[mythtv-users] Capture Card Power Requirements

[James Crow]

Brian Wood wrote:
> <snip>
> (First, I think the CPU pulls power from the 12V rail, using regulators on the 
> mobo to drop it down to what the CPU wants, this is powered by the 
> 4-conductor molex (sometimes 6 or 8 with server type boards) connector).
>
> As I have said before, the PSU is usually the first place that system builders 
> scrimp.
>
> Are you using a good quality PSU or a "Brand-X" unit? The specs on the cheap 
> units are often suspect, and sometimes downright wrong.
>   
It is an Antec TrueWatts 430 PSU. I have had good experience with them 
and the PSU is not one of the flimsy weightless types. I do not have a 
spare PSU to swap out so I would like some confirmation that I need a 
new one before I purchase one.
> Unfortunately the only practical way for most consumers to test a PSU is by 
> sibstitution with a known good unit (unless you have a lot of test gear).
>
> The symptoms you describe certainly could be a bad or overloaded PSU, though 
> the problem could be other things as well, bad RAM comes to mind.
>   

I think I may have some ram I can swap with, although I have yet to see 
a stick fail two years or more from when it was installed.
> Obviously removing drives or other power-using items, to see if things settle 
> down, is a reasonable troubleshooting technique.
>
> A lightning hit close to your house is almost certain to cause at least some 
> problems, if it did nothing, I'd be surprised.
>
> BTW - grounding at "multiple places" is usually not the best solution, since 
> there will be voltage differentials between the multiple grounding points. 
> The best answer is to get a single very good ground point and run everything 
> to it with the largest conductors you can get. There are several theories 
> about grounding, the grounding section of the AudioCyclopedia is several 
> hundred pages long.
>
>
>   
The cable line was grounded by the cable company twice. Once where it 
first contacts the house and a second time where it actually enters the 
building. Both points are before any of my equipment. My power meter, 
breaker box, and cable line are all at the other end of the house (50+ 
feet from the tree) from where the lightning struck. That may be why 
them seem to have been spared.

I will try to swap out the ram today and see if things improve.

Thanks,
James