blue chip resetter canon - can they go bad?

[Tandberg]

In general it's not 100% safe to write to eeproms when the supply voltage is falling below
some design limit when data is only partially written or the data/adress is garbled.
Without knowing the exact details on Canon cartridges they must have some identification
of type and ink colour inside. If this information has errors both resetters and printers will
flag this as an error.

Maxim DS2431 is a simple 1-wire eeprom chip that has ink cartridge use among the possible
applications. ( I have no idea if this is what Canon uses but it gives some information on what
the solutions in general might look like )

I mention the Maxim information to show how complex the protocols might be even if it is
a 1-wire link only. If batteries die halfway through the resetting the result may be a dead cartridge.
The probability is small but not zero (the sensitive "window" during writing is very short).

 

[PeterBJ]

I did a comparison test of the current drawn by two Original Redsetters. One was a first generation Redsetter for PGI-5/CLI-8 cartridges bought when it became available, I think it was in June 2008. The other was a much newer Redsetter for PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges bought one year ago. I found that the old Redsetter draws 11-12 mA when doing a reset and the new Redsetter draws only 5-6 mA.

CR2032 Lithium batteries are primarily intended for long term low current applications, a few milliamperes or less. In case current is drawn in pulses as when doing a reset, some data sheets states a max. pulse current of no more than 10mA and a pulse duration of no more than 2 seconds.

This confirms that some of the first Original Redsetters like mine had a problem with battery life, and explains why. At a high current drain, a battery's capacity can be significantly reduced.

 

[The Hat]

Im on the opposing side to you guys on this one; I much prefer the USB resetter than a battery powered one.

Its much more positive, the led light comes on straight away and you dont have to wait 3 or 4 seconds
to be sure the chip has actually reset, plus you never have to change the battery either,
you can also plug them into the front of your printer to power them..

Foot Note


Tandberg makes a very valid point about the voltages on your resetter,
I wonder how many OEM chips have been blown while attempting to reset with a low battery..

 

[winkle]

I own a Canon MX870 printer and refill only OEM Canon cartridges (CLI-221 and PGI-220). After one year of very light use my blue resetter failed to reset all my yellow and photo black carts. They would light up but not reset.
The other colour carts reset okay. I purchased another blue resetter which successfully resets the yellow and photo black carts and still use the "defective" one to reset the cyan, magenta, and pigment carts.
So it's possible for a resetter to not work for one or more colours and still work for the others. Just my two cents.

 

[PeterBJ]

The hat wrote:

Its much more positive, the led light comes on straight away and you dont have to wait 3 or 4 seconds
to be sure the chip has actually reset, plus you never have to change the battery either

For testing purposes I have removed the batteries from my Original Redsetters and soldered wires to the battery holder terminals. I tried to power my PGI-5/CLI-8 Redsetter from two alkaline D-cells. This test was a success. The Redsetter was more quick and responsive with the D-cells. The no load voltage was 3.18 volts and the voltage only dropped to 3.17 volts during a reset. For this power hungry old Redsetter an external power source is beneficial, the CR2032 battery is only barely big enough for the job. My PGI-520/CLI-521 Redsetter with its lower current drain is much more quick than the older one, it is better suited for use with a CR2032 battery.

So if you want no battery problems, I agree with The Hat that the the USB powered resetters are preferable.

But I prefer the cordless resetters, so I intend to attach a box for two alkaline AA cells under my old redsetter with double sided sticky tape. I think I will have no more battery problems then and a battery box like this fits nicely under the resetter, without making it too clumsy to use: http://www.batteryspace.com/batteryholder2xaacoveredbatteryholderwithon-offswitch-rohscompliant.aspx , so I am looking for a Danish seller of something similar. I might just as well buy two and modify both Redsetters.

I guess you have reset many more cartridges than I, so have you ever had a resetter fail from wear, like problems with the contact pins or the microswitch that powers on the resetter?

winkle wrote:

...After one year of very light use my blue resetter failed to reset all my yellow and photo black carts. They would light up but not reset.
The other colour carts reset okay. I purchased another blue resetter which successfully resets the yellow and photo black carts and still use the "defective" one to reset the cyan, magenta, and pigment carts.
So it's possible for a resetter to not work for one or more colours and still work for the others. Just my two cents.

As a resetter that is defective or running low on battery might damage the chips, see post #11 by Tandberg I recommend trying to replace the battery/batteries and clean the contact pins on the suspect resetter. If this brings no improvement I recommend to discard this resetter and use only the new good one.

 

[barfl2]

PeterBj For your battery holder try Maplins or similar they are also used by the modelling fraternity also I expect e-bay might have them. Good idea though.

I am also using battery type but no problems so far, but I am not a heavy user.

 

[PeterBJ]

Hi barfl2

Thanks for the Maplin tip, I will check that out.

What brand/model of resetter are you using?

I think that the high power consumption only affected the first PGI-5/CLI-8 Redsetters, later models didn't have this flaw. In spite of the early Redsetter's appetite for batteries it has served me well for almost five years.

As a resetter is an important tool for a refiller of Canon cartridges, I think that other people's experiences with different brands and models of resetters would be valuable information.

 

[FastForward]

I also use the cheap dollar store batteries. I also use them in my car key fobs and if you replace them twice as often as your smoke detector batteries you should be OK!

 

[ROX]

Just got this in the mail today! I need it for work so I just ordered it. For the price of a fresh set of bats and the price of gas - 12 bucks is a no brainer - it was on sale. regularly $22
PeterBJ - I'm not really too familiar with a multimeter but I do have one. Can you tell me how to test with it? When I have time to tinker with it, i'll try it. I'd like to confirm what it is thats wrong. I did use a name brand set of bats.

 

[barfl2]

Hi barfl2

Thanks for the Maplin tip, I will check that out.

What brand/model of resetter are you using?

I think that the high power consumption only affected the first PGI-5/CLI-8 Redsetters, later models didn't have this flaw. In spite of the early Redsetter's appetite for batteries it has served me well for almost five years.

As a resetter is an important tool for a refiller of Canon cartridges, I think that other people's experiences with different brands and models of resetters would be valuable information.

Mine is the Redsetter bought I think from Octoinks had it about 18 months used regularly but do not do massive amount of resets. I took bottom off and it has a 3V Mitsibuishi battery CR3032 type. This should be a reliable manufacturer. I once was told by a local retailer that you should NOT check voltages of these button cells with a volt meter they had a seperate gadget they used