blue chip resetter canon - can they go bad?

[ROX]

Just tonight Ive been trying to reset the chips on my cart and the light is no longer flashing. I put in new bats but still nothing. Is it time for a new resetter?

Is there a new resetter you guys recomend for the PGI and CLI carts?

Thanks a bunch for your help!

 

[PeterBJ]

Like other electronics a resetter can fail, but it could also be a battery problem.

I have an Original Redsetter first generation for the PGI-5/CLI-8 chips. This resetter has a shorter battery life than stated in the ads, which claimed the battery would probably outlast the printer. Not quite so, I have had to replace the battery some times. The redsetter uses one CR2032 lithium cell. I have had bad luck with some no-name CR2032, probably from a bad batch, other no-name CR2032 work perfectly. Measured with a digital multimeter (AKA DMM) the no load voltage of a new and good CR2032 should be around 3.30 volts, the redsetter fails when the no load voltage goes below 2.8-2.9 volts.

As far as I know the blue resetter uses 3 alkaline button cells probably type LR44. The no load voltage of new and good alkaline cells should be around 1.55 volts measured with a DMM. Like with the lithium cells I have also experienced alkaline cells that were bad out of the package.

So I suggest trying with another set of batteries, preferably from another source. Also check the battery contacts in the resetter for corrosion, caused by electrolyte from leaking batteries. Also check that the contact pins for the chip are clean.

If new and good batteries plus cleaning of contacts doesn't help, I think that the resetter might have become defective.

 

[Ron350]

ROX glad you posted about your resetter made me check mine.

It uses a single CR2032 battery and still reads 3.05 volts.
I purchased it from Mapsy a forum member around 11-2011.

http://inkjetreset.com/Cli-8-Pgi-5-Chip-Resetter.html

 

[PeterBJ]

Hi Ron350

Are you still using the original battery, or have you had to change it?

I see this blue resetter uses one lithium cell, but I have seen ads for other blue resetters using 3 alkaline cells. I think there are more brands or different models of blue resetters.

 

[Ron350]

I think you are correct about there being several designs of resetters in blue boxes.

The battery is the original that came in the resetter 11-2011 but I have reset only about 30 carts with it.
I

 

[mikling]

The CR2032 are commonly used in many disposable devices that just about every discount store has them. Take the plunge and change it and see. not worth the study process or worry.
These small cells can sometimes be defective just like any battery. When unloaded, they give a good voltage reading but when used under load, the voltage drops...just like a bad auto battery. So the juice is not coming there anymore.

Also chips do go bad at times as well...even Canon ones. Just a random event nothing specific causing it....

 

[ROX]

This is the one I have. Ive had it for a few years and resetted maybe almost 100+ carts with it. This is the second time changing the battery. I've notice though over the last year maybe, that its become more sensitive in resetting carts. Meaning I had to wiggle the cart more I'm guessing, so the contacts all touched the chip. After I took the picture I tried to reset a card with the housing off. Still nothing.

So my follow up question to you all....how many resetters have you gone through?

Ron, I think I'm going to buy a new one. Its not worth it for me to buy a new set of bats. Might as well put that money to a new resetter.

 

[PeterBJ]

Hi ROX

If you own a digital or analog multimeter, you could try testing the voltage between the leftmost and rightmost circular golden pads. With new and good batteries you should measure around 4.65 volts. If the voltage is lower or even zero, either batteries are dead or there is a contact problem.

I noticed a difference in how the batteries are switched on and off between your resetter and my Original Redsetter plus the blue one owned by Ron350.

The redsetter and Ron350's blue resetter both use a microswitch to switch the battery on and off. Your resetter uses an extra contact pin to switch the battery on. Note the use of 5 contact pins, as opposed to the use of 4 contact pins on the other resetters. When in use the double set of pins make contact through the longer contact pad on the chip.

I think this system is the Achilles' heel of your resetter. Check that these two contact pins are clean, and that the spring loading of the pins work.

If you are going to buy a new resetter I recommend the Original Redsetter or one like that owned by Ron350. Even if it is more expensive, a USB powered model has no battery problems.

Mikling is right, battery voltage should ideally be tested under load, and the load current should equal the current drawn by the resetter. But I found that the no load voltage is a fairly accurate indicator of the battery condition.

To solve a problem with my Redsetter I have done tests with an external battery holder, allowing different batteries to be tested easily, connected to my Redsetter and measuring the voltage both under load when doing a reset and under no load. Substituting the Redsetter with different resistors for loading the battery I found one gave the same voltage drop over the internal resistance of the battery. Ohm's law then gave me the current drawn by the resetter and the internal resistance of the battery. That is how I found that some no-name CR2032 were no good, others were fine. IIRC the current drawn by the Redsetter was 14 mA. Some data sheets for CR2032 indicate that 10 mA should not be exceeded.

The reason for this indirect testing is that digital multimeters are optimised for use as voltmeters, the internal resistance is too high when used as a milliampere meter for this purpose.

I also have an Original Redsetter for PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges, so I may repeat the test and compare the current drawn by the two resetters. I have seen the opinion that the first Redsetters were battery eaters, and newer models are better. Now I have a chance to find out.

 

[mikling]

I still use a resetter similar to ROX that uses 3 LR41 cells like his except mine has small contact button separate from the pins. It has gone through over 1000 resets!!! with no change in batteries. Battery quality variability is an issue. If you want to be sure to have a good one, you can pay a high price and get a name brand one. ...or you can pay a fraction and get a discount one...if it doesn't work out, then another replacement is still a fraction of the name brand one.... the inconvenience is the battery replacement...usually a couple screws to remove.

The processors used have changed over the years. Initially the microprocessors used more current or power. Newer processors use a fraction of the power the initial resetters used....just like so many devices today. As a result, the results about power consumption issues on battery powered ones from years back is essentially irrelevant today. Battery quality/capacity/longevity unfortunately cannot be easily verified prior to install and use. The CR2032 can be found for a buck or sometimes less...less than a cup of coffee actually. Multiple LR41s can be found by either buying them at a discount store or getting a toy at a dollar store and sometimes they have as many as 5 inside for a dollar toy!

 

[PeterBJ]

I think you are right about the power consumption of older vs newer processors. So out of curiosity I will test my first generation battery powered Redsetter for PGI-5/CLI-8 in comparison to my newer PGI-520/CLI-521 battery powered Redsetter. I wonder if the older resetters have a higher power consumption than the newer ones. Probably some early Redsetters came with bad CR2032's?

As an old timer radio amateur, I don't mind opening a Redsetter for battery change, and I prefer the battery version for the USB powered versions. The lack of a power cable makes the resetter more convenient to use in my opinion. But that is a matter of personal preference.

I prefer the cheap button and coin cells to expensive brand name ones. It is a gamble, the batteries may be bad , but in most cases they are OK

Contact button vs contact pins might make a difference in reliability, so maybe ROX should buy a new resetter?