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#182848 - 04/10/2003 16:17 Beware of breakage!
aetherion
new poster

Registered: 04/10/2003
Posts: 7
Loc: Duke University, NC
Just to let people know (users, delevopers, whoever)...be careful with the Karma. I'm sure what I experienced is a rare thing, but my Karma is already unusable less than 24 hours after receiving it. I must have bumped the player against the wall while it was in my pocket, but the Riostick and the scroll wheel now don't function much. When I spin the wheel, it spins off track without the notched feeling and the Riostick moves around. The wheel also gets stuck and I have to push hard to free it. Basically, the navigation is gone. I don't abuse electronics, but I expect them to take normal bumps and the stuff that my 3G iPod took with no problem. Anyone else have problems with it being this fragile? I've got another Karma arriving on Monday from BestBuy (me ordering from too many places), and I'm not sure if I should give the Karma another try...I'd sure like to though.

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#182849 - 04/10/2003 16:22 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: aetherion]
pgrzelak
carpal tunnel

Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Ow! There have been people on the beta team dropping them, jogging with them, etc. This is the first I have heard about the wheel / stick getting damaged that way.

I will post a link to this thread and put your comments on the beta board.
_________________________
Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs

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#182850 - 04/10/2003 16:28 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: aetherion]
rob
carpal tunnel

Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
Never heard of that before, but I'll pass on the info to our manufacturing people. It sounds like the board is dislodged (as the wheel and joystick are totally unrelated components) but I can't imagine how. There are some hardcore bolts inside the thing.

FYI we drop test all of our products. The mechanical guys are very scientific about it, but what this boils down to is dropping players onto concrete from various angles and making sure nothing breaks.

Rob

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#182851 - 04/10/2003 16:36 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: rob]
aetherion
new poster

Registered: 04/10/2003
Posts: 7
Loc: Duke University, NC
If it helps, I think that I hit the player on its narrow side, although I'm not sure which narrow side as it was in my pocket and I didn't think anything of the bump. I think it just was in my front pocket and bumped into a door as my leg stepped forward. The two parts seem to be stuck on each other, because the stick wobbles around as I spin the wheel past its jamming point. So you guys think I should keep the one coming on Monday and send this one back to Amazon for a refund? Or maybe send this one to Rio? Any suggestions here? Considering what you guys have said, I'll mark this up to a freak accident and give it another chance.

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#182852 - 04/10/2003 16:50 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: aetherion]
rob
carpal tunnel

Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
I'd think it is a freak accident since we've never seen anything like this. The only thing I can think of is the rotary wheel cap popping off the rotary control itself, and jamming against the joystick dust guard. I guess that could happen if you hit it square on the wheel, although it is glued down. Does the wheel look like it is pushed further into the player than before? Can it be (carefully) pulled out a little until it snaps back into place?

I'd prefer if the player was returned direct to Rio so it gets inspected more quickly, but they won't be able to refund you unless you bought it from our store. They would send out a replacement player. If you want to do that I can put you in touch with Customer Care to arrange it.

Rob

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#182853 - 04/10/2003 17:23 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: rob]
thinfourth2
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 13/04/2001
Posts: 1742
Loc: The land of the pale blue peop...
Why do i get picture of a load of blokes in the car park throwing things around while giggleing and drinking beer.
_________________________
P.Allison fixer of big engines Mk2+Mk2a signed by God / Hacked by the Lord Aberdeen Scotland

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#182854 - 04/10/2003 17:31 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: rob]
aetherion
new poster

Registered: 04/10/2003
Posts: 7
Loc: Duke University, NC
Actually, the wheel is in pretty far now that I think about it...at least it's in further than I remember it being when I first took it out of the box. Trying to pull the wheel out with needle-nose pliers didn't get me anywhere, except that I could pull the entire wheel out if I wanted too...it doesn't seem to be really attached to anything at this point...I think we can all see now why Apple went solid-state on their scroll wheel, consdering the number of times their wheel broke. A word of warning to other Karma owners out there to be careful of this wheel...

I will gladly return this new one to Rio directly...anything that can help the Karma product out faster. I'll just start using the one that comes Monday until I get the one from Rio, then return the other one to Best Best Buy when I get the replacement from Rio. Please drop me the contact info. email is [email protected].

-John

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#182855 - 04/10/2003 17:49 Re: Beware of breakage! [Re: aetherion]
rob
carpal tunnel

Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
I sent your email address to our customer care manager.

Thanks

Rob

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