Last known issue fixed

[benoitb]

don't feel too bad about this, i think wikipedia is a great secondary source, and if you don't like it you can fix it (see rygD's post above). listen to good voices here, though we all have our bad days, some people seem to have more .

You can sometimes fix it. The Vita article still states that the CPU runs at 2GHz. I tried to change that on the french version to the real value of 444 MHz, got a very bad welcoming and thus nothing changed as I didn't want to fight. I still provided several sources, but apparently Yifanlu's twitter was trusted less than bulshit gaming newsite that all write the same info without any verification of the "news".
Wikipedia is wrong on that value, and the Playstation Vita is a pretty important article.

I generaly like Wikipedia but you have to be careful. I take it as an index, like Google, with the added benefit that it was built by humans. It is my favorite source of translations as well: look for a word, change the language and you get an accurate translation.

 

[Yoyobuae]

HAHAHAHAHA! Oh how I wish this were true! Current is defined as dq/dt (instantaneous). It is the rate of change of charge (in Coulombs) over time. If devices could "pull" electrons on their own we probably wouldn't need a means of creating voltage and current in the first place. Lets use water as an analogy. There's a dam which feeds a river. The dam itself creates a separation in the water. It can hold back billions of gallons of water. (Your voltage source) Resistance in this case would be the gates that open to allow the water to flow from a higher potential energy state to a lower one. The flow rate is your "current" measured in this case in Litres/sec. Voltage is separation of charge, resistance is resistance to that flow of charge, and current is the flow rate of said charge.

I meant the device "let's thru" the specified amount of current. I thought it was easy enough to understand what I meant. I keep forgetting not to make such assumptions when trying to communicate online.

 

[TeDaDeS]

You can sometimes fix it. The Vita article still states that the CPU runs at 2GHz. I tried to change that on the french version to the real value of 444 MHz, got a very bad welcoming and thus nothing changed as I didn't want to fight. I still provided several sources, but apparently Yifanlu's twitter was trusted less than bulshit gaming newsite that all write the same info without any verification of the "news".
Wikipedia is wrong on that value, and the Playstation Vita is a pretty important article.

I generaly like Wikipedia but you have to be careful. I take it as an index, like Google, with the added benefit that it was built by humans. It is my favorite source of translations as well: look for a word, change the language and you get an accurate translation.

True, 2GHz quad-core in 2011 would be exceptional; especially in a mobile gaming device that is passively cooled.

 

[rygD]

Yeah, Wikipedia is a great place to start and get a basic idea of something (just check the history first) and make sure you check what was cited. I had one of my contributions pulled because I didn't have the info on the book listed properly. Amusingly, part of this was due to questionably of the existence of books like this (this one has been in print since the 70s, while others that were previously thought to only be fragments, have been recently found to exist, with one being published as part of a collection last year, or sometime recently.

Another time I was slightly off on the title of something and someone notice, pointed out my mistake, and fixed it. Working together (and the massive number of topics) makes it very useful to me. There are some things that can't be so easily corrected though, especially when it comes to fiction, and characters that are used by multiple authors that fleshed them out in different ways. Who is correct, the person that made the character and intentionally left things vague and mysterious, or the person that tried to make it more understandable and all the people that built off of that version? They are sometimes treated as the same interpretation with no distinction in the wiki articles, which then spread to other wikis on more specific topics (or in at least one case, copied word for word and published in a book which was sold as original work and ideas, which is unfortunately not an uncommon form of plagiarism).

Again, just make sure you are smart about how you use it.

 

[mecksg1]

sweet its getting closer and closer. cant wait. hoping for a xmass delivery but still want it to be perfect before shipped. great to here that the power is fixed now

 

[Splintercat]

The bad usb cables remind me of this http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/anker_usbc_cables_recalled/
In that case, the USB C cables have actual chips in them which are suppose to advertise what the cable can do. So that part of the problem is considerably different. But manufactures cutting corners seems sadly common.

 

[NutNut]

The bad usb cables remind me of this http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/anker_usbc_cables_recalled/
In that case, the USB C cables have actual chips in them which are suppose to advertise what the cable can do. So that part of the problem is considerably different. But manufactures cutting corners seems sadly common.

Very poorly written article. I read it 4 times before giving up and clicking through to the sources they linked.

 

[Grench]

I don't want to derail this thread, but I think quality microUSB charging cables availability is likely going to be a relevant ongoing topic with the Pyra. The fixes ED & team came up with are great and solve the symptom, but the underlying issue of microUSB charging cable quality is going to linger.

So - in light of the good/bad microUSB cables on the market, we all need a source for high quality low resistance USB charging cables. I have had dozens of cables in microUSB and microUSB 3.0 forms from nearly as many manufacturers with very mixed results.

Some of the best ones I've used were the microUSB 3.0 ones that came with my Samsung Note 3 phones. I would buy those as replacements, but there are more fake than real 'replacements' for those out there.

I recently bought 5 Amazon basics microUSB 3.0 charging cables. Very heavy duty in appearance - twice as thick outer diameters when compared to the Samsung ones. So heavy that the cables kind of get in the way. 1 of the 5 was DOA. The others haven't been in service long enough to measure longevity.

I bought a 6 pack of fabric covered 'high speed charging' cables about 2 years ago that charged quickly and all worked - at least until they wore out (expected with in-vehicle use). And - I can't get them anymore. Yet another there and gone brand.

A small volume product idea if anyone is interested: A simple circuit board with electrically paired female USB 3.0 and microUSB 3.0 connectors, an 9 way switch or 9 individual on/off switches and two lead holders for your multimeter leads (or posts for clips). Quickly flip switch through the leads to check continuity -and- resistance wire by wire using any connected multimeter. The only microUSB 3.0 cable tester I was able to find in my brief search could only measure continuity - which isn't the whole story. Could even just have female type A USB 3.0 connectors on it then let the user/tech use adapters to whatever cable they're testing. Someone build this and sell me one?

Clearly ED & team are going to need to source, ship and stock some high quality microUSB (and microUSB 3.0) charging & data cables. Finding a consistent, durable, reasonably priced source might be a trick.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

They'll have a little stylized 'A' on them
Seriously, Anker is the best product for your money, in my opinion. They cost a bit more but you can save money by buying multi-packs off amazon. Got a 6 pack of various lengths for $12 and have no regrets about it. They charge better than any other cable I've found, which from reading this thread would probably be because other cables have a higher resistance where these are very low resistance. Such good cables.

Oh wow, thanks for the recommendation.

@EvilDragon Maybe you should look into adding some of these Anker cables to the Dragonbox shop as accessories.

 

[levi]

I must admit, the whole class of USB power delivery specs had kind of passed me by, but they've been knocking about for almost as long as USB 3.0 has. Type C brings in a new power delivery spec, and active cables that contain chips for reasons best known to the USB forum. But it was certainly surprising to see Anker balls it up like this.

 

[bukkit]

Very interested in this shitty cable notification feature. Other than that, I can see it being useful for those of us that want to be able to check all our system info (for whatever reason).

I can imagine _wb_ would want to put that into his system info. That's all I'd need.

EDIT: I believe it already does that...

 

[Bachstelze]

All LEDs and the LCD brightness was also set to maximum

So you have brightness control finally implemented? Could we get some outside photos when there is good sunlight?

 

[Yerffej]

I was one of the one of the cancelled preorders. I never did get my bank to cooperate with a wire transfer. Luckily PayPal is an option now so I used that instead!

 

[ClockworkCoder]

I just came, originally, to say congratulations on fixing what sounded like it might have been a rather serious hardware issue, but what an entertaining and informative thread. There's a little hint of vitriol (I hope nothing taken personally), but that's also really just an indication of a highly passionate and enthusiastic community.

Also, while waiting is indeed frustrating, I'm so, so very glad that team Pyra (@EvilDragon) are spending time in development and testing and going through such a painstaking incremental and iterative process (and not just rushing) towards a finished product. Makes me confident that it will be fantastic when I finally get my hands on one.

 

[ible]

Makes me confident that it will be fantastic when I finally get my hands on one by Christmas.

ftfy.

(jk EvilDragon, take your time...)

 

[Yori]

Just ordered a Pyra!
Hopefully everything goes smoothly!

 

[pilotgrrl]

I've been watching the updates on the Pyra's development for the last year and have finally decided to take the plunge. I just put in my preorder! Keep up the good work EvilDragon, looks like you're really making a quality product!

 

[Morn]

Does the Pyra have any means of measuring the input voltage? If so, it could warn us that we have a shitty cable.

You will still need at least a simple voltage meter on the other side of the cable, otherwise you will not be able to tell apart shitty cable and shitty charger. Or partially both.

 

[Binky]

There are lots of grotty chargers that supply 5V @ 100mA, 4V @ 500mA and 2V @ 1000mA
The manufacturers then multiply 5V by 1000mA to call it a 5W charger.
Often the problem is not the cable, but the switch-mode regulator in the plug.

Needless to say, these things are so useless that you might as well charge your phone using some copper/zinc pins and a potato.

 

[NutNut]

Needless to say, these things are so useless that you might as well charge your phone using some copper/zinc pins and a potato.

That sounds more plausible than taking video with a potato.
"It takes 9 hours to charge 5%?!? Are you charging your phone with a potato?"