Returning A Defective Gp2x

[sam fisher]

Sounds like hypochlondria.

 

[nickspoon]

That driver is for USB Network, not USB Mass Storage which is the one that starts in the menu under 'USB'. The GP2X not being recognised under XP is a known problem. Solution: card reader.

My unit now will not even turn on unless I switch it off and on multiple times, with battery, or plugged in, or unless I let it sit for awhile after it fails to respond.

That's definitely not normal. What is the rating of your power adaptor? 3V regulated centre negative?

 

[jeffward24]

That driver is for USB Network, not USB Mass Storage which is the one that starts in the menu under 'USB'. The GP2X not being recognised under XP is a known problem. Solution: card reader.

My unit now will not even turn on unless I switch it off and on multiple times, with battery, or plugged in, or unless I let it sit for awhile after it fails to respond.

That's definitely not normal. What is the rating of your power adaptor? 3V regulated centre negative?

I purchased for $39.99 from Radio Shack, the tested and approved Multi Adapter Power Supply
( http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...oductId=2049693 ) set at 3 volts with the tip set to negative, all per the instructions. If I turn it off and on 10 times, it may power up 3, or all 10...it is completely random. When it boots, it shows lots of vertical lines, or will show a perfect white background, and sometimes a weird design behind the lines, which may be heavy (thusands of them), or lighter (perhaps hundreds)...but again, always random. This doesn't leave me with confidence in the machine, seeing I'm being told it will be fully tested, but if it passes, according to "their" standards, I'm going to be out $70 to ship back and forth, being left with intermittent bugs. To me, that's not customer service, and doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling, seeing it appears to be getting progressively worse. In the beginning, it only did it once in awhile (especially AC power right out of the box). Days later, it isn't even powering on when I want. Something seems wrong.

 

[Shikaku]

It's the AC adapter, you fried the GP2X =)

 

[craigix]

This does sound like the AC has fried the GP2X, if we open it and it is burnt out we won't refund your money.

 

[sam fisher]

But he said that he used it correctly. Unless he used a higher voltage, or maybe the wrong polarity, then surely some part of the GP2x must have been defective and damaged under normal conditions?

 

[Shikaku]

But he said that he used it correctly. Unless he used a higher voltage, or maybe the wrong polarity, then surely some part of the GP2x must have been defective and damaged under normal conditions?

What could have also happened was that using both batteries and the adapter together ruined it...

 

[sam fisher]

Oh, so if you use the AC adaptor you have to remove the batteries from the 2x first..?

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

But he said that he used it correctly. Unless he used a higher voltage, or maybe the wrong polarity, then surely some part of the GP2x must have been defective and damaged under normal conditions?

What could have also happened was that using both batteries and the adapter together ruined it...

Not possible, when you plug the adapter in a little switch is engaged that turns the power over to the adapter only. cutting off the supply from the battery.

 

[sam fisher]

Didn't that play up in some 2x's?

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

Didn't that play up in some 2x's?

That would mean a faulty power connector, which would constitute to a faulty GP2X, not the fact of simply plugging the power supply in while batteries are installed.

 

[Shikaku]

I think we scared him off...

 

[jeffward24]

Thanks for all of your inputs...with the exception of the person who wrote "This does sound like the AC has fried the GP2X, if we open it and it is burnt out we won't refund your money".

Guess again. You did.

If you follow the instructions given, and buy the power supply that is "approved and tested"...and the GP2X no longer works...then it is most certainly covered by the one year warranty. That's why a warranty exists.
Had I "built" one as people have stated, or bought one, and plugged the "tip" in wrong, or jacked up the voltage to the wrong setting...then I would've voided the agreed upon warranty.

A company that is "quick" to find a reason to negate a warranty, means they are quicker to ignore the principles of good customer service...the most important part of business...and repeat business, for that matter.
Because they took care of the situation professionally, in a courteous and expedited manner, I am far more inclined to reconsider buying from them again (I still have yet to do so).

People who make comments like "we won't refund your money" if we find the hardware is burnt, clearly don't know that hardware breaks sometimes without decisive answers (cold solder joints, shorts, imperfections in boards, poorly secured headphone jacks (Gee...didn't they have some issues with that),QA misses, etc). If there wasn't a learning curve here about the do's and don'ts, we'd all be on the same page, and posts would be a moot point, correct? Just by the fact that someone would say that because I had my batteries in while having the A/C plugged in...that's why I fried it, lol...still laughing about that one, clearly shows that no one has all the answers, and posts are clearly a necessity.

Thank you for all of your assistance. Most of you.

P.S. - I actually purchased another from Play-Asia, (The GP2X.co.uk was sold out), but they had my entire order on delay because the case I ordered was delayed until Sept 21st...crazy to put off the order !), so I cancelled it.
Thinking about either going back to the original company, or to Lik-Sang.

 

[BradN]

Well, the thing is, some adapters that claim to be 3V actually output a much higher voltage (say, 5-10V) when they're not under any load, and only once a device is powered on does it drop down. This in itself shouldn't be a problem, but if there's any significant capacitor on the adapter output, it'll send a good amount of energy through the device when you first switch it on, and I'm guessing after enough times it'll burn out the internal regulator. You really should test the adapter with a voltmeter before using it if it's not a specific brand/model number that's endorsed for use.

Want a quick and dirty test? Stick your tongue on the 9V connector with the 3V setting and compare to a couple AA alkaline batteries and a wire.

 

[jeffward24]

Well, the thing is, some adapters that claim to be 3V actually output a much higher voltage (say, 5-10V) when they're not under any load, and only once a device is powered on does it drop down. This in itself shouldn't be a problem, but if there's any significant capacitor on the adapter output, it'll send a good amount of energy through the device when you first switch it on, and I'm guessing after enough times it'll burn out the internal regulator. You really should test the adapter with a voltmeter before using it if it's not a specific brand/model number that's endorsed for use.

Want a quick and dirty test? Stick your tongue on the 9V connector with the 3V setting and compare to a couple AA alkaline batteries and a wire.

Well, the thing is, some adapters that claim to be 3V actually output a much higher voltage (say, 5-10V) when they're not under any load, and only once a device is powered on does it drop down. This in itself shouldn't be a problem, but if there's any significant capacitor on the adapter output, it'll send a good amount of energy through the device when you first switch it on, and I'm guessing after enough times it'll burn out the internal regulator. You really should test the adapter with a voltmeter before using it if it's not a specific brand/model number that's endorsed for use.

Want a quick and dirty test? Stick your tongue on the 9V connector with the 3V setting and compare to a couple AA alkaline batteries and a wire.

Brad,
Did you even bother to read what I stated? lol
I informed everyone that I purchased an approved and tested Adapter, from Radio Shack. It has a 3 volt, 4.5, all the way up to 12 volts.
I followed the advice of the group (Great forum of people, by the way), and purchased the very best one, as I didn't want to take any chances.

 

[BradN]

Sorry, I was assuming you meant someone on the forums recommended it, and not GPH. My apologies, I just haven't run across an official list of them.

 

[DaveC]

Didn't that play up in some 2x's?

That would mean a faulty power connector, which would constitute to a faulty GP2X, not the fact of simply plugging the power supply in while batteries are installed.

Even if true and the little switch was faulty connecting 3V power adapter in parallel to 3V batteries gives you only 3V. That wouldn't fry the unit but it could cause batteries to explode or leak as they weren't meant to be "charged" that way.

It sounds like a faulty power switch to me.

 

[jeffward24]

Didn't that play up in some 2x's?

That would mean a faulty power connector, which would constitute to a faulty GP2X, not the fact of simply plugging the power supply in while batteries are installed.

Even if true and the little switch was faulty connecting 3V power adapter in parallel to 3V batteries gives you only 3V. That wouldn't fry the unit but it could cause batteries to explode or leak as they weren't meant to be "charged" that way.

It sounds like a faulty power switch to me.

The power adapter is used to "power" the unit...not "charge", as a supplemental asset, as is the case with other handhelds, pdas, etc. The power adapter automatically shuts off the use of the batteries when the system senses electricity being used...so no matter what voltage...the batteries are a moot point. No place in the directions, or in any forum does it state that you Must First remove both batteries before Ever plugging in A/C power, correct? If it did, that would be a Huge oversight in build quality, for the factors of convenience, and forward thinking, as the auto shut off to alternate power source has been around for ages. Fumbling with the back cover, taking them out, putting the cover back on, every time you plug in, and vice versa when done...no one does that, and why should they, right?
The power switch was Not faulty. It was tested. It seems you want to push the issue to take the GP2x out of the equation, versus taking the side that the manufacturer of a reputable part from a power supply vendor that has been around for decades. Against a handheld manufacturer who has only had this particular product out since its debut in April 2006? A manufacturer that is still, to this day, releasing fixes for "known" issues, and working on future releases, for issues still unknown, but seemingly quirky...that people on boards "just deal with"? A manufacturer that also re-released this handheld for poor build quality of its headphone jack breaking off, invoking people to post that they "fixed" it themselves, and posted the soldering techniques to perform the operation? And so on.
And you, for some reason, conclude that it is the power supply? If that's the case, more GP2x's are in serious trouble of bricking then, as everyone is going to need a power supply eventually...and considering I bought the best one, from the leading electronics name in the world...
The GP2X had issues. It happens. Anything electronic can break, at any time, for any reason, electrostatic discharge, power fluctuations, power failure, faulty battery, humidity, bad boards, RAM, processor...you name it. The GP2X is a baby, although a healthy one.
Out of 1000 units, a few will just not last. It is a fact of gadgets, and anything else man made.
Blaming the power supply is the wrong approach.

 

[geolinux]

Hello All !

I received my order recently from the U.K. to the U.S., but it is clearly defective.
While either being plugged in with an approved Radio Shack Multi-volt power supply
( http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...oductId=2049693 ) set at 3 volts with the tip set to negative, or with 2500mA rechargeable batteries, the screen flashes thin vertical lines across the screen during boot up, hiccups on the first select screen, doesn't access certain screens (USB as an example), the joystick is unresponsive or erratic, is not recognized by any computer, even with all of the settings set properly, and has to be shut off and on for almost all games as it locks up.

Anyone who may be able to instruct me as to what the return process is, for either receiving a refund or another unit, would be most appreciated. Does anyone have a phone number to be used in the U.S. as well? ... I purchased it from GP2X.co.uk Sales. http://gp2x.co.uk/gp2xlinks.html
Do they send a return label so that I won't incur a shipping charge back to the UK? Perhaps I should try to return it for a refund, and then order from a U.S. vendor? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated !
Jeff




here is a link to a usa vendor i found

http://www.gp2xstore.com

 

[trooper]

@geolinux.com

Grave digging an old topic.

This thread is over 9 months old, Stop finding excuses to post your affiliate link, PLEASE.

Trooper