[pvrusb2] HVR-1950 encoder appears to be stuck error messages

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 4:27 AM, J Miller <gajs-f0el at dea.spamcon.org> wrote:
> Hi. This list seems to be somewhat dead, but when I try searching on my
> issue, results from this list always come up. So it seems worth a try to ask
> for some help here.
.....
> [  411.124297] pvrusb2: ***WARNING*** device's encoder appears to be stuck
> (status=0x00000003)
> [  411.124304] pvrusb2: Encoder command: 0x81
> [  411.124308] pvrusb2: Giving up on command.  This is normally recovered
> via a firmware reload and re-initialization; concern is only warranted if
> this happens repeatedly and rapidly.

FWIW, in my experience, the HVR-1950 had two common
issues.  In no particular order, the first is that they were
very susceptible to heat issues.  They need to be kept
cool (i.e. do not, as I did at one point, place one on top
of the other, and make sure the (likely minimally useful)
tiny holes on the bottom of the box have access to air).
When the device gets too hot, you see random failures.
The second issue is that the supplied power bricks tend
to go bad early (and often), and have the initial failure
mode of high ripple (I did not break any open, but I presume
the caps were either not properly rates for the temps,
failed early, or were part of the "bad caps" years),
which generate random failures.

Of course, your experience will vary, and you might
never experience either of these issues.  Just something
to keep in the back of your mind for the future.