My Directed Electronics HD Tuner is locked-up - now what?

[JohnnyElectron]

What is the warranty on the Directed Electronics automotive add-on tuner unit?  Less than 2 years of operation, and now when I power up my HD tuner it will show the preset frequencies with full-scale signal strength for all of them; but no audio, no HD decode, no analog audio; nothing - just a frequency - both AM & FM.  The built-in FM modulator does kick in after 5 seconds, but that's it. I've tried cycling power, removing the memory connection and power connection, reconnecting the remote display/operating head, and nothing changes.  Pretty upset as it was a huge pain to install, tearing apart half the dash to get to the antenna connectors in the A pillar, etc.  Does anybody else have one of these useless Directed Electronics mobile HD boxes?  Does yours still work - if so, is it the metal tuner case or plug-in remote unit that bites the dust?  Anybody have any 'donor' parts or should I just forget it?  I liked it for the RDS and narrow selectivity on FM, but that's pretty much it. Damn - what a pain to install - if nobody has any suggestions, I'm just going to rip it out this weekend and build a female to female antenna jumper cord and put that in it's place. What a shame - not even two years of use! Maybe the radio got a signal from Cidatel that they're Chapter 11 and not going to have to pay iBiquity their fees anymore?  Anybody have a decent contact at Directed Electronics?

[Tom Wells]

If I recall correctly, in an earlier thread, you described that this unit ran very hot.
As a modern, RoHS compliant piece of sh...     ...equipment, it probably uses lead-free antimony and tin solder.
When subjected to repeated hot/cold cycling, this type of  solder becomes crystalline and eventually a connection opens.
You might try resoldering every pin-to-board connection, or examining the board to see where the heat is localized, then looking
for problems in that area.
Are you in a hot climate area, or cold?   I would expect a much shorter lifespan in the southern US, or any hot area.
 
You could just be happy that this sorry piece of technology lasted as long as it did and say good riddance.
The manufacturer is ready for you to buy a new one, and they probably think 2 years is a reasonable life for consumer electronics.
Warranty? You must be joking.  This is called a "tailight warranty".  It lasts as long as you can see my tail-lights, driving away.

[rbrucecarter5]

How to fix:

(1) Drop on driveway
(2) Run over
(3) Deposit in recycle bin
(4) When in doubt - C4

Seriously - lead (Pb) free solder is cr@p.  You will have tin whiskers that short out the unit in about 2 years.  If you want to examine it under a microscope and try to find the short, good luck.  It could be anywhere.  This PB free stuff is just the latest in a long string of very bad ideas from Europe.  Enjoy the decreased reliability of consumer electronics, because that is the price we pay for letting some enviro-nazis dictate our electronics design standards.  Get used to 2 year product life spans, because that will be the norm from now on.  Kind of ouchy when it is for things like $5000 flat screens when it takes $2500 to replace the board when it inevitably shorts out.

If you have a piece of gear you value - and are good with a soldering iron, get in there with solder wick and get that PB free stuff OFF the board, replace with 60/40 solder, and you should be OK.

[OKCRadioGuy]

The irony of all this is that the landfills they enviroNatzis hate so much will be filling up much faster since the start of the ROHS requirement.  LOL!!  Who knew!

[rbrucecarter5]

The irony of all this is that the landfills they enviroNatzis hate so much will be filling up much faster since the start of the ROHS requirement.  LOL!!  Who knew!

Just like I have to flush my environmentally correct 1.6 gallon toilet three times instead of once to get all the _____ to go down.  I broke the lid on an old 5 gallon toilet - I had to deal with a shady dealer in Florida to get a replacement LID.  I felt like I was dealing with a gang or something - it took a while to gain their trust before they sold me the lid.  Someone with intelligence should look at these treaties before we sign them!!!  But intelligence from Republicrats or Democans - don't hold your breath.  Look at the current HD radio situation.

[Savage]

Generally, rbruce, when you approach some shady guy in a yellow Eldorado asking if you can buy "a lid," they think you mean something else other than a toilet cover.

Somebody DOES look at these treaties - that "somebody" being Al Gore, Carol Browner, or yet another proud product of the One-Empire State Of New York, one Judith Enck, who the Obamatrons have named to head the E-PEE YAY.  Can stinky composting toilets be far over the horizon?

HD Radio is just one example of a political and regulatory system reeling out of control, propelled by special interests and corrupt bureaucrats, and possessing utterly no common sense, accountability or expertise.

Once we stop HD, we've got to pick up a giant Terex-sized pooper scooper, a map of the USA and a list of all members of Congress - and get to work.  A balanced-budget amendment to the US Constitution and maybe another one mandating two-term limits for all elected officials, might be good places to start.

[JohnnyElectron]

Thanks to NAFTA, you CAN drive just over the border from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario Canada and buy a 3.5gallon flusher - they're even MADE IN THE USA!  Yep, they make'em here, you can't buy'em here, but you can buy them in Canada, duty-free.  A professional plumber can't install it for you, but you can do it yourself.  Dumbest law ever.
Speaking of toilets, I still have my HD radio from hell in limbo; anybody have a contact at Directed Electronics that could maybe help me, or should I just box it up (with some doggie droppings) and mail it (postage due) to Bob Struble and let him know how long my HD radio lasted?

[rbrucecarter5]

Thanks to NAFTA, you CAN drive just over the border from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario Canada and buy a 3.5gallon flusher - they're even MADE IN THE USA!  Yep, they make'em here, you can't buy'em here, but you can buy them in Canada, duty-free.  A professional plumber can't install it for you, but you can do it yourself.  Dumbest law ever.
Speaking of toilets, I still have my HD radio from hell in limbo; anybody have a contact at Directed Electronics that could maybe help me, or should I just box it up (with some doggie droppings) and mail it (postage due) to Bob Struble and let him know how long my HD radio lasted?

Does anybody but me think it is no coincidence that discussion of doggie droppings and HD radio come in the same thread? 

If you can get your directed electronics unit open, look at the PC board under the microscope, you might be able to locate your problem.  It may be a tin whisker, especially if the unit has been hot for a long time, or it may just be a bad solder joint flexed too often by repeated heating / cooling cycles.  I've got one in my Pioneer car radio right now that is plaguing me.  Yep - two to three years old - now failing!  More tin whiskers?!