Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Hi people!

Because there is a lot of boards and devices with broken USB sockets on the market (and also in users drawers :D ) maybe I can fix some part of them for the community?

I sit over 10 years in device repairs and I'm able to fix most of the boards. Even with solder pads ripped off.

I will try to buy few boards/devices and I will check what's wrong. If I fix them or fix will be easy to perform I will start to fix devices for community.

PHASE 2: I found easy way to perform the USB socket fix. At this moment I'm waiting for pm's.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

I could sent you like 50 boards. If it is easy I can start to do it myself but would be really glad if someone else would do it for me. I can pay the usb ports. I have to buy on these the missing keypads and backcovers. I hope that I could offer these for 15-20€ for new users when Leste is ready and that there would be a big Leste gathering with workshops and all. So I am talking about the 58 devices I just bought with 150€ for giving back to community and to support maemo to last.

I already bought a plastic drawer/shelf whatever where I got 4 devices on each box. Next I need to install updated sy6sem on one of my machines and use it only for this job: first taking everything out from these devices (no personal stuff though but music and movies and series and games.

Then some members have already asked for parts which I need to deliver. But one old member came to the forum and asked a device with made it ready. I used many days installing everything with fixes and apps and went to mail it but no personal deliveries to Greece, only company mailing because of this corona. Now I need to use other service.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

That will be really nice start!

But at first I need to check repair ratio if there is any. But honestly, even higher than 20% will be nice enough to start with that kinda ancient devices due to the price of fully working unit. I see 2 cheap broken usb socket devices on ebay so I will start, I think, from next week.

Important to mention - I live in Liverpool, UK.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

I could then order the usb ports to your address if you first point to correct ones with a link. They seem to be cheap in China.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Appreciate that. Honestly, it can be any SMD micro-USB socket with flat pads, because most of PCBs have ripped off solder pads so regardless of the socket type I will need to use epoxide.

New solder points if the solder pads are broken is the easiest work to do.
http://plan9.stanleylieber.com/hardw...schematics.pdf
Thats not only full schematics of the N900 board but pdf file also includes oldschool boardview. I looked at it at work and all components with 5300 number are related to the USB socket. F5300 is main fuse for 5V from charger/USB plug; Z5300 is double Common Mode (CM) Choke which terminates 1kHz harmonics from USB datalines. I don't know where ID pin goes but honestly - we can live without it when I will be unable to find where it goes.
D5300 and D5301 are ESD protection diodes. PCB design standards require to use of such protection but again, We can live without it if they're broken and they need to be removed.

Okay, ID pin can be connected to the ESD protection IC. lol

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

With a little searching on the forum here you will find great diagrams to get ground, USB data in/out(twin gold pads underneath battery), and USB 5v.
The USB system if just ripped off can be repaired as long as you can stick the port down physicaly and string the wires.
The only USB you cant fix is one which has been static shocked, even then there might be hope but it is tracing down the fault on an old SMD board using many EOL components and without a schematic.
You can also just do everything filesystem wise using SSH and SCP for file transfers and get a dumb Li-po charge board, wrap in kapton tape, and hide it inside the phone or a Mugen bulged battery cover if you can find one. On second thought put the charge board under the battery cover and run wires through, cramming stuff inside flexes the system board and leads to the dreaded dead SIM de-balled modem chip.
(edit)
I think this is the first time I have seen this schematic, as we approach the heat death of our N900 universe a gasp of hope.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Thank you for the offer! I'm sure I'll remember it at some point.
Sorry to be the person to ask that, but what sort of pricing are you thinking of?

Oh, OK. I thought Poland...

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Only postage cost.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Inform when these boards can be delivered. I think for privacy reasons I first need to though take things out and then empty the devices.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

I will let you know when, no worries.

First, I ordered one N900 with broken socket, just for training. After that one I will be ready to receive more devices.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Drawer filled with N900s. When N900 first arrived I wanted it so bad but it was too expensive and I needed a smartphone (which I hated) for a work job and the iPhone was the only one which managed to do what I needed at that time. So now I am kinda taking it back. But these are all broken and on their way to new users. I have maybe 5 working ones which didn't come with this buy. And one is still waiting to be sent to a member but mail is delivered to Bulgaria, Turkey and Italy, but not in Greece where it is going. So frustrated. And UPS and DHL are really expensive or then I just don't know how to choose a right delivery method. Cheapest price was tens of euros and to send a phone which costed 26€ post included and which is going to next user with 26€ plus postage the postage should not be too much.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Do you think you will be able to fix 'all telephony functions disabled due to communication error' modem reballing thing?

--
(I was and am afraid of that oven method and cam module)

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

If you have access to a hot air reflow gun just mask with kapton tape and foil apply liquid flux around the module I think should do it.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nokia-SS-...0AAOSw9OFZNCJN

I think this is right tool for camera removal.

NOPE NOPE NOPE

It must be SS-100 camera removal tool, not 51 :(

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

You should have seen my soldering skills during RC car/ship teenage times :cool::eek::cool:
And ... it did not improve :rolleyes:

So I stay away from any electronics smaller than what you plug in a power outlet :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

If you want @peterleinchen, I can try to fix it, especially I'm on holiday from next week (just to recharge my own batteries, so I'm staying home).

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Just for everyone to know, the secret to better soldering is good solder alloy but far more importantly to have the right flux. Flux is the magic your soldering skills are missing, I also recommend a good iron, a good clean off station and holder and most importantly it needs to have a thermostat control so you cna put the right temperature point to the work you are doing.
So flux is the magic, and that other stuff too, and skill, and clean and tin your iron as you work.
So just flux skills, right guys?

but getting serious again read this, print it, save it, scribe it out a thousand times on unetched PCBs using solder as your ink your weller soldering station as your quill, hand it out, preach it, and be free:
https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/SOLDERRM-D.PDF
Now go forth and sin no more!

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Amateurs! It is a sign of a bad master who blames the tools.

I see growing up in a Soviet Bloc country was a huge benefit. You learn to make do with what you have. In my case, with the only flux available, colophony (rosin). Even that only available in music shops (for violin strings), not as a flux.

An iron? You sissies are used to temperature controlled soldering stations. All I had for the first 10 years of my hobby electronics was a transformer iron. We made our own wire loops for the tips. Here is a shot of what I learned to solder with:

Attachment 41108

The iron is the original one I bought for my own hard earned cash as a teenager almost 40 years ago. It is still going strong. The rosin (here labelled "kalafonia" as it of a Polish origin) is from eBay. The blobs of tin solder are leftovers from when we had a plumber in the house.

If this is all you have, that really teaches you how to solder :D
Shame my eyes are not what they used to be and thus my hobbyist days are pretty much over. I can barely see the tiny components. Even the classic ones, through the hole, with the 2.54 mm pitch.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Feh!
In the 90s in Alaska I snapped the antenna ripped some PCB traces and broke the battery pack off of an air band walkie talkie, the way I was supposed to call for my ride home.
A folding pliers tool, a nail, and some pine resin from beetle damage to nearby trees. I carefully melted and separated the resin, heated the nail carefully figuring out the time and discoloration of the nail for temp and using the nail melted the existing solder along with some extra lead from melted and cut into strips decapitated .22 bullets. I think I must have had some copper wire in my camping kit to use as an antenna and to connect the broken battery pack.

(My favorite engineers to hire for prototype type jobs are can-do ex-eastern block(ex-USSR/Warsaw Pact/ex-Yugo) seems lazy get the job done when the boss isn't looking with way out of the box thinking ones, great education too)

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Is that an Eastern bloc soldering gun?
It sure looks like one.. :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Also used elsewhere... I had one like that way back. I's actually quite effective but not very good for detailed work.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

I sucessfully replaced such a USB port on N900. The USB port I ordered from China. There are still 16 left of them
https://ihrkoenntmichalleamarschleck.../USB_ports.jpg

In case you are interested I'll mail them to you for free. Please PM me your address.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Did you not read my post? I admit it's a bit long but I explained it there.
The short answer is yes. This one is nearly 40 years old.

As juiceme says, you can still get them all over the place, albeit the arrangement is a bit different. The leads are vertical for some mysterious reason rather than horizontal. For example, like this:

https://cdn.alza.sk/ImgW.ashx?fd=f3&cd=CMP432

Juiceme is also correct that they are not great for fine work. Not only because the tip is too thick for details, but also because it is heated by pushing a big alternating current (in the region of 100A or even more, at a very low voltage) through the tip, which creates a strong, oscillating magnetic field. Good for demagnetizing stuff but can induce current in surrounding surfaces. You can literally feel the effect when soldering large copper plates. The induced current creates an opposite magnetic field that pushes the tip away :)

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

The pistol type soldering device is mostly used for automotive?
They used to be common with the little lightbulb too, it feels like a bit of 50s-70s home repair tech from when everything was hand built on drilled out non-PCB non-clad circuit board, all through hole components with wire jumpers. Very Fender Champ tube guitar amp fixey.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Since I don't know which country you lived in as a teenager it wasn't 100% clear to me.
But thanks for clarifying!
Don't throw it away, it looks great. I still have a GDR bass amplifier in the basement :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Well, I did say Soviet Bloc ;)

Hint: that country no longer exists. It broke in two in 1993. Both parts joined the EU in 2004. One of them switched to the Euro in 2009, the other has not yet. The rest is left as an exercise :)

No worries, I have no intention to throw it away. I still use it. It's almost indestructible. A lot of things in that era were built to last. Not fall to pieces a day after the warranty expires like today.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

I know I know! (both ot them) :D
What do I win?


p.s. and now you are out of EU again :eek:

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

So we all know the direction of soviet inspired socialism lead...
But still I feel like if it were not for stupid monopolized consumer markets leaving us with about as meany choices as the other side of the old iron curtain separating east and west we could have tools not designed to die and be replaced for a stupid profit but good tools at a reasonable rate.
That said I have owned a bunch of communist zone 70s-80s military stuff and way too much of it was total crap too, to match the cool Kalishnikov/Soyuz grade stuff. I guess everyone cuts corners sometimes.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

You said that's where you came from a long time ago, but nowhere did you specify how old you were and whether you as a teenager were still there or in the UK already. In other words, the original post that made me ask the question does not clearly state where you lived when you got that iron, and that's why I asked:

No harm done, but I don't like to be called out for being inattentive when I wasn't.

Now, let's leave it at this as Trzyzet has more important things to say here and I do not want to distract any further.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Great domain name :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Hi,

I'm really sorry for no answer, I just received my USB sockets today.
N900 which I bought was really lucky one. All solder pads are intact, this situation allows to make some very easy measurements and I found solder points as close to the USB socket as possible. Click miniature to make it bigger.

https://i.postimg.cc/6297qzmB/n900-usb-way.png https://i.postimg.cc/3y3rFNCB/1623245468.jpg

With that solution the only thing is waiting for pm's about N900 repairs :D

PS About transformer soldering iron - it's really good piece of hardware if you repair devices at customer house, like in the CRT TVs era. It's both heating up and cooling down very quickly. I was using similar one from polish company "Lutola" in my electronics school :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

It will take some time for me to take all the info out of the devices and reset them but then I would send you enough devices. Do you know how to use flux and heater to fix cellular problem? Some have that problem too. If not I will try to find a rewmover for the camera miodule and bake the boards.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Please do not bake the boards. Heat only local, protect the rest by a heat shield. If airflow is to strong glue the chip at two corners to the board.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

The problem is, there is 3 ICs which can cause this problem and I don't know which one should be reflowed. I remember @peterleinchen had similar issue so if he wants to do some experiments on his unit, I can try to fix his phone and give full solution. Also I found one more problem on N900 boards which causing much faster battery drain and I'm waiting for the replacement components to make another guide.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

My N900 is working perfectly for the time being, knock on wood.
But thanks anyhow!

I'm sure Maemish has some work for you though :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

I'm on my last good one and with serious charging issues... As soon as I get back home after the lockdown I'll have a look but it could perfectly be two of my oldies can benefit from this...

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Oops, this one will be covered soon :D

I received the package with some boards but before, I needed to push two more important jobs
https://i.postimg.cc/rpCzCPhW/IMG-20200908-185145.jpg

First one was a TV from the living room, I just wanted to check if the caps or LED backlight died because new one is already on the wall. Of course one of the backlight LEDs died so TV can be thrashed.
Second thing was my headphones. Damn, Fostex made its plastics so cheap the MK3 rp line can't survive even fall on the floor. I remember with MK2s I was able to play in the football when the headphones was the ball :D

https://i.postimg.cc/xk4ckCQv/screenshot-138.pnghttps://i.postimg.cc/V5nzsJpM/IMG-20200908-195634.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/2VYr1zNt/IMG-20200908-195651.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/9RqC70f6/IMG-20200908-195728.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/BPT3mzHN/IMG-20200908-195825.jpg

Let's do some work! :D

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Ah, lovely evening for fixing some N900 :D
https://i.postimg.cc/1n4bd3Vv/IMG-20200908-220629.jpg

Already fixed that one board which was inside of the casing. All the USB pads was fine so there was not a problem.

Now let's talk about the excesive battery draining.
https://i.postimg.cc/BLyRffx4/IMG-20200908-232056.jpg

In most of the boards capacitor which holds the time and date setting looks exactly like this. The problem is it has liquid inside, and its very similar to the alkaline batteries so when this cap is corroded it creates short-circuit and can reduce battery times even for 40%!!

I don't have exact value of that one, because in N900 sits 0.1F, I have only 0.2F, diameter twice as big. But I also have some nice hacks for that :cool:
https://i.postimg.cc/XBCmV18F/IMG-20200908-233330.jpg

Fits perfectly :D Next update should be at Sundays evening.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

It seems I sent them to the right person.

Re: Maybe it's time to do something with broken USB sockets?
 

Was it that you do not know how to fix cellular connection problem? I remembered so and did not sent some devices which have working usb but no cellular. And there are some which are locked and I have never tried to decrypt the lock code. After usb fix they can be flashed but that wont change the code. Hopefully someone in Finland or some other country can can help with that. If there is a volunteer you could then send the locked boards straight to him and after decryption he could send them to me.