First Vibez Charge...

Liam

2009-03-18, 03:49 #1

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Subject: First Vibez Charge...

Hi,

I've been following this board for month, waiting for a Vibez F. But since it obviously won't come (yeah I also got the mail), I finally decided to get a HDD-powered Flash to replace my dead Karma.

Now I'm charging the battery for the first time, but it acts weird : the screen backlight blinks, sometimes is on and sometimes not, sometimes I get the Vibez logo and then it seems to start loading the firmwire but then reset to the charging battery image, sometimes the screen goes blank, and then image comes back...

so I'm wondering : what the hell ? Battery problem ? Buttons problems ? USB problem (tried with two different mini-USB cables, including the one bundled with the Vibez) ?

Or maybe it's just normal for the Vibez to act weird at the beginning ?

For now, i've gave up charging until I find out what's going on...

Regards,
Liam.

MicSan 2009-03-18, 05:09 #2

Member since Jan 2007 · 51 posts · Location: Delmenhorst, Germany
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Hi Liam,

sounds like the typical behavious when the vibez is connected with a normal usb cable to an usb port. For the charge of a really drained battery you should use a charger or an y-cable connected with the 2nd power plug only.

The reason is that the vibez wants to start but the battery power breaks down immediately. This doesn't happen, when there is no usb bus connection to the computer, but only the power connected.

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..." (Isaac Asimov)

Liam

2009-03-18, 09:02 #3

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Thanks for your answer. Since I don't have any of those, that'll delay the moment I'll start using my Vibez...
Well, thanks anyway. :p

Liam

2009-03-18, 10:59 #4

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I think I'll buy a Docking Station since it's sold with a charger. However, does anyone in Germany know which kind of electric plug is bundled with the docking stations sold there ? (type C or F ? i.e. with or without ground ?). I'm asking because of compatibility reasons with plugs here in France (we can use type C but we can't use type F).

peter 2009-03-18, 12:22 #5

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Quote by Liam:
I think I'll buy a Docking Station since it's sold with a charger. However, does anyone in Germany know which kind of electric plug is bundled with the docking stations sold there ? (type C or F ? i.e. with or without ground ?). I'm asking because of compatibility reasons with plugs here in France (we can use type C but we can't use type F).

I just bought a docking station from Amazon UK (yes, I could possibly just have strolled into Trekstor UK and asked for one, but I thought it was worth supporting their arduous struggle to manufacture the dock). Damn thing came with a European plug on it (i.e. not a British one). It has two pins and no earth connection, and appears to be what Wikipedia calls a Europlug. Does that help?

Peter

Liam

2009-03-18, 12:36 #6

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Yup, that helps. These are type C plugs that are indeed compatible with both french and german electric sockets (and actually sockets in most of Europe).
Problems occur when adding a ground connection, because Germany uses Schuko models (with two small clips at each side of the plug for the ground), while France uses a third, inverted pin.

But if it looks like the Europlug photos, then it will work everywhere (well, except Britain, sorry for you :p).

Thank you !

Peregrine 2009-03-19, 06:30 #7

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Your Vibez should still charge off the PC, first charge or not. Should be fully charged in 3-4 hours.
I would make sure it does that before spending more $$$ on it. Doing odd things when charging is one of the "death issues".

I rock a lawsuit when I'm going to court, a white suit when I'm getting divorced
A black suit at the funeral home, and my birthday suit when I'm home alone

peter 2009-03-19, 10:32 #8

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Quote by Peregrine:
Doing odd things when charging is one of the "death issues".

It can also happen to otherwise perfectly working players. Neither the unit discussed in that thread, nor my own which had the same problem once, has subsequently had any other issues. But if you're worried, Liam, see if you can borrow a USB charger for any other device, maybe a camera or a phone (such chargers are all equivalent), and try and charge your Vibez with that.

Peter

Liam

2009-03-26, 09:33 #9

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Now, I AM worried. Cuz I just got a USB charger, and for now it's acting exactly the same...

First, I get the charging animation with no backlight.
Then, I get the Vibez logo and backlight, it says "Player Starting", and then, it shuts down.
Then, I get the charging animation back, with backlight (sometimes blinking)

And it keeps doing that over and over again...

rick.hughes 2009-03-26, 11:35 #10

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Maybe the battery is bad.

Not sure about your exact symptoms, but here are some things I have done in the past to get mine to boot (in no particular order and don't exactly know what if anything might work):

- Remove the battery for a few minutes and put it back in.

- Push the reset button (need a pin or similar).

- Put it in update mode by holding the menu button (wheel top) while plugging it in. If it goes to the update screen, power it down.

- Try just holding the power button to see if you can make it go off while it is plugged in to a charger. It might just go to charging if it is not actually plugged in to a computer.

- Just leave it charging and restarting for a while to see if it ever gets enough charge to stabilize.

Mine has been working fine for many months now, but I have had to do some of these in the past.

Liam

2009-03-26, 12:28 #11

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I'll see how it goes in a few hours, but for now, it looks like your idea of putting it in upgrade mode did the trick !
If it works, you're my new god ! If it doesn't I'll try the other ideas and if none works I'll let you guys know. =)

Liam

2009-03-26, 17:03 #12

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Obivously, I have a case of death battery at least (I hope it's just the battery).
I let it charge for almost 5 hours, but it was still charging. I decided it should be enough. I unplugged, tried to power it on and... no way. It acts exactly the same as it used to. Apparently, the battery absolutely didn't charge at all.

Judging from the serial, it looks like my Vibez has been built in 2005 : could it be a case of fully-discharged-thus-dead-battery ? (as I've heard such batteries should never ever discharge completely).

Peregrine 2009-03-27, 09:06 #13

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You in the US Liam? I can send you my battery. Guess there's no need to keep my Vibez any more...

I rock a lawsuit when I'm going to court, a white suit when I'm getting divorced
A black suit at the funeral home, and my birthday suit when I'm home alone

Liam

2009-03-28, 08:06 #14

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Nope, I'm in France. And I'm not even sure it's the battery (it may be the power circuitry of the Vibez I guess). But thanks anyway. My trekstor reseller offered to exchange it, and I'll do it, but it's gonna cost me still another 20$ in shipment. Needless to say I'm ooooverjoyed.