Dear All

Following the successful building of wardrobes, where I foolishly
revealed that I can do something, I am now tasked with constructing a
cupboard in the lounge. This will be in an alcove with the LCD TV on
top and the Satbox and DVD in a cupboard below.

As the alcove is too shallow (cupboard depth c.24 cm) to allow the two
boxes to sit flat, I plan to put them on sloping shelves with the
front of the shelf 18cm higher than the rear (thank you to Mr Noble
all those years ago for battering the square of the hypotenuse into me
- only now is the value of these things clear).

Questions:

1. I presume that I'll be ok with the two boxes (Sony DVD and Humax
Freesat+ HDR) sloping at just under 45 deg. Humax tell me "The Foxsat-
HDR has not been tested at angles of elevation and so we are unable to
support whether the unit would function properly in such conditions."
Any theories?
2. It'd be nice to have the doors shut or just slightly ajar while
using the TV. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to make the
remotes work under these conditions - mirrors, scattering reflectors,
upgrading the remotes to gamma rays etc.?
3. Naturally, there is a plug socket in the way of one side of the
cupboard. I'll need to shuffle this so it's inside the cupboard. I
will then have a hole in the wall. I have never plastered. Will I be
able to do this with filler alone? Or is it time for me to start with
that Bonding stuff and plaster. If so, can I buy such things in small
quantities?

All suggestions welcomed

Ta

david

David wrote:
Dear All

Following the successful building of wardrobes, where I foolishly
revealed that I can do something, I am now tasked with constructing a
cupboard in the lounge. This will be in an alcove with the LCD TV on
top and the Satbox and DVD in a cupboard below.

As the alcove is too shallow (cupboard depth c.24 cm) to allow the two
boxes to sit flat, I plan to put them on sloping shelves with the
front of the shelf 18cm higher than the rear (thank you to Mr Noble
all those years ago for battering the square of the hypotenuse into me
- only now is the value of these things clear).

Questions:

1. I presume that I'll be ok with the two boxes (Sony DVD and Humax
Freesat+ HDR) sloping at just under 45 deg. Humax tell me "The Foxsat-
HDR has not been tested at angles of elevation and so we are unable to
support whether the unit would function properly in such conditions."
Any theories?

Should be OK providing you've got good air circulation in the cupboard.

Good air circulation means good sized holes or slots near the bottom and
top of your cupboard.

2. It'd be nice to have the doors shut or just slightly ajar while
using the TV. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to make the
remotes work under these conditions - mirrors, scattering reflectors,
upgrading the remotes to gamma rays etc.?

Yes, you need a remote control extender. This will allow yo to operate
the boxes with the door closed. You will obviously not be able to see
the displays, though.

Xantech is the dog's nuts, but expensive.

http://www.letsautomate.com/index.cfm?&Nav=xantech&


There are other options.

http://www.letsautomate.com/index.cf...IRAccessories&

ebay item no: 370198214289 http://preview.tinyurl.com/pcsrdn



3. Naturally, there is a plug socket in the way of one side of the
cupboard. I'll need to shuffle this so it's inside the cupboard. I
will then have a hole in the wall. I have never plastered. Will I be
able to do this with filler alone? Or is it time for me to start with
that Bonding stuff and plaster. If so, can I buy such things in small
quantities?


Not a good idea. The socket outlet on the wall is part of your fixed
installation and you probably shouldn't remove it from the wall to fit
into a cupboard. Rather, you should either cut a hole in the side of the
cupboard to give yourself access to the socket outlet or use a 4-gang
adapter to get power into the cupboard.

Dave Osborne wrote:
David wrote:
Dear All

Following the successful building of wardrobes, where I foolishly
revealed that I can do something, I am now tasked with constructing a
cupboard in the lounge. This will be in an alcove with the LCD TV on
top and the Satbox and DVD in a cupboard below.

As the alcove is too shallow (cupboard depth c.24 cm) to allow the two
boxes to sit flat, I plan to put them on sloping shelves with the
front of the shelf 18cm higher than the rear (thank you to Mr Noble
all those years ago for battering the square of the hypotenuse into me
- only now is the value of these things clear).


Blimey, are you sure? Doesn't sound like me. Perhaps I was drunk

David wrote:
1. I presume that I'll be ok with the two boxes (Sony DVD and Humax
Freesat+ HDR) sloping at just under 45 deg. Humax tell me "The Foxsat-
HDR has not been tested at angles of elevation and so we are unable to
support whether the unit would function properly in such conditions."
Any theories?

1. Modern hard drives will work fine at any angle.

2. You might have a problem with the DVD drive not picking up properly -
the ones with tray loading in particular have a tendency to scratch
discs if they are not horizontal

3. Check cooling - I presume there are grills on the top of those units
which may have been placed with convection in mind

Jim wrote:

2. You might have a problem with the DVD drive not picking up properly -
the ones with tray loading in particular have a tendency to scratch
discs if they are not horizontal

Good point about the DVD drive Jim.

On Fri, 08 May 2009 12:47:19 +0100, Jim wrote:

David wrote:
1. I presume that I'll be ok with the two boxes (Sony DVD and Humax
Freesat+ HDR) sloping at just under 45 deg. Humax tell me "The Foxsat-
HDR has not been tested at angles of elevation and so we are unable to
support whether the unit would function properly in such conditions."
Any theories?

1. Modern hard drives will work fine at any angle.

Any? I really haven't checked for a few years - long gone are the days
when they were *really* picky, but not so long ago they were
still supposed to be aligned with a vertical or horizontal plane. If it
were me I think I'd pull the case and get the drive's model number to
check with the manufacturer first, just to be sure.

2. You might have a problem with the DVD drive not picking up properly -
the ones with tray loading in particular have a tendency to scratch
discs if they are not horizontal

Agreed. 24cm depth and 18cm height gives me a box depth of 30cm - to the
OP, is it not possible to extend the alcove into the room by 6cm by some
decorative means, which would then give you the depth to let the boxes sit
flat?

cheers

Jules

Jules wrote:
On Fri, 08 May 2009 12:47:19 +0100, Jim wrote:
1. Modern hard drives will work fine at any angle.

Any? I really haven't checked for a few years - long gone are the days
when they were *really* picky, but not so long ago they were
still supposed to be aligned with a vertical or horizontal plane. If it
were me I think I'd pull the case and get the drive's model number to
check with the manufacturer first, just to be sure.

Since they use a fluid bearing these days, there's no real argument that
mounting at a strange angle will cause uneven wear. And the force of
gravity is tiny compared to the forces exerted to move the drive head
around.

If you check the Maxtor Seagate FAQ, for instance:

"All Seagate & Maxtor's internal hard drives can be fitted sideways or
upside down. As long as they can not be moved during use and get enough
cooling it is irrelevant in which direction they are mounted."

On Fri, 08 May 2009 15:03:48 +0100, Jim wrote:
If you check the Maxtor Seagate FAQ, for instance:

"All Seagate & Maxtor's internal hard drives can be fitted sideways or
upside down.

Although that's still a horizontal / vertical plane, though, not at an
arbritary angle. I agree it shouldn't really matter (think of laptops
balanced on knees etc. and they still work fine), but it might be prudent
to check (or just back up the drive's data just in case; I assume HDRs
give the user the ability/tools to do this)

As long as they can not be moved during use

Interesting they say that's still an issue - I thought that had gone the
way of the dodo; in the bad old days drives had to be completely
reformatted if the orientation was changed, but I thought modern units
with embedded servo info and more smarts managed to cope with this...

cheers

Jules

Jules wrote:
I agree it shouldn't really matter (think of laptops balanced on knees
etc. and they still work fine), but it might be prudent to check (or
just back up the drive's data just in case; I assume HDRs give the
user the ability/tools to do this)

Realistically, it's in a PVR, he's putting it in a cupboard. The disk is
far more likely to die due to overheating, and even then the only
casualty will be a few hours of replaceable TV.

Jules wrote:

Agreed. 24cm depth and 18cm height gives me a box depth of 30cm

However, you need to allow a little for the throw due to the
finite height of the box, plus the not insubstantial scart leads.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On Fri, 8 May 2009 04:20:52 -0700 (PDT), David wrote:

Dear All

Following the successful building of wardrobes, where I foolishly
revealed that I can do something, I am now tasked with constructing a
cupboard in the lounge. This will be in an alcove with the LCD TV on
top and the Satbox and DVD in a cupboard below.

As the alcove is too shallow (cupboard depth c.24 cm) to allow the two
boxes to sit flat, I plan to put them on sloping shelves with the
front of the shelf 18cm higher than the rear (thank you to Mr Noble
all those years ago for battering the square of the hypotenuse into me
- only now is the value of these things clear).

Questions:

1. I presume that I'll be ok with the two boxes (Sony DVD and Humax
Freesat+ HDR) sloping at just under 45 deg. Humax tell me "The Foxsat-
HDR has not been tested at angles of elevation and so we are unable to
support whether the unit would function properly in such conditions."
Any theories?
2. It'd be nice to have the doors shut or just slightly ajar while
using the TV. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to make the
remotes work under these conditions - mirrors, scattering reflectors,
upgrading the remotes to gamma rays etc.?
3. Naturally, there is a plug socket in the way of one side of the
cupboard. I'll need to shuffle this so it's inside the cupboard. I
will then have a hole in the wall. I have never plastered. Will I be
able to do this with filler alone? Or is it time for me to start with
that Bonding stuff and plaster. If so, can I buy such things in small
quantities?

All suggestions welcomed

Ta

david

You'll need good ventilation or the Freesat box is liable to get very hot
and fail quickly.

A remote extender should work or use glass doors (you can see the displays
then too.

SteveW

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember David
saying something like:

1. I presume that I'll be ok with the two boxes (Sony DVD and Humax
Freesat+ HDR) sloping at just under 45 deg.

Sounds like a daft idea. More sat boxes are killed because of bad
ventilation than any other cause. If I was doing it, I'd be putting a
fan into the case at the lowest point, blowing in and up and making damn
sure the hot bits were properly cooled. I wouldn't be doing this anyway.