IPod dilemma


Eight Bit

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So, I have this old 60GB 5th gen IPod (video) which I always kept in the car.
A couple of weeks ago it's sound stopped working so I brought it in, read up on it on the interwebs, opened it up, installed rockbox on it, tried some pushing and prieing and finally concluded the soundchip / logic board must be busted.
Spare logic boards can be bought on ebay for about 39$ I'm wondering now....
Is it worth it to repair this thing, what would you do?
 
If you like the device and can't find anything to replace it for the same cost of the logic board I'd say yes.

I have an Archos Mp3 player that I love (physical buttons) and I have replaced the hard drive and the screen over the years.
 
Well to be honest.. The fact that I was able to install rockbox got me a little excited about the ipod again as it would enable me to play SID tunes on it among other things, but... I can of course do the same with my phone, Pandora and later on Pyra. Do I need this Ipod? No.. But it just hurts me to chuck stuff like this in the bin because of 1 broken chip. On the other hand, if I don't repair it I will find it in a drawer in a couple of years... Still broken...
 
It is part of the car... and playing SID's in the car is rad! If the rest of the device is OK, fix it. It is not that expensive. And you get a lightweight music player back.
Incidentally, I also have an Archos MP3 player... replaced the recharcheable batteries 2 times.
Also: it prevents you from switching to a Pandora for car music. I killed my Pandora by leaving it in the car (too warm in summer, even in the backseat/shade)

And you can show off in the future that you have an apple thingy with headphone jack plug!
 
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I killed my Pandora by leaving it in the car (too warm in summer, even in the backseat/shade)
Erk! Did you get it fixed? Did you ever find out exactly what the heat did? I guess if the CPU gets too hot it will expand, and may do so at a different rate to the board, thus stressing the solder dots connecting the CPU to the board and popping some, or one or more of the caps might have popped. I've used my Pandora in temperatures from -5 celcius to +34, and also taken it in to an overheated car, parked in the sun (though the aircon soon sorted out the heat).
 
I have a couple iPods that somehow made their way into my possession that I sometimes use. I don't play with Rockbox and such anymore, so I think they just have whatever Apple put on them. If I can't find them, or the battery is dead, I just grab my Pandora or an old Android phone if I need something small or that I don't mind being potentially destroyed. Once I get my Pyra I will use that when going out in place of the Pandora.

If you have to spend money either way, look for something cheap that does what you want, and if you don't find one you like, repair the iPod. I also recommend asking people you know if they have any old devices they no longer use that would work for you, such as an old mp3 player or mobile phone. By doing that you save some money and get to rescue an old device.


I have an Archos Mp3 player that I love (physical buttons) and I have replaced the hard drive and the screen over the years.
Archos locked down my 504 so I can't replace the HDD (back when I bought it I made sure to get one with the highest capacity). Otherwise it suits me fine. If they hadn't screwed over their customers I might have purchased some of their other devices afterward.
 
Did you get it fixed? Did you ever find out exactly what the heat did?
Never got it fixed. Nothing visible on the board.
What the heat did to my unit:

1. When idle, the screen goes off and the machine goes into low-power mode. But when you press a key/move the mouse, the screen will never light again. The screen can not be read without backlight.
2. When idle, and moving the hybernate slide, the screen goes off... but the backlight stays on... and it stays that way until the battery runs out or you PNDbutton+slide reboot...

I circumvent it by: enable USB, or suspend it while playing a sound (VLC/Bard).
While stuck it might take up to 3 pandorabutton+Slide reboots to make it boot again...

maybe I should ask on a separate thread. There could be a diagnostic program or something similar...
 
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