iPod collection

[phunguss]

I found a craigslist ad for an old iBook G4, Mac Mini, two iPods, and lots of accessories for $100... when I got there, they seller had already sold the two computers for $60, so I took the remaining two iPods and accessories for $40.

Gen 1 scroll wheel (charging) and Gen 3 dock connector (no life yet). Standard scuffing on the back, gen 1 has some acrylic cracks on the top edge.

Accessories included:
-Firewire power brick (no firewire cable)
-3 old apple microphones
-iPod dock stand
-lapel headphone remote control (with spring clip)
-StyleWrite 2500 power supply (which I was missing, now I can test it)
-4 DVI to VGA adapters
-Apple 15pin video to VGA adapter (no jumpers)

 

[phunguss]

Since this is my first iPod Classic Gen 3, I did not know you needed the 12V Firewire to 30pin charge cable. So I will have to order one or build a hack cable just to charge it.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Since this is my first iPod Classic Gen 3, I did not know you needed the 12V Firewire to 30pin charge cable. So I will have to order one or build a hack cable just to charge it.

Fantastic score. My gen 3 is in pieces right now while it gets a new battery and SSD.

 

[phunguss]

Update: received my FW-30pin charge cable today. While I was waiting, i disassembled the Dock Connector (Gen3) and found the blue rubber to be extremely sticky. It does not look like battery leakage, so maybe the rubber is degrading? or maybe too much glue on the tinfoil side? I cleaned everything with iso and reassembled.

Plugged into FW power brick, but got a black LCD screen at first... slid the hold button on and off a couple times and then I get a weird firmware type menu.

and these selections... Anyone have info on these?

A reset from the menu selection produces a weird beep and a backwards apple logo.... very strange.

and slower

 

[phunguss]

Apparently this is the result of charging it while on FireWire... I plugged into iTunes via USB-30pin and it sees the iPod and that it needs an update. I will have to let it charge fully and then try a software update or restore on it. Ordered the CF-IDE adapters to go solid state with it.

 

[3lectr1c]

Looks like the 3rd gen is stuck in debug mode. Could be bad hard drive or a corrupted drive.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

My gen3 iPods rubber bit is ultra sticky too. I assumed it was just the age of the unit, plastics degrading etc

 

[phunguss]

So I am guessing my battery is a dud. Ordered a replacement on eBay.

I got it to recognize one time on iTunes, but the battery did not hold long enough for it to fully restore.

Ran the scan on the HD, and it passed.

I have an IDE/CF adapter on the way as well, so hope to convert to CF solid state when I do the battery.

Today I swapped out my iPod Mini 4GB Microdrive for a 16GB CF card. Restored in iTunes and loaded music. I think the battery will hold fine now with the SSD.

 

[phunguss]

Latest updates on CF conversions of iPod Click Wheel Gen 1 and iPod Dock Connector Gen 3

I ran into difficulties and after a couple days of reading and trying things, I finally found the issue with the Gen 3. After restoring in windows iTunes, you have to wait for the Apple logo to appear before connecting the FireWire charging cable. In most cases, I was immediately connecting the charge cable while the 30pin icon was on screen, and the iPod would restart in debug mode. So waiting for the Apple logo to appear, then plugging in the charge, it would complete the restore. Then Mac based iTunes could sync, no problem.

I read other horror stories that these cheap Chinese converters would not work in a Gen 1, and stories of power off not working in several devices as well. Some stories say that the Gen 1 will no longer sync in iTunes after a Solid State conversion. So not to take a chance on the Gen 1, I just moved an already converted drive from the Gen 3 to Gen 1, then did another restore in Mac iTunes. Well, the Gen 1 synced in Mac iTunes after the restore, albeit very slowly. Over 500 songs took about 2 hours, so definitely something wrong, or a slow CF card.

Gen 1 Click Wheel: After disassembly, removing the old drive, it is just a raw board of electronics (Gen 3 has the blue rubber pad and aluminum tape). So for electronics insulation, I chose a clear optical separator from a CD-ROM stack.

and aligned the center hole with the drive indents.

The 4 corners touch the 4 rubber pads nicely (reminds me of Wonder Woman's plane?)

After reassembly and sync, all is well. 5GB mechanical replaced with 16GB CF card.

Gen 3: Disassemble, install adapter, restore in Windows iTunes, wait for 'power connection' screen to disappear and Apple logo appears, plug in power to finish restore, sync in Mac iTunes. Plain and simple. Then I plugged in the Griffin iTalk (previous find) and it works!

Music playback is quiet in the speaker, but it is powered by the internal battery. Probably fine for a pillow speaker and night time story to fall asleep to, but nothing you can fill a room with.

A small downgrade of 20GB mechanical to 16GB CF card, but its not that big of a leap.