Status LED intermittently flashes red when ATV1200 off mains

[hansfree 0]

Since a few weeks I am using a second-hand bought MyGica ATV1200 with my TV. It works fine, but the strange thing is this: when not in use and not connected to the mains, I can see its status LED giving a short red flash every now and then. Does anyone know what this means? Is it an indicator that a built-in back-up battery is running empty or something? Firmware version is 4.1.2 and I have the habit of crudely switching off the ATV1200 by simply pulling the adapter from the outlet.

[Justin 206]

Since a few weeks I am using a second-hand bought MyGica ATV1200 with my TV. It works fine, but the strange thing is this: when not in use and not connected to the mains, I can see its status LED giving a short red flash every now and then. Does anyone know what this means? Is it an indicator that a built-in back-up battery is running empty or something? Firmware version is 4.1.2 and I have the habit of crudely switching off the ATV1200 by simply pulling the adapter from the outlet.

There are 3 status lights on the box, Red, Green and Orange

Red means the unit is off, Green means it is on and Orange is for Internet status.

Nothing to worry about, it is normal.

[hansfree 0]

Hi Justin, thank you for your reply but I don't think you understand me well. If there is NO SUPPLY POWER to the ATV1200, there should be no status light at all, don't you agree? Not even steady red, but all off, as there is no power. Nevertheless the status light on my ATV1200 is giving short red flashes, with minutes in between two flashes. This is when the ATV1200 is off and has NO SUPPLY POWER attached (mains adaptor pulled).

If the ATV1200 has no internal backup battery then I guess the current for the flashing red LED must come via the unused HDMI-connection to the TV-set. Maybe the TV-set tries to power the ATV1200 via the HDMI connection? I'm not sure if the flashing remains when the TV-set is off as well, I will check.

[Justin 206]

Hi Justin, thank you for your reply but I don't think you understand me well. If there is NO SUPPLY POWER to the ATV1200, there should be no status light at all, don't you agree? Not even steady red, but all off, as there is no power. Nevertheless the status light on my ATV1200 is giving short red flashes, with minutes in between two flashes. This is when the ATV1200 is off and has NO SUPPLY POWER attached (mains adaptor pulled).

If the ATV1200 has no internal backup battery then I guess the current for the flashing red LED must come via the unused HDMI-connection to the TV-set. Maybe the TV-set tries to power the ATV1200 via the HDMI connection? I'm not sure if the flashing remains when the TV-set is off as well, I will check.

Do you have anything that is USB and powered connected to your box? Some devices ive used before, not mygicas mind you, were able to get power from the usb, even without the power plug being connected.

This sounds very odd, almost as if your box is haunted lol... (Kidding)

Is there any performance issues with your box though?

Let me know

[hansfree 0]

No, there is no performance issue. I was just afraid that the flashing red LED could be a warning that (in absence of mains power for some period of time) I was about to loose all settings because of a low CMOS-battery/back-up capacitor or something. But so far I have not noticed such thing.

I should perhaps add that I principally do not want to keep the ATV1200 mains adapter plugged in all the time when not in use, no matter how low the standby power may be (I checked this to be below 1W, cannot measure more precise, but it's not zero of course).

Thank you Justin for your replies.

[hansfree 0]

Justin, sorry I forgot to add that there is indeed a connection from one of the USB-slots of the ATV1200 to my home made VGA to SCART-RGB converter (a passive circuit), for pulling up one of the SCART-pins to +5V, switching the TV-set over from CVBS to RGB. As there is also a satellite receiver pulling up this same pin, there may be some cross powering when the satellite receiver is on and the ATV1200 is off. This must be the answer to explain my haunted MyGica

Just to explain, I am using two video converters in a row, first a commercial HDMI to VGA block, then a home made VGA to SCART-RGB circuit. The power for the first converter is supplied via the HDMI connection to the ATV1200. However, I will change this config as I have been pointed out that a HDMI-output may burn out delivering power to a subsequent converter.

[Justin 206]

Justin, sorry I forgot to add that there is indeed a connection from one of the USB-slots of the ATV1200 to my home made VGA to SCART-RGB converter (a passive circuit), for pulling up one of the SCART-pins to +5V, switching the TV-set over from CVBS to RGB. As there is also a satellite receiver pulling up this same pin, there may be some cross powering when the satellite receiver is on and the ATV1200 is off. This must be the answer to explain my haunted MyGica

Just to explain, I am using two video converters in a row, first a commercial HDMI to VGA block, then a home made VGA to SCART-RGB circuit. The power for the first converter is supplied via the HDMI connection to the ATV1200. However, I will change this config as I have been pointed out that a HDMI-output may burn out delivering power to a subsequent converter.

Ok let me know if you get the same results without a USB plugged into the box.

[hansfree 0]

Justin, my ATV1200, or its mains adapter, seems haunted after all

The flashing red LED does NOT disappear with no USB plugged in the box. The flashing red LED does also NOT disappear with HDMI and audio L/R also removed. The flashing red LED however DOES disappear when I remove the remaining power lead from the box. While the mains adapter is not powered! How could this make a difference then?

I should explain at this point, that I do not actually pull the mains adapter from the outlet when I do not use the ATV1200, I have inserted a switch. It is a switch that only interrupts one of the two mains wires. So one of the two mains adapter AC pins always stays connected, even with the switch in off-position.

What I found out now, is that it makes a difference how I plug in the mains adapter (say +/- versus -/+). In one position the red LED flashes, in the other it does not. I'm not sure if in the US the mains system is the same as ours here in Europe, but we have one LIVE and one EARTH wire. Apparently it makes a difference for the flashing red LED phenomenon, which wire stays connected to the off-switched adapter.

I have no idea how the off-switched yet perhaps LIVE-voltage carrying mains adapter can lead to a flashing LED on the ATV1200. Or in other words, how any DC-voltage can develop and disappear again all the time on the DC-out of the off-switched adapter. I guess it is some capacitive or inductive effect. But it does not matter, I now know for sure that a flashing red LED on the ATV1200 is no sign of a low backup-battery or something. And I have stopped the flashing by simply plugging in the mains adapter the other way around.