Wolfner :: Institution Services :: Common Machine Problems

Common Machine Problems

Here are a few of the recurring problems that patrons may experience with the digital player.

1. What is the rectangular socket on the side of the player?
2. How do I go to the beginning/end of the book?
3. Every time I put the cartridge in the player the machine says "Cartridge Error." What does this mean?
4. The player has become unresponsive. Every time I press a button it beeps but nothing happens.
5. How do I get to the User Guide with a Standard Player?
6. How do I get out of the User Guide when I'm done with it?
7. Can I read the User Guide when a book is inserted?
8. The book I am reading gets to the middle of chapter 4 and says "Book Error." What does that mean?
9. The narrator sounds like an auctioneer (or a drunk). How do I return it to normal?
10. If I don't turn off the player, will I wear out the player sooner?
11. If I don't turn off the player, how much electricity is it consuming?
12. It seems like sometimes when fast forwarding to the beginning of the next chapter, it doesn't actually land on the beginning.
13. How long do I need to leave the player plugged in to fully charge the battery?
14. Can other people see my bookmarks?
15. How many bookmarks will the player hold?
16. How long will the bookmarks be stored?
17. Sometimes the machine doesn't seem to want to turn on. Why is that?
18. How can I navigate by page numbers?
19. What does "Jump by phrase" mean? (Advanced Player)
20. How do I skip over the front matter (Annotation)?
21. How do I go back to where I was when I pressed the Sleep button?
22. I pressed the sleep button and the player didn't shut off in 15 minutes!
23. What is the problem if the Power button is pressed and there is no response?
24. I pulled the cartridge out of the player while reading a book. Have I damaged the player? Book?
25. Why can't I go to individual chapters in a book?
26. How do I change the language to/from Spanish?
27. Can I leave the player plugged in when I am reading a book? Should I unplug it when I'm done reading? Is there anything I should know to avoid damaging the battery?
28. How will I know how long a book is when there is always only one cartridge?
29. When I turned on the player this morning it announced "greater than 27 hours" of battery time. I have been playing a book all morning and it still says "greater than 27 hours." Is it broken?
30. When I turned on the player it announced "less than 1 hour" of battery time. I have been playing a book for 2 hours and it's still going. Is it broken?
31. How do I reset the player?
32. How do I clear all information from the player?
33. The player is dirty. What do I use to clean it?
34. My player is dead. What should I do?
35. Every time I put the cartridge in the player the machine says "Cartridge Error." What does this mean?
36. The book I am reading gets to the middle of chapter 4 and says "Book Error" or "Audio not available." What does that mean?
37. What does the audio announcement "Power Error" mean?
38. What does the audio announcement "System Error" mean?

(1) What is the rectangular socket on the side of the player?

It is a USB port intended for assistive technology devices or for playing books from a patron's USB flash drive.

(2) How do I go to the beginning/end of the book?

Standard Player: With the player on, press and hold the Rewind button until you hear "Beginning of book." Similarly use the Fast Forward button to go to the end of the book.

Advanced Player: Select the bookmark level by pressing the Menu button until you hear "Bookmark Jump." Press and hold the Prev button to move the reading position to the beginning of the book. Similarly use the Next button to move to the end of the book.

(3) Every time I put the cartridge in the player the machine says "Cartridge Error." What does this mean?

This may indicate a problem with the files on the cartridge or with the cartridge itself. You may also get a "Cartridge Error" message if a cartridge is removed while playing a book. This error is benign and may be ignored.

"Cartridge Error" messages are significant only if they are persistent and repeatable. Try another cartridge [or turn the player off and retry with the same cartridge]. If the new cartridge works, and the error persists with the original cartridge, mark the original book as defective and return it to the library.

(4) The player has become unresponsive. Every time I press a button it beeps but nothing happens.

In the unlikely event that the player has entered this condition, hold down the Power button firmly for at least 7 seconds (a reset beep will be heard).

(5) How do I get to the User Guide with a Standard Player?

Press and hold the Play button for a few seconds.

(6) How do I get out of the User Guide when I'm done with it?

Press and hold the Play button again for a few seconds.

(7) Can I read the User Guide when a book is inserted?

Yes.

(8) The book I am reading gets to the middle of chapter 4 and says "Book Error." What does that mean?

This is an error in the book itself, not in the individual cartridge. The book should be marked as defective and returned to the library for further testing.

(9) The narrator sounds like an auctioneer (or a drunk). How do I return it to normal?

Turn the player off. With the particular book cartridge in the player, but not playing, use the Speed Up and Speed Down buttons until you hear a "Speed Normal" message.

(10) If I don't turn off the player, will I wear out the player sooner?

No. The player draws very little power when not playing. It is not necessary to turn off the player.

(11) If I don't turn off the player, how much electricity is it consuming?

Even if you do not use the Power button to turn the player off, it will reduce its power consumption when not playing to less than 1 watt.

(12) It seems like sometimes when fast forwarding to the beginning of the next chapter, it doesn't actually land on the beginning.

The player will announce the chapter title when you lift the Fast Forward button after crossing a chapter boundary. If you lift up immediately after a chapter beep, it will snap to the beginning of the chapter; otherwise you will hear "Within" and the chapter title.

(13) How long do I need to leave the player plugged in to fully charge the battery?

The battery will fully charge from a completely discharged state in less than 3 hours. The battery does not recharge each time you plug it in. To extend the service life of the battery, it will only charge after you have used it for several hours or after being unused for several weeks.

(14) Can other people see my bookmarks?

No, the bookmarks are stored on your player, not on the book.

(15) How many bookmarks will the player hold?

More than 1,000.

(16) How long will the bookmarks be stored?

Bookmarks will not expire, but if you run out, the oldest ones will be deleted first.

(17) Sometimes the machine doesn't seem to want to turn on. Why is that?

The player needs a second to power on when using batteries. Pressing the Power button again in the middle of the wake-up process can sometimes turn the player off.

(18) How can I navigate by page numbers?

If a book includes page numbers, there will be a page number option in the Menu (Advanced Player only). Press the Menu button until you hear "Page jump," then use the Next and Prev buttons to move the reading position to page boundaries in the book. Most NLS books do not include page numbers. There is no method to navigate by page on the Standard Player.

(19) What does "Jump by phrase" mean? (Advanced Player)

Jump by phrase is a jump by a small amount - up to 1 minute in duration. In some cases it may jump by a verse, an ingredient in a recipe, or an item in a list or table if the book was created with those points explicitly marked. If the book does not have this markup, the Next and Prev buttons at Phrase level will move to the end of the next marked passage (a chapter or section) or by 1 minute, whichever is closer.

(20) How do I skip over the front matter (Annotation)?

With the Standard Player, press and hold Fast Forward and listen for a beep. With an Advanced Player, use the Next button.

(21) How do I go back to where I was when I pressed the Sleep button?

Press the Rewind button and hold it until it says, "Back 15 minutes."

(22) I pressed the sleep button and the player didn't shut off in 15 minutes!

Press Sleep once and the player will shutoff in 15 minutes. Press sleep two times for 30 minutes, three for 45 minutes then four times for 60 minutes. Press sleep again or turn the player off and the player is back to 15 minutes.

(23) What is the problem if the Power button is pressed and there is no response?

The player is probably not plugged in and the battery needs to be charged. If the player is plugged into the wall, and there is still no response, then a hardware reset is necessary.

(24) I pulled the cartridge out of the player while reading a book. Have I damaged the player? Book?

No, you will not damage the player or the book.

(25) Why can't I go to individual chapters in a book?

Some older books that were converted from previous formats have no navigational features.

(26) How do I change the language to/from Spanish?

Turn off the player. Hold down the Tone Down, Sleep, and Rewind buttons and press the Power button. After a few seconds the player will beep and say "Player Status." Press the Rewind button twice and you will hear "Set Language." Press the Play button and you will hear "English." Press Rewind or Fast Forward if you wish to select Spanish and then press Play. If you wish to return the player to English, press Play without pressing another button.

(27) Can I leave the player plugged in when I am reading a book? Should I unplug it when I'm done reading? Is there anything I should know to avoid damaging the battery?

The player can remain connected to the main power indefinitely with no ill effects.

(28) How will I know how long a book is when there is always only one cartridge?

The narrator will tell you the total duration at the beginning of the book. The player can also tell you the current position when you insert the book (Standard Player) or when you press Info (Advanced Player).

(29) When I turned on the player this morning it announced "greater than 27 hours" of battery time. I have been playing a book all morning and it still says "greater than 27 hours." Is it broken?

The player has a large battery capacity. You still have greater than 27 hours of play time remaining even after playing all morning.

(30) When I turned on the player it announced "less than 1 hour" of battery time. I have been playing a book for 2 hours and it's still going. Is it broken?

The battery estimation may be inaccurate when discharged to this level. It will always underestimate the remaining capacity.

(31) How do I reset the player?

Hold down the Power button firmly for at least 7 seconds. A reset beep will be heard. This will not erase any bookmarks or prior book "last marks" from the player.

(32) How do I clear all information from the player?

Turn off the player. Hold down the Tone Up, Speed Up, and Volume Up buttons and press the Power button. The player will say "Creating New Profile." This will remove all bookmarks, set the language to English, and reset all controls to their default position.

(33) The player is dirty. What do I use to clean it?

Use a damp cloth, brush, or cotton swab to clean the player. It is important to make sure that the cloth is damp, not dripping wet. Wring the cloth out. Use a mild detergent cleaning solution. Avoid getting liquid inside the player or in the speaker area. If the speaker grill is heavily soiled, hold the player upside down so the speaker faces down, and clean the grill with a damp cloth. Clean and dry the cartridge dock thoroughly.

(34) My player is dead. What should I do?

Make sure the player is connected to a live AC outlet. Press and hold the Power button until a beep is heard. This will take more than 7 seconds; and the player will reboot. When the player announces "Player on..." try playing a book cartridge. If nothing happens, try a second cartridge. If the player is still unresponsive, send the player to the library for repair, with the original packing materials.

(35) Every time I put the cartridge in the player the machine says "Cartridge Error." What does this mean?

This may indicate a problem with the files on the cartridge or with the cartridge itself. You may also get a "Cartridge Error" message if a cartridge is removed while playing a book. This error is benign and may be ignored. "Cartridge Error" messages are significant only if they are persistent and repeatable. Try another cartridge [or turn the player off and retry with the same cartridge]. If the new cartridge works, and the error persists with the original cartridge, mark the original book as defective and return it to the library.

(36) The book I am reading gets to the middle of chapter 4 and says "Book Error" or "Audio not available." What does that mean?

This is an error in the book itself, not in the individual cartridge. Place the book cartridge in a container with a rubber band around it and return it to the library.

(37) What does the audio announcement "Power Error" mean?

"Power Error" announcements indicate that there is a problem with the battery pack. A critical fault occurred with attempting to recharge the battery. The battery pack may have faulty cells or the player's battery charger may have a problem.

(38) What does the audio announcement "System Error" mean?

"System Error" announcements mean that the player has detected an internal error. This error is generated if a player runs out of memory or when an error writing to the flash memory has been detected during a software upgrade.