360 wireless controller Q's
 

I picked up a recharge/charge pack for my 360 controller. It said in the manual it should take about 6 hours for it's first charge. After about 8 1/2 hours, I unhooked it even though the light was still red, should it take that long to charge for the first time??

Also, it says I can check the 'charge level' in my XBOX dashboard, but I can't find it anywhere.

Lastly, do you leave the USB plug in while the controller isn't plugged into it, or do you just hook it up when you need a charge??

Thanks,

S2

1) I can't recall from when I charged my controller for the first time. But, when the battery is fully charged, the light should turn green.

2) If you bring up the dashboard panel, the small one, in the upper left corner you should see a battery indicator. You won't see it if you have an old xbox game in. But, if you are in a 360 game or in the dashboard, press the xbox button to bring up the small dashboard panel. You will see the battery indicator there.

3) If you leave the controller hooked up and charging when you turn the xbox off, the controller will continue to charge. The 360 goes into a low power mode. It charges the battery, and you can hear the fans spinning, but it doesn't have the 360 running on full power.

Thanks. With the 3rd question, I mean after the controller is charged, is it 'safe' to leave the cable plugged into the USB port (without being connected to the controller), or does it have to be removed each time it isn't 'in use'. Not a huge deal, I just don't want to mess anything up.

Thanks again.

S2

I always keep my cables plugged into the 360. Sometimes it takes a bit for the controller to know it is fully charged. I would just keep one charged while you play with the other one and the light should go on.

I haven't seen any problems. I do that with mine. The play and charge kit is always in the usb port. I just connect it to the controller when I want to charge it. But the cable is always in my 360 USB port.

I only have one at the moment, but getting another one definitely has to happen.

Thanks Bus & Vryce!!

This is my 1st experience with Wireless controllers and I'm pretty impressed with 360's. I also bought the Charge kit but I'm gonna wait til the batteries that came in the box run out to use it. I was also looking at this:

XBOX quick charge thingy

Sweet! I'm definitely going to get one of those. I have 4 controllers, 4 extra batteries and several play and charge kits, but I rarely use multiple controllers at the same time. I'd much rather have a means to keep several batteries charged at any given time so I can just swap out batteries as they die. That's much easier than plugging in the controller when it dies and then managing the cords until it is charged.

I think I'm picking up that too this weekend. Sure, the play and charge kits are nice. But I hate being tied down to a cord with my wireless controller. This way, I can always be charging one battery while playing on the other and swap out as necessary.

You can also connect them to a computer USB to charge as well. Just ignore the New Hardware Found wizard.

That is what I do.
Does the controller seem sluggis before it dies?
Once when I was playing PGR3 (online Doh!) the controller worked fine until is just died, but lately in Oblivion, I am looking to attack and the game seems slow to respond, maybe is id just the sword.

I start to get erratic performance as the battery starts to get low too.

And that quick charge kit is pretty nice. I wonder if Game Rush (or whatever Blockbuster calls their video game store) carries them?

Info on the "Quick Charge" for the lazy. BTW, they say it's out but I can't find it. :(

# The Quick Charge Kit, coupled with an extra rechargeable battery is the premium charging solution - there are no cords to stow after use, and it allows for continuous gameplay.
# Gamers can recharge two rechargeable battery packs at one time.
# The Quick Charge Kit includes a charging stand for two batteries, a NiMH rechargeable battery pack and an AC adapter.
# The Quick Charge Kit charges a single battery in less than two hours, or multiple batteries in less than four hours.
# The Quick Charge Kit has a user friendly lighting system - a red light indicates the kit is in "charging" mode and a green light indicates that batteries are "fully charged."
# Additionally, the Quick Charge Kit automatically powers down after each charge is complete.

I got a recharge pack too, but haven't used it yet.

The Quick Charge Kit is nice, but here's how I see it:

Play and Charge Kit = $20. You can play while the batteries are being recharged.

Quick Charge Kit = $30. You cannot play while the batteries are being recharged. In order to do so, you must either have another set of rechargeable batteries ($15) or a pair of disposable AA batteries.

If it's worth it for you to spend an additional $25 over the Play and Charge Kit, then you should get the Quick Charge and another pair of rechargeable batteries.

Meh. It looks cool. :D

I bought my 360 at Sam's in a pack with an additional controller and one plug 'n play kit. Since I have a cheap never ending supply of AA batteries I just "returned" the PNP kit for a game. I am too far away from the TV to use it while playing and when not in use I have to put my controller up high to keep it away from my toddler son.
Nice option for those that can use it though. Although a couple of sets of rechargeable AA batteries would be better, you could always have one set charged/charging while you play on the others.