Gp2x-f200 Help

[Orange]

I got the GP2X-F200 and cradle and I need some help with a few things.

1.) How can I make battery life longer. It seems to only last an hour or two, even when I under clock the system. The battery life especially becomes a problem during music listening as you have to have the clock at 200 for the music to play at normal speed. Is there any way to control things like screen brightness for when I'm listening to music or just in general?

2.) How do I telnet over USB? I tried the tutorial on the wiki http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Tcp/ip_over_usb and the download link is broken, and the GP2X file archive only has the .sys files which I have no clue what to do with.

3.) What's with the cradle? I'm pretty sure I read that it was compatible with the F200 but the little cap over the extension port blocks it! Looks like a huge design flaw to me. Also it didn't come with a power cord so I tried a cord that fit and had the same voltage and the power light started blinking on and off. I waited a bit and smelled the oh too familiar smell of burning electronics. I quickly unplugged it and blew the smoke away. I'm afraid to touch it now. Since I can't use this cradle where can I get one that will work with the F200?

Thanks

 

[Squidge]

1.) How can I make battery life longer. It seems to only last an hour or two, even when I under clock the system. The battery life especially becomes a problem during music listening as you have to have the clock at 200 for the music to play at normal speed. Is there any way to control things like screen brightness for when I'm listening to music or just in general?

What kind of batteries are you using? Try some Ansmann 2500mAh with a decent charger (not one of those cheapo simple timer jobbies)

2.) How do I telnet over USB? I tried the tutorial on the wiki http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Tcp/ip_over_usb and the download link is broken, and the GP2X file archive only has the .sys files which I have no clue what to do with.

The F200 doesn't support Telnet over USB, only the F100. (Well, you can do it with the F200, but you need the Cradle+USB Ethernet adaptor+CAT5 cable+Spare network card in your PC)
QUOTE
3.) What's with the cradle? I'm pretty sure I read that it was compatible with the F200 but the little cap over the extension port blocks it! Looks like a huge design flaw to me. Also it didn't come with a power
Yes, you have to pull of the rubber cap before it'll fit the cradle.
QUOTE
cord so I tried a cord that fit and had the same voltage and the power light started blinking on and off. I waited a bit and smelled the oh too familiar smell of burning electronics. I quickly unplugged it and blew the smoke away. I'm afraid to touch it now. Since I can't use this cradle where can I get one that will work with the F200?
It will work, you just have to put that smoke back into it first. When you found an adaptor with the right voltage, was it also the correct polarity? The cradle requires a centre positive regulated supply.

 

[Hooka]

If you don't wanna rip off the cover, just remove the battery cover and tuck it in there

should've avoided using a power adaptor, unless the drain is to great you can power a few low-power devices without one

 

[Squirrel61]

3.) What's with the cradle? I'm pretty sure I read that it was compatible with the F200 but the little cap over the extension port blocks it! Looks like a huge design flaw to me.

Indeed it is. When you pull the cap and cut it smooth, you can still put it back on. You can also get the F200 in the cradle with the cap still attached, but then the contact will be highly unreliable.
QUOTE
Also it didn't come with a power cord so I tried a cord that fit and had the same voltage and the power light started blinking on and off. I waited a bit and smelled the oh too familiar smell of burning electronics. I quickly unplugged it and blew the smoke away. I'm afraid to touch it now. Since I can't use this cradle where can I get one that will work with the F200?

As Squidge says, watch voltage and polarity. Opposed to all adapters you can buy, which are centre positive, the GP2X uses centre negative. But in contrary to the F100, reverse polarity will not immediately fry the F200 (I can tell you out of experience ). However, a too high voltage will fry the F200 and cause a really nasty problem. In the F100, "simply" the main power converter burns out. In the F200, it will cause a lot more damage. I still haven't found out exactly what.

The F200 doesn't support Telnet over USB, only the F100. (Well, you can do it with the F200, but you need the Cradle+USB Ethernet adaptor+CAT5 cable+Spare network card in your PC)

Do you need additional software on the F200 to get it to work? And I assume, it won't let you access the nand like with the F100. Will you be able to keep the connection alive when running other software, like the F100 does?