Topic: iRiver H120 CF Mod Attempt - Success!

[Liquid Drum]

Great thread, possibly going to do this to my newly acquired h120 also.

Is it easy to put in the CF card?? Does it need any soldering or anything or does it basically just clip in somehow.?

Cheers!

No soldering needed. It's pretty straight forward.

That's good news as my soldering is poor lol.

What parts is everyone using? I've found a few places in the UK that do the required parts but not sure if they're the right size or anything. These are what I'm looking at so far:

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

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1.8%22-for-toshiba-Hard-Drive,SSD,-CF-to-ipod-IDE-Adaptor_W0QQitemZ330299496734QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090109?IMSfp=TL090109118003r18271

Also, while I'm at it, thinking of changing the battery. Any UK'rs know where to get one that is good and fits the h120 without the polarity issue?

Many thanks,
Simon.

[sunjan]

What parts is everyone using? I've found a few places in the UK that do the required parts but not sure if they're the right size or anything.

I bought my adapter from one of the recommended sellers on the rockbox page, "linuxbeginner". You can save yourself a few quid if you pick it up from him:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360122712122

When shopping for battery, be careful to choose a reputed seller with recommendations (either from us here or Misticriver). The stated mAh figure doesn't always mean longer battery life.

[Liquid Drum]

What parts is everyone using? I've found a few places in the UK that do the required parts but not sure if they're the right size or anything.

I bought my adapter from one of the recommended sellers on the rockbox page, "linuxbeginner". You can save yourself a few quid if you pick it up from him:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360122712122

When shopping for battery, be careful to choose a reputed seller with recommendations (either from us here or Misticriver). The stated mAh figure doesn't always mean longer battery life.

Thanks. So where/whom is a reputable place to get a new battery?

[petur]

If it is marked 'Sino' or 'CameronSino' you should be fine.

Do not get a generic ipod replacement battery, get one that is marked specifically for the irivers (h1x0 and h3x0 share the same battery)

[Liquid Drum]

Finally did the CF mod. Also changed the battery whilst I had it to bits.

I got the stuff from the following:

IDE > CF adapt: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/498k/
Specific item link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CF-to-1-8-IDE-hard-drive-adapter-card-laptop-HDD-L-UK_W0QQitemZ370144562237QQihZ024QQcategoryZ61816QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Cameron Sino Battery (came already with correct polarity): http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/licketysplitauctions/
Specific link: http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/LicketySplitAuctions_iRiver_W0QQ_fsubZ1145131QQ_sidZ121701705QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322

For the CF card I grabbed an 8gb Kingston Elite Pro (133x) from Amazon.

The CF mod is simple to do but damn I must have spent about an hour trying to change the battery. The plugs are small and the gap they give you is just not big enough. I ended up giving the plastic plug a big shave and finally squeezed it in.

Turned it on after the mod and battery change and it instantly booted up with zero problems when I connected it to the USB to transfer the .rockbox folder back over. I've booted it on/off a few times just to make sure and then put the casing back on. Just charging the battery right now to see that it holds a good charge ok and that I ain't got a duffer.

By the way: Did you guys have to really squeeze the casing together to close it fully..? I didn't force it or anything but it must be pretty 'tight' in there and was worried about any heat. I bent the jumper down ok, I think it's the bigger battery which makes it a more tighter fit but I guess it should be ok. Soon find out anyhow, heh.

Thanks for the help in this thread, this is really a genius idea and a big great FU to HDD's.   

[stantheman1976]

I haven't done the CF mod yet.  I will probably wait until I can get a R-09HR so I'll still be with a unit if I screw anything up.  I did change the battery a while back on the 120 and 320.  The casing is very snug after the new battery goes in but it should be fine.  I did it last year when Overstock was selling those refurbed iRivers.  I got the 320 and decided both units could use a new battery.

[petur]

yes, the Sino battery is just a little bit thicker but still fits... Have fun with your modded iriver

[matsa]

Mod performed yesterday on my iHP110 -> iHP108SS.
After reading the Rockbox instructions (a couple of times, to be honest) I found the actual operations to be swift and painless.
The step by step instructions by Arni99 on page 9 in this thread didn't do the trick for me - it lacked a couple of vital steps that the Rockbox page had.
Also took the opportunity to change to a 2200mAh battery while at it.

Works like a charm. Evaluation of battery life and system stability will be performed this week.

/Matsa

[Chuck]

Having just swapped the hard-drive in my second iHP-140 with a CF card, I started to wonder about something.
Is it better to have the recorder boot from RAM or ROM? I have had no problems, so far, booting the first one from ROM. So, I have set my second recorder to boot from ROM, too. Is one preferable over the other for any reason?

[restevezes]

ok I swear I read the whole thread, but still have some doubts

Petur mentioned any card should work (x133 or above), but I see here and there (misticriver and rockbox forums) people reporting errors with some specific brands (Trascend...)
 
Kingston Elite Pro 32GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model CF/32GB-S2 - Retail

I found this model for 77$ on neweggg (not bad!). It is 133x and compatible with ATA specs, however on the Rockbox Wiki (http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/CFModGuide#Compatibility_Chart) some users are having issues.

"Really nice in rockbox, fast copying (look for UDMA Patch), heavy bootup problems! (Cold boot always leads to hangup, maybe bootloader problem? After reset every thing is superfine)".

Is this because they are using an old rockbox version (pre 3.0)?

I also saw some reports of rnot so usual random errors, which many users say it is fine for everyday listening (who cares about 1 sec dropuot every two days) but might be unacceptable for recording. Is this 100% recommended for recording?

Any other recomendations for 32GB cards? 

thanks

[sunjan]

Petur mentioned any card should work (x133 or above), but I see here and there (misticriver and rockbox forums) people reporting errors with some specific brands (Trascend...)

"Really nice in rockbox, fast copying (look for UDMA Patch), heavy bootup problems! (Cold boot always leads to hangup, maybe bootloader problem? After reset every thing is superfine)".

Is this because they are using an old rockbox version (pre 3.0)?

Best thing is to PM the guy reporting the error, and ask if he tested the card with a later version.
Two things to note about these reports:
1. Most of them were done during development, when the CF boot process wasn't stable yet.
2. Since the 1xx and 3xx series use slightly different bootloaders, you can't take for granted that a card that failed on a 3xx won't work on a 1xx (although it's likely).

Good luck and post your results here! :-)

[petur]

indeed, during development we had issues with some cards, but these should all have been fixed.

[restevezes]

i contacted the guy and he reported some strange issues: it works fine but he ALWAYS has to do a soft reset. weird.

So petur, is it safe to say that all CF cards should work with latest firmware and bootloader?
I remember some of them being not compatible at all...

thannks

[danzz1234]

anyone has a link for ebay user selling the IDE>CF adapter that works with iriver?

i sucessfully changed my H320 battery today and want to do the CF mod 

[restevezes]

cheap and succesfully tested
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18463