PD7X CompactDrive charging

[multiexposure]

Hi all!

Are there any indicators to show that the batteries inside are being charged? I put the switch to "OFF" overnight but this morning still batt low. Anyone using this storage device can enlighten me? Thanks!

 

[karel]

Hi all!

Are there any indicators to show that the batteries inside are being charged? I put the switch to "OFF" overnight but this morning still batt low. Anyone using this storage device can enlighten me? Thanks!

it's annoying.. but there's only one way to know.. if the casing is warm, usually it's charging.
If it's hot, then it's the HD spinning ..

 

[nova_nebula]

from what I heard, it doesn't charge in-situ. so you've to charge the batteries externally. can I confirm with you that you need to have the batteries in as well as connect the AC adapter to get this drive to work??

 

[wainism]

hi,

the compact drive CAN charge batts too...erm, abt 300mah if i not wrong. so shd take abt 8-10hrs depending on the capacity of ur batts...

u could give EastGear a call and ask them abt the technicals of charging etc

 

[multiexposure]

Hi guys,

thanks for the replies! I didn't check back till today!

been away for awhile and been using the drive. so far so good ...managed to charged it fully (although there's no indications except the warm casing) and used it for the entire holiday trip. batt life is good with the included sanyo batts.

Thumbs up for the drive! :thumbsup:

 

[nova_nebula]

any weak parts like hinges falling off or breaking? is it big and bulky to carry about on holidays?

 

[sigg]

did you leave the drive overnight? mine seem to behave like yours in your first thread? anything special u did?

 

[taiwanapurasteve]

any weak parts like hinges falling off or breaking? is it big and bulky to carry about on holidays?

Hello Nova,

There are some issues with the door coming off on the current model, but it doen't interfere with the operation in any way. If you don't want to preing a laptop on holiday, then it's a good way to go. As far as bulkiness is concerned, it about half the size of a video cassette (if anyone rembers what those look like anymore :bsmilie: ) and great for backing up files on the go. IMHO it's money well spent.

 

[evq]

I bought it along during my 8-day Korea trip. At that time, I only have 2x 256MB CF cards, & shoot in RAW, thus needed to upload to the Compact drive quite often. I didn't try the built-in charger, rather, I used the Sanyo charger. It is faster & not that big to bring along. Cos I dun wan to 'heat' up the Compact drive.

so far, happy with it, only sometimes it shows Batt low even when I load a new set of flashly charged Sanyo 2300 batt. Gotta load & reload a couple of times before it registers a fully charged batt. Dunno why :think:

 

[nova_nebula]

Hello Nova,

There are some issues with the door coming off on the current model, but it doen't interfere with the operation in any way. If you don't want to preing a laptop on holiday, then it's a good way to go. As far as bulkiness is concerned, it about half the size of a video cassette (if anyone rembers what those look like anymore :bsmilie: ) and great for backing up files on the go. IMHO it's money well spent.

Ok, thanks. Now am looking at the PD70X. Specs looks alittle better. Maybe can get it at PC SHow next week.

 

[multiexposure]

any weak parts like hinges falling off or breaking? is it big and bulky to carry about on holidays?

Hi Nova!

RELI late. Many apology ...

The hinges were quite stable although flimsy. I recently changed a newer and sturdier cover from eastgear shop (it was abt a dollar) and it didn't feel so plastic anymore.

It's not bulky compared to carry a laptop ...but you should hands-on and carry one with a harddisk to get a feel. I dump the drive into my camera bag during my month long budget backpacking trip in thailand & cambodia and the weight was still managable! hope it helps u make a decision!

 

[multiexposure]

did you leave the drive overnight? mine seem to behave like yours in your first thread? anything special u did?

Hi Sigg!

Yep, I left mine overnight. It seems like it's not charging as the batteries do not get heated up much (maybe becoz the weather is cool??) :dunno: ... however, the drive lasted for a few days after one overnight charge. I think the drive charges slow that's all.:sweat:

didn't do much on the software side except to reformat the harddisk using the provided CD. I had some probs with an older SD card but manage to get the drive to read it after tweaking the settings.

 

[sigg]

Hi Sigg!

Yep, I left mine overnight. It seems like it's not charging as the batteries do not get heated up much (maybe becoz the weather is cool??) :dunno: ... however, the drive lasted for a few days after one overnight charge. I think the drive charges slow that's all.:sweat:

didn't do much on the software side except to reformat the harddisk using the provided CD. I had some probs with an older SD card but manage to get the drive to read it after tweaking the settings.

overnight? Did you turn off the PD7X while charging? How long was overnight?
Maybe I should try like what you did, cos the batteries seems to drain really fast, its not the 2500mAH though.

I have some problem with memory stick as well. For MagicGate , I cannot access. How did you tweak?

 

[multiexposure]

overnight? Did you turn off the PD7X while charging? How long was overnight?
Maybe I should try like what you did, cos the batteries seems to drain really fast, its not the 2500mAH though.

I have some problem with memory stick as well. For MagicGate , I cannot access. How did you tweak?

Hi Sigg!

Yep. I put the switch to "off" and then left the charger plug into the outlet and left it on overnight. Seems to work quite well that way. Probably charged about 6hrs? I went to sleep and just unplug the next morning. Was backpacking so didn't want to lug along another portable external charger but I guess if you use an external one ... you could prob finish charge in an hour or less.

As for the tweak, it has been some time. If i remember correctly, my SD card (16Mb! :sweatsm: ) was an older FAT 12 one ... so I flashed the old firmware into the drive and it then worked!

I think the default mode is the FAT12/FAT 16 system (it's refered to in the manual under specifications) ...I had itchy hands and wanted the drive to work with both the newer 512MB SD card and the older one so was flashin the new firmware (FAT 16 / FAT 32) & then old firmware to keep trying which one would work.

One important point to remember is to keep the drive pluged into the power source while doing the firmware. Else data might corrupt! :sweat: Hope this helps!

 

[multiexposure]

Just came to my mind too ... the guy at the shop where I bought the casing in Sim Lim told me that if your Harddisk has higher RPM, it will drain the batt faster too. I'm re-using a small 20 gig 5400rpm IBM Harddisk from an old Pentium 2 Laptop. Maybe it does matter...:dunno: