h140 static filled recordings and playback

[rickeyjt]

My h140 is going from bad to worse.  This is an out of warranty outletmp3 refurbished unit that worked several times ok and then started acting up.  I use it only for wav recording using a sony stereo mic.  I have used the daily build, the REP build and the original 1.66 iriver firmware - all the same result.

The playback is full of loud scratchy static.  The screen freezes at times.  It has recording gaps, i.e., record for 40 minutes, stops and then picks up recording 20 minutes later.  The gain control started displaying wild numbers like -876 or just way out of normal range and the agc number status would be offset by just as much.   As I reset the gain back up to + range the recording volume in the headphones fades in and out many times until I get to the max +48.

Several times I have seen these messages on the frozen screen:
I04: IllInstr at 3104782C
I05: DivX0 at 10000302
I04: IllInstru at 95B41400

I removed rockbox and reflashed the firmware with iriver 1.66.  Recordings produce the same scratchy static.  You do hear the scratching through headphones while recording too.

I swapped hard drives and that does not make a difference.  It does playback formerly good music (that plays on my fine old h140) the same way - with static and with a stutter, like a tape deck whose spindle needs oil or someone is pulling on the tape feed reel.  I switched hard drives you know so the good music was already there.  But if I copy recorded wav to my pc and load into an editor it is full of the static.  Seems the unit applies static to either playback or recording.  

I have never plugged anything but the sony mic to record.  Battery fully charged, same result with ac cord. Recording levels set normally.  

sample recording
ftp://dviews.com/pub/iriver/staticVOICE000.mp3
sample playback
ftp://dviews.com/pub/iriver/staticPLAYBACKSONG000.mp3

[LinusN]

Sounds really bad. Certainly a hardware problem. Try to open it up and look for bad solder joints. I have no good ideas about what could be wrong, as I have never seen it myself.

[rickeyjt]

Any particular area of the board, chips or connections more likely the ones to check?  There is the top side and bottom side along with a kind of daughter board where the hd connects.

[LinusN]

I'm really not sure. Check the ones on the UDA1380 chip with the surrounding decoupling capacitors, and the different connectors. Just resolder any suspicious joints and hope for the best...