SpyTec G1WH doesn't say goodbye, it just goes black then flashes Welcome, goes black then loops it over and over til internal battery dies.

[CHook]

So the title pretty much states what is happening. It comes on normally when the key is turned on, and records normally, but when the power is turned off, it does not say goodbye, it just goes black, then in a few seconds the welcome screen comes back on for a few seconds, then goes black, and repeats this until the internal battery dies. When the key is turned on, it fires up normally again. Any thoughts on this? I hate to replace it, it's a good camera. Thanks!
Courtney

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT Courtney

First diagnostic test should be the SD card. Use h2testw freeware LINK with a freshly formatted card doing a full overwrite test (Link in German but program opens with an English option). If that shows all is well, then format the card to FAT32 in your PC. Note that Windows may not let you do this on cards bigger than 32GB.In that case use any card-formatting freeware which offers this. Put card in cam and power up. If it doesn't 'boot loop' then format the card in the cam. If this doesn't work correctly now, then the next step is:

Power the cam without the card and use the reset button with a paperclip via the small round hole on the side of the cam (press and hold a few seconds then release, you can feel it 'click' when depressed). Now insert card, power up, and test for function. If that doesn't work:

Try running the cam with a wall-powered phone charger, and if that doesn't work, reload the firmware. SpyTec should have the correct firmware for your cam. If vthey don't someone here probably will. (Alternative firmwares exist for most G1W series cams).

This should get you going good as new but if it doesn't or if you have any more questions just jump in here and ask.

Phil

 

[CHook]

Welcome to DCT Courtney

First diagnostic test should be the SD card. Use h2testw freeware LINK with a freshly formatted card doing a full overwrite test (Link in German but program opens with an English option). If that shows all is well, then format the card to FAT32 in your PC. Note that Windows may not let you do this on cards bigger than 32GB.In that case use any card-formatting freeware which offers this. Put card in cam and power up. If it doesn't 'boot loop' then format the card in the cam. If this doesn't work correctly now, then the next step is:

Power the cam without the card and use the reset button with a paperclip via the small round hole on the side of the cam (press and hold a few seconds then release, you can feel it 'click' when depressed). Now insert card, power up, and test for function. If that doesn't work:

Try running the cam with a wall-powered phone charger, and if that doesn't work, reload the firmware. SpyTec should have the correct firmware for your cam. If vthey don't someone here probably will. (Alternative firmwares exist for most G1W series cams).

This should get you going good as new but if it doesn't or if you have any more questions just jump in here and ask.

Phil

Thank very much for the reply and welcome SawMaster. I tried all the steps above, and unfortunately it did not change anything. It still powers up and starts to record normally, but when the power is turned off to it, it just goes black without the goodbye splashscreen. It also does not finalize the .mov file I have discovered, so the files are not readable. IF I turn it off with the power button on top however, I DO get the goodbye splashscreen, and it finalizes the file and I can read it. Bizarre. I have the latest firmware downloaded from SpyTec, but no instructions on how to flash it. :/ That's about it, I've run out of ideas, so if we have any gurus on here, I'd LOVE to get this running again, or else I guess it's time for that B40 118C I've spotted for 69 dollars Canadian. Cheers.

 

[SawMaster]

On the firmware, what you need to do is format the card to FAT32- it needs to be empty so a fresh format is necessary. Next look at the firmware you DL'ed. It's probably compressed into a 'zip' file which you need to open with "winzip", "7zip" or a similar program. Open the file, unzip it, and then insert your card into your PC, noting the drive letter it's being assigned. Now right click on the unzipped firmware, click on the "move to" button, assign the drive letter your card shows and send it there. Note the size of the unzipped file, and click "properties" on the card- it should now show about the same size in use as the unzipped file, which means the card got the data. Right click the card, select "eject", then once the PC says it's safe to remove the card put it in your cam. Power the cam up and it should automatically upload the firmware. Wait till it finishes which can be determined by the cam going to it's start-up screen and recording normally. Go to the cam menu and find "firmware version"- it should list the same firmware number you loaded. On the menu also set the cam to "default settings". Unplug the cam. The next time you start the cam, go to the menu and reset any of your preferred non-default settings along with the correct date/time.

If it was just a glitch in the firmware this should fix it. If you can't get the firmware to load, you may need to DL the bootloader file for it using the same process as above, then adding the firmware to the card again. SpyTec should have the bootloader file for you. If still no luck then you've got a hardware problem and you'll need to contact SpyTec for a replacement. I notice in another thread that someone else is having this same issue, so my guess is that there may be a bad batch of these cams either in a hardware component or in the firmware loading process at the factory. If so SpyTec should be aware of it by now and will have a plan implemented to resolve it with it's customers. They're good folks to do business with and this cam generally doesn't have issues so they should get you sorted out quickly it the firmware reload doesn't do it.

Phil

 

[pacmyc]

So the title pretty much states what is happening. It comes on normally when the key is turned on, and records normally, but when the power is turned off, it does not say goodbye, it just goes black, then in a few seconds the welcome screen comes back on for a few seconds, then goes black, and repeats this until the internal battery dies. When the key is turned on, it fires up normally again. Any thoughts on this? I hate to replace it, it's a good camera. Thanks!
Courtney

Hi! I've ran into the same problem the last months.
The camera has been working fine for a few years before this issue began, so I don't think its firmware related.
I'm going to test with another power supply.
Did you solve it with your camera?

 

[mel]

Hi! I've ran into the same problem the last months.
The camera has been working fine for a few years before this issue began, so I don't think its firmware related.
I'm going to test with another power supply.
Did you solve it with your camera?

My guess would be that its battery backup is failing (or capacitor if it is a capacitor one). I still have a G1WH model with original chipset (not a spytec), when the battery failed it got stuck in a boot loop. Putting in on charge and turning it off manually got it out as far as I recall. Replacing the liion battery got it working fine again, although I'm on my third battery now which has been good for over a year, as my initial replacement was a poor choice that swelled up after a few months.

 

[throrope]

Had a nice cam that did that after a few years. Gt680 I think. Battery was spent. Thanks to you tube, took it apart, found the battery on Amazon and bought a 5 pack for about ten bucks. One took the cam out past its obsolescence and it went with the car.