Questions about new to me Prs 505

[Lawyerman]

I found a PRS 505 in a local pawn shop. It was pretty cheap, had a nice cover and the power supply- $90. I found it was loaded with about 130 books- trashy romance novels mostly, some that were rather graphic actually...oh well.

I have several questions about it though. I found a USB cable that will work but I need to load the "download" software to my computer as I don't have the setup CD that would have come with it. Can I do that from the Sony Website? I did see some downloads there that looked like the right ones. I did download and print off the manual and quick start guide.

Secondly I noticed that the charger for my cell phone will fit into the USB port and I know the PRS can be charged this way. The Charger is a Motorola with the folding plug. It says that it has a 5.0 v output/550 mA. That would seem to be well within spec for the E reader. Reason I ask is because it is much more compact than the original-easily 1/4 the size and it of course would have two uses- less to travel with. I don't want to see black smoke pouring out of my E Reader though!

I am hoping owning it will be a good experience. My wife and I owned a Nook very briefly and it was NOT a good experience! Thanks!

[notsure]

I can't speak to the charger but I the first bit of software I would get is called Calibre. It is amazing and will let you remove / add books to your device. Did I mention it was FREE?

You can find more info on it here or on the website (google is your friend).

Cheers!

[grooks]

You can download the Sony Library software directly from here. After installing the software and connecting your Reader via the usb cable, you will probably need to create an account and register the Reader to your account. If the Reader was registered by the previous owner then you will need to de-register it from their account first. Go to "My Account" and you should find information on how to do this.

Any wall charger that plugs into the usb port on the Reader will not work. A wall charger must plug into the round, yellow port on the bottom of the Reader. Any PSP wall charger will work for charging the Reader. It will charge from the USB port on the computer but the computer must be turned on and not in hibernate mode. I use a retractable cable similar to this. It is smaller than the normal PSP charging brick.

Good luck with your find and hopes it works better for you than the Nook.

[ShellShock]

I found that the charger for my Fujifilm digital camera also works with the PR505 (via the round yellow port).

[Lawyerman]

Thanks guys. I have just downloaded Calibre and will download the Sony software and set up an account there as well.

Too bad about the USB charger not working but it IS one of the adaptable models. I might be able to find a "prong" that matches the Sony charger and still use it. The voltage output seems to match pretty well. I think I have a pile of them somewhere from another project. I do really like the retractable one linked, just alot more compact and tangle free.....always a plus when traveling.

Any other little hints or tips I need to know?

[neilmarr]

Good to have your company, Lawyerman. And it sounds like you picked up a bargain there. The PRS-505 is a lovely wee machine. The only problems I had with mine turned out all to be down to the charge. On advice from here I bought online from the US an AC charger with adaptors that work in plugs anywhere in the world (I'm in France) and it's worked like a dream ever since. Glad to hear you downloaded Calibre. It's a fine library programme ang in my opinion and that of many others here, it beats the Sony library hands down. I never use anything but Calibre these days. Have fun. Happy reading. Neil

[Lawyerman]

Something isn't working quite right. I was able to shift some e books that I had on my PC to Calibre. So far, so good. Then I tried to load them onto the 505 and it tells me that no device is connected. It IS connected though. In fact, when I plug in the USB cable my computer "dings" and the first time I did it it said "new hardware found, Sony PRS" or some such. When I went to delete a program just awhile ago I saw the Sony Driver listed, so I don't understand what is going on....

What am I doing wrong?

[grooks]

Does the Sony show up in Calibre? Once Calibre recognizes the device it will show a picture of the 505 towards the top directly beneath the menu.

[Lawyerman]

No, Calibre is apparently not recognizing it as I don't see anything below the menu.

[Robert Minneman]

Using a Windows OS?

On my XP system when I plug my 505 into the USB port I can see both SD cards and the PRS 505 system memory...

[grooks]

Are there any ebooks from the previous owner you wish to keep?

If not, then do a factory reset to wipe everything off and start fresh.

[Bilbo1967]

My 505, and Calibre recognising it. can be a bit dodgy. I have found that some of the USB sockets on my laptop work better than others (no idea why) so try swapping it around a little.

When you connect the cable, with Calibre running, you should get a pop-up from Calibre saying something like "Sony Reader found" and the SD card and reader itself appear on the Calibre main screen.

Hope you get it working - sounds like you got an absolute bargain

[Lawyerman]

I tried moving the cable to another port, didn't help.

I would like to keep some of the books from the previous owner, apart from the trashy romance novels there were quite a few, I'm assuming free, "classics".

Running Windows XP.

I'll try again.

Tried it again, Calibre is simply not seeing the device. I go to "transfer" to device and it gives me an error message saying "no device connected".

[grooks]

If the books you wish to keep are public domain classics you can download those and various sites like MobileRead E-Books

[Bilbo1967]

May be worth posting in the Calibre forum as well. People like Kovid will certainly know if it's a Calibre as opposed to a 505 problem.