A question for the resident techies...

[rainbowfalls]

I'm having a problem with my Grubby's connection port. The plug isn't sitting properly anymore, so he animates just fine, but he won't "speak for himself". Doctor Eeyore suggested that I wait until he breaks more before I send him in, so for now I'm mulling over my other options.

I don't claim to be any kind of expert about these toys, but I'm pretty sure the problem is with the port itself...like the metal contacts are bent out of shape. The plug feels too loose going in, and it pulls out way too easily. Would it be possible to just bend the contacts back into shape?

There is another option I've thought about. It's kinda drastic, but I've heard of people directly connecting Grubby's circuit board to Teddy's eliminating the cord entirely. How is that done?

In the meantime, seating Teddy on Grubby's back gives the illusion that Grubby's using his own speaker.

EDIT: I just thought of something else. I have another connection port that I could potentially harvest from another Teddy. Is it possible to just cut off Grubby's old port and graft the wires onto the new one, so I wouldn't have to take Grubby totally apart?

[theonemouse]

Dr.Eeyore suggests waiting since right now the costs of repairs would be outweighed by the cost of shipping. He's saving you money.

Bending the connectors is possible, but you have to be careful. If the prongs are not bent so they stay straight, the connection won't be perfect and you'll lose sound and movement quality. Each prong on the connector inside Grubby connects to a different part (eyes, mouth, sound, sync). If one is off or broken, you'll get a silent or still talker.

The connection of Grubby to Teddy directly to the circuit board does not eliminate all wires. One is still needed to bridge the gap... unless you find one that does this remotely which I have yet to find in this crazy net-verse. You would need to either wire a Molex cable with a connection port or buy one pre-made (not easy to find and expensive). This makes the two inseperable, quite literally. If you don't know what a Molex connector is, just crack open your computer case and look at the wires running from your hard drive to the power supply and motherboard. The white square or retangular ports to those wires are Molex.

Grubby is different than the other talkers in the way that, since he's a connected friend with no player of his own, all his circuits are soldered down to the board instead of wired connections like Teddy. Removing the connector would require you to open him up and "breaking" the solder points. More trouble than it's worth in my opinion.

Both options require electronics knowledge to know what to connect and to where. I agree with Dr. Eeyore, wait for a further break before getting it repaired.

[rainbowfalls]

Yup, waiting is sounding better all the time. For a plan B, I'm keeping an eye out for a reasonably priced and tested Grubby on eBay, but for now I can live with mine just lip-synching.

lol I thought I was just deluding myself at first, but having Teddy sit on Grubby's back actually creates a pretty convincing illusion that the sound is coming from Grubby! Must be because Teddy's speaker is right behind Grubby's head that way.

Thanks for the advice. ;D

[kaylathehedgehog]

Yeah, I often have the same trouble with my Grubby.

From what the people at Animation Fascination told me once, it's a fairly common problem among Grubbys (Grubbies?).

[theonemouse]

Best option is to keep the cable plugged into Grubby at all times. Plugging and unplugging just add to the stress and bending the prongs go through and loosen them over time. My Grubby always has his end of the cable firmly in place at all times to conserve the parts within.

[rainbowfalls]

That's the weird thing. I did keep the cord plugged into Grubby. Just like Dr. Eeyore suggested, I kept the cord plugged into Grubby, secured it to his leg with a twist tie, and reinforced both ends with electrical tape. He was working just fine right before Christmas, then I changed tapes and he stopped using his own speaker. I assumed it was because his batteries were getting low, so I killed and recharged them (I use rechargables in both Teddy and Grubby), and he still wouldn't use his own speaker.

Actually, brand new non-rechargable batteries is the only thing that I haven't tried.

[theonemouse]

Rechargeable batteries have a set life to them and can end up dying no matter how careful you are to take care of them. For devices such as flashlights and toy talkers, which get used only once and a while, I don't recommend rechargeables. Disposables work best and use the ones like Duracell or Energizer Lithium / Titanium. More expensive, but they have more power.

[rainbowfalls]

Okay, now I feel like a total knob.

Teddy's batteries finally died. After a recharge, Grubby works just fine again. -_-;; I still think there's something not quite right with his connection port, but it's not as busted as I thought it was. So I got to hear Teddy and Grubby tell the Airship story together for the first time after all. *happy sigh*

lol That's what I get for not checking the simplest things first. ;D

About the rechargables versus disposables thing...I have heard that disposables work better for Teddy and Grubby, and I might switch when the batteries give me trouble again.

[theonemouse]

Environmental as I am, I'll be the first to say that I HATE recharchable batteries. They always die when you least want them too and you rarely if ever have the charger with you to fix that problem. Nah, give me regular disposable batteries and a recycling centre for them any day.