My $300 Nexen Paperweight

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

(Excuse the whiny tone, I need to b1tch...)

So my RO Ignition crapped out on me a couple of weeks ago, and I'm tired of replacing the soft mats every 6 months (plus nobody stocks RO anymore, and their warranty is too short to buy direct). So I decide it's time for a metal pad.

I go with MyMyBox since they seem to have a good rep, and the Nexen because it's recommended for someone who's played mostly on soft mats up to now, and because BlueSharks are out of stock until mid-Feb. Call MMB, they have answers to all my questions. Everything seems fine until today, when I actually got the Nexen.

Steps don't register right. The timing is off, or the step isn't recognized at all. Stomping helps a little but I hate playing that way. Called MMB, and the tech support guy is out to lunch. When I finally got him later, he had no answers. This has never happened before. (Why am I always the one who gets the problems that have never happened before?)

I took the whole day off work to be home so I could sign for the package, and now this. MMB is sending me a replacement control cable since it's the only thing they can think of, but it's gonna take 2-3 days to get here. I'm getting fat cuz I can't get any exercise and irritable cuz my primary stress outlet (DDR) is gone. And if the cable doesn't fix things, what then? Send it back and wait another week or two for a replacement.

Anybody have any other ideas of what might be wrong with it?

Anybody want my $300 Nexen paperweight?

Thanks for listening.

BAGGER VANCE · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:28 pm Post subject:

its probably a control box error. ive never heard of a nexen that came THAT bad. If not, im sure they'll let you send it back(dont those things have 6 month warrenties?) and let you get a new one. Although mymybox is a pretty shady company....

just see if the control box fixes things.

also, do you mind posting pics of your new pad? i kinda wanna see the new nexen.

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

I'll get pics taken and posted tomorrow. Heading to bed shortly.

What they're sending me is just the cable (15pin connector one end, PS2 other end). The control box is inside the pad on the new Nexens, under the up-arrow.

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

wow, sounds like what happened to my friends blueshark, except it was the control box (the up arrow didnt work right)

first he got the new control box, then he got a completely new pad, and that one works great

maybe you really did get unlucky..

_________________

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Nexen pics are here:

http://yois.if-legends.org/hostedsites/doxpix/Nexen1.jpg
http://yois.if-legends.org/hostedsites/doxpix/Nexen2.jpg

Itâs supposed to have a skin (the green fire design shown on their webpage) but they were out of stock. As the second pic shows, the control box is inside the platform itself, underneath the up-arrow. You just attach a 15-pin to PS2 connector cable. The red and green buttons, they tell me, are for Select/Start.

If it makes a difference, I have the original, non-Slim PS2. (Just trying to think of everything that might be causing the problem here.)

BAGGER VANCE · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:04 pm Post subject:

problem? bad design choice. Having the control box in the pad(expecially the up arrow) is terrible because one misstep can break the. ITs a far smarter design to to have it either were, say, the X button is or maybe just have it outside the pad.

it is a sexy pad, tho.

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Yeah, plus it's a lot easier and cheaper to ship a replacement control box than the whole pad. I plan on suggesting to MMB that they go back to the old platform design next time I call them. Should get the replacement cord tomorrow.

BAGGER VANCE · Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:00 pm Post subject:

i like not having a control box hanging around on the ground, but it'd be nice if they just put it inside the X-button and have it still removable, just it rests comfortable inside the pad. I also hate it when the put the female ports to connect the control box to the pad directly ON the pads....its a far better design to have a short cord and then have the female port, because i know a few people who's metal pads have broke because of those ports.

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Update: Got the replacement cord today, just like they promised, but... it didn't fix the problem. (I wasn't expecting it to.) Called them back, they're emailing me a prepaid return label to ship the pad back. NOT looking forward to lugging this monstrosity down to FedEx. I'm having my friend stop by and bring his own PS2 so I can confirm it's definitely not my console first.

More to come.

discobiscuits · Trick Member Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Location: phoenix

Nice to hear that they seem to be responding in a timely manner. Hopefully you get everything fixed it up.
_________________

just passing by

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Well, it was supposed to get here today, but FedEx tracking pushed the delivery date back to 2/6. Interestingly, the defective pad which I returned on the same day MMB supposedly shipped the replacement is on the truck and ready for delivery back to them today.

Definitely annoying, but we'll see...

supersportsguy · Basic Member Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Location: Canada

Is the Nexen pretty loud when you play on it btw???

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Okay, here's how the story ends...

Got the replacement Nexen today, hooked it up, same problem. Called MMB again, they had no idea what could be wrong with it, said they had multiple people test it before they sent it out (tested the one I sent back too, and it worked for them). I was just about to send this one back and call it quits on the whole thing when a really crazy idea occurred to me.

Not long before I ordered the Nexen, I also bought myself a new HDTV. Just so I could say I'd literally tried EVERYTHING, I hauled out the old TV and hooked the PS2 up to it. The Nexen worked great.

Called MyMyBox back and told them about this discovery. Apparently I am the first one who has ever reported this, but hopefully anyone else experiencing it won't have to go through the same frustration. MMB suggested I see if there is a way to resync the video/audio on my HDTV. They said Guitar Hero II and III have a sync option for HDTVs built into the game itself (my original GH1 doesn't but it works fine). The older DDR games came out before HDTVs but I'll check and see if the newer ones have that setting too.

Only one problem remaining... The right arrow button doesn't work so well. Sometimes registers, sometimes not. Cuts out in the middle of freeze steps a lot. I suspect this is a problem with the cable -- I tugged on the cord itself instead of the PS2 connector to pull it out, and ended up with exposed wires -- other Nexen and BlueShark owners be careful of this! I've ordered a replacement cable, hopefully that'll fix things for good.

I know some people here have had bad experiences with MyMyBox, but they were very patient and understanding with me, especially about the unnecessary return of the first Nexen, and did their best to help. I'd recommend them.

supersportsguy: Aside from my shoes on the arrows, the Nexen made virtually no noise for me. I tend to step pretty light though, and lift my feet as little as possible. The Nexen seemed to absorb a lot of the impact so there were hardly any floor vibrations, and I'm playing on the 2nd floor, on carpet atop hardwood... didn't slide at all, either.

morrodox · Basic Member Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Got my replacement cable the other day, and it fixed the problem with the right arrow not working.

Further observations on the Nexen:

The right arrow still wasn't registering consistently until I loosened the screws attaching it to the platform. That seems to let the panel flex a little more and make the connection. (That's how the Nexen works, there are two metal plates underneath the arrows which touch each other to complete a circuit when the panels are stepped on.) If you want you can remove the screws entirely, as there's a piece of velcro in each corner underneath the arrow holding it firmly in place.

One big difference between the Nexen and the RedOctane Ignition (my previous pad of choice) is that with the ROI, the arrow sensors were actually extended into the center of the pad a little. So my foot could hit, say, the left edge of the center square, and it would still register as a step on the left arrow. Not so with the Nexen. I find I have to step in the center of the arrow square to make the steps count. This is not a criticism, it just means I have to retrain myself to use it properly.

One thing that took me forever to figure out, if I step on an arrow and accidentally hit the A/O or B/X corner buttons at the same time, the game acts like I'm stepping on the arrow a bunch of times really fast. Asking MMB for their thoughts on this, it doesn't seem quite right. Again, figuring I can probably train myself around it.

The Nexen is heavy enough that it does not slide at all. There's a thin felt on the underside so that even if it did shift a bit, it wouldn't scratch a hardwood floor.

Despite MyMyBox's statement that you can play on the Nexen with or without shoes, I highly recommend wearing them. There's no padding like in a soft mat, and the platform puts you a good inch above the floor, so you're better off having the additional support. Also the two rear corner panels are kind of slippery compared to the surfaces on the arrows, buttons and center square, and a misstep in socks could easily send you sprawling. I may try to find something to apply to them for better traction.

The way my setup is, the Nexen is in a spot where I'll occasionally have to move it out of the way. I'm thinking of attaching a couple of handles to the front end of the pad, to make it easier to lift up and carry, but want to run the idea by MyMyBox first.

Hope some of you find some of this info useful.

Flound3r