Flickering Screen


EvilDragon

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Some may have a flickering screen (sometimes more, sometimes less).
You can easily see it that when you press left or right in the menu, with each press it flickers a bit.
Only happens when you use batteries, so it might be a battery consumption problem (which might as well be fixed with next firmware update, as the gp2x won't use that much power anymore).

But: As it has something to do with resistors and currency, I remembered the coating on the battery contacts.
If they have a high resistance, power may drop and screen may flicker.

So I scratched off the coating (so that the contacts are crystal clear) - and apparently, the flickering got better.

If you have the same problem, you should definately try that.
 
I did some current measurements and found that when the thumbstick is moved left or right to change the selection, there is a quick spike in the current drawn by the unit. The unit I was measuring drew 450mA, and that went up to 700mA briefly. Holding the thumbstick left or right, so that the selection moves continuously, makes the current increase very easy to spot.

I can't think of any reason for the current to increase like that. It's not an electrical issue with the thumbstick, because if you move that up or down the current doesn't change.

In any case, why the current changes isn't important, but I'd be willing to bet that the current spike is the reason for the LCD flicker. It could also explain a slight improvement in the flicker when the battery terminals are scratched. I would imagine that the flickering would become more noticeable as the battery voltage drops - can you confirm that?
 
Some may have a flickering screen (sometimes more, sometimes less).
You can easily see it that when you press left or right in the menu, with each press it flickers a bit.
Only happens when you use batteries, so it might be a battery consumption problem (which might as well be fixed with next firmware update, as the gp2x won't use that much power anymore).

But: As it has something to do with resistors and currency, I remembered the coating on the battery contacts.
If they have a high resistance, power may drop and screen may flicker.

So I scratched off the coating (so that the contacts are crystal clear) - and apparently, the flickering got better.

If you have the same problem, you should definately try that.

What do you recommend using to scrape any coating off, and how do we tell if there is a coating on there or not?
 
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use a screwdirve/knife, you see the coating, and after removeing the batterys a few times you see that even that scratches it off.
 
you would need a dremel to wreck them :)
spiteful.gif
 
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A Dremel or great quantities of acid.

They are simple metal contacts, not - as anyone would think until a kindly type took the simple step of informing them - advanced and delicate alien technology. Just as long as they exist and touch the ends of the batteries they'll do their job and marshall the tiny invisible demons into the hamster wheels they run for your amusement.
 
Some may have a flickering screen (sometimes more, sometimes less).
You can easily see it that when you press left or right in the menu, with each press it flickers a bit.
Only happens when you use batteries, so it might be a battery consumption problem (which might as well be fixed with next firmware update, as the gp2x won't use that much power anymore).

But: As it has something to do with resistors and currency, I remembered the coating on the battery contacts.
If they have a high resistance, power may drop and screen may flicker.

So I scratched off the coating (so that the contacts are crystal clear) - and apparently, the flickering got better.

If you have the same problem, you should definately try that.

What do you recommend using to scrape any coating off, and how do we tell if there is a coating on there or not?

I thought you never trust hearsay or anything unofficial from GPH, fomit. :p I still remember peoples made fun of me, when I mentioned about this *solution* weeks ago, which was already quite well-known solution in Korean GP2x users. <_<
 
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Some may have a flickering screen (sometimes more, sometimes less).
You can easily see it that when you press left or right in the menu, with each press it flickers a bit.
Only happens when you use batteries, so it might be a battery consumption problem (which might as well be fixed with next firmware update, as the gp2x won't use that much power anymore).

But: As it has something to do with resistors and currency, I remembered the coating on the battery contacts.
If they have a high resistance, power may drop and screen may flicker.

So I scratched off the coating (so that the contacts are crystal clear) - and apparently, the flickering got better.

If you have the same problem, you should definately try that.

What do you recommend using to scrape any coating off, and how do we tell if there is a coating on there or not?

I thought you never trust hearsay or anything unofficial from GPH, fomit. :p I still remember peoples made fun of me, when I mentioned about this *solution* weeks ago, which was already quite well-known solution in Korean GP2x users. <_<

Well, I haven't actually scraped anything off yet. I was actually planning on flashing the firmware first to see if that made any difference. I will admit that I am beginning to consider this "solution". I just wish GPH would own up and say that some units have lower battery life than others and maybe (in English) suggest some solutions.
 
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I just wish GPH would own up and say that some units have lower battery life than others and maybe (in English) suggest some solutions.
Since you're teaching English in Korea, you can read Korean, right? Just asking. I myself have mixed feelings about GPH, am getting more and more disappointed by GPH as time goes by...
 
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As i posted in another thread:
It is common for circuit boards to have a shellac or special coating applied to them to prevent corrosion. Its almost like a clearcoat. This also somtimes will end up on contacts where it doesnt belong. Its no big deal really, since after swapping batteries a bunch on times, it will wear off.
If you want to remove it now, i suggest you use acetone (nail polish remover). That is what i use at work. Just BE CAREFUL!!! since acetone will melt plastic. Just use a q-tip.
 
I've got a flickery screen aswell. Cleaning the battery contacts made no difference, although there was a lot of crap on them.

I notice the flickering especialy on the green loading screen when you turn it on. I assumed it was when the NAND or SD is being accessed. I'm sure a firmware fix will sort it all out.
 
could someone with the flickering open up thair gp2x and make a picture of the back of the pcb? in detail the soldering of the battery conenctors.
Warning, may void warantee.
 
I gave mine a good scrubbing this morning and it seems to have stopped it flickering
 
European equivalent of "Q-Tip" is Biros.

Average North American will give you a blank look when you say that, even if they've seen an unhealthy amount of Monty Python.
 
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