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[storm2284]

hey all! i have just come home with a pleo that i brought off my friend, now he's come with his leaf charger battery etc and is practically brand new,

this is my first one and have no idea where to start with him!

firstly can they be reset to hatchling?

i have tried to connect him via usb but the laptop can't find a driver, i have had a look on the manual (had to get it online) but i really have no idea where to start with him

sorry for all the questions here and i hope it's ok to ask!!

storm x

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Welcome

The drivers unfortunately are old and outdated, they'll only run in windows xp or windows comparability mode. If you upgrade to the 2.0 OS you'll get to go through the hatching phase again. To do that you need the download from here and an SD card.
Download http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=14
Instructions http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=12 (these instructions are for 1.1 but they are very similar)

This FAQ should help get you started http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?topic=1617.0

[storm2284]

thankyou thankyou thankyou!! well having charged up the battery fully he only seemed to want to play for a few minutes and shut down again, i'm guessing he needs a new battery already

[Crewella]

Hi Storm, and welcome.

I'm afraid a lot of the older green batteries do give up the ghost over time, you may well need a new one.  If it IS an original green Ugobe battery, it might be worth charging it and, when it says it has charged put it straight back in the charger ...... you can sometimes squeeze some extra life out of them.

[storm2284]

thankyou crewella! i'm hoping that i can get a bit more life out of it, i have been looking for new batteries online but everything seems to be in china, and i drea to think how much extra the import duties are here!! i notice you're in the wonderful 'sunny' uk too, would you know whereabouts is best to source these from? i don't have a lot of money and paid a fair old price for him!

[Crewella]

Yep ..... I'm sunbathing as I type ........     

You can get batteries from RWM on here in the stores section (in the US but very reliable) or I have bought egg charger batteries from the eBay seller in Taiwan ...... I have yet to be charged import duty on a battery purchase.  The value isn't great enough to trigger the customs officers, I think.  You might also look at Innvo's licensed distibutor Robopolis/PleoEurope as anything within Europe definitely won't incur charges.

I thought I'd just mention how much better the egg charger batteries are ...... but you'd have to buy an egg charger as well.

[storm2284]

ahh right, i did have a quick look for those too but not much luck, it's charging as we speak, goes green so i took it out and put it back on again and its gone back to red, so hopefully fingers crossed!!! next to get an sd card and see if i can update him!! i wish i was patient haha, having a good old read about on here but so many thigs are the new version as opposed to mine its confusing

[Crewella]

If it helps, there's lots about batteries in the archive section for technical questions for the 'classic' Pleo:

http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?board=36.0

[kaiteee]

I got the egg charger from the eBay seller in Taiwan too, as they had extra batteries as an option, and I wasn't charged import vat on it (charger with one extra battery). I had expected to be charged (I have a history of bad luck with these things  ) but had worked out that it wouldn't be too much - Royal Mail's 'handling' charge would have been most of the cost. I can't remember whether I was just lucky that time, or if maybe the seller marked a low value. But even if you get charged, its worth it for the better battery!

I also found some brand new 2gb sd cards perfect for pleo for 99p from a uk eBay seller recently, having found that both lower capacity and bigger ones seem to cost more....?! 

[Crewella]

Kaiteee's right!  

I always buy 2gb cards for Pleos too.

[storm2284]

ok will do the sd card hunt now what is different with the update?

as for the battery/charger anyone have any idea what the import costs would be if i got hammered with them? x

[kaiteee]

You would pay import vat, charged on the value of the item plus the cost of postage, on any item over £15 in value (or £40 I think, if the item is a gift). There are lots of different rates depending on the item, but apparently it is generally the same as similar goods sold here so I tend to use 20% for estimates. Then you have the RM handling fee, £8 last time I was charged it, may have gone up?.

So the £45 charger/battery, postage is listed as free so actual shipping cost is unknown, but the charge would be £9 import vat (and a bit more when the shipping cost is included) + £8 handling, so minimum £19. BUT, it does seem relatively unlikely that you'd be charged, on experience so far  . You don't have to worry about customs duty until your item value is over £135 (like, say, a little blue pleo rb that you cannot buy in eu  )

What you get with the update will depend on what you're starting with, there's lots of info here on the forum about the different OS, my two are on 1.1, I haven't braved 2.0 yet after reading about the extended grumpy stage! I think you'd get a brief hatchling stage if you upgrade to or re-install 1.1 tho, I'm sure mine both did. 

[Crewella]

As Kaiteee says, all I can add is that they can also base their valuation of the item on what it's insured for, so as postal insurance tends to be worked out in bands you can get overcharged.  If that happens, a letter to Customs and Excise with an invoice and proof of payment should get you a refund on the overcharged amount.  Perhaps not worth it in this case, but definitely would be on an RB! 

I paid an £8 handling fee this morning (£14 altogether on a £40 item ........ sigh ....), so Royal Mail's hasn't gone up ...... I think the ParcelFarce charge is a couple of £ more.     

[storm2284]

its a lot of money isn't it why is no-one selling them here!!! grrr 

[ratchief]

Last week I bought a pleo (in original box w charger) at a local thrift store for $30.  I had them charge his battery a little bit to see that he worked. When I got him home and tried to play with him he quit after 5 min (green battery). I spent a couple days running him completely down until he wouldn't move at all, then charging and recharging him. Now he runs for about an hour, which I understand is normal. The rechargeable battery just need to be repeatedly drained and charged to bring it back to life. Using a USB camera cable ($1 at the same thrift store) I installed the 1.1 upgrade from this site.

[storm2284]

ratchief, so you can install the upgrae just via the usb and not needing the sd card?

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Only if the drivers work on your computer. You need the drivers.

[Crewella]

And just to add, you can nurse some green batteries back to health, as Ratchief says, but not all.  It gets harder as they get older.