Gp2x Cradle

[craigletheren]

Hi,

I have just received my GP2x cradle and have a couple of questions, mainly about the PSU.

The little guide included with the cradle says that you need a 5v 3amp power supply, however I've read on the Wiki that only a 5v 2amp supply is needed. I have loads of 5v power supplies around the house, none of which are 3amps. The most I have is one that is just over 1amp, and I also have a power supply for a NeoGeo pocket but this one is 5.2 volts. Can anyone tell me how important the amp rating is and what might be the effect of using a power supply which is 5 volts but not 2/3amps? Would there be a problem using a 5.2 volt supply instead of a 5v one?

Is it true that the GP2x won't be powered using the PSU connected to the cradle? If so, do GPH make two different power supplies, one for the cradle and one for the console?

Many thanks indeed.

 

[hlidegp2x]

Hi,

I have just received my GP2x cradle and have a couple of questions, mainly about the PSU.

The little guide included with the cradle says that you need a 5v 3amp power supply, however I've read on the Wiki that only a 5v 2amp supply is needed. I have loads of 5v power supplies around the house, none of which are 3amps. The most I have is one that is just over 1amp, and I also have a power supply for a NeoGeo pocket but this one is 5.2 volts. Can anyone tell me how important the amp rating is and what might be the effect of using a power supply which is 5 volts but not 2/3amps? Would there be a problem using a 5.2 volt supply instead of a 5v one?

Is it true that the GP2x won't be powered using the PSU connected to the cradle? If so, do GPH make two different power supplies, one for the cradle and one for the console?

Many thanks indeed.

what ? GP2x cradle is shipped without a PSU ? oh crap for the price they sell it !

 

[craigletheren]

what ? GP2x cradle is shipped without a PSU ? oh crap for the price they sell it !

That's right. The cradle doesn't come with a PSU. It sucks, but that seems to be the way it is.

 

[hlidegp2x]

That's right. The cradle doesn't come with a PSU. It sucks, but that seems to be the way it is.

ok, I disorder it right now (the shop warned me there would be a very long delay to have it and sent me an email if i wanted to keep this order). Thanks for your post ! and sorry if i cannot answer your question back :/.

 

[craigletheren]

That's right. The cradle doesn't come with a PSU. It sucks, but that seems to be the way it is.

ok, I disorder it right now (the shop warned me there would be a very long delay to have it and sent me an email if i wanted to keep this order). Thanks for your post ! and sorry if i cannot answer your question back :/.


No problem. Glad to be of service!

 

[sol_hsa]

Also note that the cradle doesn't actually need a PSU if you are only using it for the COM port (like I am currently).

 

[Squidge]

The amperage requirement depends on what you plug into the cradle. If you have have all 4 USB ports sucking up 500mA (the USB max) then you'll obviously need a power supply of > 2A. If your using self-powered USB devices (or none at all) then < 1A will do as long as the 2x is powered seperately.

 

[craigletheren]

The amperage requirement depends on what you plug into the cradle. If you have have all 4 USB ports sucking up 500mA (the USB max) then you'll obviously need a power supply of > 2A. If your using self-powered USB devices (or none at all) then < 1A will do as long as the 2x is powered seperately.

That makes more sense now. I'm thinking I can re-use one of the hundreds of power supplies I have lying around the house if I change the plug on the end. I take it that plugging something of a higher voltage into the cradle is a no-no. Is that right?

 

[Squidge]

Well, it depends what the higher voltage is. 5.2V will probably work fine as long as it's regulated. I wouldn't use a non-regulated adaptor however, as the output could be as high as 9V when not under load.

 

[jbrodack]

the whole power issue is part of why i never got a cradle. for the price a psu really should be included or they should at least offer an official one. from what some people have said it sounds like you could use basic usb controller without a separate power adapter but the info on that isn't so concrete. then there were issues of how much power the gp2x is giving off and whether certain models give off more. confusing.

 

[sol_hsa]

the whole power issue is part of why i never got a cradle.

I bought the cradle because I assumed it would be a sane design. It isn't. It's completely absurd that the cradle

a) doesn't power the device
b) doesn't include usb connection to the PC

so my dev cycle goes something like this now:
- power cable to the device, none to the cradle; cradle only has com port cable in.
- Compile.
- Take device from cradle.
- Plug in USB to the device (you can't plug the USB in while it's in the cradle).
- Copy stuff.
- Unplug USB.
- Replace device in cradle.
- Run software, see debug output through com port.
- Repeat.

Instead I should be able to just keep the device in the cradle, with no cables directly attached (that's why it's in the cradle in the first place), and connect and disconnect the usb connection through software. But no.. =)

I assume that when my gp2x breaks down, it's due to all that plugging and unplugging..

Oh, and the alternative would be to eject the SD card and use another SD card reader with it, but somehow that's worse. Happily I can do most of my development without using the device at all.

 

[Yrx]

I've used the cradle with a couple controllers and tv-out without a power supply, and it works fine. I can't think of many things that would draw too much power... Granted, I had a power supply for the GP2X itself. That may have helped or something.

 

[Godmil]

The important part of finding a powersupply for the GP2X and the Cradle is the polarity. Amps aren't as important as if you've not drawing 2A you dont need a 2A supply.
Don't take my word for it, but I believe the GP2X is center-negative, while the cradle is center-positive. Make sure you know if that's correct and what your powersupply is before you plug it in, or it will fry your voltage regulators inside the GP2X and Cradle instantly - which is exactly what happened to me

 

[joyrider]

(you can't plug the USB in while it's in the cradle).

Actually it does work, i cutted of a part of the cradle with a dremel where the usb port connector is and i'm using usbnetworking while the gp2x is inside the cradle, never had a problem with it yet.

Only problem i had so far is that my MP8866-DUAL psx/ps2 to usb convertor makes a kernel panic after a random time. Weird thing is it only happens in one of my games. I traced it down to usb-ohci and when i unload that module the kernel panic doesn't happen, but ofcourse joysticks don't work either then. =

 

[senquack]

(you can't plug the USB in while it's in the cradle).

Actually it does work, i cutted of a part of the cradle with a dremel where the usb port connector is and i'm using usbnetworking while the gp2x is inside the cradle, never had a problem with it yet.

Only problem i had so far is that my MP8866-DUAL psx/ps2 to usb convertor makes a kernel panic after a random time. Weird thing is it only happens in one of my games. I traced it down to usb-ohci and when i unload that module the kernel panic doesn't happen, but ofcourse joysticks don't work either then. =


Hah, hey Joyrider that is that the exact same thing I did the second my cradle arrived: Used my dremel to carve out two notches on each side, one for the power switch, one for the mini-USB. Works great, Dremels are so handy once you own one you use it for many things you never thought of. Recently I used it to free my spare tire from the evil clutches of a rusty retainer bolt in my car.

Anyways, I got around to trying your program out using my cradle and F200. It freezes within a minute using just a standard Logitech USB gamepad so I think the problem is software-based not hardware.

 

[joyrider]

Anyways, I got around to trying your program out using my cradle and F200. It freezes within a minute using just a standard Logitech USB gamepad so I think the problem is software-based not hardware.

Ah damn it, i thought i'd happen only with my mp8866 joypads cause i just bought a simple 7 euro only usb joypad and that one doesn't cause the kernel panic