[nibiyabi]

I've been using my portable rig for quite some time now (Hornet M, iMod Photo, HD25-1/PK1) and I've always had some trouble with it.

Back when I was using Rockbox (up until a few weeks ago), I had constant struggles keeping the sound from degrading while on-the-go -- the sound would suddenly get very quiet and only go through one ear, or it would stop entirely, or other things leading me to believe that a cable had come halfway out. Every time, nope. Every connection fine. I could induce the symptoms by playing with the headphone jack or simply gently jostling the iMod or Hornet. I thought maybe my 12" mini-mini cable was to blame and I figured it was time for a good interconnect anyway (this one was budget), so I got a 4" Black Dragon.

Symptoms remained.

I eventually got sick and tired of Rockbox's battery-sapping, constant freezing, and overall unwieldiness. I switched to the Apple OS, transferred all of my FLAC files to 245kbps (learned how to make it 320kbps after the fact; since it took sixteen hours I'm just going to wait until I get home to make it 320

), and was a happy camper. Then I started noticing something odd. The iMod was constantly pausing when I was on-the-go -- you know, that feature built-in to stop playing if your headphones come unplugged. So I assumed that the Black Dragon was to blame, but no -- it was firmly, snugly in place.

I got it playing again and I even unplugged the Black Dragon from the iMod. It continued to play. I plugged it back in, then unplugged the Black Dragon from the Hornet. It still played. I plugged it back in, then unplugged the HD25-1 from the Hornet. It still played. So this feature was not being brought on by any unplugged cables. I gently shook the iMod and, lo and behold, it paused.

What the ****?

Is this a "feature"? A portable device pauses if it's moved too quickly? Should I be sending this in to Vinnie? Or is there something else I'm overlooking?

 

[nickknutson]

Have you emailed Vinnie about this problem yet?

 

[mcmyers]

Yeah, sounds like an issue for Vinnie to look into.

 

[nibiyabi]

Alright, I emailed him a link to this thread. I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Iirc, there was a thread or two back then that talked about this exact issue. They came to the conclusion (iirc) that the chip in the 4G iMod wasn't strong enough, or something about the buffer...

 

[nibiyabi]

Ouch. Hope that's not the case.

Unless Vinnie would be able and willing to fix it of course.

 

[bellsprout]

i have the pausing problem too. but it happens only very rarely.

 

[YoungClayB]

I also had the pausing problem when I first got my iMod. I swapped the cable around so that the other end of the cable went into the iMod's line out jack and that seemed to fix the issue. I guess that the other end of the cable was a little too small and the iMod "thought" that the cable had come unplugged.

I emailed Ken and Vinnie and Vinnie said that if the problem persisted, that he could disable the "auto pause" feature of the iPod. So, yeah, email Vinnie if its really problematic for you.

-Clay

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nibiyabi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been using my portable rig for quite some time now (Hornet M, iMod Photo, HD25-1/PK1) and I've always had some trouble with it. Back when I was using Rockbox (up until a few weeks ago), I had constant struggles keeping the sound from degrading while on-the-go -- the sound would suddenly get very quiet and only go through one ear, or it would stop entirely, or other things leading me to believe that a cable had come halfway out. Every time, nope. Every connection fine. I could induce the symptoms by playing with the headphone jack or simply gently jostling the iMod or Hornet. I thought maybe my 12" mini-mini cable was to blame and I figured it was time for a good interconnect anyway (this one was budget), so I got a 4" Black Dragon. Symptoms remained. I eventually got sick and tired of Rockbox's battery-sapping, constant freezing, and overall unwieldiness. I switched to the Apple OS, transferred all of my FLAC files to 245kbps (learned how to make it 320kbps after the fact; since it took sixteen hours I'm just going to wait until I get home to make it 320 ), and was a happy camper. Then I started noticing something odd. The iMod was constantly pausing when I was on-the-go -- you know, that feature built-in to stop playing if your headphones come unplugged. So I assumed that the Black Dragon was to blame, but no -- it was firmly, snugly in place. I got it playing again and I even unplugged the Black Dragon from the iMod. It continued to play. I plugged it back in, then unplugged the Black Dragon from the Hornet. It still played. I plugged it back in, then unplugged the HD25-1 from the Hornet. It still played. So this feature was not being brought on by any unplugged cables. I gently shook the iMod and, lo and behold, it paused. What the ****? Is this a "feature"? A portable device pauses if it's moved too quickly? Should I be sending this in to Vinnie? Or is there something else I'm overlooking?

Hi Nibiyabi,

It sounds like your unit has a "pause when shaken, not stirred" feature

Seriously, I'm not sure what is going on and will need to receive your iPod back in order to determine what the culprit is.

In any other case, I would say that the problem is that the 1/8" jack and plug are loose and this is causing your auto-pause problem, but you mentioned that removing them does not cause the auto-pause... very strange!

Please send it to me and I'll get to the bottom of this.

I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'll take care of it.

Best regards,

Vinnie

 

[nibiyabi]

Thanks Vinnie! I think I may have solved the problem guys.

I borrowed a hairtie from my girlfriend and that seems to keep everything in equilibrium. What I did take away from this experience is that Vinnie's vaunted customer service really is as good as they say!

 

[melomaniac]

HAIRTIE? this solution has me almost more worried than the original problem... I thought it could signal a hard-drive issue if it's not the IC.

 

[nibiyabi]

It ended up being the IC. Basically, it did turn off when I unplugged it from the iMod -- during my "experiment" I simply didn't wait long enough. The Black Dragon does not fit snugly at all -- it slides out incredibly easily without the hairtie. With the hairtie, it seems that there is enough pressure (ww?) on the IC to keep it firmly in place.

 

[Gnus]

Yeah I have similar problems as well with certain ICs where they won't fit with a "click" and thus any harsh movement causes the sound to cut off or pause.

It could just be the iPod's headphone out being worn out because those same ICs fit snugly when plugged into my amps.

 

[nc8000]

I got that same problem and fixed it simply by sticking som sticky back plastic cable guides along the side of the iMod and tightening the cable up so the plug can not move.