Touch start up time?

[mecouc]

I'm thinking of getting a Touch as I like the idea of not having to keep my PC on all the time (I'm considering a Sheevaplug + SB3 from Ebay as another option).

If the Touch runs linux, then presumably you have to wait for it to boot up when you turn it on. How long does this take? I don't want to have to leave my Touch turned on all the time because it takes 3 minutes to start up.

How much power does it consume? I've looked, but can't see this information.

Slightly less important, presumably it has to be shut down politely too, and can't just be flicked off at the wall?

[JohnSwenson]

If I remember correctly its something like 20 seconds to boot up, not instantaneous but not 3 minutes either.

The power draw is very similar to the SB3, about 5 watts that can go up to 7 or so when working hard. It comes with a supply that can provide considerably more than this because it also has to provide power over the USB port for bus powered drives. I think the supply is rated for 15 watts max.

You shut it down by pulling the plug, its designed for that. The one thing that can cause a problem is an external drive, they usually do not come with file systems that allow them to handle "pulling the plug" gracefully. There is an "eject USB drive" button for this purpose. So if you are using a drive plugged into the USB port its probably a good idea to "eject the drive" before unplugging the Touch. (even if you leave it physically connected)

John S.

[peterw]

The power draw is very similar to the SB3, about 5 watts that can go up to 7 or so when working hard.

Maybe with a USB drive attached, but when acting as a simple Squeezebox player, my beta unit (fairly early hardware build, but I don't know of significant changes in later units) only draws 2 watts RMS when idle (measured between the power supply and wall outlet), which is roughly half what an SB3 uses. The SB Touch uses less energy with its display on than a Squeezebox Receiver!

[Philip Meyer]

>You shut it down by pulling the plug, its designed for that.
I'm not so sure about that. The power cable is right next to the USB socket, which is kind of awkward at best.

I find inserting/extracting a USB stick quite awkward (especially as I tend to do unintended actions on the touch screen whilst turning the device around to work out what way round the USB stick is meant to be inserted).

I think that pulling the power cord out and back in is going to cause a bit of wear over time. It reminds me of my ZX Spectrum days :-(

I can't understand why there's still no physical device On/Off power switch. Every device in the world has one, except Squeezeboxes. TV's, HiFi equipment, mobile phones, iPods...

There is a reset button, which I wasn't aware of at first - it sits just above the power socket, a tiny slightly recessed round microswitch. So if the device locks up, you can press it to power cycle, or hold in for a while to do a factory reset.

But I still like to power the device off every so often, eg, when I know I'm going to be away for a week or so.

[JJZolx]

37 seconds to boot without a USB drive or SD card. Probably longer if it has to start up the internal server.

No, it's not designed to have the power unplugged and plugged in. That's what power switches are for.

[JohnSwenson]

OK, I wasn't actually recommending physically pulling the plug as the preferred method of shutting down the power, more as a metaphor for stopping the electrical flow, however you actually do that. The main point is that you don't have to go through a software shutdown procedure to safely shut it down. The only exception would be if you have a USB drive attached and that can be handled with the eject USB button.

John S.

[mecouc]

Thank you, all. The lack of a power switch seems a design fault in all the Squeezeboxes (though I suppose it also removes a point of failure). One reason I don't use my current SB3 very often is that the power lead has usually fallen down the back of the furniture it lives on because pulling it out is the only way to turn it off - the other is that it requires my PC to be left on all day.

It sounds as though the Touch helps with the PC not being on, but fails due to the lack of a power switch! I accept a boot-up time is inevitable for this sort of device, but it's a big practical trade-off for something that would replace the kitchen radio/CD player, which has a boot-up time of about 0.5 seconds.

[aubuti]

One reason I don't use my current SB3 very often is that the power lead has usually fallen down the back of the furniture it lives on because pulling it out is the only way to turn it off - the other is that it requires my PC to be left on all day.

As for your current SB3, you could switch over to mysqueezebox.com when you want to turn off your pc. And believe me, I don't mean to dismiss energy conservation efforts, but the SB3 only draws about 4w when idling. Do you also unplug your microwave, tv, router, and other appliances when not in use?

[DaveWr]

Do you also unplug your microwave, tv, router, and other appliances when not in use?

In the UK man people have been investing in 'standby savers', remote switches that disconnect mains from multiple devices. Energy Star devices have to achieve standby figures of 1W or less. I don't disconnect any of my Squeeze devices (too inconvenient), but do switch off DAC, CD and amplifiers, They consume very significant standby power, over 12W per device!

Dave

[thomasfoerster]

Actually that's what I do..

Almost all appliances are off when I'm not at home.
Well, the fridge has to stay on, and that's a biggy.
But imho this stand-by-humbug wastes much too much energy world-wide.
Those multi-outlet power thingies I have to use now are so ugly!

Power switches should be mandatory, that's what I think.