Changed direction of alligator clip on LCD remote

[El_Will]

I was very uncomfortable with the direction the alligator clip was facing on the LCD remote on the iHP-120. Being lefthanded probably has a lot to do with this.

After eyeing the beast for a couple of weeks, I slowly started to pry a little on the back of the remote and I noticed there was some movement between the back of the alligator clip and the body of the remote. I suspected the outer edges of the clip to be either glued to the remote or screwed on from the inside of the remote's shell.

Today I decided to open the remote by undoing the only screw and by seperating the two plastic parts that are actually just clicked together. That was very easy and there was no damage.

After taking out the electronics and the LCD by unscrewing the one screw that connects the PCB and the LCD to the plastic body I was expecting to see two screws securing the alligator clip to the remote from the inside.

To my surprise there was nothing... I was looking into a bare plastic shell. All I could do was admire the clean chrome edges that are proof of a high quality in plastic moulding.

A little disappointed that I would probably not be able to take the clip off the remote's body without damaging the remote because it was probably glued, I decided to twist the empty body of the remote a little to see if I could get some motion on the clip's base.

After applying a little pressure the clip came of quite easely... There was no damage and no sign of any glue.



The alligator clip's base has two circular extensions that fit tight into two circular recievers on the remote's body.

You can put the alligator clip back onto the remote in the desired direction and after a gentle push the clip locks into the two recievers on the remote's body. I am now even considering a few drops of plastic glue because the clip came of rather easy.

Conclusion: You do not have to open the remote to separate the clip drom the remote.

Warning: Perhaps the clip came off quite easy because iRiver forgot to glue it on, on my particular unit. Other remotes that I inspected later on seemed to be the same. However it's your remote and your own risk and you will probably void the warranty.

And no, changing the direction of the clip did NOT cure the clicks that I hear on my MDR-V900 headset whilst using the remote.

[grahamb]

nice!
I'm sure other's are going to ask it, so I might as well say it first. Can you post a few pics?

[rob13800]

ya, put it on the mods gallery thing. would it be possible for you to seperate it again to have pictures of the unit whilst the clip was off? i think that would help alot of people.

[sweetspot]

Excellent ! Good going Will. I just did it myself. There's no need for glue really. And the removal is quite simple. Just get a flat head screwdriver, and stick it gently in the center of the clip. It will get underneath..gently nudge it up. and there ya go.

Cool !

[El_Will]

I have a picture of the clip separated from the remote, but don't know how to upload it.

[seadzz]

That is some of the best news I have heard in months. The clip position is the #2 bigest gripe I have with that @#$^ remote. Now if you could just get one of the wires to come out the other end.

sdz

[sweetspot]

Now if you could just get one of the wires to come out the other end.

EXACTLY ! Then getting it to face in the direction you want it to wouldn't be so akward. But it's better than it was...that's for sure. Thanks again man...I've now got the remote coming out from my backpack, and looped through the strap all nice and neat. So no more IHP in my coat pocket. Much more comfy. Except for one thing. Unless I'm wearing a button down shirt, I've got headphone cord all over the place. That sucks.

I hate wires.

[coreman]

Glad we have "tinkerers" on this forum! This is great news because I have hated the clip orientation since the first day, I'm doing mine tonight.....THANKS El Will!

[angryofmayfair]

Brilliant! Just done mine - it took all of 20secs - thaks!

[Zeni]

Well, since my remote is already peeling paint, I see no harm in mutilating it.

[El_Will]

I uploaded a picture of the clip that has been separated from the LCD remote to the galleries. This picture gives an impression of what to expect when you pull the clip of your own remote.

[coreman]

Well having receive one of the earliest batches of players, they must have still had the person working who actually used glue and cared (unlike seadzz, who doesn't care anymore).. although thankfully it wasn't a large amount.

After careful prying on each end for a minute or so, the clip finally popped off but I really thought for a minute I was going to break it. However get it off....I did.... so THANKS AGAIN El Will for "traveling where no man has gone before"....I am tickled pink with the new orientation...

[PYROTAK]

how do you guys mount your remotes, perhaps you can post some pictures, because the way that the remote is mounting is pretty good for me

maybe it can inspire me to use the remote in a better fashion.

i just have my ihp-120 in the napoleon pocket of my northface jacket and the remote just clips face down onto the pocket opening.

[tpilk]

I've gone back and forth with putting the player in the napoleon pocket of my coat and having it inside my messenger bag. If it's in the bag I clip the remote on to the strap of my bag with the cable from the remote to the player leading out of my bag. The excess cable gets shoved into the bag before I zip it up. I do my best to tuck the headphone cable into my coat but that part is always a mess and usually pretty annoying when I move around.
I prefer keeping it in my bag because there's room enough to keep the case on it so I have a little extra padding. I don't want it getting mashed in the subway.

[coreman]

Originally Posted by PYROTAK

i just have my ihp-120 in the napoleon pocket of my northface jacket and the remote just clips face down onto the pocket opening.

Never knew what that inside pocket of a jacket was called, now I do!

I like to clip it to the top of the "napoleon" pocket" but with the original orientation, it would clip with the wires pointing downward. This caused tugging on the cord and forced me to use the Sony extension cord.

With the new orientation, the player sits in the napoleon pocket, the wires point upwards, headphone cord runs straight to my phones and the remote cord easily flows downward into the pocket with the player.

I think it is a better orientation when the clip faces away from the wire end. But now I know how easy it is to change...

[Zeni]

Yeesh, no matter how much I fight this thing, I can't get the clip off, I don't want to exert a lot of force cause I'd really hate to break it, so any tips for getting it off safely, and without a lot of scratching?

[seadzz]

Use the thinnest blade screw driver or a very thin knife. Use the knife to open a gap in the center of the clip and the screw driver to pop the thing apart. My unit had a little glue (rubber cement) so it took a little work to get it apart.

sdz

[sweetspot]

I do suggest though, that once the tool (knife, screwdriver etc) is in the underbelly, you that you do NOT pry it up from the middle of the clip. Too much stress from that position, especially if there's glue on yours will cause the whole thing to snap. So when it's under there, just move to the left or right as far as it can go and pry from those positions.

[PYROTAK]

ohhhhhhh, acutally i dont' know what the inside pocket is called.

the napoleon pocket is a pocket that opens to the side actually.

if you ever see a picture of napoleon you will notice that he often sticks unbuttons one of the buttons on his suit and sticks his hand in horizontally. thus any pocket i believe that opens up sideways is known as a napoleon pocket i think.

i don't have my headphones hooked up to my ihp120 through the remote anyways, althoguh i prolly should.

[PorkRind]

I received my iHP-120 Wednesday last week, and decided to try the clip-reversal listed above. I had a HELL of a time trying to pry the thing off, and eventually only got one end to pop free. It didn't look like the picture above, though . . . so I figured I'd just be safe and put things back the way they were.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to try taking the remote apart to see what was going on inside. To my surprise, I found this:



My clip was screwed to the case, and the heads were only accessible from inside. What I had apparently done was to pop one end of the clip right off the screw holding it to the case! Fortunately, it wasn't totally stripped, and I was able to reattach it (now reversed) with no difficulty.

Be careful that you properly realign the hold switch slider with the actual switch when you reassemble the remote, or you'll wind up with a remote that has HOLD permanently enabled

PS. I've read some things about the "click" issue when using the remote. I've never heard anything but the music with mine, so I'm wondering if this is a new revision of the remote that may have fixed the click issue?

[PYROTAK]

niiiiice the insides!