Warranty after approx. a year

[thatgui]

This isn't exactly the right place to ask, but as it maybe the place where I get EDs attention fast, I hope it isn't considered bad behaviour:


I got a Pandora where the board is emmiting chirr/buzzing sounds if of one of the SD-Cards is accessed. I mentioned this shortly after I got mine in the german forum, and in a short conversation via E-Mail you agreed to swap the boards. This was around the end of April 2011. But at that time the problems with CircuitCo came up again, so I did not send my Pandora in as I was worried I would not get it back for a long time.


The buzzing remaind, but as it would only affect maybe 10% of the usage time, I considered this a minor problem.


But with the experimental kernel, the buzzing got a lot louder, so I can hear it even when the environment isn't quiet - like in public transports. Now I'm worried that this problem won't be solved even if the integration of the new kernel becomes more stable.


Is your exchange offer still valid ? I could fully understand it, if you say no, as I had the chance to correct this, when you made the offer.

 

[EvilDragon]

Yes, it's still valid.

 

[mcobit]

I have this buzzing from time to time, too. ED once said it is from the activation of the amp.


Haven't tried the new kernel, but hope it won't get loud

 

[evasive]

I was thrilled to receive my Pandora last week but I'm experiencing this same issue. Any chance of it being ironed out with a firmware/kernal update along the line or do I have to send my Pandora back???

 

[EvilDragon]

What issue? The short buzzing when you don't listen to sound for a while?


That can't be fixed.

 

[evasive]

Yes, that's the issue. Shame it can't be fixed, I can live with it unless it gets worse.


Thanks ED

 

[porg]

Interesting, I also experienced a 1-2 seconds humming sound every here and then, which was not part of the user experience (sound effect).


I realized it mostly after I booted, and MiniMenu showed up, but also sometimes while browsing in MiniMenu.


It did not bother me so far, but now I know at least, that this is a known issue.

 

[DaMummy]

its not so much of an issue, as it is the amp just shutting down and causing said sound to emmit

 

[MWeston]

Yes, that's the issue. Shame it can't be fixed, I can live with it unless it gets worse.


Thanks ED

That noise is because the high pass filter on the output is set to such a low frequency that the capacitors are so large. This extends the low end frequency response which makes the most use of the high power amplifier for those of us with pretty high end headphones. Maybe it helps with crappy iBuds or something but I won't be caught dead with those so I'll never know.


It's a trade off between better frequency response and noisier power cycles as those giant caps bleed off or load up. To compare Pandora to most other devices (that don't use capless designs), they start rolling off at 45Hz while Pandora doesn't even start to dip down until 30Hz. Personally, I think it is the better choice.

 

[Galaxis]

The amp thing shouldn't happen though when sound is all turned down with the volume wheel?


(I don't have the problem, just wondering if the OP is talking about the same sound as others here - and when not, if there are possibilities to differentiate one from the other.)

 

[ensoniq2k]

In my experience it won't happen with the volume wheel down. Recently I discovered that I get humming sounds while viewing websites. The strange thing is that the humming was reproducable on the same site. For example while scrolling to pic #1 it hummed deep then proceeding to pic #2 it hummed at a little higher frequency. When I scrolled down a little more it disappeared. Scrolling up again made the sound come back. I was using Firefox 11. Not really annoying but strange to hear.

 

[porg]

So is there a recognizable connection between screen content and humming noise?

 

[Prometheus]

In my experience it won't happen with the volume wheel down. Recently I discovered that I get humming sounds while viewing websites. The strange thing is that the humming was reproducable on the same site. For example while scrolling to pic #1 it hummed deep then proceeding to pic #2 it hummed at a little higher frequency. When I scrolled down a little more it disappeared. Scrolling up again made the sound come back. I was using Firefox 11. Not really annoying but strange to hear.

This happens on some laptops too, for whatever it's worth. My ThinkPad does it all the time.

 

[slaeshjag]

My workstation did something simlar, I heard a clear click in my headset when moving focus to a different window. Although I'm pretty sure that was due to a underpowered PSU (300 Watt noname on a quad core and a Geforce 9600GT, Hm...)


So in this case; probably just noise, and not power spikes. I demand an app that plays a tune with this noise by showing different patterns on the screen! Just like someone did with the Altair (but in that case, program loops) > 35 years ago!

 

[Stephane Hockenhull]

My workstation did something simlar, I heard a clear click in my headset when moving focus to a different window. Although I'm pretty sure that was due to a underpowered PSU (300 Watt noname on a quad core and a Geforce 9600GT, Hm...)


So in this case; probably just noise, and not power spikes. I demand an app that plays a tune with this noise by showing different patterns on the screen! Just like someone did with the Altair (but in that case, program loops) > 35 years ago!

someone did the same on C64:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZW2XKSWUPLw?feature=oembed

video signal cross-talk.

 

[thatgui]

(I don't have the problem, just wondering if the OP is talking about the same sound as others here - and when not, if there are possibilities to differentiate one from the other.)

No, my problem has nothing todo with the sound hardware. The source of the chirr/buzzing i hear is emitted from the space between the nubs. I guess its emitted from the top side of the pcb as turning the openened Pandora upside down or just closing the lid lowers the amplitude a little. It does also not depend on the position of the volume wheel or if headphones are plugged in or not. It is always recognizable, but gets louder and more "busy" when sd-cards are beiing accessed.


as I'm now suffering from the dreaded PTOD my Pandora has to make the long walk to ED anyway

This happens on some laptops too, for whatever it's worth. My ThinkPad does it all the time.

propably the display inverter in your case - even so, good notebook choice

 

[Prometheus]

This happens on some laptops too, for whatever it's worth. My ThinkPad does it all the time.

propably the display inverter in your case - even so, good notebook choice

It comes from the left side, in the base, though (near to the Ethernet jack, as far as I can track it down). Sadly it wasn't such a good choice, though - four years on, it's got a failing motherboard, which I gather is sometimes an issue with this particular model. Repair would be too costly, unfortunately.


Anyhow, my Pandora makes the same sounds as yours does, with the noise coming from the same place that you mentioned. I always figured that it was the audio hardware thing that's been spoken about here, but now I'm not so sure. It's only audible in a silent room with mine, though, and it doesn't ever get louder. It sounds almost like a hard drive whirring, but pitch-shifted upwards by a bit. I wonder what the cause is?

 

[thatgui]

To bring this thread to an end:


!!! Damn you Ed !!!


How I'm supposed to use my Pandora without having a bad consience ?


It took some time, but two week ago my Pandora arrived at my place again. And first thank you Ed, my new Pandora is near silent - there is still some noise generated from the underside of the pcb, but the environment has to be really, really quiet to notice it.


So I'm even more happy with my Pandora then before.


But there is also a "downside" on this: I sent in a first batch Pandora but got a completly new Rebirth Edition back (at least I could not find any clue that anything from my first batch Pandora was reused - even the battery is brand new!)


Don't get me wrong on this one, im very gratful, but feel a little like beeing in debt now - but as I'm a little tight right now moneywise I'm, I don't see a chance for payback anytime soon.


Thanks a lot Ed !

It comes from the left side, in the base, though (near to the Ethernet jack, as far as I can track it down). Sadly it wasn't such a good choice, though - four years on, it's got a failing motherboard, which I gather is sometimes an issue with this particular model. Repair would be too costly, unfortunately.

What Model is it ? Getting (used) spare parts for older Models is really cheap these days. Lenovo provides detailed instructions on how to assemble/disassemble their Notebooks (=HardwareMaintenaceManual).

 

[Prometheus]

Wow, that's some amazing service. :blink:

What Model is it ? Getting (used) spare parts for older Models is really cheap these days. Lenovo provides detailed instructions on how to assemble/disassemble their Notebooks (=HardwareMaintenaceManual).

It was a ThinkPad R61i.

 

[Nintendo]

Wow! You, lucky person!