Gp2X F100 Sat Idle For Over A Year - Won't Boot

[Treebiter]

Firstly, I apologise if any of my post is stupid or unhelpful. As the title suggests I haven't used my GP2X for over a year (possibly even 2) so I've forgotten the little I used to know regarding it. Due to loss/breakage I'm currently down to two batteries that I used to use with the GP2X and no AC adapter. I've just charged the batteries, slapped them in (read: carefully placed) but when I turn it on all I get is vertical multicoloured lines. No sound, no menu, nothing. Now, like I said, the unit has sat untouched for a long time as have the batts. I've tried them in a few other appliances and they work but they're all pretty low-powered (remotes etc). Now, I'm hoping the batts have died but would love some input as to whether this sounds like the unit itself is kaput.

I know a foolproof way to test would be to get new batts/AC adapter but I'm unable to do so for about a week. Any advice woul be much appreciated but I understand there's not much information to go on.

 

[senquack]

Is this an F100 or an F200?

Sometimes, the multicolored lines are indeed caused by a bad set of batteries. So you definitely want to eliminate that possibility. As NiMH batteries increased in capacity to the 2500mah point and beyond, their internal insulation was shrunk more and more and it turns out this increases their susceptibility to self-drainage problems. The Energizer 2500mah batteries were notorious for this and I've had other high-quality brands exhibit the same problem, too.

Other times (as I have found with my F200) it is caused by something wrong the unit itself. My F100 still works fine to this day. My F200 has the rainbow line problem when run off any batteries but is fine when run off a DC adapter. Cleaning the battery contacts or bending them to make better contact doesn't help. When it *does* turn on, bending the unit with my hands can cause it to immediately fail. If I had to guess, I think there is a bad solder joint on a component involved in the batteries' DC->DC conversion circuitry. Reflowing the solder on the battery terminals themselves didn't help, so one of these days I'll try to reflow the solder on the surrounding circuitry. The new environmentally-friendly solder that factories use these days is harder to get right versus the old stuff and that might be what we see here.

You might also want to visually up-close verify that your batteries are making good contact with the terminals. Some batteries have a positive terminal that is shorter than others. I found that a set of batteries I had (Maha Imedions) would not make good contact inside the F200. I had to take a knife and carve down the case's plastic on the positive terminal ends before the batteries would work.

 

[Treebiter]

Thanks for the speedy reply Senor Quack

It's an F100. The contacts are good and if the battery lights on the unit are anything to go by it's getting enough juice. I'll have to try some new batts but the current ones are working in a 360 controller, PC mouse and MP3 player if that's anything to go by. My fear is that it's something wrong with the unit. If it is, I don't know where to go from here. I'm not the most electronics-savy person in the world and I wouldn't trust myself with any delicate solder work. More to the point, I'm not sure how I'd go about identifying the problem.

The only reason I haven't used it for so long is that I lost it in storage when after moving house and ended up forgetting about it.

 

[senquack]

Thanks for the speedy reply Senor Quack

It's an F100. The contacts are good and if the battery lights on the unit are anything to go by it's getting enough juice. I'll have to try some new batts but the current ones are working in a 360 controller, PC mouse and MP3 player if that's anything to go by. My fear is that it's something wrong with the unit. If it is, I don't know where to go from here. I'm not the most electronics-savy person in the world and I wouldn't trust myself with any delicate solder work. More to the point, I'm not sure how I'd go about identifying the problem.

The only reason I haven't used it for so long is that I lost it in storage when after moving house and ended up forgetting about it.

Well, if you give up on it and you want to, you can ship it to me later this year (after I move and settle down and get a PO Box and everything) if you live in the US, just pay return shipping.. I can try to reflow some of the solder or test it with some known-good batteries. No guarantees, though. Just PM me

 

[Treebiter]

I know a guy who works for a battery company (i knew he'd come in useful one day) so I may be able to test it with some brand new ones without incurring any cost. Unfortunately I'm in the UK so sending it to you may be problematic. The offer is very much appreciated though, thanks. If you know of any UK members who would be willing to extend your offer though, that would be great (If that's not too cheeky). I'd be willing to make a contribution of course.

In the mean time I'll hope that it's a battery issue though I fear it's not. In a worst case scenario in which the system is beyond repair, what are my options for replacemnt nowerdays? I've heard a little about the Wizz but I'm one of the few stick fans. I may be getting a little ahead of myself though.