[Exapno]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcotton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I refuse to pay much over £35 as it won't be worth it (thats what I was going to spend on a shuffle or clip).

When you factor in getting a 16 or 32GB flash card and possibly a new battery, plus all the mucking around and possibility of breaking it during the mod in addition to the money you're spending on a used mini... it all starts to look a little less worth it (CF cards and batteries are probably, like most things, cheaper in the US than in the UK). Like you said, you could get a shuffle or a clip instead.

 

[BlindTiger]

The prices are sort of going crazy but I think that's just the way some Apple owners are. (asking unrealistic prices) I mean look at what some people are asking for their BROKEN Apple product.
some claim their Mini is one year old etc etc etc.

 

[oicdn]

There are still iPods on there that are still factory wrapped and sealed....they're wanting near MSRP for them!

 

[Exapno]

I think I'll wait until after the goldrush... there should be 64GB flash cards that are cheap as chips (no pun intended) by then.

 

[Hayduke]

Ya I posted earlier that the prices have been climbing in the last couple weeks. I think it is this mod that is driving the prices up.

Is everyone building 32GB or is 16GB still being done? The 16GB cards are a lot cheaper. I bought a 32GB card, but I might make more of these and I'm wondering if the 16GB would be worthwhile.

 

[Exapno]

Even a 16GB Mini would have twice the capacity of the 8GB Nano. Also, those 32GB cards are pretty expensive... I think a 16GB Mini would be worth it.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exapno /img/forum/go_quote.gif Even a 16GB Mini would have twice the capacity of the 8GB Nano. Also, those 32GB cards are pretty expensive... I think a 16GB Mini would be worth it.

The 32GB is just a little higher than double the cost of 16GB, makes sense though - double capacity, double the price.

 

[BlindTiger]

I'll be building the 16gb and when 32gb prices fall
I'll try replacing the HD in my Iriver E10.
but that's way in the future, maybe I can score another Mini till then.
But what do you guys do with the Original microdrives?

 

[oicdn]

Think of it this way, 16gb is how much memory is in the Touch...and that's more than sufficient for most people.

I waiting to find a good deal on memory, as well as save up a little more so it's not so detrimental to my budget, lol.

 

[davidcotton]

Well after much debating (ask anyone who knows me I'm CRAP at making an impulse purchase, spend way too much time deliberating about it!)I pulled the trigger on a bin of a silver ipod mini for the total of £40.00 inc delivery. Originally I hadn't wanted to spend much over £30.00 on it. However this one already had the 850 mah battery installed in it so figured that was worth having a fiver added to the price (plus its one less thing for me to get wrong anyway

). Now I just need to get the card sorted out.

Am I right in thinking that if I just want to use Itunes with it then pretty much any normal compact flash cards would do? Its only if I want to run rockbox (which I do, as the main reason for this project is that I want to just drop and drag my flac files on to the mini without having to faff about with converting them (yes I know about battery life and portables etc)) that I have to be a bit more selective with the cards?

Also has anyone ordered the a-data range of cards from ebay (uk based so cant use new egg sadly)and been ok with them?

Cheers...

Ps they are right about head fi you know! I originally came back after a break to check for gym players!

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlindTiger /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll be building the 16gb and when 32gb prices fall I'll try replacing the HD in my Iriver E10. but that's way in the future, maybe I can score another Mini till then. But what do you guys do with the Original microdrives?

I put mine into the little case that came with the new CF card. I might need it at some point to get

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcotton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well after much debating (ask anyone who knows me I'm CRAP at making an impulse purchase, spend way too much time deliberating about it!)I pulled the trigger on a bin of a silver ipod mini for the total of £40.00 inc delivery. Originally I hadn't wanted to spend much over £30.00 on it. However this one already had the 850 mah battery installed in it so figured that was worth having a fiver added to the price (plus its one less thing for me to get wrong anyway ). Now I just need to get the card sorted out. Am I right in thinking that if I just want to use Itunes with it then pretty much any normal compact flash cards would do? Its only if I want to run rockbox (which I do, as the main reason for this project is that I want to just drop and drag my flac files on to the mini without having to faff about with converting them (yes I know about battery life and portables etc)) that I have to be a bit more selective with the cards? Also has anyone ordered the a-data range of cards from ebay (uk based so cant use new egg sadly)and been ok with them? Cheers... Ps they are right about head fi you know! I originally came back after a break to check for gym players!

how to answer... ehhe

My understanding is the same as yours regarding using iTunes vs Rockbox. The problem has to do with the ATA programming commands (ATA is sorta the hard drive language). Since the Minis used a real hard drive, to save power, they would issue a sleep command to spin down the drive. Obviously a flash memory chip doesn't need this. So what you change in Rockbox is to make your Mini software use the Nanos storage commands. Does that make sense? It requires you modify and recompile the source yourself. The Rockbox devs are not going to create a "build" for this mod. I just received my mini today. It was supposed to be 100% working, but I think the battery is bad. I can get a charging icon, but only for a minute. I should have my replacement battery tomorrow. I already swapped out the drive for the card. That was a piece of cake. Once I get the battery done and the thing is working, I'll provide a Rockbox recompiled for this mod. I already did the recompile, but I haven't tested it, so I won't share yet. I'm not gonna try and support something I can't even test

As to buying the A-data form Newegg.com...
Yes, others have used the cards and had no problems. At the newegg site, if you read the customer comments, you will see that many/most of them are from people upgrading Minis

I have a question for you guys. I know we're all DIYers here so we're biased, but I'm thinking about providing Minis already modded for sale. I'm not trying to get rich by it or anything, but it might help minimize the beating my wallet has been taking lately buying audio electronic supplies

What do you think a 16GB and a 32GB would be worth(just CF card and new battery)?
What if it also had the line out mod similar to iMod? (I'll be modding mine as soon as my brother sends back my soldering iron hehe)

 

[BlindTiger]

while looking for Minis on Ebay I recall seeing a vendor doing this Mod
as an option and there's one seller selling 16gb flash memory Minis.

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlindTiger /img/forum/go_quote.gif while looking for Minis on Ebay I recall seeing a vendor doing this Mod as an option and there's one seller selling 16gb flash memory Minis.

I saw that too

He doesn't say what kind of battery it is, but I would definitely put in 800maH or 850maH. His are also 1st gens which have significantly shorter battery life. Mine is a 2nd gen.


My MiniMod is started

Here is a picture of iTunes.

I got the Mini yesterday, but the battery was completely shot. I got my new battery today, and now it's working fine. iTunes and Windows saw the mini immediately. iTunes updated and restored the Mini without incident.

Now I will put Rockbox on it. Once I get Rockbox working with the flash memory patch, I'll share the recompiled Rockbox.

This mod is very simple, but I guess I could understand why people would hesitate.

EDIT Update:
I'm having trouble with Rockbox. It might be Monday before I get a chance to upload a working version. Is anyone else running Rockbox on theirs? I'm getting error about no partition found. I haven't started trying to figure this out yet, but in case someone was waiting for the recompiled version I wanted to let them know it's being delayed.

Also I compared the headphone out of this Mini with my 5G Video and it didn't sound nearly as good

I was using the Apple OS on the Mini and Rockbox on the Video, so maybe that is why. I'll wait to condemn the mini headphone out until I get Rockbox running on it. Same files and same IEMs. I don't think it was Rockbox, but I can't believe how much of a difference there is. The Mini is terrible compared to the Video.

 

[Hayduke]

Project update:

I've run into trouble. I got the Apple iPod OS running fine on Friday, but I had trouble with Rockbox. Saturday I worked on the Rockbox problem and now the player is unusable

I don't think it's any fault of the mod or what I did. I have the same symptom I had when I got the iPod. It only shows the dead battery icon (and not all the time). I'm unsure if I have a bad battery or there is a problem with the Mini's power circuits. I ordered a couple more batteries and Mini's. I have some friends that want one too

So far I don't have a Rockbox solution to offer for the Transcend CF cards

I should have more parts in a couple days, so I'll keep trying.

 

[roboboy]

I just did this with a 2nd Gen Mini to 16gb Adata, works very well with Apple Firmware.

I've done a search and I was wondering if there is anyway to set the "Boot Priorities" so that the Regular Apple Firmware boots before Rockbox.

Thanks.