RetroStone boot problem identified

Here is all the tutorials, FAQ and support for RetroStone
zxdunny
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon 30 Jul 2018 11:21

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by zxdunny »

To be honest, you could solder a (short!) wire to the resistor. As long as the current can "short" the resistor - that is, take an alternate path instead of through it - then you're good.


To those of you that are disappointed with the 'Stone I would say this: You can get similar units based on Pi3 or PiZero (which are slower) inside Gameboy cases much like the 'Stone. But they will cost you between 3 and 4 times the price of the 'Stone. For the price, this thing is an absolute bargain even with the issues that have arisen - you could get them fixed for less than what a similar other unit would cost you, even on top of what you already paid.
Brandon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 19 Aug 2018 15:49

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Brandon »

I removed the resistor and jumped the pads, tested continuity with a multimeter.

The retroStone appears to boot past the white/blue screen now. Before it would hang 2-3 times out of 10.

But.. now I get some type of 'hotplug' error about 50% of the time. It is hard to see the screen so I can't tell exactly what it says and it will try to reboot.

I went ahead and reflashed the SD card, same issue. Battery is fully charged. No USB devices connected.

Seems like a strange coincidence.

Any ideas as what to do about this?

Thanks
User avatar
Admin
Administrateur du site
Posts: 505
Joined: Sat 10 Dec 2016 13:12

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Admin »

Yes conductive glue is a good idea! Check the conductivity with multimeter to be sure it's short.

@Brandon this is unexpected, what is the message you'r having on which LCD or HDMI? What happens when you have it?

50% of the boots ends in this error?
ruffnutts
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu 13 Sep 2018 16:16

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by ruffnutts »

Here is another way it could work thanks to Radar from the Discord
IMG_20181011_112450__01.jpg
IMG_20181011_112450__01.jpg (29.94 KiB) Viewed 10279 times

and mine I nearly broke mine lucky it worked in the end
IMG_20181011_185900.jpg
IMG_20181011_185900.jpg (38.58 KiB) Viewed 10279 times
Man never again my hands was shaking :roll: :lol:
Brandon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 19 Aug 2018 15:49

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Brandon »

@Pierre,

I opened up the RetroStone to look for any problems. I didn't find anything. But the last 20 boots come back clean. No problems.

So I do not know what caused the several errors and I can't get it back to get a screen shot. It looked like a 'hotplug' error it would retry then reboot.

This was on the builtin LCD screen. nothing connected to the unit.

Not happening now.

Just so you know, when i did the mod, I fully removed the resistor and jumped it with a wire and solder. It was easy for me.
Brandon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 19 Aug 2018 15:49

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Brandon »

By the way, this is unrelated but I thought I would mention it. since I have two retroStones I can compare the two. The D-Pad on one of them was not 100% great, it would sometimes move up and left when I was just pressing left. I cleaned all pads but it still happened.

What fixed it was, the plastic D-Pad had a very small extra piece of plastic sticking out one side. (from the mold process?)
It was small but I sanded it down and the D-Pad works great now. Wondering if others have the same issue.
Last edited by Brandon on Thu 11 Oct 2018 22:01, edited 1 time in total.
Brandon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 19 Aug 2018 15:49

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Brandon »

Sorry for all the posts. I've used conductive glue and conductive paint, ink for other projects. Usually they need to dry before the are fully conductive. Measuring them while still wet may not show a short. You can meter the resistance and watch it go down as they dry.
ruffnutts
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu 13 Sep 2018 16:16

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by ruffnutts »

I'm so lucky I nearly broke mine, bit messy second pick above but atleast its working :lol:

I think its worth using conductive glue, it does not matter if you have to wait for it to dry alot safer in the long run 8-)
Beads3
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon 20 Aug 2018 19:36

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Beads3 »

Just to be clear...

Are you saying if this mod does not work for us, that the unit is most likely faulty? (this is assuming we have done everything correctly as far as flashing and formatting sd cards and all other proper procedures)

I ask because I have removed the resistor and bridged with solder. The white/ blue screen is now fixed and has not gotten hung up on this since the mod. However, it still only boots correctly every 5 maybe more tries. The errors on screen range from a long looping script that I cannot read to a black screen that never changes to going through the orangepi splash screen with sound then freezing after. Basically it still does something different almost every try.

I have bought an additional Samsung 32GB select sd card as well as use the 16GB that came with it. Both work similar and neither are better or worse it seems. This goes for both images supreme and slim plus as well.

With this information (I know its not everything you need to know) is it safe to say that my unit is faulty? or should I remain patient and wait till better images are produced?
Brandon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 19 Aug 2018 15:49

Re: RetroStone boot problem identified

Post by Brandon »

Beads3,

Would you mind recording the screen while it hangs/freezes? It would be great to see if it is what others (sometime me) are experiencing.
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