I Fixed My Gp2x.. But Will There Be An Alternate Updater?

[Drak]

So you know how I told you about my gp2x having a capacitor replaced with a resistor instead? Well I recently went to my school and got myself a capacitor. A very nice one Id have to say..

So anyways, well I unsoldered the little resistor and replaced it with the capacitor. [I was itching to get a capacitor because I knew the little resistor was just a temporary replacement.]

Now my unit runs perfectly. 6-7 hours of battery life off of my same 2500mah energizers that only gave off a 3hour charge with the resistor in.

First time I used emus [ssnes @ 225mhz for 1 hour, drmd at 200mhz for like 30mins after I kept dieing on a impossible level in mario lost levels ] Then the rest of the time I used for mp3[100mhz] for a solid 5hours.
Batteries poofed out on me and I looked at the time. 6 and a half hours. Nothing was hot so I knew I had done the right thing

I used it a second time [100mhz mp3] for a whole school day [8am-3pm]. It froze once while playing mp3s. I rebooted it right after. The batteries didnt poof untill a few minutes after I got home [4:00]. mind you, at lunch I didnt use it Which is 50mins.

I am now happy and dont think I need to get myself a Battery Pack Like I was going to in the first place.
I also put in some springs for my battery sockets. I dont know if that makes a difference, but when I drop the unit it actually stays on .

Just thought I would share that and relief the people who laughed at me for putting a resistor in instead of a capacitor [yes, you can laugh at me now I feel awkward].


Then comes the second thing. The Alternate updator is what I used for my 1.4.0 firmware. Will there be one for 2.0.0? Or do I have to scrounge around and risk a uboot on my gp2x. I have searched for an answer to this question, but came up with crap search results Plus I havent been here for a while.

 

[iignotus]

You get a 50 minute lunch?? I only get 25 minutes...

Good stuff on the GP2X front though. Interesting how you got a big boost in battery life too.

 

[Drak]

You get a 50 minute lunch?? I only get 25 minutes...

Good stuff on the GP2X front though. Interesting how you got a big boost in battery life too.

Yeah I guess it is. When I first got my 2x the battery life was like 5hours, 5 and a half max with these batteries and the original capacitor was intact.

I think the little capacitor fell out from some point when it was dropped, or when I had to solder the headphone jack in. Its right up against where the battery holerder thingy goes in so maybe thats how it fell off. I still have that capacitor, but its broken [one of the pins fell out].

 

[Feeg]

Just out of curiosity, how did you decide what ohm resistor to put in the first time around?

What sort of cap did you put in, and is it the same as the original? Those battery times sound really good.

 

[Loubear]

You guys are BOTH luckier than me, because I have one period, 40 minutes, split into ch1 (don't ask, some study period where we watch some gayass show) and lunch. Lunch is probably 15 minutes max, as I have to wait in line and also have time to go to my locker...

About that battery life, he did change a resistor with a capacitator. Resistors do what they do, and that resistance wastes (...or do away with, w/e) electricity...

Edit: HEY! But what about my normal gp2x??!?!

 

[Drak]

Just out of curiosity, how did you decide what ohm resistor to put in the first time around?

What sort of cap did you put in, and is it the same as the original? Those battery times sound really good.

I just asked my teacher which would be the best to put in a portable handheld. Then he suggested it

This is the kind I put in. [Note* This isnt the actual one I put in it ]
http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/fab/images/1000uf.jpg

The original one looked like the black box in this picture.. It had c106 written on it.
http://www.positiveoffset.com/Parts/positive-offset.jpg


Wow 15mins for lunch? Thats harsh

 

[cowai]

SO, it's better with a resistor? I didn't get it..

 

[BenRoshi]

Mind explaining why this works for the less technically inclined of us?

 

[Drak]

Mind explaining why this works for the less technically inclined of us?

Ok heres what happened

1.) My capacitor broke off in my unit. I removed it and noticed problems with my gp2x [failed boots, etc]. I soldered it back in. It fell off again Then I tried out a resistor instead from my brothers advice.

2.) The resistor worked. Allthough I noticed my battery life wasnt hardly as good as before. [forum people warned me that it wasnt safe].

3.) I went to school to get a capacitor since I knew the resistor wasnt a good solution. Got it.. Put it in and now my gp2x seems to last longer in terms of battery life than it had ever before. When I first got my 2x, it was like 5~5 1/2 hours battery life. now its 6~7hours.

So yeah... Anyways, does any1 know if there will be a alternate updater? Before I go off and try to upgrade the normal way?

 

[Aninhumer]

I haven't had any problems updating the normal way, even without a PSU.

It took around 15 mins, and your 6-7 hours should be more than enough.

EDIT: Oh and, no I don't know of any alternative updater.

 

[reallynotnick]

Well the thing to keep in mind is your 6 hour battery life is clocked at 100mhz and without the screen on.

Good to hear you got it fixed though.

 

[Drak]

Well the thing to keep in mind is your 6 hour battery life is clocked at 100mhz and without the screen on.

Good to hear you got it fixed though.

Actually i get like 7.5 when just using 100mhz music player.. Emus and such at 225mhz [snes] is like 6hours

Just today I went through every mario game on Mario all stars for a good 5hours. [mind you, I only beat 1 and 3, 2 was just wierd and others I got pretty far. still stuck on Lost levels ]

Then after 5 hours of the snes, I went onto drmd and finished off sparkster, which took like 1hour.

Ok then. I Guess ill try to upgrade the normal way and get wrapped around gp2x.com's english

 

[Epicenter]

It's pretty hard to say what the hell this part did without a lot of poking around or a schematic. But when you replaced it with a resistor, the extra load was probably just burning power from the batteries and converting it to heat, in essence, completely wasting it. Putting a capacitor back should remedy that. As for what the cap was doing in the first place .. that remains unclear.

 

[Drak]

It's pretty hard to say what the hell this part did without a lot of poking around or a schematic. But when you replaced it with a resistor, the extra load was probably just burning power from the batteries and converting it to heat, in essence, completely wasting it. Putting a capacitor back should remedy that. As for what the cap was doing in the first place .. that remains unclear.

Yeah... oh well Its fixed now and im quite pleased.

I upgraded the firmware and now I can actually plop and play my video files without re-encoding OMFG!

Finally the gp2x is living up to its name and im very impressed

 

[aapje89]

wait a sec... you say you had boot problems before?

I have the same problem (see here, a lot of times my gp2x will not boot and it only lasts 2 hours on batteries that my brothers gp2x lasts for 5. :S

Could my gp2x have the same problem?? (I dont hear any loose capacitors )