[Q] Need help on how to dismantle Archos G9 80 16GB - Gen8, Gen9, Gen10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have G9 80 16GB Turbo. The plastic part of the inner micro USB feeder is broken and sticked out to the USB charger pin. My USB charger cable now blocked by that thing and cannot be use anymore. Now in the USB feeder of Archos just remain 4 tiny metals without plastic support (only 4 USB metal pins connector) and not able to take charge by anyway, it is bricked because of no battery power.
It is just 2 months old and no warranty since I bought it in airport transit. 3 times emailed [email protected] with no response as the world has suspected.
1. I've checked my Archos and did not find any screw other than single screw in the USB 3G compartment. I really thankful if anyone can write step-by step dismantle procedure.
2. Can anyone share the shape of USB type soldered to the PCB to enable me order the part and soldering it alone.
3. I've search this on thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1557506, but the information provided on how to dismantle is not very clear.
4. Thankyou in advance.

cangguek said:
I have G9 80 16GB Turbo. The plastic part of the inner micro USB feeder is broken and sticked out to the USB charger pin. My USB charger cable now blocked by that thing and cannot be use anymore. Now in the USB feeder of Archos just remain 4 tiny metals without plastic support (only 4 USB metal pins connector) and not able to take charge by anyway, it is bricked because of no battery power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uuups this is bad...
cangguek said:
It is just 2 months old and no warranty since I bought it in airport transit. 3 times emailed [email protected] with no response as the world has suspected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's sad that they did not reply, but do you think it is covered by warranty if your borked the USB connector?
cangguek said:
1. I've checked my Archos and did not find any screw other than single screw in the USB 3G compartment. I really thankful if anyone can write step-by step dismantle procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's only a single screw at the back.
The housing is hold together by some plastic clamps and it is a pain to open the case (at least compared to a A101IT Gen8).
You really need some force and be very careful not to damage anything...
I'll post a few pics this week in a different thread, because i opened the device last week and it was little bit catchy
cangguek said:
2. Can anyone share the shape of USB type soldered to the PCB to enable me order the part and soldering it alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually this is not an easy task... at least for the unexperienced ones.
Be careful with the thin lines on that PCB.
To unsolder the connector you'll need a lot of heat because it is connected to the gorund plane of the mainboard.
Anyway i don't know the manufacturer, but i guess these MicroUSB connectors are all pretty similar.
So try to catch one, wherever it is sold.
cangguek said:
3. I've search this on thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1557506, but the information provided on how to dismantle is not very clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should start on the opposite side of the connectors and use some plectrums (used by guitar players) to lift off the plastic clamps.
As i said i'll prepare some pics...
EDIT: Here's an overview on how i opened the case.
As already stated it was a pain, and though i had been very careful, some tiny plastics got damaged.
The red circles mark the plastic clamps and the holes they were stucked in respectively.
The green arrows mark the direction i slided my guitar plectrum.
In between you'll have to use something like a screwdriver or putty knife to lift the clamps from their counterparts (this was the evil part).
In the end lift the top of the housing in the yellow direction.
Please take care of the flat cables of the TFT display, don't rip it off!!!
cangguek said:
4. Thankyou in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome!
scholbert

scholbert,
I don't know how should I thanks for your detailed information and photo on your reply.
Below my comment:
1. There is no abuse on the USB port (even no single scratch or dent to prove the abuse, from new I feel it is really tight when I connect the cable into the port, finally the plastic part comes out "cleanly" along with the USB cable connector when I unplug. That's way I try to bet the warranty honor...ray.
2. I've checked eBay and I find many type of micro USB port selling.
3. Based on the generous help you've written I will try to dismantle my Archos when I have spare time within this week.
4. If I may ask, for what purpose you dismantle your Archos. And did you find any problem something like not properly tight when you remantle it again?.
5. From the picture, are all the clamps just on the display side, or mix up and down between the base and display?. Appreciate if you can post the zoom picture of the clamp and the hole to know it's anatomy to make easier when pushing during dismantle process. I also seeing 4 screw-like holes on 4 corner, are they also something like alignment clamps without actual screw?.
6. Big thankyou again for your response.

cangguek said:
4. If I may ask, for what purpose you dismantle your Archos. And did you find any problem something like not properly tight when you remantle it again?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if i got a second edition device, but i realized this screen issue as well (pressure on the back causes effects on the display).
So i thought i may open it and try to solve this issue.
Anyway i always like to investigate on the construction of these devices...
cangguek said:
5. From the picture, are all the clamps just on the display side, or mix up and down between the base and display?. Appreciate if you can post the zoom picture of the clamp and the hole to know it's anatomy to make easier when pushing during dismantle process. I also seeing 4 screw-like holes on 4 corner, are they also something like alignment clamps without actual screw?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be exact, the clamps are located all on the base unit.
The display side got the holes for the clamps. I'll see if i could make a more detailed picture, to point you in the right direction.
Though i'm not sure if it helps.
The srew like holes you pointed at are for alignment only.
I also found some glue in the holes, but this is no problem.
Some words on seperation...
It worked out like this on the long side of the housing (upper and lower):
- I tried to seperate the display part and the base with the plectrum step by step
- tried to locate each clamp step by step
- then used a screwdriver
- tried to press gently against the clamp, direction outside to inside
(be very careful and the long side at the bottom, because of the display flex cable)
- then try to lift the parts more and more (it's terrible, but it works)
- keep an eye on the torsion of the display side
(seperate the parts too much, might crack the screen)
I guess i'll prepare some more pics...
Stay tuned!
scholbert

You are really a man god sent to me, thankyou so much. I'm really itching to do the job. First thing I will do once dismantle completed, is to wire two lines for temporary charging until the part I order arrive. If by any chance impossible to replace micro USB port, then I will make hole on the base for common round type DC charging port + and - only.

Hey cangguek,
as promised, here are some detailed views of the clamps (base unit) and holders (display side).
The are four holders in total with two holes each.
The holders are seperate parts and are mounted with three screws in the display part of the housing. Each holder fits into two clamps of the base unit.
Unfortunately they can only get disassembled after you managed to open the housing.
The edge of the clamps point to the border of the base unit housing.
So you may try to push them gently to the inside to release the mating part at the display side.
Anyway i hope things are clear enough now...
Some words on your idea of soldering a DC charging port:
Electrically this would work i guess, but there might be some driver issue which could prevent the unit from charging.
It depends on how the charger is identified by the software driver, which activates the charging process.
On some devices it is required to shorten the data lines of the usb connector, others use the id pin on the micro usb to detect wether a host pc or a wall charger is connected. I don't know how things are done on the Archos 80 G9.
I just wanted to point that out before you start soldering...
Good luck!!!
scholbert

scholbert said:
Some words on your idea of soldering a DC charging port:
Electrically this would work i guess, but there might be some driver issue which could prevent the unit from charging.
It depends on how the charger is identified by the software driver, which activates the charging process.
On some devices it is required to shorten the data lines of the usb connector, others use the id pin on the micro usb to detect wether a host pc or a wall charger is connected. I don't know how things are done on the Archos 80 G9.
I just wanted to point that out before you start soldering...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Data lines are not shorted, charging cable is a fully functional usb cable
-There must be something done to 4th (unused) pin in micro sd plug so device can detect Archos/"normal" cables (my guess- check data lines->if usb host not present check 4th pin->original=fast charge/3rd party=slow charge)

gen_scheisskopf said:
-Data lines are not shorted, charging cable is a fully functional usb cable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i know that the data lines in the cable are not shorted.
AFAIK, they get shorted when connected to the wall charger.
I own a Milestone phone (which definitely requires the lines shorted for charging) and i successfully used the Archos wall charger to charge this device.
At least i wanted to point in this direction...
Thanks for your comment.
Regards,
scholbert

scholbert said:
Yeah i know that the data lines in the cable are not shorted.
AFAIK, they get shorted when connected to the wall charger.
I own a Milestone phone (which definitely requires the lines shorted for charging) and i successfully used the Archos wall charger to charge this device.
At least i wanted to point in this direction...
Thanks for your comment.
Regards,
scholbert
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok
-data lines are shorted together in charger (not to gnd/vcc)
-that's strange but 4th pin seems not to be connected anywhere

sorry, left empty.

Dear scholbert,
All the process as you said really a devil. I am stuck here (at red arrow) and can not proceed unless I tear it with force. Seems there different clamps ?.
Now I am stopping the the job waiting your further help.
Thankyou for helping me:

cangguek said:
Dear scholbert,
All the process as you said really a devil. I am stuck here (at red arrow) and can not proceed unless I tear it with force. Seems there different clamps ?.
Now I am stopping the the job waiting your further help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i know it hurts... but AFAIK all the clamps are identical.
Nevertheless i realized the same during disassembly.
Some of the clamps did release quite well, at some point i also was afraid i'll break the device into pieces. I'm sorry but i guess you'll have to use gentle force to get it seperated.
BTW, i don't want to be responsible if you damage something
Another warning at this point:
I even did break some small plastics during opening (in the mainboard area), but it doesn't matter in the end, because there are many clamps to hold the parts in place
Good luck!
scholbert

Just to confirm the only screw I removed only the one under the stand stick, I hope I am not missing here. I am still not continuing dismantle process, but at least 40% of the casing has been opened.

cangguek said:
Just to confirm the only screw I removed only the one under the stand stick, I hope I am not missing here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, only one screw...
Regards,
scholbert

Man..., wtf, bottom pin of micro-usb (for desoldering purpose) covered with external card slot...grrrrr,....
Please look at the usb pin inside the housing, only metal pins only remain, the plastic part were come-off sticked-out along with usb charger cable. Anyone would come with idea on how to trick my situation?. Removing external card-slot then removing micro USB port seems a big job to me. The solder were very-very tiny...
I have completely separated and disconnect the wires of my Archos, so I have two part now: the base and the display part.
Anyone asking specific picture parts of my Archos, I am ready to shoot.

cangguek said:
Man..., wtf, bottom pin of micro-usb (for desoldering purpose) covered with external card slot...grrrrr,....
Please look at the usb pin inside the housing, only metal pins only remain, the plastic part were come-off sticked-out along with usb charger cable. Anyone would come with idea on how to trick my situation?. Removing external card-slot then removing micro USB port seems a big job to me. The solder were very-very tiny...
I have completely separated and disconnect the wires of my Archos, so I have two part now: the base and the display part.
Anyone asking specific picture parts of my Archos, I am ready to shoot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
someone needs to get out the old dustbuster

cangguek said:
Man..., wtf, bottom pin of micro-usb (for desoldering purpose) covered with external card slot...grrrrr,....
Please look at the usb pin inside the housing, only metal pins only remain, the plastic part were come-off sticked-out along with usb charger cable. Anyone would come with idea on how to trick my situation?. Removing external card-slot then removing micro USB port seems a big job to me. The solder were very-very tiny...
I have completely separated and disconnect the wires of my Archos, so I have two part now: the base and the display part.
Anyone asking specific picture parts of my Archos, I am ready to shoot.
View attachment 1057101 View attachment 1057102View attachment 1057103
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am happy to see these pictures as they confirm my suspicion. The usb charge port is only soldered on, no screws to hold it in place. That is not a proper mechanical construction and it is no winder it becomes disconnected with only a little use. I have sent 2 units back already which will no longer charge as the mount point has come loose. Number 3 broke too now and as they want me to pay for shipment again ( €50) I am thinking of fixing it myself in stead, but properly..

I have the same problem
Did you eventually repair this problem. If so were did you get the spare part. i have got the same problem. I think i might try returning to my supplier first.

Brilliant tips
scholbert said:
Uuups this is bad...
It's sad that they did not reply, but do you think it is covered by warranty if your borked the USB connector?
There's only a single screw at the back.
The housing is hold together by some plastic clamps and it is a pain to open the case (at least compared to a A101IT Gen8).
You really need some force and be very careful not to damage anything...
I'll post a few pics this week in a different thread, because i opened the device last week and it was little bit catchy
Usually this is not an easy task... at least for the unexperienced ones.
Be careful with the thin lines on that PCB.
To unsolder the connector you'll need a lot of heat because it is connected to the gorund plane of the mainboard.
Anyway i don't know the manufacturer, but i guess these MicroUSB connectors are all pretty similar.
So try to catch one, wherever it is sold.
You should start on the opposite side of the connectors and use some plectrums (used by guitar players) to lift off the plastic clamps.
As i said i'll prepare some pics...
EDIT: Here's an overview on how i opened the case.
As already stated it was a pain, and though i had been very careful, some tiny plastics got damaged.
The red circles mark the plastic clamps and the holes they were stucked in respectively.
The green arrows mark the direction i slided my guitar plectrum.
In between you'll have to use something like a screwdriver or putty knife to lift the clamps from their counterparts (this was the evil part).
In the end lift the top of the housing in the yellow direction.
Please take care of the flat cables of the TFT display, don't rip it off!!!
You're welcome!
scholbert
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great tips & will add my own step by step as replacing my screen on G9 after it parachuted from 2 foot onto a rubber floor!!:good:

topsterdog said:
Great tips & will add my own step by step as replacing my screen on G9 after it parachuted from 2 foot onto a rubber floor!!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be very interested in this and to learn where you bought the replacement screen...
I have an 80G9 with cracked screen and LCD and busted digitiser.
Sent from my ARCHOS 101G9

Related

Folio 100 Disassembly - Pictures

Hi,
I have disassembled my Folio 100.
Here are the pictures of the internal:
http://www.makhutov.org/downloads/folio100/pix
DerArtem said:
Hi,
I have disassembled my Folio 100.
Here are the pictures of the internal:
h t t p :// w w w. makhutov.org/downloads/folio100/pix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, why?!
Is there a simcard slot inside? Im wondering if our Folio is hardware, or software limited to use a simcard.
Regards
statsminister said:
But, why?!
Is there a simcard slot inside? Im wondering if our Folio is hardware, or software limited to use a simcard.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is just a place on the PCB for a sim-card slot and also a mini-pcie connector for a mini-pcie datacard, but the parts are not soldered to it.
I don't know if it is possible just to solder the connectors to make it work...
moved to device specific sub-forum on OP request
Best, DK
DerArtem said:
There is just a place on the PCB for a sim-card slot and also a mini-pcie connector for a mini-pcie datacard, but the parts are not soldered to it.
I don't know if it is possible just to solder the connectors to make it work...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interessting, do you think it would be possible to mount the LCD upside down? Because i think viewing angles would be better then (like holding the Folio upside down)?
Where's the RAM memory slot?
bastospn said:
Where's the RAM memory slot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The RAM is soldered directly on the PCB next to the CPU. You can see it for example on picture BILD2363.JPG. On the other side of the PCB (Picture BILD2387.JPG) is space to solder additional RAM chips.
Nemo0815 said:
Interessting, do you think it would be possible to mount the LCD upside down? Because i think viewing angles would be better then (like holding the Folio upside down)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if the LCD cables are long enough. But even if so you must then adjust the software. Otherwise the picture will also always be upside down. The better way would be to replace the LCD completely with a different one.
it´s posible to change the camera??
The one think i will change is the LCD and possible add some ram! I don't think it will work though.
Regards,
Bastospn
bastospn said:
The one think i will change is the LCD and possible add some ram! I don't think it will work though.
Regards,
Bastospn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that adding RAM is possible. There might be not all parts soldered to be able to solder additional RAM. Even if so soldering so small pins is really hard.....
fenixxx said:
it´s posible to change the camera??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should be possible. It looks like it is a standard USB UVC webcam. But you will also have to adjust the software in order to get the new webcam working.
Do you have some images of the connector of the LCD controller? Also, the Touch panel and LCD should be separated, right? (Can't see that on your pictures)
Nemo0815 said:
Do you have some images of the connector of the LCD controller? Also, the Touch panel and LCD should be separated, right? (Can't see that on your pictures)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not done a dedicated photo of the connector but you can see it on BILD2355. The brown "box" is the touch screen controller and the cable below is for the LCD. It looks like a LVDS interface.
I think it's a great idea to dismount the device. I'd actually dismount the back cover to see the battery and the sim card slot.
I'll post pictures of it later.
Doumaster said:
I think it's a great idea to dismount the device. I'd actually dismount the back cover to see the battery and the sim card slot.
I'll post pictures of it later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude... (rofl)
Hi DerArtem
Is you device still working after you opened it and made all these pictures?
I did them same so my Folio 100 to see what's inside, but after assembling it again, the display didsn't work anymore. The device still boots up, I can use it on an external TV (via HDMI) and also the touch screen still works, it just doesn't display anything anymore. Any idea what this could be (and if I could get it repaired somewhere)?
regards,
Mark (NL)
Sure you connect everythink in place? I don't see how it could be broken if you just open the plastic case and remove same screws.
bastospn said:
Sure you connect everythink in place? I don't see how it could be broken if you just open the plastic case and remove same screws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am afraid that one of the cables that connecto the display with the mainboard was jammed and maybe damaged. It could also be the FFC-cable which has been under some stress (not the cable itself, but the side that entered the connector).
The screen is being connected to the mainboard by 3 cables. A round cable with a board-to-board connector (I'm afraid one of the wires of this one has been damaged), a small FPC connector (flexible PCB) connected with FPC-connector (this one is ok) and a FFC(foil) cable, where I saw that the copper on the edge was damaged. I cut of 1mm of the cable to let the connector grip a little further on the cable, but this didn't help.
So... either the electronics on the display is damaged, but I think it probably is one of the cables connecting the display with the PCB.
Just hope I can get it to work again...
Try to re-fit the cables, if it doesn't work pull the cables one by one and test it against a multimeter. Be carefull not to damage it even further.
Allways connect yourselt to the ground (touch a piece o metal will do the trick ) to avoid static discharges on components.
You can try to send it back to Toshiba, but I am not sure it they will aceppted under guaranty.
If you don't have spares it could be real hard to do troubleshooting. Toshiba (and other manufactures too) will replace the entire parts suspected to be faulty and will charge for it, so if you could do it on your own you will save some bucks.
Good luck!

[Q] Anther x10i Charging Problem !!!!!!

I know this isn't a new topic and I've read lot's of posts about similar problems, with various causes and fixes, but my x10i isn't charging at all. Neither through the wall charger or through the usb. When I look into the charging port I can see that one of the little metal pins is bent right up, so I've decided to try and replace the charging block.
I got a charging block off ebay, but I'm no expert when it comes to soldering & electronics, but since the phone is dead anyway I have nothing to loose.
As far as I can tell when I look at the original one, there doesn't seem to be any signs of soldering in the first place, although the connections are all so tiny that it's hard to tell.
So am I right in thinking that the charging block doesn't need to be soldered at all, and could I get away with just gluing it to the board, and if so what would be a suitable glue for this kind of purpose.
Thanks ...John...
j0hn0n1 said:
I know this isn't a new topic and I've read lot's of posts about similar problems, with various causes and fixes, but my x10i isn't charging at all. Neither through the wall charger or through the usb. When I look into the charging port I can see that one of the little metal pins is bent right up, so I've decided to try and replace the charging block.
I got a charging block off ebay, but I'm no expert when it comes to soldering & electronics, but since the phone is dead anyway I have nothing to loose.
As far as I can tell when I look at the original one, there doesn't seem to be any signs of soldering in the first place, although the connections are all so tiny that it's hard to tell.
So am I right in thinking that the charging block doesn't need to be soldered at all, and could I get away with just gluing it to the board, and if so what would be a suitable glue for this kind of purpose.
Thanks ...John...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have the same problem with my x10 but i have warranty but whilst i was waiting for them to collect it, i cut my usb lead up and stripped the black and red cables back obviously positive and negative and took the battery out and wedged each cable on the phone connector with the battery my battery had a plus and negative signs on it so was easy 2 work out, it charges the battery but it doesnt come up as charging on the phone it will still blind red lights but doesnt turn off, you have to keep and eye on the charging levels on the phone status do not let it go over 99% as this method dont tell the battery to stop charging, also this is not full proof and could break your x10 if not dont correctly,but as for your question the usb port does need to be soldered good luck
j0hn0n1 said:
I know this isn't a new topic and I've read lot's of posts about similar problems, with various causes and fixes, but my x10i isn't charging at all. Neither through the wall charger or through the usb. When I look into the charging port I can see that one of the little metal pins is bent right up, so I've decided to try and replace the charging block.
I got a charging block off ebay, but I'm no expert when it comes to soldering & electronics, but since the phone is dead anyway I have nothing to loose.
As far as I can tell when I look at the original one, there doesn't seem to be any signs of soldering in the first place, although the connections are all so tiny that it's hard to tell.
So am I right in thinking that the charging block doesn't need to be soldered at all, and could I get away with just gluing it to the board, and if so what would be a suitable glue for this kind of purpose.
Thanks ...John...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi John,
I fixed my friends USB port, you will need:
"helping hands" (a tool for holding small things with a magnifying glass)
0.5mm or 1mm Soldering iron
Hot glue
Under the magnifying glass, there you will see the 5 pins the usb port was solderded onto. You will need to put a little bit of solder onto each pin and onto the board.
Hold everything together with the helping hands, and just tick the soldering blobs with your iron. This will connect all the points. Do not solder for to long, or you will bridge pins or remove the solder.
Continue until all 5 is connected. Solder the 2 points on the side (holds the USB port, you could do this first if you don't have the helping hands)
plug in cable, use multimeter to see if there is current by you battery pins.
Voila.
If no power then you have to follow one of those fixes online where you have to bridge the doide and the V+ port.
Thanks for the info, like I said the phone is dead anyway, so I can't really make it any worse (That's what I keep telling myself anyway).
It the parts were a lot bigger, I probably wouldn't be bothered as much, but if I do get it wrong, I'm hoping I can take it off, remove the solder and just start again. (hopefully)
I think I have a good idea now of what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'll probably have to wait till I get a new soldering iron, as mine is a little bit too big.
Thanks ...John...

[Q] Please help!fixed power and now no touch screen

Please help, I miss my tablet.I had the common problem with the power thingy inside the tablet going out so i opened it to solder but did not fix.So i ordered the charging dock and waited for a month and a half.I get it today and was so excited to only plug it it and got power and charging everything is perfect,i go to swipe over on my arrow to unlock the screen and nothing!I have no touch controls on screen what so ever.But the soft keys work,they do not do me any good but they work.The home key takes me to my home page and mag glass goes to the internet.Does any body have any ideas of what could have happened or what i can do to fix this,please????
alcapone1130 said:
Does any body have any ideas of what could have happened or what i can do to fix this,please????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, check for disconnected or loose cables inside the gTab.
Next, if it isn't a HW fault like loose cables, then connect the USB cable to the gTab and run this ADB command (you will have to install and set up ADB if you haven't already done so):
Code:
C:\SOME\PATH> [B]adb shell "echo -n 1 > /sys/devices/platform/tegra_touch/calibration"[/B]
Digitizer Cable/Connection
alcapone1130 said:
Please help, I miss my tablet.I had the common problem with the power thingy inside the tablet going out so i opened it to solder but did not fix.So i ordered the charging dock and waited for a month and a half.I get it today and was so excited to only plug it it and got power and charging everything is perfect,i go to swipe over on my arrow to unlock the screen and nothing!I have no touch controls on screen what so ever.But the soft keys work,they do not do me any good but they work.The home key takes me to my home page and mag glass goes to the internet.Does any body have any ideas of what could have happened or what i can do to fix this,please????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The attached pdf contains photos of the digitizer/cables and their connections inside the gtab. Check for loose connection and/or broken wires on both ends.
Al
aabbondanza said:
The attached pdf contains photos of the digitizer/cables and their connections inside the gtab. Check for loose connection and/or broken wires on both ends.
Al
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok,First thank you so much for helping.Ok,One of the cables you shown does have two broken wires,it is the kind of short wire with black cloth like material over it that runs unde the shiny brown plastic piece.Is there a way to fix that or rig it to get me back up and touching again?Thank you again for helping me out,and you already pinpointed my problem,now i am hoping you can fix it,lol.
Where is the break?
alcapone1130 said:
Ok,First thank you so much for helping.Ok,One of the cables you shown does have two broken wires,it is the kind of short wire with black cloth like material over it that runs unde the shiny brown plastic piece.Is there a way to fix that or rig it to get me back up and touching again?Thank you again for helping me out,and you already pinpointed my problem,now i am hoping you can fix it,lol.
Click to expand...
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I assume since you didn't send in under warranty for the power connector that it's no longer under warrantly!
Exactly where is the break? Close to (or at) one of the connectors? Which end (motherboard end or digitizer end) of the cable? Obviously closness to the connector makes it more difficult. I have seen a post where another use had the break pretty close to the connector & fixed it though.
Al
I totally forgot that i made a youtube video yesterday,here is the address http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNRtDhr5EQ I have been so stressed out about getting my gtab back it slipped my mind.Oh, the broken end is what plugs under the silver area not under the brown area.
aabbondanza said:
I assume since you didn't send in under warranty for the power connector that it's no longer under warrantly!
Exactly where is the break? Close to (or at) one of the connectors? Which end (motherboard end or digitizer end) of the cable? Obviously closness to the connector makes it more difficult. I have seen a post where another use had the break pretty close to the connector & fixed it though.
Al
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Click to collapse
I totally forgot that i made a youtube video yesterday,here is the address http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNRtDhr5EQ I have been so stressed out about getting my gtab back it slipped my mind.Oh, the broken end is what plugs under the silver area not under the brown area.
alcapone1130 said:
I totally forgot that i made a youtube video yesterday,here is the address http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNRtDhr5EQ I have been so stressed out about getting my gtab back it slipped my mind.Oh, the broken end is what plugs under the silver area not under the brown area.
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Click to collapse
If you magnify the digitizer circuit (lower photo in the pdf) you will see the label for each of the lines in the cable. Assuming the lines run straight thru, it looks like the ones that broke are the power & ground to the circuit (VSS & GND). That would explain the touch screen not working at all.
Hard to tell from the video where the breakis, but it looks real close to the connector.
Your best bet may be looking for someone who has a broken digitizer (outer glass) or gTab and is selling it for parts. I looked in the Marketplace forum here on XDA & there is one non working gtablet someone is asking $55 for. I also saw another one up for bid on ebay ($40 latest bid). You my have to ask if the cable is good on them.
Not a whole lot of options for repair. As you've already experienced, the cable is small & fragile.
If the connector has removable pins then you could remove the pins, solder the wire to it & reinsert the pins, BUT from the picture it doesn't look like they are removeable.
You could solder the 2 wires to the pins coming out the back of the socket but they look too small to easily solder to.
The last option would be to rigg the cable to work. There are a couple of possibilites but I would rather you consider the other options before suggesting a repair of the cable itself. If you can, see if you can take a closeup, high res photo of the back fo the connector where the wire broke. PM me & I'll send you my email address to send it too.
Al
aabbondanza said:
If you magnify the digitizer circuit (lower photo in the pdf) you will see the label for each of the lines in the cable. Assuming the lines run straight thru, it looks like the ones that broke are the power & ground to the circuit (VSS & GND). That would explain the touch screen not working at all.
Hard to tell from the video where the breakis, but it looks real close to the connector.
Your best bet may be looking for someone who has a broken digitizer (outer glass) or gTab and is selling it for parts. I looked in the Marketplace forum here on XDA & there is one non working gtablet someone is asking $55 for. I also saw another one up for bid on ebay ($40 latest bid). You my have to ask if the cable is good on them.
Not a whole lot of options for repair. As you've already experienced, the cable is small & fragile.
If the connector has removable pins then you could remove the pins, solder the wire to it & reinsert the pins, BUT from the picture it doesn't look like they are removeable.
You could solder the 2 wires to the pins coming out the back of the socket but they look too small to easily solder to.
The last option would be to rigg the cable to work. There are a couple of possibilites but I would rather you consider the other options before suggesting a repair of the cable itself. If you can, see if you can take a closeup, high res photo of the back fo the connector where the wire broke. PM me & I'll send you my email address to send it too.
Al
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Wow,Thank you so so much,Can you get me in contact with the guy with the gtab for $55.00,i will buy it and transfer the cash to him immediately,that sounds like the best bet.I will msg you a really good photo still,incase i can not get my hands on the one for sale,but if i can let him know or maybe you could let him know that i will buy it quick enough maybe i can end up with it.I would really feel better just swapping the cable out with another.I will talk back with you tomorrow and again thank you for your time and great help,i really owe you.
Marketplace & Non Working Tab Links
alcapone1130 said:
Wow,Thank you so so much,Can you get me in contact with the guy with the gtab for $55.00,i will buy it and transfer the cash to him immediately,that sounds like the best bet.I will msg you a really good photo still,incase i can not get my hands on the one for sale,but if i can let him know or maybe you could let him know that i will buy it quick enough maybe i can end up with it.I would really feel better just swapping the cable out with another.I will talk back with you tomorrow and again thank you for your time and great help,i really owe you.
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Click to collapse
Here are several link for you
1. XDA Marketplace http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1321
2. Link to "Wanting to sell" subformum where I found the non working gtab (used forum search for gtablet) http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=476
3. Link to not working gTab http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436549&highlight=gtablet.
Take a look at this post & email him to make sure you want it.
Al
aabbondanza said:
Here are several link for you
1. XDA Marketplace http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1321
2. Link to "Wanting to sell" subformum where I found the non working gtab (used forum search for gtablet) http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=476
3. Link to not working gTab http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436549&highlight=gtablet.
Take a look at this post & email him to make sure you want it.
Al
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Click to collapse
Its amazing what a couple of stripped bread ties will doo,lol.I took a bread tie and stripped the paper off of it,cut it to the length I needed and wrapped the remaining wire to one end and pushed the other end of the tie inside the pin hole,lol.It worked like a champ! MY Grab has been up and running for over a month,I just knocked on my coffee table,lol.Thank you for helping me out I really appreciated you trying everything to help me.I am so happy to have it back,now if I can just figure out why I keep seeing black boxes on my games when I play them I will really be doing fine.Thank you again.

General Discussion about what mods / hacks to do with an extra GPS dongle

Ok, i know theres a sticky for the GPS dongle but this isnt one of those "Wheres my dongle" or how to sign up threads so i thought it diserved its own thread. If you have questions about how to acquire a GPS dongle or want to say you got yours or whatever this is NOT the place to do it. See the sticky. kthxbie.
Still with me? Awesome! In having multiple primes i have recieved multiple GPS dongles. Since i rarely use one as it is, let alone them all at once i was wondering what sort of tweaks / hacks / mods have people tried (or wanted to try but were too afraid of screwing up their only dongle) that i might do on my extra one?
I already plan on doing a full teardown, taking highres macro pictures of the connector as well as unsoldering the shielding on the PCB and seeing whats underneath. Anything else you guys can think of?
Im not too worried about ruining the device if it means i can try something cool! Lets hear those ideas!
UPDATE: isolated the dock connector. Thus far with my tester these pins are grounded: (back view)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ G _ G
G _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ G
I know theres an official dock connector thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1630300 but im not sure which pins according to that thread match what i have here.
UPDATE 2: removed dock connector, looks like only the bottom row goes to the dongle, not sure yet if any of the top row go anywhere inside the dongle or if it terminates at the connector. Will continue to test.
UPDATE 3: Ok, uploaded my work for tonight, traced a few of the connections just to see where everything is going. There WERE a couple that were coming out the top row, the two resisters on top, that MIGHT be the trigger to tell the prime its connected to an external device? who knows. anyways, its very late here, i will continue to test as i have time and as people show interest.
UDATE 5/5/2012
Ok, been doing some research and testing and whatnot, i have some very bad news. In order to attach any kind of connector to charge the tablet with the dongle attached it would mean soldering a wire to four of the pins on the connector on the TABLET SIDE of the pcb, UNDERNEATH the connector (the really fine pitch pins). Maybe i will have to take a picture to show what is needed.
Suffice to say chances of a mod that can be completed by most people out there is very low. I will continue to try to find a solution.
The red square shows which pins would need to solder the 15v+, the ground could be soldered to any of the grount points. (+5v to each of the three pins or +15v to all three)
Additionally, i have been doing some work on the pinout, trying to clean up the information we currently have. No offence to bjonston115 but his thread is confusing since every source has pins labled differently and there is info scattered everywhere. Bear with me as i try to sort the mess out and make something we can all use
You are so lucky. Wish I had a spare. My main hope is to determine who makes the connectors (if possible), and what pins are used inside that connector, along with how it's mounted.
My desire, is to procure a connector, to add to the dongle shell, and the wiring, so I can permit the tablet to be charged while the dongle is in use.
When I drive 14 hrs to FL, my battery will run out, mid trip. So far, my only solution is to carry an external GPS to use while the TP charges.
Looking forward to your teardown.
Bob
Images. Took as many pics as i could as i was removing bits n pieces. If you want a picture of a specific part let me know. Pictures uploading, give me a minute or two...
I think a power mod should be straightforward. The dongle shell looks "thick" enough to accomodate a USB female Type A connector, mounted orthogonally. You'd want one with right-angle contacts similar to the one below, so you can let it "bottom out" against far side of the dongle shell. For aesthetics, I'd dremel the opening at the back side of the dongle rather than front, but this depends on your car mount.
The next step is to solder jumper wires from USB's power and ground pins to appropriate pins on 40-pin connector. Since USB adapter for TF101 is same for Prime/300, we can assume pin-out for USB functions is still same. Somebody already posted partial pin-out in another thread.
Soldering to the USB contact isn't a big deal, but to the finer-pitch 40-pin connector would take a bit of finesse.
Note: TF101/201/300 can charge with [email protected]
@pileot: Suggest taking a caliper and measure inner and outer thickness of dongle (ie w/ and w/o the shell thickness).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-USB-sh...ale-socket-Connector-PCB-Socket-/260991770971
unfortunately i dont have access to calipers, far as i can measure outside thickness is about 3/4 maybe slightly less, inside thickness is about 1/8 inches. sorry i cant be more accurate.
im assuming you want to throw a USB on the PCB? im not exactly sure how you want to connect that usb female connector, or what the purpose would be to do so.... Mind explaining just a little more?
Mount: Use dremel to create a rectangular hole (12.5mm x 5.2mm) at the back (or front) of the dongle. Use a short-body USB connector w/ right-angle contact like the previous, and mount it orthogonally, eg perpendicular to dongle facing. I think the short-body one has a length of about 0.5" so it should flush-mount. But if not, having it sticking out a bit isn't a big deal.
Purpose: To charge tablet w/ either [email protected] or [email protected] I would go with the second, since USB car chargers for it are widely available (that's what the iPad uses).
e.mote said:
Note: TF101/201/300 can charge with [email protected]
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Click to collapse
I know that the PC USB charge @~500ma takes forever and the TP has to be shut off, but what would the deal be with [email protected]
Would I be able to continue to use it as it charged, or would it need to be shut down too.
I'd probably use a USB 3 connector in place of the pictured USB 2
Thanks for the idea...I never thought of that....now all I got to do is to wait till I get my dongle.
Bob
ahh! makes sense.... sure would be nice if we had a full connector port. Maybe i could make a trip to an electronic component store and pick up some USB connectors.
If you just want to use it for power then dont we just need any sort of connection to the charging ports and the outside of the dongle? It doesnt have to be USB it could be anything as long as you have a male and female connection
pileot said:
unfortunately i dont have access to calipers, far as i can measure outside thickness is about 3/4 maybe slightly less, inside thickness is about 1/8 inches. sorry i cant be more accurate.
im assuming you want to throw a USB on the PCB? im not exactly sure how you want to connect that usb female connector, or what the purpose would be to do so.... Mind explaining just a little more?
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Click to collapse
There is a neat tool in Google Play called Smart Tools. Possibly you could get better measurements of the items you want to measure by using the tool, and laying the item right on the screen. I have it installed, and think it was a well done app.
Bob
>I know that the PC USB charge @~500ma takes forever and the TP has to be shut off, but what would the deal be with [email protected]
No idea. That's something you can find out afterward. Having the mod in place won't hurt anything.
My guess is that it should be good enough to at least maintain battery level while on, which would be all that's needed in a car.
>It doesnt have to be USB it could be anything as long as you have a male and female connection.
You can use barrel power connector. But you'd have to make your own power cable, as opposed to using a standard USB cable to connect to the charger. Edit: On second thought, you can use a [email protected] car charger, then get a mating barrel connector.
http://google.com/search?q=12v+1.5a+car+adapter
from what i understand if you have the tablet on and try to charge with 5v it wont even maintain the current battery level. The tablet charges with 15v or something... having a barrel connector would ensure you dont accidentally plug a prime charger into another USB device frying it.
At that point if we could just get the barrel plug right to the power pins, fitting it in should be too hard....I am really interested iin this because I have 2 dongles coming tomorrow annd planned on hacking one....(I got two because one was RMA and they sent me a new one back 2 serials=2 Dongles)
BSMan1011 said:
At that point if we could just get the barrel plug right to the power pins, fitting it in should be too hard....I am really interested iin this because I have 2 dongles coming tomorrow annd planned on hacking one....(I got two because one was RMA and they sent me a new one back 2 serials=2 Dongles)
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Click to collapse
See edited first post. Because the top row does not go to the back of the PCB and i believe thats where the power is, it would be hard to throw a charging circut in there. I am still working on locating where all the pins in this thing go but it is very tiny, even with my finest nodes to test these circuts its very delicate work.
In the mean time, i will upload what i do have before i go to sleep tonight (maybe in another hour or so) so stay tuned!
Okay I will try and keep updated... if we could get a charging circiut in maybe a true car mount might be a project... at least for me, I already have a tablet window mount and with some changes I could affix a modified dongle at the bottom and just slide prime in for GPS + charging (again if we can get it to work)... I get mine today and disassembly will soon follow so I will post anything else I can to help progress
pileot said:
UDATE 5/5/2012
Ok, been doing some research and testing and whatnot, i have some very bad news. In order to attach any kind of connector to charge the tablet with the dongle attached it would mean soldering a wire to four of the pins on the connector on the TABLET SIDE of the pcb, UNDERNEATH the connector (the really fine pitch pins). Maybe i will have to take a picture to show what is needed.
Suffice to say chances of a mod that can be completed by most people out there is very low. I will continue to try to find a solution.
The red square shows which pins would need to solder the 15v+, the ground could be soldered to any of the grount points. (+5v to each of the three pins or +15v to all three)
)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay first off...have we all decided to stay low until we progress, i don't want this thread to die so soon...secondly...though I am sure you have done you research I still must ask, Are you sure? if we can provide any charge to the prime it will at least help a bit...also does anyone one else have other ideas other than charging?...
one idea I literally just thought of so it is not very thought out is, what if we remove the dongle case( as we have done) and integrate it into case.... we will need one of the 40-pin cables to wire onto it but maybe it could fit into some cases.
I will continue to try to think of more uses and mods and will update, meanwhile I hope that we can get some more input
Hmm, you've made quite a bit of progress there. I really wish I wasn't lazy haha, I need to learn to really work with electrical stuff.
So, then the dongle uses some of the pins that would be used for power from the dock? If the dock can pass power without changing the Prime, I should think the dongle could somehow. I mean, only certain pins are used for data right, so the dock and dongle should use the same ones?
Ok, firstly. Yes, im sure. Im sure of the pin placement and based on the best available information scattered around the internet, i know which pins the charger uses and i know where they are located on the dongle. I also know there is very little access to them (as seen in the pictures in OP)
as to integrating the dongle INSIDE the prime casing you would, essentially, be succoming to the same problem the internal antennas have: Metal blocking the signal. Sure its a more powerfull antenna however its encased in PLASTIC not metal, the signal it recieves is a lot stronger and there is less EMI caused by the metalic back plate. Short: Yes you can, no you dont want to.
Finally, the pins the prime uses to draw power are different than the pins the charger uses to supply power. Think one lane dirt road vs a 6 lane highway. On the highway you have dedicated lanes for traffic going in different directions. this is similar to how the prime dock connector works, the prime can turn off power to different connections depending if there is something plugged in reducing the chance of a short, spark, or power drain.
Hopefully this addressed your concerns, maybe when i have apropriate tools handy and a bit of time i may try soldering a connection to the dock connector and see how it functions but as you can see its REALLY tight. I will do my best, no promises.
I also plan, in the near future, to locate more of the data pins, see whats going on, maybe we can make a USB adapter for the dongle and use it in other devices as well! who knows, im thinking it just uses a standard USB interface but it will take more digging.
Subscribed as I see no need for the dongle unless you have enough power.
Though I was pretty sure you were sure I just wanted to ask.... but you did misinterpret my idea, I do not mean the Prime's casing but rather integrating the gps into a case which holds the prime...This is not to say that the gps is big or in the way but just an idea i had to help people with cases and a use for the gps, but since the usb uses different pins that looks unlikely as well i guess...well I will stay updated and if I learn anything I will post.
I would be more interested in adding a power jack of some sort to the dongle. So you can charge while using navigation. I already can not use my dock while plugged into the dongle. We need power!

[Q] Captivate usb-mainboard problem

I have a captivate with bad usb port it was charging but can't get connected to the computer I opened it up and found out that there is a problem with the board the place where the usb port should be soldered (the pads) is gone.
I'm asking is there a way to put a wire connecting to some place on the board (the place where it should go)????
plzzzzz help me guys !!!!
Wow, that's fried.
I'm amazed that it even charges.
I think that I'd unsolder the connector and scrape all the burnt junk off, glue a new connector on the surface, then run wires to where they should go.
The D+ and D- should be somewhat easy to track down.
Those data lines usually run close together and they go to two "build-out" resistors before they go on to some chip.
Renate NST said:
Wow, that's fried.
I'm amazed that it even charges.
I think that I'd unsolder the connector and scrape all the burnt junk off, glue a new connector on the surface, then run wires to where they should go.
The D+ and D- should be somewhat easy to track down.
Those data lines usually run close together and they go to two "build-out" resistors before they go on to some chip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanxxx
I tried to track it down but I couldn't so I'm asking if there's any map or a scheme for the mainboard to help me!!!

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