Gp2x Official Cradle And The F-200!

[Cauterize]

Firstly i hope all the users on here had a great xmas and new years eve!
Also id like to state before i go into an angry post that the GP2X has been brilliant so far, well worth the money!
The video at the bottom of the page will sum up my feelings...

I was really pleased to recieve an official GP2X Cradle for xmas, however ive only just got round to trying it tonight.

Im posting this before i whack my skull against the wall in frustration...

Firstly i had incredible trouble getting the F-200 to sit in the cradle and connect. Upon reading through a few of the posts on this forum, i found the solution.
Firstly cut off the flappy rubberish flap that covers the EXT port. No matter which way you bend it, stretch it or pull it, chances are youre not going to get it slotted in

Anyways, once you have cut off the flap, this is my method of slotting the GP2X F-200 everytime, please refer to the picture below:

Hold the GP2x and cradle like so. And what you need to do is push while twisting both of your hands inwards as if you want to make your fingertips face your body. Twist your left hand clockwise and your right hand anticlockwise! Obviously dont do it too hard, but it should slot in nicely.

Hopefully this first step will help a few others out! As it had me stumped for a while!



Now for the real issue!

As seen here, the Cradle is getting its power just fine, ive gone to the USB Host option and turned it on too.
However not one of my devices is being detected or working.
In the instructions it asks you to turn on USB Host, Storage and Human Interface. But theyre not on my settings :-/
In one Youtube video i saw, the guys Cradle showed small green lights above the USB slots once a device was inserted. I however am not gettign a single green light on any device whatsoever.

These are the devices i have been trying to get working, or even a single green light on.
A Gravis Gamepad Pro (A very basic old school usb pad)
a Basic, but fancy USB mouse
A PS2 to USB convertor with a PS2 pad attached
and a basic USB memory stick

I have also tried:
the Smart Media Card reader i used to use for my GP32
another USB mouse
a bluetooth usb stick
USB MP3 Player
Logitec Wingman Cordless gamepad

Not one single green light has flashed for me, not once...
Wether or not these devices arent compatible I cannot say for sure, but it seems unlikely considering all of these havent worked.

However, the mouse and PS2 adapter ARE getting power from the GP2X as both the Mouse light is on as is the power light for the PS2 adapter, just not the green light on the Cradle

Ive checked in Picodrive, GPfcu, Wind and Water, ScummVM... none detect the pads either...

I cannot test the TV Out on the cradle as i do not have the cables yet, however i have the TV Out Stand alone cable and that works fine

Upon reading a few posts, there are claims that the F-200 doesnt work with the cradle.
However on other posts some users say it works fine.

But overall, this video sums it up...
Out of all the devices i have, this is the only one that works...

.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=I5FMs4cerHg


So is there anything im missing?
Anything i can do?
Any suggestions?

Im just hoping we can crack this issue and problem once and for all!
I just dont want the cradle to sit and gather dust as im really looking forward to some 4 player action!

 

[xcen]

no green lights mean this is not working

I have had some problems with this but usually turning USB Host on and off solves it...

=(

 

[iCeD00D]

Hmmm now I'm wondering if buying my cradle yesterday was a good idea .. I mainly wanted it to use an external hard drive.. I wonder if your light is not coming on because of insufficient power? I saw the red light but maybe you need a A/C power source? Just reaching here...

 

[xcen]

iCeD00D my cradle works fine with my F200, not trouble fitting it in (but you do have to cut off the rubber thing)

TV out works fine, but not through GMenu2x

and whenever I don't get my green lights, I turn USB host off then on and they're back...

I don't regret buying it

 

[Cauterize]

no green lights mean this is not working

I have had some problems with this but usually turning USB Host on and off solves it..

Cheers for your quick reply xcen! And thanks for the advice, but...

*sigh*

Tried and failed unfortunately...

I even found the most basic USB SD Card reader in my computer spares box and that didnt even give me a green light either... Even when changing USB Host on and off...

However im really unsure now. In the manual for the cradle, it says to turn on 'Human Interfaces' and 'Storage' as well as 'USB Host'. Obviously these are MKII settings, but does the F-200 'USB Host' include these?

<_<

Hmmm now I'm wondering if buying my cradle yesterday was a good idea .. I mainly wanted it to use an external hard drive.. I wonder if your light is not coming on because of insufficient power? I saw the red light but maybe you need a A/C power source? Just reaching here...

Cheers iCeD00D,

You may have a point here... All my USB devices have been tried via the battery power coming from the GP2X.
Once theyre plugged in there is a very faint noise, almost a buzz coming from the cradle, which gets louder when more devices are inserted. For some reason i instantly came to the conclusion that its struggling with power hence the noise.

Im in town tomorrow so i might try pick up the power supply recommended, sold at Argos!

Seriously though, any noobs or new F-200 owners looking into the cradle... Buy it with caution! There are alot of posts which are full of frustration.

 

[bomberman]

Bought a second hand cradle on Craigslist for $25. Box and cradle only.

Found old power cable in stash at home (5V, 2A, center positive), plugged in and got light.

Added F200 (same method as yours). Changed settings - USB host ON

Plugged in 2GB USB key, generic gamepad, Mouse, Windows Remote - works fine
Plugged in 2.5" HDD, wireless KB, Kensington Trackball - don't work (HDD not powered)

Tried TV out - works on most programs; sometimes gmenu2x gets half screen and I exit to GP menu to fix.

Working on Serial console next - got a 9 pin null modem to hook up.

Overall very satisfied, works as promised, still looking to get better resolution for emulation on tv out. Would like Quake and others to run 720x480 on my big screen.

 

[senquack]

Overall very satisfied, works as promised, still looking to get better resolution for emulation on tv out. Would like Quake and others to run 720x480 on my big screen.

I think you might be asking asking a 200mhz ARM chip with no FPU and pretty slow RAM to push over 4 times the number of pixels.. might not be doable.

 

[Duddyroar]

I got a cradle for my F200 last year and I've had no problems so far. I've only used USB pads and everyone I've plugged in has worked...although I would recommend getting a PSU (as you mentioned) as your batteries will drain fast using the cradle + TV out + USB pads.

The buzzing noise is something to do with the poor sheilding within the cradle, the speakers pick up the sound of the USB ports working. It's nothing to do with power from what I can gather.

For me the cradle is a fantastic bit of kit, and I'm well pleased with it.

 

[sukhi-2006]

It's very easy to work the cradle with gp2x here are the steps:

1)take rubber off from the ext port
2)fit gp2x onto the cradle
3)go into settings and turn on the usb host, as soon you do that the green light will come on,
make sure one of the usb control pads is inserted front of the gp2x cradle.

 

[Cauterize]

It's very easy to work the cradle with gp2x here are the steps:

1)take rubber off from the ext port
2)fit gp2x onto the cradle
3)go into settings and turn on the usb host, as soon you do that the green light will come on,
make sure one of the usb control pads is inserted front of the gp2x cradle.

uhmmm, without sounding rude.... My first post clearly describes every step you have mentioned, unfortunately it hasnt worked for me though.

Mini update, i have bought the two recommended Power Supplies for the GP2X and the Cradle.
Ill be able to find out wether my USB devices required the cradle power supply shortly. *fingers crossed*

 

[dj jack]

Stupid question, but whatever: have you pressed B after highliting ON for USB Host?

 

[sukhi-2006]

Yes dj jack is right you will have to press to turn usb host on, sometimes the green light don't turn on the only way to do it it to take out the usb pads out and put it back in sometimes this will show the green light on the cradle this has happened to me several times.

 

[iCeD00D]

Just to add, I can say that after Xcen's suggestion on the Dlink hub, the power supply that came with that, works great with my cradle... so i'm sure if you get the 'official' ones they will work fine... Now I did find out like stated above.. that even though I had green lights on the front, I had to go back into the system and turn off and turn on the USB host. After doing that, the pad and the HD worked fine... Also don't be so hasty hitting the home button... After hitting the B button to activate the USB host, wait until it goes back to the selections.. then hit HOME... I use GMenu so it brings me back to that.... hope this helps...

 

[narmak]

I have an f200 and a cradle, and I have to exit gmenu2x, and go to the settings menu of the original frontend to get usb host going. Even when I use the gmenu2x options for enabling it on the nand and on the sd, it will not work unless I go back to the old frontend. This makes me wonder what command is getting ran, so I could maybe just make a small shell script and link it into gmenu2x so i don't have to keep switching between the two.

 

[bomberman]

I looked at the firmware files and there is a /usr/gp2x/usbconnect.sh that you could try to copy into a .gpu.

 

[zektor]

I just got my cradle today. I had the same freakin' problem with putting the F200 into it. I removed the rubber flap a few days ago to be ready (didn't cut it, but rather opened the GP2X and took it out along with the flap for the power), but the GP2X still would not align with the connector on the cradle no matter what I did.

I decided to dismantle the cradle, took out the board and connector, and tested it that way. Everything worked great. I then decided to try to re-assemble the cradle and try to fix the problem. The problem is obviously a design flaw with the connector. This is what I did:

1. Unscrew the two screws holding the connector in place THREE turns (do not remove the screws, just loosen)
2. Remove the clamp from the wiring going to the connector (big black clamp)
3. Gently pull the wiring toward the front of the unit and close it up. (be careful not to pull out any wires)

What this does is it moves the connector ever so slightly forward and closing it with the wiring pulled forward tugs on the connector to accomplish this. After closing it up my GP2X slides into the cradle like butter. No force whatsoever is necessary for the GP2X to make a connection now. I can basically drop the unit in and it works flawlessly.

Remember, dismantle at YOU OWN RISK. Also, be cautious as there are some small parts (such as the plastic LED pieces) that will most likely fall out when you open it. They are easy to drop back in to place, but also easy to loose! I *almost* lost one. Finally, there are four screws for the cradle. Three are visible, one is under the upper left rubber foot on the bottom while you are holding it with the USB slots facing forward. Hope this information helps someone

 

[EvilDragon]

Yep, the last batch of cradles had a problem - not only with the F200 but also with the F100.
The console didn't really fit in, the connector was not sitting properly in the cradle.

 

[Paradox]

Yep, the last batch of cradles had a problem - not only with the F200 but also with the F100.
The console didn't really fit in, the connector was not sitting properly in the cradle.

I bought my cradle from play-asia, and it doesn't fit my GP2x properly (infact, it broke the ext port completely off)

what should I say to them in my request for a return? can I quote you?

 

[gruso]

I just got my cradle today. I had the same freakin' problem with putting the F200 into it. I removed the rubber flap a few days ago to be ready (didn't cut it, but rather opened the GP2X and took it out along with the flap for the power), but the GP2X still would not align with the connector on the cradle no matter what I did.

I decided to dismantle the cradle, took out the board and connector, and tested it that way. Everything worked great. I then decided to try to re-assemble the cradle and try to fix the problem. The problem is obviously a design flaw with the connector. This is what I did:

1. Unscrew the two screws holding the connector in place THREE turns (do not remove the screws, just loosen)
2. Remove the clamp from the wiring going to the connector (big black clamp)
3. Gently pull the wiring toward the front of the unit and close it up. (be careful not to pull out any wires)

What this does is it moves the connector ever so slightly forward and closing it with the wiring pulled forward tugs on the connector to accomplish this. After closing it up my GP2X slides into the cradle like butter. No force whatsoever is necessary for the GP2X to make a connection now. I can basically drop the unit in and it works flawlessly.

Remember, dismantle at YOU OWN RISK. Also, be cautious as there are some small parts (such as the plastic LED pieces) that will most likely fall out when you open it. They are easy to drop back in to place, but also easy to loose! I *almost* lost one. Finally, there are four screws for the cradle. Three are visible, one is under the upper left rubber foot on the bottom while you are holding it with the USB slots facing forward. Hope this information helps someone
Bump! Excellent advice Zektor. I came home to find my cradle waiting today, and quickly had my bubble burst when it didn't fit. I'd already taken the rubber cap out (all three actually - most annoying things ever) so I was baffled. But I knew the answer would be in a thread somewhere. Thanks. B)

 

[Gunsmoke1084]

Yep, the last batch of cradles had a problem - not only with the F200 but also with the F100.
The console didn't really fit in, the connector was not sitting properly in the cradle.

OMG! When does the madness end? I thought upgrades to products were suppose to improve them. Long story short I received the cradle in the mail for my bricked F200 (thank you FW 4.0.2)... it was apparently a part of that same batch EvilDragon referred too. Next time I'll just by a bunch of scrap electronics and build my own damn handheld, I think I'm turning Chinese!

*laugh* You know what this reminds me of so far? One of those really cool RC 4x4 trucks back in the late 80's early 90's that were super awesome and ran about $200 USD... as soon as you put all the thousands of bits and pieces together.

*sigh* I'm honestly not sure the possibility playing Final Fight at the laundry mat is worth the amount of aggravation and extra money this thing has involved... it's slowly approaching low-end laptop cost. Yes, I know, ranting.

Oh and all ranting aside... This board is EXTREMELY HELPFUL (not sarcasm, lol) and THANK YOU everyone so far! I will attempt to do my fair share of *grumble* troubleshooting and post it on here somewhere.