To Everyone With Samsung OTA STB Dropouts

[Lockie]

I just joined this site today and see that a lot of you are having the same headache I've put up with for the last 5 months. I discovered by chance that the droputs are directly the cause of sound...yes you heard me correctly... SOUND! The SIR-T351, and perhaps the other models, get jammed by certain sound frequencies. I can cause dropout on one of these units by clapping my hands in the same room as the box if it is on a DTV program. You can also do it by whistling, clanking pieces of metal together, or laughing. Now if that isn't a design problem! I've talked with Samsung & they are in process of checking it out. If you have one of these units, give it a test. I have a feeling a recall is in order...

[Ratman]

I find that very hard to believe.

[Lockie]

I can understand your reluctance. I had tried literally everything else to fix my problem...new antenna, new coax, added preamp, checked component cables.... I was getting great signal strenth that would inexplicably drop out. Started checking for loose connections. Found that tapping on the box cause a dropout. Then I noticed the problem got worse whan I raised the volume on the TV. Then I tried making noise. I can cause my unit to drop out 100% of the time simply by clapping my hands on the other side of the room. Could be caused by a bad connection somewhere inside the unit. I was surprised to see so many others posting similar complaints. Am waiting patiently for the UPS sticker to arrive so I can send it in. I would be interested to see if others can duplicate what I did.

[LeeS]

I find that very hard to believe.
One of the 'clap on, clap off' models :)

You would think the sound coming from the speakers would trigger it if it was something loose.

Instead of 'sound' how about thumping on the 'whatever its sitting on' and see if just vibration does it.

Probably something loose, I'm not buying sound either.

Lee

(but just in case, I like my crow with a little salt and tabasco)

edit: You beat me to the post. After reading your last I would have to definitely go with something loose in the box, bad connection etc....

[Ratman]

Yup! Cold solder joint. A gentle tap on the box will probably do the same.

Not to overlook the obvious, but you did check that the digital optical/coax connection is seated properly, right?

Here's another test... hook up analog audio cables (red/white) and try the 'clap/laugh' test.

[57U]

Sound is a form of vibration - especially at low frequencies. I also find the "clap/laugh" difficult to swallow, other than some vibration is causing a "disconnect" within the box.

[Lockie]

Don't use the optical cable 'cause my HDTV doesn't support it. Tried a second set of cables. No change. All connections are tight that I can do anything about. Same problem with HD or SD. I returned the first box that had this problem, so this is my second with same dropout problem. I read on another forum that someone thought the prob. was magnetic interference from the magnets in the TV speakers, so I moved my box about a foot away and then put into a magnetically shielded box. Helped only a little. Yes, yes, yes. Vibrations cause it. Sound is vibration. Sounds cause the problem more than anything else I tried.

[mamosley]

I have the sirt351 and only get the audio drop outs through the digital connections, whether it's coax of fiber. I don't get the audio dropouts with the red/white cables. I don't think it is sound or vibration on my set. I can get through the first 5 minutes of top gun before the sound starts dropping out, and that is with the volume cranked up on my receiver.