An idea about technical and reparing service

[paula-t]

My husband bricked his 10.2" tablet while flashing it for a zillionth time. Last time, the boot chip was damaged and he had to replace it. The tablet didn't even turn on.

We live in Argentina, so finding a specialized technician is difficult. In fact, he is a specialized technician, so he decided to get the part, unweld and replace the boot chip which went out of service and, of course, as it was impossible to find the chip here. We made research and found there are lots of places in Hong Kong which not only have all sorts of boot chips, displays and parts for tablets, but also will sell by the unit and dispatch by mail shipping to all the world.

In his case, he needed the boot chip, so he found out the part code (which he did at XDA forum) and then searched for sellers. Ten places answered his mails and quoted for the part. Each chip costs 0.50 USD... so he decided to buy four, because he plans to brick the tablet as many times as it takes... (or repair another local nerd's tablet, who knows).


So the whole thing cost him 22 dollars (shipping included). The chip is preburned with the necessary ROM boot processes, and he is eagerly waiting for it to arrive, so he can unweld and replace the part.

His reasoning was: "If this doesn't work, I will buy another tablet as soon as I can and then I will use this to experiment, disassembling, and learning". The funny thing is he was even happier with this perspective than with the prospect of reparing it.

I thought this could offer a partial solution for Edge users around the world who don't want to send their devices to Phillipines for reparing.

Perhaps a useful thing to do could be to prepare a spreadsheet with the knocked-down list of parts in the Edge, with their corresponding codes, and find sellers in Hong Kong who will provide these parts.

If you have the parts, then it is easier to find a local technician (or yourself, if you are knowledgeable enough) who can replace them.

Some of the parts will be standard, common to all tablets, and some have to be Edge specific, but I am sure there is some parts provider out there who could ship parts on demand. We initially had thought nobody would sell just one chip, but it was not the case, fortunately.

This is just an idea, on seeing how my husband decided to solve his problem (or at least try to do it).

Those who opened up their Edges, has anyone of you tried to make a part list?


(By the way, we got the chip tech spec sheet, and we found out that it was designed to support 100.000 instances of flashing and reflashing. Husband said jokingly "Ah, okay, now I know why it broke!". Gosh, who will honestly flash a device 100.000 times? It would take the concerted effort of your children and grandchildren with the lifelong mission of flashing a tablet! This reminded me of an antinuclear exhibition I visited. The information provided by a nuclear country (I don't name it) was that their "nuclear assets and stock were enough to destroy the whole population of the Earth ten times". I though, "Who can logically destroy life ten times? Isn't one time final?". Then I realized the whole thing never meant to be logical.)

Have a good week-end all!

[Last_of_the_PEs]

Having not disassembled my PE personally, I can only speak from experience with modern electronics manufacturing. Integrated devices are generally wave-soldered or attached with conductive glue. Removal and replacement is generally well beyond virtually every enthusiast. I have actually replaced wave soldered devices with a tiny soldering tip, but only under extreme circumstances -- I wouldn't try it again.

That said, it would still be good to know what parts are inside the units and what each part actually DOES.

It may be possible for a user to re-solder a power connector if it comes loose, or repair something simple, but as tablets get better and cheaper, it seems to me that purchasing parts and attempting to repair their units will be attractive to very few eDGe owners.

It might be good to encourage eDGe owners to keep their dead units to send to others with the skills to put the parts to use.

[paula-t]

This idea is good: creating a collective Edge cemetery so that some volunteers could make use of still working parts. We can also try and make a database of dead Edges, with their owners and cause of death (broken screen, power issues, broken chips, physical trauma).

Why don't you start and make a post? (I hope there will be just a few... It is always nicer to survey the alive than the dead.)

(Husband says he knows a place with special equipment to unweld tiny components in these motherboards. I don't ask because the explanation which sues is proportionately boring to the enthusiasm he puts in delivering the details, and I have learnt, with the years, to avoid murky waters for the sake of coexistence. Sorry.)

[Last_of_the_PEs]

Yes, when an eDGe passes on, it could REST IN PIECES...

I agree that the details of micro-electronics are about as exciting as the history of the stapler.

In terms of a database, it would be easier to simply admonish all eDGe owners here to HOLD ON to their devices if/when they are no longer functional and report in on this forum. The only way to keep that kind of thread easy to locate would be if we got the admin to make it "sticky". That can probably be arranged with a PM to "Dr. Pib".

[ivanjt]

Hi Paula,

What you are suggesting is an excellent idea. Here we do repair computer equipment to a certain level but it does help if you have the unit to hand - see my trying to help Jackr with his back-light problem.

Another thing that would help would be high resolution, sharp focus evenly lit pictures of both sides of all the boards in an edge. Those pictures would help until I can get my hands on a dead unit to do some measuring.

[Last_of_the_PEs]

Paula-T suggested we keep track of people with non-functional eDGe devices, or working parts so that others wanting to extend the life of theirs can find parts. (THIS IS A DISCUSSION THREAD, NOT THE ACTUAL PARTS LIST THREAD)
If enough of us decide to participate in this, as our units fail, or we get parts from somewhere else, we can establish the ACTUAL "bone yard" thread and request it be STICKY.

To get things started, I suggest we include:
Model (PE or EE):
Color:
Nature of failure, or list of damaged parts:
If internal parts, what are they and what function do they serve:
Other eDGe-specific accessories willing to give/trade/sell:
Postal code/zip code, or update your profile with some vague location info:

Requests for parts from individuals posted to the REAL THREAD could be arranged through PM.

I think the parts should be free, but the shipping costs are the responsibility of the requester. Accessories not part of the original package should be negotiable on price.

While it would be great to rely on the honor system, anyone offering parts should update their post to indicate who got which parts, both so we don't ask for parts already gone, and so we don't have people requesting five damaged units to produce one or more "new" ones -- not repairing one they already have!

I think it is also reasonable that any unused parts from large assemblies exchanged here should remain in the "pool", for request by someone else. For example, if I request a "dead" PE to replace the bezel on mine, the rest of the PE is put up for others to request use.

It would also be helpful if we had good dis-assembly directions with graphics or linked elsewhere. That way, only the needed parts could be pulled and shipped -- costs less.

I include eDGe-related parts because if my eDGe failed, I wouldn't be likely to need the Startech USB/ethernet adapter, or my Bluetooth GPS. Any new tablet would HAVE a GPS!

Any thoughts on this?

[Filark]

Originally Posted by paula-t

(Husband says he knows a place with special equipment to unweld tiny components in these motherboards. I don't ask because the explanation which sues is proportionately boring to the enthusiasm he puts in delivering the details, and I have learnt, with the years, to avoid murky waters for the sake of coexistence. Sorry.)

Wow!! You could be me!!

My husband is an EE (Electrical Engineer, not enTourage eDGe ) and I am an English major, so I know exactly what you mean! Love him dearly, though.

[Last_of_the_PEs]

Do I need to post the discussion as a separate thread? It doesn't seem to be getting any discussion here.

[Dumas]

Sounds to me like a sub-forum might be best for what you suggest.