iRiver H120 CF Mod Attempt - Success!

[AlexG]

Welcome to the club . I have exactly the same adapter and 8Gb of sloooow A-Data. After commenting "ata.c" and recompiling the source file, everything start working fine. The only bug I have - it gets stuck in a car mode. Probably, there is another "ata.c" bug is present.

BTW, how did you manage to close the device? I had to cut off the jumper to be able to do it.

In addition, 32Gb CF A-Data is 149$ now...

I just bent the jumper   Here is a picture of it booted with a 4gb CF card and re-assembled

[AlexG]

It seems to work, but sometimes I get disk read errors.  Did you comment out the sleep function in ATA.c?  This was required for iPod mini's using a CF card and I did that on my gigabeat.  I also set the spindown time to 254 seconds (I'd like to modify the code so it is NEVER).

I've just swapped the disks, I haven't recompiled anything.  I do use the REP build of rockbox and gave it a field run.  The show I recorded had no issues.

[scharkalvin]

I do use the REP build of rockbox

What's the REP build?

BTW, someone left a review on newegg for the 32gb A-data CF that they tried in an iPod mini, and it worked!  So it's looking good!!!

The price keeps on a dropping!.  I will pull the trigger soon.

In addition, 32Gb CF A-Data is 149$ now... Grin

It's now done to $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211244

[AlexP]

What's the REP build?

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=2513.0

[davidc]

Intresting stuff this.  Been looking at replacing my iriver for awhile now but nothing really grabs me.  Little confused over the adaptor used for this project though. Would something like this :-

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11521

be ok to use in the 120?  (I know that the player uses the single platter toshiba drives).  If not what would be ok?  Don't use ebay, though I suspect that may be my only choice.

Also how difficult is a project like this?  Complete beginner at things like this and don't have any soldering experiences.  Quite fancy the idea of a 30 gig (given the price is right)flac  playing iriver.  Would save having to convert a load of stuff over when I want to listen to  stuff at work!

One other quick question would there be room in there to put a larger capacity battery whilst the player is open?  My irivers a few years old now...

Cheers...

[LambdaCalculus]

Hi davidc, that adapter you linked to won't work on the H120. But it will work on some other DAPs, like the H10, Dell DJ, and Rio Karma.

Since the H120 has a vertically-oriented Toshiba hard drive, you need an adapter that fits that form factor. Some of the guys here may be able to point a good one out to you.

But thanks for that link; I'll be purchasing a couple for my Dell DJ and Rio Karma.

[scharkalvin]

Would something like this :-

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11521

be ok to use in the 120?

So long as the width of the card and CF do not exceed the width of the player
that card should work.  I might be wrong but on a Gigabeat the card might have
to mount upside down (flash side facing inside the player) since IIRC the #1
pin side of the HDD connector on the card is backwards from what's in the player.
This card mounts the CF sideways in the player instead of in the same axis as the original HD.

E-GAD they also have a zif format hdd/cf flash adapter!  That would work in the
newest ipods!  Price looks a bit higher than on ebay, if my Euro to $$ translation
is right.

[PouncePony]

I put a 32GB CF from A-Data in my 2nd Gen IPod Mini a week ago:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/my-32gb-flash-ipod-mini-290743/

I upgraded to a 850mah battery that I bought off of eBay (hopefully it's 850mah).  I did a battery benchmark with a playlist of 50+ 192VBR MP3s and got 18hrs of playback time.

-Pony

[larry_llama]

CHeck it out... CF to 1.8 adapter for $6 and free worldwide shipping!
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10886~r.95998535

I'm going to try that out for my girlfriend's h120. I'm still looking for a source to ship a 32GB cf card to Canada.

Although I may bite the bullet and get a 16GB for now, only $60 at a local shop www.canadacomputers.com

[scharkalvin]

I put a 32GB CF from A-Data in my 2nd Gen IPod Mini a week ago:

Did you recompile rockbox with the patch to ata.c to remove the reset?

CHeck it out... CF to 1.8 adapter for $6 and free worldwide shipping!
http://www.dealextreme.co...s.dx/sku.10886~r.95998535

That looks exactly like the one I got off ebay for twice the price.  Guess this particular card has become an off the shelf item.  Nice!

[PouncePony]

Did you recompile rockbox with the patch to ata.c to remove the reset?

No, I did not.  I've been using it for about a week and for the first time I had a couple of freeze ups.  I wouldn't guess it had to do with the ata.c sleep issue.  Information provided on the A-Data card states "Fully compatible with PC Card ATA specification"

Maybe this negates the requirement for the patch ??

Pony

[davidc]

Sorry to be a pain about this but just want to make sure I get the right one!

Had another look round that site, and think that this :-

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11861

is the one that I need to get, yes or no?

Also with the lower capacity cards does it matter which brand/make to use?  Was thinking about getting a cheap inexpensive one first (typically compact flash is the one type of brand that I don't have lying around the house!) to make sure that it all works before getting a bigger capacity card.

Cheers.

PS Can someone confirm that there is no soldering involved in this project before I begin please?  It'd be the one thing to put a stop on it!

[scharkalvin]

is the one that I need to get, yes or no?

No image on the site for that one, can't tell.  If it is a 50pin male hdd connector, then
it should be correct.

Also with the lower capacity cards does it matter which brand/make to use?

Many of the smaller CF cards were not IDE compatible.  I'd avoid anything smaller than 4gb, though some reported success with 512mb through 2gb cards.

[larry_llama]

Sorry to be a pain about this but just want to make sure I get the right one!

Had another look round that site, and think that this :-

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11861

Hard to say.. but I'm sure this one is right, and it's cheaper - and supposedly free shipping with no minimum order. I don't know how they do it but my roommate ordered from them before and they shipped free to Canada from I guess China:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10886~r.95998535

[Jeff]

I'm cross posting this in hopes of a LOT of assistance.


Just purchased and received this adapter: (as mentioned above)

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11861


and this CF Card: (Transcend 32GB 133X)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208389&Tpk=CF

Was able to format the card and load content onto it including .rockbox.

When booting the player I get the first two lines and then the following:

ATA error:  -80


Any suggestions or assistance would be GREATLY appreciated.  If I need to modify the ata.c code then i'll need MAJOR help as I don't even know what it is or where it is.


Jeff