Fan noise in stand-by

ayekat · 2015-09-03T12:25:05+00:00

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ayekat

The Horizon HD Recorder (Samsung, SMT-G7400/XEN) was delivered to us this Tuesday.

The first thing we realised is that the fan does not stop spinning in stand-by mode, which we find a little weird, since all it should be doing is route network packets and perhaps react on a signal from the remote controller. However, for some reason it’s doing other things that heat the box up.

The fan noise is about in the same range as a fridge (decibel-wise), however on a much more annoying frequency, and audible throughout the entire flat (e.g. at night), so currently we switch it off by default and just turn it on occasionally when we need to check our mails, but that’s pretty cumbersome.

Is there a way to get the modem functionality in a separate, silent box, so we can keep the internet on? We don’t even need the wireless functionality - just ethernet would be fine already, since we’re planning to run a separate firewall/router/AP behind the Horizon Box.

EDIT

Actually it seems the (visible) fan isn’t making the annoying noise - at start up, the sound is fine. The annoying frequency sets in 1-2 seconds after the visible fan starts spinning. To me it sounds much like the noise a power adapter would do (but then again, I still consider both that noise and the fan noise to be unnecessary for stand-by mode).

ayekat

Hi, yes, we’ve been to the shop yesterday, they gave us a newer model (which does not have a SCART input and is thus a little smaller), but as you have said,

Yes, in standby mode, the fan is on as well.

I find this a little weird. What is running in standby mode that would heat up the machine that much?

Otherwise, is there a finer-grained way for disabling features that run in standby-mode? Because the “eco” mode shuts down everything, yet we would only require the basic packet routing over wired ethernet (I’d call that “almost-eco”).

In the shop we were told that it’s also possible to have a separate box for the modem functionality. Does that one contain a constantly running fan, too?

EDIT OK, we got a modem now, and it is silent. Although it does not solve the fan-noise problem at hand, it’s a valid workaround solution. Thanks for the time.

Anina

Hi @ayekat

Yes, in standby mode, the fan is on as well. Have you already visited one of our shops?

Kind regards,

Anina

ayekat

Thanks for your reply! It’s good to know there are other boxes than the one we got. But before ordering a new box we would need to know what “more quietly” means - is there still a fan turning in stand-by mode?

Perhaps we’ll check out a cablecom shop in the city to get a “live” idea of the available boxes.

P.S.

I did some measurements with my cell phone - I didn’t get very exact values, but there seem to be three main “peaks”:

* The “main” fan noise at roughly 100-200 Hz (-60dB)

* The “annoying” noise at roughly _600Hz (-65dB)

* The “subtle-because-hidden-by-the-annoying” noise at 3-4kHz (-75dB)

I feel like the second and third noise are not directly produced by the fan rotation, but something else.

Adriana

Hi there!

There are boxes which make more noise than the others. Anyway, the fan in the new boxes should work more quietly. If you want me to order a new one for you just let me know.

Best regards,

Adriana