 Tips/FAQs
- At first all was
fine - why does my GUPI not move anymore? and Why
does my GUPI not charge properly using the power adapter and plug converter
supplied?
As shipped from many suppliers, especially those
importing the Mark I and II directly from Europe (where it's made), the mains
adapter is the continental 2-pin type and there's a 2-pin to UK 3-pin converter
in the box. We had all sorts of problems with our converter (the output voltage
from the mains adapter was only a couple of volts) and ended up putting the
2-pin plug straight into a 'shaver adapter', and it's been working fine ever
since. You can tell that charging is going OK because GUPI will do a few
'swallowing' sound effects. If you don't hear this sound effect, you're not
charging, no matter how much the red LED in the carrot is glowing. Also,
ignore what the manual of the Mark I and II says about charging for 15
minutes - this is only enough to verify that the toy works at all. For proper
use, you'll need to charge it for an hour at
least.
- Why does my GUPI
not walk as strongly as it used to?
Keep GUPI off plush, hairy
carpets. As with any toy with wheels, it's easy for loose fibres to
accumulate around the wheel axles and these can, in time, stop GUPI moving
properly. Disassembling it to remove the fluff and fibres isn't too hard, but
it's time consuming. In addition, GUPI simply doesn't work so well on carpets,
as there's less to grip and less ground clearance from its
fur.
- Do I need to use
the on/off switch?
As emphasised in the brief manual that comes
with GUPI, don't touch the main (under-body) on/off switch. If you turn it
off, all its learning is undone; this isn't a huge problem as learning is
very quick, but it's not something you want to do every day. Of course, if your
GUPI ever starts misbehaving in a way that you think might be down to the
electronics getting confused, the on/off switch is a good way to reset the
internal memory and start again. We've not had to do this yet with 'Patch' or
any of our other GUPIs, but it's worth bearing in mind.
- Why does my GUPI
not 'swallow' three times when I plug it into the mains?
If your
GUPI doesn't swallow/charge immediately after plugging in, it's worth taking
the carrot out, taking the mains pin out of the carrot, let GUPI run around for
a few seconds and then try again, carrot first and then the mains pin.
Works for me!
- Why does my GUPI
not walk around like it should?
Make sure you give GUPI lots
of love. Otherwise it'll get sad. Really. In practice this means picking it
up and stroking its back every now and then. The manual suggests that if
you don't stroke it enough, your GUPI will get frightened and sad, etc. But in
practice this is unlikely to happen. If only because it's so tempting to pick
GUPI up (especially for children).
Also, note that it won't walk much at
first because it'll be in 'baby' mode. Be patient, stroke it a lot, give it
lots of 'carrot' and teach it how to avoid the first few
obstacles.
- What's the carrot
for?
Charging... plus... The carrot IR-beam following feature is
mainly useful when showing GUPI off to friends and relatives. They won't be
able to see the beam, of course, so you let GUPI wander off, wait 'til its eyes
are in line of sight with the carrot and then depress the button, calling
GUPI's name at the same time. Sure enough, it'll do a double-take ('Huh?') and
then go straight for the carrot, just like an obedient
pet!
If you can think of other tips/questions for
this page, please feel free to email me!
Manual
Also useful might be my scans of the official
GUPI (Mark II) manual - I've had half a dozen people contact me because they've
lost theirs! The scanned pages are in BMP format, all zipped together as
gupimanual.zip (2MB)
All text on these pages is Copyright Steve
Litchfield, 2005 |
