Stop the sirring noise!


I did end up buying a dedicated e-ink e-reader. In the end it came down to buying the -one- e-ink e-reader that I could find that had on-device direct access (without having to side-load books) to the Overdrive application that seemingly most of the libraries in the US use for e-book checkout. A, "Kobo Auro One Limited Edition" should be arriving in a week or so. There are reviews out there by people who know more about these types of devices than I do.
I will look into it, and may have questions and a couple tests if you are willing to try them out once it arrives.
 
I will look into it, and may have questions and a couple tests if you are willing to try them out once it arrives.
Free shipping = 7-10 days. Ordered 2 days ago and hasn't shipped yet. I'll open a thread in, "Everything Else" on it.
 
Answers to some questions:
3. "sirring" is probably a Germanism: https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/sirren "to make a soft, high-pitched sound through movement". Proper translation would be "high pitch buzz". The official technical term for the effect is "singing MLCC".
That sounds even worse than the "whirring" noise I was assuming "sirring" meant. :( Hope we get this resolved.

Answers to some questions:
4. Tantalum: yes, it would be a small percentage, but they also have other potential problems and we prefer to chose the best solution (even if it means doing a small change to the PCB layout)
At least the way it is presented to us, it sounds to me like you are searching for an "equally good" solution rather than choosing the best solution. I'm not knocking you for trying to avoid Tantalum given its issues as a conflict material, but as far as I have been able to gather from what we've been told regarding this issue... Tantalum capacitors solve the issue completely. That means you have found the best choice already and are currently trying to find a more palatable best choice.

EDIT: @Grench: I've got an Onyx C67ML Carta 2 and love it; Chose that over the Aura One for Android.

-God Ginrai
 
That sounds even worse than the "whirring" noise I was assuming "sirring" meant. :( Hope we get this resolved.


At least the way it is presented to us, it sounds to me like you are searching for an "equally good" solution rather than choosing the best solution. I'm not knocking you for trying to avoid Tantalum given its issues as a conflict material, but as far as I have been able to gather from what we've been told regarding this issue... Tantalum capacitors solve the issue completely. That means you have found the best choice already and are currently trying to find a more palatable best choice.

-God Ginrai

Actually, if they find a solution that lets them still use ceramic caps, that's better. Tantalum doesn't last as long, and can explode.
 
Quick update: The new circuit has already been designed and test PCBs ordered. They normally arrive within 10 days, assembly and testing takes about 4 hours.

The change is being made in the mainboard files upfront, so the moment the testing suceeds is the moment we can send the new mainboard files to GC for a prototype production.

Sent from my XT1650-03 using Tapatalk
 
Quick update: The new circuit has already been designed and test PCBs ordered. They normally arrive within 10 days, assembly and testing takes about 4 hours.

The change is being made in the mainboard files upfront, so the moment the testing suceeds is the moment we can send the new mainboard files to GC for a prototype production.

Sent from my XT1650-03 using Tapatalk

 
At least the way it is presented to us, it sounds to me like you are searching for an "equally good" solution rather than choosing the best solution. I'm not knocking you for trying to avoid Tantalum given its issues as a conflict material, but as far as I have been able to gather from what we've been told regarding this issue... Tantalum capacitors solve the issue completely. That means you have found the best choice already and are currently trying to find a more palatable best choice.

The new solution is actually better because it solves the core issue (~13 kHz ripple) instead of hiding the symptom (with a tantalum cap). This way we won't have to deal with any secondary effects from the ripple, like finding out another cap down the line also squeaks when the tantalum cap starts to deviate from the original spec in a few years.
 
Well win-win regardless.
For anyone that thinks ethical decisions add cost, they also add support when done right.
The bottom line of fairphone isnt based on being a great phone vendor, but being perhaps the only fair one.
 
The new solution is actually better because it solves the core issue (~13 kHz ripple) instead of hiding the symptom (with a tantalum cap). This way we won't have to deal with any secondary effects from the ripple, like finding out another cap down the line also squeaks when the tantalum cap starts to deviate from the original spec in a few years.
Now this is a *real* solution! I'm looking forward to bask in the velvety silence when no useful sound is being played.
[doublepost=1518190713,1518190468][/doublepost]
That sounds even worse than the "whirring" noise I was assuming "sirring" meant. :( Hope we get this resolved.


At least the way it is presented to us, it sounds to me like you are searching for an "equally good" solution rather than choosing the best solution. I'm not knocking you for trying to avoid Tantalum given its issues as a conflict material, but as far as I have been able to gather from what we've been told regarding this issue... Tantalum capacitors solve the issue completely. That means you have found the best choice already and are currently trying to find a more palatable best choice.

EDIT: @Grench: I've got an Onyx C67ML Carta 2 and love it; Chose that over the Aura One for Android.

-God Ginrai
It seems that he already ordered it. I would not touch the thing since it does not have an SD card slot like it's predecessor did. I have a *lot* of e-books and the Kobo Aura H2O allows me to carry almost my entire library on the go. when this battery has died, I'm going to replace the battery, not the device.
 
EDIT: @Grench: I've got an Onyx C67ML Carta 2 and love it; Chose that over the Aura One for Android.
It seems that he already ordered it. I would not touch the thing since it does not have an SD card slot like it's predecessor did. I have a *lot* of e-books and the Kobo Aura H2O allows me to carry almost my entire library on the go. when this battery has died, I'm going to replace the battery, not the device.

You're welcome to join in the conversation on the "Everything Else" thread. If you want, I can make the title more generic to dedicated e-reader devices.
https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/kobo-aura-one.82573/
 
I have a *lot* of e-books and the Kobo Aura H2O allows me to carry almost my entire library on the go. when this battery has died, I'm going to replace the battery, not the device.

Honestly though, it's quite birrare how a device outliving its battery has somehow become a benchmark of how good that device is. No wonder phones are getting dropped from update schedules so quickly when they're only designed to last as long as the battery.
 
Ok, we are drifting off topic, so maybe these posts can be move to the thread locked above.

While I don't want to replace my ebook reader, because despite the issues it is a form factor and body style I love, and the deficiencies (imperfect screen because of touch layer, uneven lighting when reading light is activated which shows a piece of dust, sometimes books on SD don't show up,etc) are a reflection of me. I am still more likely to replace the battery than the device when it is time, unless I find something vastly superior. There is a reason I got a nook tablet to supplement it instead of a replacement.

My perfect ebook reader would have:
  • Metal body or at least corners/edges
  • Midsize color e-ink touchscreen
  • Physical buttons for turning pages and navigating menus
  • Linux
  • At least one SD slot
  • Reading light that can be shifted away from blue
  • easily modified hardware and OS (open)
  • Look resembling a PADD
  • Charging and USB port (not the same, but chargeable from both)
  • WiFi and maybe other ways to get books
 
I am not looking for a replacement yet. I think I have seen those available online somewhere.
 
Searing could be worse, depending on what it is coming from. Could be more painful, too.
 
Searing could be worse, depending on what it is coming from. Could be more painful, too.
Or searing could be a good thing. Like a big juicy steak hitting a hot cast iron skillet.

Mmm... Steak.
[Insert drooling Homer Simpson gif here.]
 
Or searing could be a good thing. Like a big juicy steak hitting a hot cast iron skillet.

Mmm... Steak.
[Insert drooling Homer Simpson gif here.]
I was going to post the pic, but we are way off topic. I was thinking of the Pyra in my pocket, but if it can be used to cook, sure.

Um. On topic...I should finally be able to buy the rest of the vouchers to cover my Pyra cost and the clear case soon. Yay...?
 
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