eferz said:

It seems that they have been using the same capacitors since the original Slingbox Classic

Capacitor

4

G-Luxon

Electrolytic -   470uF, 16V, 105C

G-LUXON 470uF 16V,   LW105C, 506B(M)

So this is interesting that you mention heat in regards to this problem…

4. Working Temperature, (T)

Changes in temperature around the capacitor affect the value of the capacitance because of changes in the dielectric. If the air or surrounding temperature becomes to hot or to cold the capacitance value of the capacitor may change so much as to affect the correct operation of the circuit. The normal working range for most capacitors is -30°C to +125°C with nominal voltage ratings given for a working temperature of no more than +70°C. Generally electrolytic's can not be used below about -10°C, as the electrolyte jelly freezes.

and from this website…

http://pqltd.blogspot.com/2010/01/next-up-slingbox-pro-hd.html

That is a combination RISC/ARM chip and DSP designed specifically for video processing. At idle it reaches about 100F, but when transmitting video to your PC it runs at about 150F, or close to 85C, the upper limit of the standard issue chip. The temperature underneath that chip seems to be about 10-15 colder. So you can see why cooling this chip would be good for the Slingbox and anything beneath it. You may also notice big copper areas underneath the MOSFET devices. These are used to cool off the MOSFETS by transfering as much of the heat to the circuit board itself.

Could there be a correlation?

 

I wonder if it will bare an issue in the long run with the Radio Shack 470µF 35V 20% Radial-lead Electrolytic Capacitors that are listed in the article as a replacement.

 

General Features
Model	272-1030
Product Type	Electrolytic capacitors
Enclosure Color	Black
Body Material	Multi
Fits What
Model	272-1030
Miscellaneous Features
Min Operating Temperature	-40 Fahrenheit
Max Operating Temperature	85 Fahrenheit
Supported Languages	English

 

Would these UHE1V471MHD6 capacitors be better replacements?

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For the sake of clarity you have min and max temps listed in Fahrenheit, it should be Celsius.  Quite a difference

 

Rick

ricklynchcore said:

Thanks for this wonderful useful forum discussion and getting my slingbox solo, slinging again. Story:

I was still under the 1 year hardware warranty when I began to display all the known capacitor problems. I began my dutiful time consuming, rediculous dancing thru hoops, drama with sling media. Of course they insisted it was a software problem etc…Finally got them to give me the rma to return my defective unit. Received my new unit today July 14, 2010. Set it up and guess what!!!!!!! Same problem. I cracked open the new box to discover two blown 470uf capacitors. I could not believe it. They sent me a broken replacement. Oh well, went to radioshack and picked up two 470uf 35v model #272-1030. I brought them over to the tv repair man who replaced them in about 7 minutes for no charge. Set up Slingbox and it has been humming perfectly for well over 1 hour. Prior to capacitor replacement it would not run for more the 5 minutes without the time out. Thanks all for the great information, I really appreciate it. Shame on Sling Media for such poor customer service.

Rick

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Update.  I have extensively used the slingbox since my radio shack replacement caps, and have experienced no problems.   I must say it seems to run more stable than ever at this point, which makes me think I was  having intermittent problems with the last box before total failure set in.  (I was losing connection periodically, say every 40 or 50 minutes, rather than every 2 minutes once failure set in.)  Thanks again all, for solving this vexing problem.  

 

Rick

Here is the image of the inside of the pro

Yes.  Here is pic.