tivo was manufactured - can't see anything other than the HDD overheating in a tivo...


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## Quinten (Jun 4, 2002)

I wrote a tiny listener that runs on the tivo to which you can telnet to:



> [email protected] ~/projects/tivo/tivo-stats $ telnet uk-tivo 30000
> Trying 192.168.0.101...
> Connected to sienna.fckd.net.
> Escape character is '^]'.
> ...


I then use those stats in Cacti which does the graphs.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

mikerr said:


> ... can't see anything other than the HDD overheating in a tivo...


I would have thought the MPEG encoding chip was a pretty good candidate for overheating - especially when set to Mode 0.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Surely somebody must know where the sensor is? 

I vaguely remember somebody posting years ago about it being somewhere specific, as that might have a bearing on the temperature reading if the TiVo was turned on its side. 

FWIW, my friend's TiVo has now working perfectly, but has reverted to saying "temperature unavailable" on the System Info screen - so his sensor *must* be dodgy...


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

I think I saw a picture on a website several years ago that pointed out where it was. From memory it had a metal cylindrical transisitor like case about 3mm diameter, but I could be dreaming it...  Anyone got any high rez pics of the mobo?


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

LJ said:


> Anyone got any high rez pics of the mobo?


Voila! 
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/3073/p1000625gj0.jpg
Hope it's okay. That's about as Hi as my camera's Res goes


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

Thanks Carl!

I might be imagining it, but this looks about right - seems to only have two legs which is what you'd expect...


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

It would seem that it's certainly in that area. 

A few rather unscientific tests (with a hairdryer and a bit of insulating foam) indicate that applying localised heating to that component results in a big jump in reported temperature - eg. from 28C to 47C in about 10 seconds. 

Thanks guys - I'll let my friend know and if he decides to get the sensor replaced (should be a simple job for any competent electrical repair shop) I'll report back with the results


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Ian´s command is the one I use directed to a log file together with the time.

I did have a diagram with all the chips on the motherboard listed, I could be wrong, but I am sure it is on that???. It is not the Smart HDD temp.


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## tankstage (Jan 8, 2005)

LJ said:


> Thanks Carl!
> 
> I might be imagining it, but this looks about right - seems to only have two legs which is what you'd expect...


If the Sony SAT T60 circuit diagram is anything to go by (series 1 unit), the temperature sensor is a TC74 which is a IIC component. It is a chip with 3 legs one side and 2 legs the other. The most likely candidate is U1001 next to the battery. 
The component you are looking at is a capacitor.

Tank


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## KiNeL (Feb 6, 2006)

What are the typical symptoms of overheating.

One of my TiVos has developed a habit of switching itself off.

Temperature of the other one below it is only 40deg

Failing PSU perhaps ?


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

What do you mean by "switching itself off" - as there is no "off" on a TiVo without the mains being pulled?


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## KiNeL (Feb 6, 2006)

Off as in off

as in not on

as in no LED's

as in no response to remote

as in no sign of life

as in D.E.A.D and power off required to get it back on.

Definately smacks of a PSU on the way out. Luckily I have a new spare.


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

So no fan power or disc spinning?


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## KiNeL (Feb 6, 2006)

Unfortunately I was not able to determine that as where it lives it was not possible to get at without pulling the power.

It's now sitting more accessibly so I'll be able to see this next time it shuts down. 

Sods law says it won't do it for a week now of course...!


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## tom_m (Sep 17, 2002)

Has anyone written a kind of "idiots guide" to getting producing these graphs out of Tivo?


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

This might help


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