Troubles in Hyperdrive Colorspace O
I’m back from Mongolia and I am sad to say that my enthusiasm for the Hyperdrive Colorspace O’s is greatly diminished. As, I mentioned in a previous post I purchased two cases and added OWC 320GB drives. After only the second download (8 GB Sandisk Extreme IV cards) on one of the Hyperdrives the battery light went red and would not hold a charge unless it was plugged in. The other Hyperdrive was fine for two more downloads and then the battery light also went red AND it would not work even when it was plugged it. (After it “rested” for a week I was able to use it with external power but the battery still would not hold a charge.) Another fellow on the trip also had two Hyperdrives Colorspace O’s and one of them had the same problem (and resulted in losing all of the images he had downloaded), luckily the other was fine. So, it was obviously not an isolated case. (Another woman on the tour had one Hyperspace drive and it worked fine.)
When I returned I immediately tried to contact Hyperdrive to sort out the problem. I used their support email (3 times) but did not get a response for a week. I tried to call but could not connect with a live person.
I finally did receive an email response asking if it could have been the cold weather (a reasonable question) and offered to send me replaceable batteries (greatly appreciated). I responded that it was not a problem of cold weather, that there seems to be a serious battery issue since it happened to three drives belong to two people purchased at different times. (I had put in OWC drives but the other fellow had bought Hyperdrives with drives included.)
I suspect it is either a problem with 220 or, most likely, that we were using a generator for power and that creates extra issues. I was able to charge the Hyperdrives when I returned home to 110 and they are now showing a green battery light. But, they did not work in Mongolia, when I really needed them to work. (Although I had other backup options with me, so it was not a huge problem. I never trust a new system that has not been tested thoroughly.)
As of now, I cannot endorse the Hyperdrive Colorspace O digital wallets (at least for those of us who need alternative power such as generators; I will be testing solar possibilities soon.) A pity.
And, I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem?
I am leaving next month for Myanmar and India and will “test” the Hyperdrives with the replacement batteries and more 220 (my real backup will be with a computer and external Lacie Rugged Drives, as it was in Mongolia).
Hopefully, Hyperdrive will give me a complete answer this week. I will keep you posted.
Update October 2: Still have not gotten a clear answer from Hyperspace. I’m trying!!!
Update November 2/ Dateline Bangkok: Still have not gotten a clear answer from Hyperspace. I emailed them, again, two weeks ago before I left for Myanmar. I just returned to Bangkok and there has been no answer. I emailed them again today.
Update June 20, 2009: I will post a new entry about my contemporary experiences with the Hyperdrives very soon.
Hi Nevada. Thanks for writing about your troubles with the Hyperdrive. I have one of their older 40gb models and was thinking of upgrading to one of the ones that you mentioned but am not sure anymore after reading this.
Richard: I am going to write a new post soon on Hyperdrives. I don’t think you have to worry about the new models. HOWEVER… I have not tested them using small generators and Hyperdrive Support will not give me an answer on this. If you are not going to be using generator power then they are GREAT.
Hi Nevada. The problem doesn’t seem limited to the Colorspace because the 80GB Space drive I just got from Adorama doesn’t work either. It doesn’t seem to charge from plugging it in nor through the USB.
Jon:
A very good point indeed. But I was testing the drive with 220 and the generator and this problem occurred (and one that should be known). However, you are right, a couple of charged batteries should be enough for a month (even for me). I have not yet thoroughly tested it with solar panels (I have the Brunton). Thanks for all your comments!
nevada
The thing that still doesn’t make sense to me is why you should need to charge them at all when you are traveling. Each battery should take 30 CF cards. On a 30 day trip, I can’t imagine going through more than 2 batteries.
An additional thought is a Solar USB charger – http://www.amazon.com/Brunton-SOLARIS-Foldable-Solar-Silver/dp/B0018BER1I – use the USB charging capability of the ColorSpace with a portable solar charger. That eliminates odd currents.
J
Thanks Jon
I have tested the drives thoroughly. It is not a problem in the USA or the vortex of Santa Fe!
And, the point was to have a small device that could be used when I was not carrying a computer so this is not a solution for me. If I bring a computer then I use Lacie Rugged Hard drives for back up
Yes, the Epson’s do not seem to have this problem but I need a MUCH larger hard drive capacity than even the newest Epsons can give me.
But thank you so much for responding. I think the problem is with using a generator and the type of battery Hyperspace uses, but I have yet to be able to speak to a tech about this, but not for lack of trying!
nevada
Nevada,
A number of thoughts. On their spec page, they quote “Battery Performance
Backup 120GB on a single battery charge”. Before you leave on your next trip, you might try a couple of experiments:
-Fully charge on power and see if you can actually backup a large amount of cards – you should be able to get ~30 4gb cards.
-If you can successfully transfer a bunch on a full charge, the battery may be leaking current when the device is off. A simple solution would be to fully charge the batteries before you leave home and then remove the batteries between backups.
Finally, it you are carrying your Mac, you could charge over USB. The spec claims 5V USB charge. Let your Mac deal with the vagaries of power.
BTW – I have used the EPSON P2000 extensively and have had no problems.
Cheers,
Jon
Power
AC power adapter (5V, 1000mA)
Car charger (12V DC, 500mA)
USB bus powered (5V, 500mA)”
Hi.
I had the same problem with the older HD80. Sorry to hear they haven’t learned from that mistake.
I did get to talk to a tech about it by email. The gist was that they had designed the drive to work only when the battery was delivering the very highest wattage, so as soon as the battery wasn’t completely full (or brand new) it wouldn’t work. And the unit wouldn’t work with regular disposable batteries or other good rechargeables (half the reason I got it, you know?) because they didn’t deliver high enough wattage. So I relegated it to the “only use on a/c current” pile, where it works well enough, even on 220. It appeared to have been a well known problem to the designers at the time.
I may have wattage and voltage confused, don’t remember, but the gist was that even though the battery was fully charged, it didn’t deliver the juice fast enough for the drive because of the peculiar power requirements of the device.
Mine had a Hitachi hard drive installed by me.
Thanks for a great blog!
Susan