FAQ
Site Map >
Guides > FAQ
The new rating for the entry you voted entry is:
3.02 out of 5
1. Using your player
Q1: Is there a firmware update for my player?
First: If your player works,
keep it that way : don't update!!
"Updates" don't exist for the S1mp3 player, there are just a lot of different versions of the same firmware. But not all versions work with all boards. Each firmware is made especially for one board type, so if you update your player with a wrong version, it dies!
Rate:
What you can do is to format the player using the tool that came on the the latest version of the "MP3 Player Utilities", available in MP3 Player Utilities. Do a complete format and don't set any encripted drive.
If this does not help, try the "disk management", reached at "Control Panel -> Administrative tools -> computer management". Right click the mp3 player partition, choose "format". Use "FAT" or "FAT16" (NOT FAT32!)
If it does not work, you can try a low-level format using this tool :HP formatting tool
This is a known problem. It is some bug in the firmware
If formatting does not help, you should check if the memory chip inside you player has the capacity that the players claims.(see Dissassemble the s1mp3 and Nand Flash memory(Samsung or Hynix))
(there is an ongoing discussion about this in
the forumsRate:
If you player has an internal recharcheable battery, it will include a special internal circuit to do that.
If your player does not have this circuit, you best recharge your batteries on proper chargers to avoid acidents. However, there is a wiki article that explains how to make a simple circuit to drive power to the battteries.
Rate:
Not very much, in the way that they both play music.
Sigmatel claims that the atj2075 and 2085 are copies of their SMTP25xx series, and has even filed a lawsuit against them!
Apart from the different looks, they have totally incompatible firmwares, and (some of) the sigmatel players have a slot for an extra Secure Digital flashcard.
(note: this project is about the s1mp3 player, NOT the sigmatel ones ;) )
Rate:
This has only one explanation: interference.
The s1mp3 player is quite cheap hardware, so it is not shielded from interference very well.
In fact, it even creates it's own interference.
In some hardware versions, severeral of the memory data lines run along the audio lines, so everytime the memory is read or written, there will be interference from the memory with the audio.
This also explains the absence of interference during radio playback (as reported sometimes): the memory isn't really used then, so there is no interference.
There is, althought, a way to fix that problem , it appears to be due to a decoupling tantalum capacitor not being big enough. The capacitor is on the battery side of the board and is between the hold switch and the -ve volume button. I found that soldering another surface mount 68uF tantalum across it fixed the burbling noise on memory playback. try holding a largeish (220uF) electrolytic against this capacitor's leads to see if it cures the problem , itmay cause reboots due to static/whatever, but when it doesnt cause a reboot it may/should reduce the noise, if it does then try soldering in a permanent fix.
Rate:
This is normal and happens with all the S1MP3 players. The firmware reserves a "small" (up to 20MB) portion of the flash memory to system usage.
Rate:
The player uses the earphones cord as an antenna. Try to hold it stretched as much as you can for better reception. Sometimes, the radio signal is just not strong enough. There can also be a strong signal from a local radio station "blocking" any other stations in the area, even if normal radios receptors are working normally.
Rate:
Yes. There is an opntion on system menu that let you change the system time. Note that eveytime the player is disconnected from a power source (you change the batteries) the time will reset.
Rate:
Use the latest encoding tool, and inform it to use the 200x200 resolution. If you s1mp3 still clips the video while playing it, your current firmware does not support full screen mode.
Rate:
Remember, for the right firmware, you'll have to open your player and take note of the board ID number. Just categorization won't help.
You can check out all the known S1mp3 types
here.
Rate:
Of course! But make sure to check the voltage, use the same voltage your older battery has!
Rate:
First, check the cables, eliminate then, if possible. Then, test the USB port with other USB devices, maybe the problem is at the motherboard side.
If cabes and mobo are ok, probably there is something wrong with the USB conector on the S1mp3. Open it and check for dust, clean it, check the solders on the USB connectors.
If all these tips does not work at all, probably your ATJ2085 chip is phisycally damaged.
Rate:
If you get a "hard error", that's because your S1mp3 does not have the FM chip, or the connection between the the FM chip is broken, or you have a radio chip that is not supported by your firmware. Have your S1mp3 changed or fixed.
Rate:
No, It does not. DMR is to be supported on the next generations of the s1mp3-type player.
Rate:
This is related to the Memory Issue. See about it on the FAQ.
Rate:
Most S1mp3 come as unbranded and even the ones that have a model name on the case aren't uniquely identified by this information.
The only reliable information to identify a player is the board ID.
Rate:
There are some FM chips that does not support the scan mode. There doesn't seen like there is much that can be done to overcome this issue.
Rate:
2. Fixing you player
Q1: My player is dead! please help!Calm down, deep breath.Read the Dead recovery guide with attention. Then, try to execute it. It's a default procedure and it was worked for almost everybody. Good luck and you may count on us for full support on the forum.
Rate:
In a practical way, it means that your update program does not support your mp3 player, or the mp3 player may be running on a wrong firmware routine. To solve it, you can either change your update program or put the player in recovery mode. See the Dead recovery guide for further info.
Rate:
This shall be a hardware fault. Open the player and seek for bad solders.
Rate:
You probably formatted your player with the "FAT32" filesystem.
the S1mp3 player uses the "FAT16" filesystem, and MOST players don't understand FAT32. (some can)
You can fix your player by simply reformatting it, but this time select "FAT16" in the filesystem box.
Note: "FAT16" is also known as "FAT"
Rate:
Make sure you are using a fully charged battery.
Manually wire the battery to the terminals on the s1mp3, to make sure they have contact.
If it still does not work, you should open up the player and see if any of the battery pin is loose/broken/shorting. Clean both contacts, and check if there are any other thing on the player that may be causing the short.
If this does not help, then it's very likely that this is a hardware fault on the DC-DC convertor - get the player replaced with the seller.
Rate:
Flip the hold swith! :)
It is also possible that, because of a wrong firmware update, the button mapping has gone crazy, and your hold switch has traded places with other buttons.
To overcome this, simply push ALL the buttons while you plug in the player, that way you are always "flipping" the "hold switch" (where-ever it has hidden itself)
If still doesn't work, follow the
Dead recovery guideRate:
You can try to order a real glass in a jewelry store ...
Rate:
Re-encode the problematic music files using LAME. If the device also reestarts, it could be the memory issue, check the FAQ for that too.
Rate:
Only if you know that the Board ID for both players is the same. The external (brand, looklike, firmware version) say nothing about the player internal hardware.
Rate:
3. Modding your firmware
Q1: Is there a way to change the text/images included on the firmware?Yes, there is. Wire's s1fwx can dump your firmware and you can use s1res to change the text/graphics, even with MP4 players. See the
Tools page.
Rate:
This may be possible somehow, but we still have no idea on how to do it. If you have some information on it, please email!
Rate:
No, you can't. The multi-color players have three different backlight LED. These are colored Red, Green and Blue. The different colors are made by combining the LED's in different ways (EG: Red+Blue gives Pink/Purple).
The one-color players only have one backlight LED, so they cannot combine colors.
The LED's are inside the The LCD board. If you don't have the LEDs (the multi-color devices have tree of them, while the single-color players only have one) on your hardware, there is no way to add them!
Rate:
If your player does not have the radio chip inside, it's impossible to add FM. If you want to check if your player can support radio (i.e, have the chip), you will have to open it.
Dissassemble the s1mp3 and look for the radio chip Philips TEA5767[FM RADIO] (it is normally the Philips TEA5767). If your player once had FM and you lost it during firmware update or you have the radio chip inside, you can use the FW modifier (see Tools) tool to add the function to a .bin file.
Rate:
Unfortunately, no.
The s1mp3 player does not support playlists, not even with firmware upgrades.
Remember, it is still cheap chinese import, no high tech iPod nano.
Rate:
A program called "Fw modifyer", can do the job, available on
Fw modifer. Dump your firmware using s1fwx(
Fw modifer)(don't forget the upper "F"), modify it and reburn on the player.
If the player refuses to accept the changes, you might have to "kill" the player with an unknown firmware and then finally flash the firmware. And this might be a hard work, that might not reward you. The only thing that changes is over the battery indicator level.
Rate:
.z7 is the extension for 7-zip.
7-zip is one of the most powerfull compressing programs you'll find, and, best of all: It's open source.
you can find the official 7-zip program at:
www.7-zip.org
If you want to use something else:
winrar also extracts 7-zip.
Rate:
For that, you'll have to extract your player's firmware with s1fwx.
then you can unleash the awesome power of s1res on your extracted firmware.
S1res allows you to change ANY part of a firmware, including menu pictures.
Where all the pictures are hidden changes from firmware to firmware, so you'll have to look for yourself (but UI30.res is always a good place to start)
WARNING: ALWAYS keep an UNMODIFIED, UNCHANGED backup of your extracted firmware, just in case something goes wrong. (And, remembering Murphy's law: it _will_ go wrong)
Rate:
4. About the project
Q1: How can I help with the project?You can help the project in many ways. The easiest is clicking the banners :)
Please, if you wish to help, send a message introducing yourself to the mail list . Tell any of the skills you might have(C, embedded programming, HTML/Web, scripting, etc...), and say you wish to help. LOADS of work will be waiting you! ;)
Of course, you could also visit our forums and help out there ;).
Rate:
We maintain a
web based forum and a mailing list.
The mailing list is for development purposes ONLY, support questions there will be ignored.
For dead players, see the
forums .
Rate:
Protected by the FreeBSD Documentation License - click for details
English | v2.00 - 19/10/05