# Dead R15-100: can i replace power supply?



## zurn (Aug 13, 2010)

I have a R15-100 and it seems to have died--won't power on after suddenly turning itself off (i was only listening to a music channel so didn't notice right away). My wife had told me that it had shut itself down once recently because it was getting too hot (it has been warm lately and it's in a cabinet). 

I already talked to DirecTV and did their general troubleshooting, and they're sending a new one, but i am still trying to find a way to get recorded content off of it. From doing research i understand that i can't get it off unless the system and HD are intact. I suspect also that it might simply be the power supply, so here are my questions:

- It's leased, so i understand opening the case violates the terms, but since i've already reported it dead, will they really know? If there's a seal that's one thing, and i don't think i'd risk it, but i don't see one off-hand (still haven't taken it out). I'm thinking if i could just get it going for a while i could record a few things off of it and then replace the old one and i'm done.

- secondly, since i'm assuming this is an old model, i haven't found a replacement power supply available anywhere yet. There's one on ebay but it's for a R15-300. Does anyone know if that one is similar enough to work? Or is there another general PC supply that would work? (I've built my own PCs for years so i'm relatively familiar with them)

Thanks for any advice, it's not the end of the world if i lose them, it's just annoying enough to research all the options ;-)


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## matt (Jan 12, 2010)

Do not open a leased receiver.

If you wanted to repair an owned receiver later down the road, keep in mind that the internals (and even the housings) are different between the -x00 models, and you can't swap stuff between them.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

If they send you another R15-100 I'd say go for it. But if you get any other model DON'T DO IT! The 3-digit number signifies the manufacturer of the device, and manufacturers are only required to meet the specifications DirecTV supplies them so they work correctly with the service. That's why the cabinets are different and so are some of the internal components.

The only leased boxes I ever got from DirecTV that had the "anti-tamper" piece of tape on the back were brand new ones. The "reconditioned" units had their tamper tape removed when they were "fixed", apparently.


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## zurn (Aug 13, 2010)

Ah, forget it. The old one still has a seal so i'm not going to risk it. The new one is a R16-500. Is that one any more reliable? 

(though it really might not have the old hardware's fault--i think it just overheated.)


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I think R16s are pretty solid, and I think they ought to last as long as you might need. And, :welcome_s to DBSTalk!


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## zurn (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for the welcome and advice. I think i need to find a way to ventilate my cabinet, more than anything. I can't believe my 15-year old audio receiver has held up so long...


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