Hello.

I have a Motorola DCT6412 Phase III DVR. This is actually my third one. I've had continual problems with them resetting themselves and then failing to record properly. My cable company
(Cox) has sent techs out three times trying to fix the problem. Each has said I have a good enough
signal for the box to work. The firstof the techs thought the box was bad, the next two trips the tech thought the unit was overheating.

The resetting problem comes and goes--the box might be fine for several days, then it will start
resetting--there are a few audible clicks, the display goes blank; the clock says 12:00; then the clocks corrects itself to the correct time; then, usually, the box will reset itself many many more times--say 30 or 40 times. Sometimes removing power helps, sometimes not. The problems happens less often if I always leave the box powered on.

I don't think the unit is overheating--when I go into the service menu the max temp of the unit is 97 degrees Fahrenheit. They tech told me that anything over 100 might be a problem...usually the temp is around 90.

Elsewhere in the service menu there is a menu called OOB....there are two signals in that menu if I remember right, measued in dB I think, and ratings of poor/good/fair etc. One reading fluctuates between good and fair, the other between fair and poor.

So now I am thinking of trying a signal amplifier. I would like to know if y'all think that is the right way to go, and if so what specific amplifier I should get.

Also, the cable company put a splitter on the cable line, one goes to my cable modem, one to the DVR. Could that be affecting the DVR? The techs say no but I'm not so sure...

I think you need to call the cable company and ask for a service supervisor. Tell him that the techs that have come out have not all had the same answers, you have the same problems, so they need to send someone out with a more complete understanding of the cable system and their DVRs.

Are you saying the menu allows you to look at the temperature of the unit? If not, you have to mention that to the supervisor, too, because "anything over 100 MIGHT" needs to be pinned down. After all, your DVR MIGHT reset today, so that goes along with the description.

This almost sounds like an intermittent power problem.