rockbox/docs/FAQ

Q1. What is a FAQ?
A1. A rare small animal of the species 'Textius Electronicus'. It is known for
    its helpful attitude and vicious misspellings.

Q2. Okay, fine, what is _this_ FAQ?
A2. This FAQ is for questions (that we have answers to) that have been asked
    repeatedly either in emails or on IRC.

Q3. What is Rockbox?  What is it's purpose?
A3. The purpose of this project is to write an Open Source replacement 
    firmware for the Archos Jukebox 6000, Studio 20 and Recorder MP3 players.

Q4. I want to write code for my Archos, how do I proceed?
A4. Our guide on first time (http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/firsttime.html) 
    Rockbox development should answer most of your questions.

Q5: What is CVS?
A5: Concurrent Versions System (http://www.cvshome.org).  We have a small
    help page about how to use this to get, update and commit files on the web
    at http://rockbox.haxx.se/cvs.html

Q6. What exactly is the CONTRIBUTING file? 
A6. Just like the name implies, it lists conventions that the project follows, 
    and in turn asks you to follow, for the formating of source code in
    general.

Q7. Okay, so I read CONTRIBUTING and although I don't agree with all your 
    conventions, I am going to be sensible and follow them anyway.  Now what?
A7. Start by reading up on the information about the jukeboxes on our web page.
    Then go into CVS and look at the code we've written. Then take what you
    need and start writing.

Q8. I want to join the development team, but don't have a SourceForge account,
    what should I do?
A8. You don't need a SourceForge account to help developing Rockbox. Just
    submit patches (http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/patch.html)

    If your patches are consistently well-written and thus accepted, you may
    ultimately be offered CVS commit access. If that should happen, you will
    need to get a Sourceforge account:
    http://sourceforge.net/account/register.php

Q9. Do you have a mailing list?
A9. Sure do!  As a matter of fact, we have several of them for specific things.
    Please check out: http://rockbox.haxx.se/mail/

Q10. Great you have a mailing list!  Is there anyway for me to catch up on
     past posts?
A10. Check out the archives at: http://rockbox.haxx.se/mail/

Q11. How can I meet the developers working on the project?
A11. One way is by visiting us on IRC.  Head on over to the server
     irc.openprojects.net, and then join "#rockbox".  There is usually at 
     least one person there.  If you don't see any activity, feel free to post 
     questions anyway, several of us log the channel and will get you answers
     when we unidle.

Q12: Wow, you guys talk on IRC a lot?  I wish I had been around for those 
     conversations to see what happened.
A12: We are glad you mentioned that!  http://rockbox.haxx.se/irc happens
     to have a list of various logs we have recorded of events in the channel.
     Feel free to read up, and ask questions on what you find.

Q13. What is this "SourceForge" you keep mentioning?
A13. http://www.sourceforge.net

Q14. Can the changes or the software that Rockbox suggests or offers 
     possibly damage my Archos Player?
A14. All firmware mods that are presented are still highly experimental. 
     Try them at your own risk. We offer no guarantee that this software, or 
     the hardware modifications we show, will not damage your player or void 
     your warranty.  That said, we have not been able to damage any of our 
     units by modifying only the firmware. You can accidentally password 
     protect your hard disk, but there are ways around that. (See below.)

Q15. I want to see what the inside of my player looks like, but I would really
     like to avoid voiding my warranty.  Is there anything you can suggest?
A15. We have a collection of photos of both the player and recorder. Look at
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/internals/

Q16. What exactly are you trying to achieve with this line of development?
     (A.K.A. what's your purpose for being here?)
A16. Firstly, we wouldn't start something like this if we didn't simply enjoy
     it profusely. This is great fun!
     Secondly, we feel the firmware is lacking some features and contain a
     number of annoying bugs that we want to fix.
     Some ideas would include (in no particular order):
              - No pause between songs 
              - Mid-song resume 
              - Mid-playlist resume 
              - No-scan playlists 
              - Unlimited playlist size 
              - Autobuild playlists (ie: "all songs in this directory tree") 
              - Auto-continue play in the next directory 
              - Current folder and all sub-folder random play 
              - Full disk random play 
              - REAL random
              - Multi song queue
       	      - Faster scroll speed
              - More cool features with the wire remote control (including 
                controlling your Archos from your car radio (req hw mod))
              - Support playing of other files types (ie: Ogg Vorbis support)
              - Support for megabass switch (req hw mod) 
              - Player control via USB
              - Memory expansion?
     Note: Just because something is on this list, does not mean that it is
     technically feasible. (But hey we can dream)  And something not
     being on the list does not mean it isn't a neat idea.  Bring it to 
     the list.

Q17. You mention supporting Ogg Vorbis and other file types on your list of
     ideas. What is the status on that?
A17. Pessimist's Answer: At the current time we believe this is not very
     likely. The Micronas chip (MAS3507) decoder in the Archos does not
     natively support decoding and there is very little program space in the
     player to implement it ourselves.  The alternative would be to write a
     software decoder as part of the Rockbox firmware.  However, as much as we
     love our players, the computing power of the Archos (SH1 microcontroller)
     is not fully sufficient for this need.

     Optimist's Answer: We can play any format if only we can write code for 
     the DSP to decode it.  The MAS 3507 (and 3587) are generic DSPs that 
     simply have MP3 codecs in ROM. We can download new codecs in them and 
     we will be the first to celebrate if we can get OGG or FLAC or anything 
     into these DSPs. Unfortunately, we have no docs or tools for writing new 
     MAS DSP code and Micronas is very secretive about it.  If anyone can 
     help, please get in touch!

     The recent release of Tremor (integer Ogg decoder) indicates it uses
     around 100 KB for lookup tables. That's not unreasonable for a decoder,
     but we only have 4 KB for both code *and* data. So the grim reality is
     that Ogg will never be supported by the Archos Players and Recorders.

Q18. What about supporting playing of WMA files?
A18. Dear Mr. Gates, you have two options.  Re-read previous question, or go 
     buy your own project.

Q19: But you don't understand, I'm not talking about decoding here, 
     since the data we want may already be in the decoded format (PCM). 
A19: Okay, last time.  No.  We have no problems whatsoever reading different 
     file formats, call it PCM, WAV, GRI, PQR or whatever.  The problem is 
     that the CODEC only accepts MP3 data and nothing else. We could write a 
     new CODEC if we knew how to do it, but there is no documentation on the 
     DSP. Please note that we have no access to the DAC, so we can't send the 
     data directly to the DAC.

Q20. What is the most recent version of Rockbox?
A20. We recently released version 2.0, so head on over to 
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/download/ and pull it down.
     Make sure to read the release notes.
     (http://rockbox.haxx.se/download/rockbox-2.0-notes.txt).  

Q21. What do you plan to add to coming versions?
A21. We have a rough idea of which features we plan/expect/hope to be included
     in which versions.  Once again, remember that none of this is written in 
     stone (noticing a pattern yet?) 

     Version 2.1
          Lots of features and fixes that were held off for 2.0

     Version 2.2
          User interface overhaul

     Version 2.3
          Plugin loader, opening the door for a bucketful of new applications

Q22. I tried one of your firmware files and now I can't access my hard disk!
     When I turn on my jukebox, it says:
                     Part. Error
                     Pls Chck HD
A22. Your hard disk has been password protected. We're not 100% sure why it
     happens, but you can unlock it yourself. Look at:
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/lock.html

Q23: This FAQ doesn't answer the question I have.  What should I do?
A23: You have a couple options here.  You could forget the question, find an
     easier question, or accept '42' as the answer no matter what.  We don't
     really recommend any of these (though I do opt for '42' often myself).
     What we do recommend is stopping by IRC, visiting the web site
     (http://rockbox.haxx.se) to see if the question was answered else where
     (like our nodo http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/nodo.html FAQ) and just not
     included here, or ultimately dropping an email to the mailing list
     (rockbox@cool.haxx.se) or the FAQ maintainer listed on the project home
     page.

Q24: Are there other ways to contact the developers?
A24: Yes.

Q25: Are you going to tell us what they are?
A25: No.  Post to the mailing list and we will get back to you.

Q26: But I _really_ want to talk with you in person.
A26: I'm sorry.  My girlfriend/boyfriend/pet says I'm not allowed to, and the
     doctors here won't let me have pens or pencils.  They say its some rule
     about us not having sharp objects.  I'm sorry.  Now please stop calling
     me here.

Q27: Will you ever port Quake II to the Archos?
A27: If you ask that again, I'm sending your address and phone number to the 
     guy that mailed us with question #24.

Q28: Umm, was that sarcasm?
A28: That's it, I'm mailing him now.

Q29: Is this legal? I mean, I'd just hate to see something like that 
     challenged under the DMCA in all its ridiculousness. Any thoughts or 
     ideas?
A29: We believe we are in the green on this.  We are not violating anyone's
     copyright and we are not circumventing any copy protection scheme.
     This has been a big point for the project since its inception.  Some 
     people wanted us to distribute patched versions of the original firmware,
     but seeing as that _would_ have violated Archos' copyright, we didn't 
     follow that course of action.

Q30: On the web site [and various information postings] you state 
        "Every tiny bit was reverse engineered, disassembled and then 
         re-written from scratch".  
     If it was rewritten from scratch then why was it first reverse-engineered
     and disassembled? Instead this sounds more like someone disassembled it
     then used the understanding that they gained to create a new version,
     which is not quite the same as "from scratch". 
A30: Don't confuse the terms.  Reverse engineering means examining a product 
     to find out how it works.  Disassembling the firmware is merely one tool 
     used in that examination.  Oscilloscopes and logic analyzers are other 
     tools we have used.  We have written every single byte of the Rockbox 
     firmware. But we could not have written the software without first 
     researching how the hardware was put together, i.e. reverse engineer it.
     All of this is completely legal.  If you define "from scratch" as writing
     software without first researching the surrounding interfaces, then no 
     software has ever been written from scratch.

Q31: Wait a minute here.  When you released version 1.0 you did not have a 
     single one of the ideas you have mentioned on your web site actually 
     implemented!  Calling this version 1.0 is really misleading.  What's the 
     story?!
A31: In simple terms, the first release was called 1.0 because it had a basic 
     working feature set that worked and had no known bugs. That is what 1.0 
     meant.  It is true that Rockbox 1.0 lacked most of the feature set that 
     every sane user wanted.  However, we never said it was more 
     feature-complete or better in any way then the original firmware that 
     early in the project.  The first release was done as a proof of concept 
     that our ideas are moving in the right direction.  We also hoped that it 
     would help bring the project some attention, and some additional 
     developers.  Adding the missing features was just a matter of time.  In 
     more recent releases we have completed many of our desired goals, and 
     several new ones that were implemented to fulfill user requests.

Q32: I've heard talk of a 'Rolo'.  What is that? (Or 'All you ever wanted
     to know about Rockbox boot loaders')
A32: Rolo is our bootloader.  Rolo became available with our 1.4 release.
     To make use of Rolo, you must have a file with the same extension as 
     your Rockbox firmware (.ajz on Recorder, .mod on Player) but a different
     name.  You can then browse to it, and you 'run' the other firmware
     you wish to switch to by pressing play. Remember to set the Show Files
     option to "Supported" or "All" to be able to see the firmware files in
     the browser.

     *Poof* You will reboot to that firmware.  (Note that in order to return
     to Rockbox you may need to reboot manually if the new firmware you loaded
     does not have a bootloader itself.)

Q33: Can I use the Archos as an USB hard disk to store data from my PDA/
     digital camera/phone etc.
A33: No.  See: http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/nodo.html#4

Q34: When I use Rockbox my jukebox's red "error" light turns on a lot, but this
     doesn't happen on the factory firmware.  Why?
A34: Rockbox uses the red LED as harddisk activity light, not as an error 
     light. Relax and enjoy the music.

Q35: I have a question about the batteries...
A35: STOP!  We have put together a completely different FAQ for battery 
     related questions.  
     Check out: http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/battery-faq.html

Q36. I have a question about patches...
A36. Check out http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/patch.html as it should answer any
     patch related questions you may have.

Q37: What is the WPS?
A37: That is the 'While Playing Screen'.  Basically this is what is shown on
     your player's display while we are playing your song.

Q38: What good is the WPS?  How usable/flexible is it?
A38: It is very good if you want information about the current item playing ;)
     By using a WPS configuration file you can manage exactly how/what you 
     want displayed on your Archos Player.  (Even better yet, if you want 
     a feature that's not there, we are _always_ open to suggestions!) 
     Please see http://rockbox.haxx.se/manual/wps.html for information.

Q40: So how do I load/make a .wps file?
A40: You check out http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/custom_wps_format.html to learn
     the format/features of a .wps file, and you visit 
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/manual/wps.html to learn how to load it ;)

Q41: Does Rockbox support other languages? How do I load/use different 
     languages?
A41: See: http://rockbox.haxx.se/lang

Q42: Does Rockbox support other fonts/character sets?
A42: Recorders do, Players don't.

Q43: How do I use the loadable fonts?
A43: If you own a Recorder see: http://rockbox.haxx.se/fonts/  Players
     cannot make use of loadable fonts.

Q44: Why can't I use loadable fonts on the Player? 
A44: This is because the Player font is character cell based (as opposed to 
     the Recorder's bitmap based display).  This
     means that we are able to choose what characters to display, but not how
     to display them.  We do have the ability to change/create up to 4 chars 
     on one model and 8 on another, however we are currently using several of 
     these 'letters' to store icons for the player.

Q45: Why don't you have any games available for the Players?
A45: The display on the Players is character cell and not bitmap based.  
     This means we can only control what characters get displayed, not
     what pixels are shown.  This makes the prospect of game play very 
     slim (at least for anything involving graphics, so if you have text
     based games that only use 2 lines send them on in!).

Q46: I keep shutting off my player in my pocket. Can the OFF (Recorder) or
     STOP (Player) key be locked?
A46: No. Unfortunately, the ON/OFF mechanisms are handled entirely in
     hardware. The firmware can read the keys, but can't prevent them from
     shutting off the player.

Q47: Where's the recording option?  Why can't I record?!!
A47: I'd like to say we hid it because we don't like you, but you seem to be
     a good person so here's the truth.  It's just not implemented in release 
     versions of Rockbox yet.  But stress not, you can still use Rolo to boot 
     the default Archos firmware and record from there.  (In order to do this
     you _must_ have a copy of the original firmware still on your player) 

     Daily builds and bleeding edge versions have initial support for
     Recording. If you're brave and want to help out, get one, try out and
     report your findings!

Q48: When recording is finally implemented in Rockbox, will it be possible to
     use custom codecs (like LAME) or is there a built in codec in the Archos?
A48: The MP3 encoder is in the MAS3587F chip, and nothing we can change.

Q49: What are the max/min bitrates for recording on the Recorder's encoder?
A49: The builtin encoder is variable bit rate only with a max of 192kbit/s,
     and a min of 32kbit/s.

Q50: Would it be possible to record from line in on the player?
A50: No.

Q51: I have a question about the id3v1 and id3v2 tags...
A51: Stop!  Here is all the information about that (if you still have
     questions when done, ask then.)

     - Rockbox supports both id3v1 and id3v2

     - The id3v2 support is limited to the first 300 bytes of the file.  Some
     ripper programs tend to add very big tags first and then the important
     ones Rockbox wants to read end up beyond the first 300 bytes and then
     they remain unknown.

     - If you believe that the tags you don't see *are* within 300 bytes, then
     please make the mp3 file available for one of the developers to try out.

     - The 300-byte limit is subject to be removed in a future version
       (Actually, it was removed in post-1.4 versions)

Q52: Where exactly did the name 'Rockbox' come from?
A52: Well you can follow the full line of emails at 
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/mail/archive/rockbox-archive-2002-01/0062.shtml
     However, the brief rundown is that it was recommended first by 
     Tome Cvitan, and put to a vote (which it lost). 

     Funny thing about democracies.  This isn't one ;)  Our beloved project
     leader vetoed the winning name and chose Rockbox instead.
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/mail/archive/rockbox-archive-2002-01/0134.shtml
     
     There you have it.  Recommended by users, decision by dictator.

Q53: Why is there a limit of 400 files in a directory?
A53: We have answered this question numerous times.  It is mentioned in the
     release notes, and in the mailing list archives 
     (http://rockbox.haxx.se/mail/archive/rockbox-archive-2002-08/0448.shtml).
     But, hey, we wouldn't want people to have to work to get an answer.  
     (If you are reading this, feel proud, for you are the exception).

     We settled on 400 files in a directory because file listings take up
     memory on the unit, and we felt that 400 is significantly large enough 
     for a majority of the populace.  We prefer the option of limiting 
     file limits in order to provide a greater amount of memory for buffering 
     of files being played.

     Newsflash! This limit is now configurable in the daily (post-2.0) builds.

Q54: Okay, I understand your 400 file limit.  But why hardcode?  Why not 
     have this be dynamically allocated?
A54: Because it's useless.  Dynamic memory is only ever useful if you have 
     memory consumers (tasks) that run at different points in time, and thus 
     can reuse the same memory for different purposes. 

     We don't have that.  We must be able to show a big dir, index a big 
     playlist and play a big mp3 file, all at the same time. They cannot use 
     the same memory, and thus dynamic memory buys us nothing but extra 
     complexity.  If we used dynamic memory for this, we would get all kinds 
     of odd bugs. Playlists that only got half-loaded if placed in certain 
     directories.  Parts of the disk you couldn't go to if playing a certain 
     playlist etc. 

     We have a number of tasks that consume memory. They can all run at the 
     same time, using all of their allotted memory. Therefore it is much better
     to allocate that memory to them beforehand and not pretend that anyone 
     else is able to use it. This is standard practice in memory-limited 
     systems. 

     Newsflash! This limit is now configurable in the daily (post-2.0) builds.

Q55: Why is there a 10,000 song limit on playlists?
A55: This is another hardcoded limit.  We feel that as bigger disks arrive 
     that this limit will increase.  Because of the way that playlists are
     stored, it tends to be a bit more malleable than the directory file limit.
     For further detail, look at questions 53 and 54 and replace any instances
     of '400' with '10,000'.

     Newsflash! This limit is now configurable in the daily (post-2.0) builds.

Q56: You don't understand! I _really_ need to have more then 400 files
     in a directory!
A56: The use of really big directories was a workaround for the poor playlist
     capabilities of the original Archos firmware. With Rockbox, you no longer
     need this workaround. Organize your files in directories, then build
     playlists for all collections you want to shuffle-play.

     Newsflash! This limit is now configurable in the daily (post-2.0) builds.

Q57: How can I make playlists on my PC?
A57: There are many programs that can create .m3u playlists. WinAmp is one.
     Another simple method, that requires no extra software, is to use dir:

       dir /b /s X:\ > X:\allfiles.m3u
       dir /b /s X:\Pop > X:\pop.m3u

     ...where X: is your Archos drive.

     Linux users can use the 'find' command:

       cd /mnt/archos
       find . -name "*.mp3" > all.m3u

     Remember that playlists are simple text files. You can edit them with any
     normal text editor.

Q58: How does the shuffle work?
A58: It sees the playlist as a deck of cards, shuffling the entries using a
     pseudo-random generator called the Mersenne Twister. After shuffling,
     the list is never changed again until you re-shuffle the list, by
     stopping the playback and restarting. If the repeat mode is enabled,
     the list will simply start over from the first file again, without
     re-shuffling.
     The random seed is stored in the persistent setting area, so that the
     resume feature can shuffle the playlist in exactly the same way when
     resuming.

Q59: How can I find out about all the neat features that Rockbox has?
A59: This information is in our manual (It sometimes gets a bit out of
     date, so please bear with us.)  The information you are most likely 
     looking for is a bit down the tree, so the here is the url:
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/manual/rec-general.html

     Also, check out the features-list at:
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/features.html

Q60: How can I see what bugs are currently open/being worked on?
A60: Check out http://rockbox.haxx.se/bugs.shtml for a listing of bugs
     that have been reported.

Q61: How can I report about bugs in Rockbox?
A61: If we were better programmers we would take that as an insult.  But we
     aren't, so we won't.  The first step in reporting a bug is to review 
     the rules we ask you to follow in your submission (listed at: 
     http://rockbox.haxx.se/bugs.shtml#rules).

     Please note that we ask reports of bugs in CVS/daily builds to be sent
     to the mailing list, and bugs in released versions of Rockbox to be
     submitted through SourceForge's bug tracker.  (A link to the bug tracker
     can be found under our bug submission rules.)

Q62: What's with all the different versions of Rockbox?
A62: There are really only two versions of Rockbox.  One for Players and one
     for Recorders.  However, we do have 3 other 'versions' of Rockbox 
     available for download.  These would be Releases, Daily Builds, and 
     Bleeding Edge.

     The Release version (currently 2.0) has a fixed feature set.  This means
     that we are confident that few, if any, significant bugs still reside
     within the code/features of that 'version'.  This is the version for the 
     common user. 

     The Daily Builds (see: http://rockbox.haxx.se/daily.shtml#target_builds)
     are automated daily builds of the CVS code.  As such they contain all
     the new features (and bugs ;) ) that have been introduced after the 
     last official release, and upto and including that morning.  

     The Bleeding Edge 'versions' are automated builds that are updated 
     every 20 minutes or so.  This are as feature full and bug ridden as you 
     can possibly get if you are not a developer, or are not pulling directly
     from the CVS tree.
 
     Please Note: Daily and Bleeding Edge builds are expected to be buggy.
     We ask that you _do not_ submit bug reports for Bleeding Edge versions,
     but would love to hear any reports you may have about Release or Daily
     build versions. (see "How can I report about bugs in Rockbox?")
            
Q63: I am in Windows and can't create a .rockbox directory to store my
     files.  When are you going to fix this?
A63: We won't.  The limitations of your operating system is not reason 
     enough for us to change how we handle things.  And you _can_ create
     this directory.  Open a command line and type:
          mkdir j:\.rockbox
     You will need to correct the location for the drive letter that Windows
     assigns to your drive.

Q64: I own a Mac.  I can't seem to create the .rockbox file.  Can you 
     fix this?
A64: Truth is, we don't need to fix anything.  If you are using OSX then you
     can just open a console, change directories to the device and just:
          mkdir .rockbox

     If you are in another version then you should be able to do command-N in 
     the Finder, then name the folder.  
         
Q65: Will Rockbox work on any of Archos' other units?
A65: Some development has recently occurred on the Archos FM units, and is 
     in the daily builds.  However the FM development is not being done by 
     the core team, and so is progressing at a slower rate.  As yet, 
     no development is planned for any of Archos' other units.

Q66: I copied the rockbox MOD/AJZ file to the root, removed the jukebox
     safely and rebooted. But Rockbox still didn't load. What is wrong?
     I am running Windows.
A66: The old MOD/AJZ was not entirely deleted from the disk. It is still
     there, and the boot loader finds that one instead of the new file. Here's
     what you can do:

     - Download and install Directory Snoop (version 4.03 in November 2002)
     from http://www.briggsoft.com/dsnoop.htm
     It's shareware, the trial version can be used 25 times.

     Directory Snoop can display true drive contents by bypassing the
     operating system and reading the raw drive sectors directly.

     - Plug the Jukebox in the PC as usual and power on

     - Launch Directory snoop

     - Click on the Jukebox drive letter in the [select drive] field in the
     toolbar. The content of the jukebox hard drive appears in the main
     window. Files which appear in red color don't seem to be present on the
     hard drive, but they still here.

     - Simply select the appropriate files (red color) and purge them
     (Purge button). Of course, don't erase the new archos.mod file and the
     .rockbox directory :)

     - Safely remove (Windows unmount device function) the Jukebox.
     Power it up and ...voila... Rockbox is there!

     (Thanks to Olivier Rafidison for this info)

Q67: What kind of mic can I connect to my AJBR?
A67: There are several types of microphones.

     Dynamic: The one that's available from Archos is a dynamic one.
     Their output level is high enough so that they don't need an
     amplifier (that's the reason why the Archos mic is of this type -
     it's cheap).
              - cheap
              - no good sound quality of cheap dynamic mics (good enough for
                speech)
              - no amplifier needed

     Backplate Condenser: These are the professional mics. They need phantom
     power (48V) for charging the condenser.
     They also need an amplifier, because their output level is low.
              - good sound quality
              - need phantom power (48V)
              - need amplifier
              - expensive              
 
     Electret Condenser: These capsules are cheap and result in a good
     recording quality. They don't need phantom power voltage. They need power
     for the FET (field effect transistor) that's inside. If you have such a
     mic with a battery in it, it is mostly because of the FET power, not
     because of an amplification circuit inside the mic.  These mics are in
     all the consumer products like mobile phones, PC headsets and so on.
              - cheap (2 EUR for a capsule)
              - good sound quality
              - need amplifier
              - need power for the FET (1,5 - 15V)

     Recommendation for do-it-yourselfers: Use electret condenser mic capsules,
     solder an amplifier for them which both amplifies the output level
     and feeds the power needed for the FET to the capsule.
     The one on http://www.geocities.com/ferocious_1999/md/micpreamp2.html
     was soldered and tested by Uwe Freese, and it works.
     There are some others available from www.elv.de and other sellers.

     Recommendation for others: Buy some mic + preamp combination which can be
     plugged into a line in of any amplifier. Maybe such a commercially
     available combination needs a power supply and doesn't work with
     batteries. Some are very expensive. (If you know a cheap solution with an
     electret condenser mic + preamp, please tell us!)

     What does not work: Don't use an amplifier thing that is simply connected
     between some mic cable. Maybe it sounds as if it could work, but I
     doesn't. If the piece of (expensive) electronic doesn't have a power
     source and your mic doesn't either, it does not work!  A PC sound card or
     md player usually has a power output (same pin where the sound goes
     through, dc value) for feeding the FET of an electret condenser capsule
     (see above) (and this power could also used to feed a mic amplifier), but
     the Archos hasn't (it's a line in and no mic in!).

     If you want to know more on microphone powering, read this:
     http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/microphone_powering.html.
     (As described, you also need amplification.)

Q68: I can't start rockbox when the charger is connected. What am I doing
     wrong?
A68: If your device is off and you connect the charger, the Archos charger code
     is started immediately. You can then start Rockbox with holding down the
     ON key for several seconds. Hold the key down a really long time, until
     you see the Rockbox logo!

Q69: Why can't you implement a cross-fader? That would be so cool!
A69: Please read our NODO faq. http://rockbox.haxx.se/docs/nodo.html#3

Q70: My screen is all black/white when I run Rockbox on my Recorder!
A70: We have no way of knowing the correct contrast setting from start and the
     displays differ a lot. Change your contrast setting by doing this:

     F1, down, right, down, down, right, down, down, down, right, down (until
     you like the contrast)

Q71: Where are the FM controls for the FM Recorder?
A71: In Rockbox 2.0 and earlier, FM support was not yet developed. FM tuner
     support is only available using the very latest versions of the Rockbox
     builds for the FM Recorder.

Q72: I installed/renamed ajbrec.ajz (or archos.mod) but I am still booting
     with another version of firmware.
A72: When looking on the hard disk the Archos firmware only matches the first
     ten characters of the file name.  Because of this files like 
     ajbrec.ajz.bak or ajbrec.ajz-20030404 match and are loaded.  To 
     prevent this from happening, give the it a file name that differs in 
     the first 10 characters, e.g., ajbrec.bak.ajz. 

Q73: Help! My recorder crashes when I copy files to it!
A73: Yes, the recorder can crash when you copy several gigabytes of
     files to it. The explanation is simple: Copying several gigabytes
     of files through USB requires a long period of sustained disk
     activity and drains more power than the batteries of the recorder
     can store. A long copy will eventually drain the batteries to the
     point where the recorder can no longer function and it halts.
     This even happens when connected to the charger, since the power
     drain is more than the charger can provide! If the recorder halts
     while connecter to the charger, the batteries will recover and
     after a short while it will reboot the Archos firmware in charger
     mode. To make it worse, depending on the USB drivers of your
     system it can cause your system to crash as well, or confuse it
     to the point it needs a reboot.

     There is no solution, just some tips.

     * Connect to the charger when copying lots of files. This will
       not prevent the problem, but it will take longer to happen.
     * Make sure you have "Deep Discharge" disabled.
     * Switch off the "Backlight On When Plugged" option.
     * Use USB 2.0. Transfers will be much faster.
     * Copy incrementally. With fully charged standard batteries it
       should be capable of sustained copying for 2 - 2.5 hours.

Q74: What should I know about digital I/O connector on my jukebox?
A74: The Recorder models have a connector for digital audio output using the
     common S/PDIF standard (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface). This jack is
     not present on the Studio/Player/FM Recorder models. By using the digital
     output in combination with high class external equipment, you can get
     much better sound quality out of your jukebox. This is because you can
     use better DA-converters and better amplifiers, plus you eliminate the
     analog audio connections between the jukebox and your equipment that can
     introduce noise and distortion.

     The Recorder and the FM Recorder models are able to record from digital
     sources, too. The digital inputs don't have the 15kHz lowpass filter like
     the analog inputs and you are sure to minimize the noise floor.

     Although S/PDIF can be an electrical or an optical signal and there are
     many devices that support both, the socket on the jukebox is for
     electrical signals only! Some devices have sockets that look the same,
     and can take either an optical or an electrical cable, but sadly this is
     not true with the Jukebox.

     If you want to connect your amp with digital input (RCA type) to the
     output of your Recorder you need an adapter cable (3.5mm stereo jack to
     dual RCA jack). Plug the 3.5mm stero jack into the digital I/O socket of
     your jukebox and the red RCA jack (right channel) into the digital input
     socket of your amp and that's it. You don't have to enable the digital
     output, since it's always on. The sound settings on the digital output
     are always flat, your volume, bass, treble, bass boost, loudness settings
     won't have any effect here, that's why fade in/out won't work,
     either. The sampling frequency of the digital output is the same as the
     sampling frequency of the mp3. It's therefore possible that your external
     equipment won't be able to synchronize to the output of your jukebox if
     you have mp3's with sampling frequencies other than 32, 44.1 or 48kHz
     (The pitch shift function also modifies the sampling frequency!).

     For recording digital signals on the Recorder, use the white RCA jack
     (left channel) and plug it into the digital output of your CD aplayer, MD
     player or whatever. Don't forget to select digital input in the recording
     settings!

     Note that there exist some adapter cables with different color coding, so
     if it doesn't work try to swap red and white. The tip of the 3.5mm jack
     is the digital input, the ring is the ouput. For recording digital
     signals on the FM Recorder, you need a special 4-pole 3.5mm plug (shaft =
     ground, tip = left channel analog line in, first ring (next to tip) =
     right channel analog line in, second ring = digital in).

     If you want to connect devices with optical inputs/outputs, you need a
     small converter box which converts your signal from electrical to optical
     (for digital output from the Archos) or optical to electrical (for
     digital recording in to the Archos).