A Few Questions From A New Gp2x Owner

[Alexm920]

Note: I did search the forums before posting, and have browsed around quite a bit. If this post is a duplicate or already answered question, a link to the correct post(s) would be appreciated.

I just got my F200 in today, and immediately opened it up, tossed the batteries in, and switched it on. The batteries I used are Sony 2500mah. I got to the main menu, picked games, built in games, and tried to start the one with the pac-man-esque icon. I got as far as an intro screen when it emitted a terrible sound (like a high pitched whirr) and the screen glitched out (scrambled images and colors). I cycled the power and it happened at the main menu, before I could even do anything. I came to the conclusion that the batteries (got them at the same time from gamersection.ca) shipped with less than a full charge.

Since it was going to be a while till I could get my hands on my 2gb SD (in a camera loaned to a friend) I decided to pick up a new 1gb and some charged batteries (wait 7 hours to use my brand new device! Never!), and when I put the new batteries (also 2500mah Ni-Mh AAs, but no-name brand) I was able to get about 10 minutes of use out of them before I experienced a similar "glitch out" in the middle of testing out PocketSnes.

Are most rechargeables sold charge-dead? Or is 10 minutes really the max I can expect to get on a set of 2500mah batteries? I've heard of 2650 mah, and hushed whispers of mythical 2950 mah AAs, but finding the latter seems impossible. Is there a way to prolong the battery life from the software side that I've missed?

My second question is about the outlet adapter (which I ordered at the same time, as I figure I'll be able to find an electrical outlet almost anywhere on campus that I wander). It has a plug adapter, I'm assuming to allow it to fit into both standard outlet types (I could be wrong, I've never had the opportunity to travel much), but the adapter doesn't fit very snugly onto the corresponding prongs. There's a small screw-nut bit in the center, but I don't have a screwdriver on hand. Would that be the way to get it to stay on, or am I missing something entirely?

Thanks for reading all that mess, and thanks in advance!

 

[mittens]

Welcome to the scene

First, most batteries (I believe all of them, thou) are not fully charged when you paid for them. (Probably it might be once, but it drained out during its waiting on the shelf.

And about the outlet adapter, I've heard the one for F100 has 'reversed' +/- compared with regular one. If you can buy one switchable it's dongle, it may be okay. But I don't know about F200, sorry.

I hope you will enjoy that beauty.

 

[trooper]

Hi, and hope you will enjoy your new gadget.

Ok, Firstly, Do you have a battery charger ?.

Secondly, You do know that most if not all rechargable batteries are shipped with only a small amount of charge in them to stop them dying out whilst in stock or transit ?. So the both sets of batteries you have purchased will need a good full charge before you will see any useful amount of playtime out of them.

The GP2x can be a little bit of a hungry bugger when it comes to eating batteries, But you should see some pretty good run times with thoughs set of batteries you have, Say possibly 3-4 hours depending on what you are running.

I`d say, Give thoughs set of batteries some time to charge and post back you findings. If you are still experiencing very short run times, Especially with the new set you have, Then there could possibly be a problem with you GP2x, But we won`t know for sure untill you test with a good set of fully charged batteries.

Good luck.

Trooper

 

[Manjuu]

There are precharged rechargable NiMH batteries available such as the GE/Sanyo Eneloop, but majority of what you will find will be the normal ones. (Although, if they sat on the shelf too long or were exposed to prolonged heat, they will become discharged as well. )

The reason those batteries are capable of being precharged is because of how they were made. They have a thicker separator inside them, which greatly reduces the self-discharge rate of NiMH. This allows the battery to retain a charge for a longer period of time; in the tests conducted, after a year, the batteries still hold 70-85% of the charge (at lower temperatures) compared to normal ones that were already long dead.

There is a disadvantage to this though, because the new separator takes more space, the maximum capacity suffers. As of now, the maximum capacity available is only at 2000mAh for AA.

BTW, I have these batteries (Eneloop). They last around 3 hours at most in my F-200. It's on the short side, but I still like them.

 

[timothee]

Here is the good news: the next generation of rechargeable batteries will be ready to use off the shelves. Check out the Sanyo eneloop (http://www.eneloop.info/) for example, possibly the first of their kind.

Until these become available widely though, I second all that was said before: after purchase, rechargeable batteries should be charged fully before they are used.

 

[xcen]

if you bought from gamersection.ca didn't you get the official adapter?

 

[Alexm920]

if you bought from gamersection.ca didn't you get the official adapter?

I did, the small bit that allows it to plug into US/Canadian plugs (two flat prongs) doesn't stay on the two round prongs very well. I've got some masking tape holding it on for the time being, which has worked pretty well so far.

I do have a battery charger, it's very slow however. To recharge to full (when the indicator light shuts off) it takes around 6-7 hours , but then again I do have a bunch of rechargeable batteries that I can rotate as needed.

As far as the batteries go, once allowed to fully charge they lasted significantly longer! I probably should have tried that before asking here, but everyone seemed to know exactly what was wrong.

 

[xcen]

haha yeah for sure charging the batteries help

hmmm I dunno what adapter they sell now, but if it's the same I have you can replace the part that connects from the PSU to the outlet, it's a pretty standard wire... old radios and the PSX use it... so you can use a northam wire

as for the adapter, it must be one of those black ones which suck ass, you can get a better one for like 5$ at a store...


as for battery charging, yeah it takes a good night of sleep to charge em! Most of us have like 3-4 pairs so we don't mind too much the 6-7 hours of charging