Battery Issues With Mk2 Value Pack System

[st0x]

I Recently Purchased a new GP2X Value Pack from playasia, I also purchased a GP2X Power Adapter at the same time.

Unit works fine via the Power Adapter but when using the Batteries I get some issues, With the original provided batteries (Yes I know these are not the best) They are Sanyo (GP2X Branded) 2500 mah NiMH batteries, charged on a 15hour Energizer NiMH Charger.

Batteries work fine when taken straight from the charging unit and I can use the GP2X... until something crashes and I require a restart, then I get the Blotchy screen garbage on restart (As you would with flattening batteries) if I connect the power adapter it will load the firmware and then I remove the power adapter the unit stutters and restarts on the batteries correctly, if i look at the battery levels on the GP2X it reports as full.

If i leave charged batteries for 10~20minutes and attempt to do the same thing then the unit will not boot and it will only show screen garbage.

I have also tried energizer 2500 mah NiMH batteries with the same results.

Have tested another charged with power level checking to ensure batteries are being charged fully, have tested battery voltage with multimeter before and after they will not work, it would appear they only drop .1 volt.

Is this a common issue? as I dont see many other people having problems such as this.

Should I check and re-soldier the connecting pins for the AA connectors to the GP2X PCB?

Please provide suggestions.

 

[geo12]

How much have you used the power adapter, and do you use it with the batteries in? Supposedly, using the power adapter with batteries in can short out the battery compartment.

 

[st0x]

How much have you used the power adapter, and do you use it with the batteries in? Supposedly, using the power adapter with batteries in can short out the battery compartment.

I have used the power adapter each time I use the GP2X as the Batteries are not really an option at the moment,

It does not short anything from what i can see, once a connection is made with the DC socket it cuts the battery connections until the plug is removed from the DC socket.

 

[yodaofborg]

I started to notice this with replacement batteries I bought for my '2x, I used to use 2700mAh batteries, but they stopped holding charge for longer than 30 mins (had them over a year now, and with all the over clocking I do, it was to be expected). I bought some energiser 2500mAh to replace them, and the gp2x refuses to boot most times with them in, failing at a garbles green boot screen - indicating low battery charge - even after 15 hours in a trickle charger! (I have found that powering on the gp2x for a few mins, then power cycling it will boot the unit, and then it will work fine for a few hours).

I thought I had screwed up my '2x, but then I found an oldish (6 months) set of Uni-Ross 2700mAh batteries, these work fine, even after a fast charge. The strange thing is that the energiser batteries give out slighlty more voltage, than the Uni-ross set when fully charged (2.8v v's 2.6v). I know some testing by Squidge and nubie have stated the GP2X will work best at around 3.6v via the battery compartment, but I cannot help but wonder if this extra voltage is somehow messing up the boot sequence, as draining them a little (by leaving the GP2X on when its crashed for a few minutes) seems to solve my issue.

 

[Creature XL]

If i leave charged batteries for 10~20minutes and attempt to do the same thing then the unit will not boot and it will only show screen garbage.

I have teh same garbage on the screen while booting (with the gp2x-branded ones). This started some weeks ago. My solution:

Take a flat screw driver and bend the contacts of the compartment!

I wonder why they don't use the springs like in the gp32. Is it possible to put th gp32 ones into the gp2x?

 

[sephiroth111]

If i leave charged batteries for 10~20minutes and attempt to do the same thing then the unit will not boot and it will only show screen garbage.

I have teh same garbage on the screen while booting (with the gp2x-branded ones). This started some weeks ago. My solution:

Take a flat screw driver and bend the contacts of the compartment!

I wonder why they don't use the springs like in the gp32. Is it possible to put th gp32 ones into the gp2x?


if you want to solder the springs in, it's possible, i suppose you just bend the metal tabs flat and solder them in.