Newertech Voyager - paging owners

in my Q, that lever thing is plastic throughout, no metal.

i rarely even use the handle lever. i usually just pull the drive straight out.

one of the most useful things ive ever bought. Like a bigger, faster, more versatile and bootable USB key.

i dont know what king of bridge is used but ive had no problems using the eSata and firewire.

No protrusion here, still it doesn't sit in there like rock solid but it doesn't need to. Did you get it at OWC? I'd give 'em a call and replace it if it's bothersome to you.

OT a little, I got a portable battery operated fan (Cool It® Personal Fan at Brookstone) to use with the dock because the drive would get uncomfortably hot.

Message was edited by: PS1

Mine has a small lip that arrives flush.

Yours looks like metal in the picture? my lever is in plastic.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3189/78849303.jpg

notice that there is a sheet of transparent plastic over the lever.

PS1,
me too, if i leave a drive in for more than 10 minutes, i use a regular desktop fan.

a friend of mine received his yesterday and it had the same darn plastic square on the end.

so we had to open it up, push the lever out of it cradle and with a knife, 'ate' away at the square piece until it fell off.

we didnt take the lever out. How did you do that, by taking the handle off?

thanon,

I'm in the exact same situation as you.

Have a Newertech Voyager Q4 docking station with a protruding release lever. It looks pretty much like the one in your picture but hast some transparent plastic on top. And yes, drives are wiggling back and forth sitting on this lever. Some older drives even don't get any connection at all unless I press them down firmly into the docking station. As soon as I remove the pressure, the drive gets disconnected again. Don't feel save in using my harddrives with the Voyager currently.
I'm too located in Germany and got the Voyager directly from OWC, so returning it for a replacement is difficult due to shipping costs.

It seems, Newertech is aware of the issue and changed the design.

Did you contact Newertech? What was the result? Did they send you a new lever?

I'm waiting for a reply from OWC for over a week and now contacted Newertech two days ago. Well it is holiday season, so they might be a busy ... :-/

Peter

Hi guys,

I ordered a Voyager Q from The Bookyard Ltd. (the only UK stockist) yesterday, and, because I needed it urgently, I paid for next day delivery.

No problem there - it was delivered early this afternoon.

However, I have been unable to use it because the power cable to the AC adapter is fitted with a plug with 2 flat prongs with holes, which does not comply with the UK standard.

Other products I have purchased, with plugs which did not comply with the UK standard, have always included some form of adapter to convert the fitting to a UK standard 13 amp 3 prong plug. It seems incomprehensible that Newertech have not done the same, before exporting the Voyager Qs!

I immediately submitted an online request to The Bookyard, asking them to send me an appropriate adapter, but, although my submission was acknowledged, I have not received a reply. So I emailed them over 2 hours later, and I am still waiting for a response.

As I live in "the sticks", there is nowhere locally where I can buy an adapter. I have looked on line, and have found a suitable adapters at Both Lindy and Amazon UK, but the only way I can get a guaranteed delivery before Christmas to to pay for Express Delivery, and I don't see why I should have to do that.

If The Bookyard does not reply to my online submission or email, nor send me an adapter before Christmas, then I am inclined to tell them to collect the Voyager Q, and to refund my payment, especially now that I have read about some of your problems.

I don't know whether or not there is a problem with the lever on my Voyager Q , because I am leaving it in its sealed bag until this matter is resolved one way or the other.

Fortunately, The Bookyard will have no alternative but to accept the Voyager Q back, because it is illegal in the UK to sell an electrical appliance which does not conform to the UK standard, and all items must be either fitted with a UK standard 13 amp 3 prong plug, or supplied with an adapter to convert it to that standard. The only exception is electric shavers, for which a special 13amp 3 prong plug with a 2 hole adaptor has to be purchased, and the Voyager Q's power supply plug is not compatible with that either.

Fortunately, I recently purchased an ONNTO Data Tale TQ-M12H single external enclosure, with 2 FW800 ports, and 1 each of eSATA, FW400 & USB2.0, and so I can use that if necessary. It won't be as quick to change over disks as a caddy, but it is still much quicker than any other external hard drive enclosure which I have come across. It is much better made than the Voyager Q too!

http://www.storagedepot.co.uk/Hard-Drive-Cases/sc884/p1332.aspx
http://www.storagedepot.co.uk/External-Hard-Drives/Hard-Drive-Cradles/sc883/p877 .aspx

The above links give details of the ONNTO Data Tale, and an alternative caddy to the Voyager Q. Both have quad interfaces, including FW800.