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#228079 - 21/07/2004 18:15 Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module???
TigerJimmy
old hand

Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
Hi everyone,

I'm so bummed I missed the empeg meet!

Anyhow, my GF and I both have empegs (2a) and have the sleds installed with OEM tuner modules. We have a problem when either of our players is plugged in to her car. Both players seem to work fine in my car.

Symptoms:

After a seemingly random period of time, from 10 seconds to 4 minutes after booting, the player starts doing things on its own:

1. Shuffle and unshuffle, some times very fast and continuously.
2. Mark and unmark tracks.
3. "Hate" tracks (I don't know if it does other tweak order commands).
4. Adjust volume (always UP!).

This is very similar behavior to genexia's IR receiver problem, but because it is happening with two players, and only in one sled, I am suspecting that the player is receiving commands from the Sony stalk interface. Neither tuner has a remote plugged in to the jack.

Is there some way (in Hijack, perhaps), to disable the tuner module to see if we can isolate the problem to the tuner module? In her installation, it is quite difficult to unplug the tuner from her sled and I'd like to avoid that kind of testing if it can be simulated in software.

Finally, if the tuner module is flakey, what would be the likely cause of this kind of behavior? Could it be fixed?

Thanks in advance, everyone.

Jim

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#228080 - 21/07/2004 18:46 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: TigerJimmy]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
Is there some way (in Hijack, perhaps), to disable the tuner module...

...or better yet, ignore Sony stalk commands.

Wasn't there a feature added to hijack once for this very purpose, to debug poltergeist problems like that? Anyone?

In any case, did you do the diagnostic procedure to make sure it wasn't the IR interrupt problem?
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#228081 - 21/07/2004 18:56 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: tfabris]
genixia
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
[Hijack]
stalk_enabled=0


Hmm. I didn't see it in the FAQ
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Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962 sig.mp3: File Format not Valid.

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#228082 - 21/07/2004 18:59 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: genixia]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
Actually, come to think of it, silly me, isn't that just an option in the "Configure Player" screen of Emplode? Left, Right, or None?
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#228083 - 21/07/2004 19:17 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: tfabris]
TigerJimmy
old hand

Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
Yep, I checked that, even though I thought it would be pretty odd that the IR problem would only happen in one of two sleds (with two different players)...

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#228084 - 21/07/2004 19:17 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: genixia]
TigerJimmy
old hand

Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
Ah, thank you. I will give that a shot.

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#228085 - 21/07/2004 19:46 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: TigerJimmy]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
If either of those solutions works for you (the hijack entry, or setting "none" in the configure player screen), please let us know which one. If so, I'd like to add it to the FAQ entry about the IR problem.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#228086 - 21/07/2004 20:45 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: tfabris]
TigerJimmy
old hand

Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
The hijack entry did not change the behavior. I'll be able to test the emplode setting later.

If this does turn out to be the tuner, as I expect it will, does anyone out there repair tuner modules?

Thanks again,

Jim

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#228087 - 21/07/2004 21:15 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: TigerJimmy]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
The hijack entry did not change the behavior. I'll be able to test the emplode setting later.

If you were able to only put in the Hijack entry because you don't have Emplode access, please note that the emplode setting is also a config.ini change that you can make by hand in the same way that you made the Hijack entry change:

[controls]
stalk_side=none


Make sure to change the existing entry, rather than adding a new one.

And of course make sure that you put the drives back to read-only after making the change. You did that for the Hijack change, right?

EDIT: Incidentally, the Developer Info Section Gnomes need to update the entry about the stalk_side command. It lists only "Left" and "Right" there. Yet I chose "Don't have one" in Emplode and the above is what I got.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#228088 - 21/07/2004 22:47 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: TigerJimmy]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
Connect with emplode, go to the Configure menu entry, and turn off the Sony stalk control feature, then do a sync.
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

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#228089 - 23/07/2004 04:04 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: schofiel]
canuckInOR
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
Quote:
then do a sync.

Ahh, maybe that's why I couldn't get the "none" option to work? I only did a reboot, rather than a sync.

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#228090 - 23/07/2004 04:07 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: tfabris]
canuckInOR
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
Quote:
Quote:
Is there some way (in Hijack, perhaps), to disable the tuner module...


...or better yet, ignore Sony stalk commands.

Wasn't there a feature added to hijack once for this very purpose, to debug poltergeist problems like that? Anyone?


The thread you were looking for.

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#228091 - 27/07/2004 07:48 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: schofiel]
TigerJimmy
old hand

Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
I checked both players. Both had the stalk option set to "none" (or whatever it is) in emplode when they were exhibiting the problems.

I used the hijack option to disable stalk input and have tested it with one of the players. It seems to have "fixed" it. I haven't tried the second player yet.

That seems to prove the theory that the odd behavior was inputs from the tuner's stalk interface, even though no stalk was attached. It still leaves the question: is the tuner module faulty?

I have a steering wheel to sony stalk adapter for the car, but I don't want to rip everything apart to install it if the tuner module is bad to begin with.

If there is a problem with the tuner module, any ideas what it could be? Can this be fixed?

Thanks again everyone for the help!

Jim

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#228092 - 27/07/2004 16:50 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: TigerJimmy]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
Okay, adding this to the FAQ entry now.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#228093 - 28/07/2004 02:40 Re: Odd player behavior -- bad tuner module??? [Re: TigerJimmy]
canuckInOR
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
Yep. Sounds right. I couldn't get the "none" thing to work, either, which is what prompted my request to Mark to add the hijack option. If anyone *does* figure out what's wrong with the tuner to cause this, I wouldn't mind knowing the answer, too.

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