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Old 10-20-2012, 08:59 AM   #1
pepijndevos
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open back cover, mount serial console

Is there a good guide how to remove the back cover of a Kindle 4?

I found one or two that came down to "apply lots of pressure, use a heat gun"

But not much detail about where to apply pressure and how not to break pins.

If I'm not mistaken, there are 4 serious pins at the top and bottom of the cover, a ton of glue in the centre, and some misc pins at the sides.

It seems the top and bottom pins require lot of pressure, but one guy in a video broke a few pins on the side, and seemed to be quite content with it.

How hard is it to solder the serial terminal? I have some experience with through-hole and wires and stuff, but never did these surface mount type of things.
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Old 10-20-2012, 09:08 AM   #2
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Developer's Corner Master Index ->
K4 ->
Serial port ->

Also:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=27

Also:
In the index system, see if there is a "teardown" listed for the K4

Things such as:
http://blogkindle.com/2011/09/kindle...sembly-part-i/

Although a web-search tool might find ones with more detail (like gently heating the center of the back with a heat gun (hair dryer?) to make the glue release easier).

If you can avoid it, it would be better that you did not try to solder to the pads on the circuit board.
Even geekmaster (with more decades of experience than is polite to mention) had trouble with the pads lifting.

Last edited by knc1; 10-20-2012 at 09:16 AM.
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Old 10-20-2012, 09:37 AM   #3
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Yes, I found these threads you mention.

Like I said, they don't go into much detail about how to get off the back cover without ruining it. It would help to have a clear picture of where these pins are located.

IIRC geekmaster bent the wires back for photography. A warned dodo counts for two.
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Old 10-20-2012, 09:40 AM   #4
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I wouldn't call it a "clear picture" but the second part of that old teardown has the port labeled in red near the top right corner of the picture.

Perhaps that picture and a session with Gimp . . . .

Edit:
This is what I call a "clear picture" (of a K3): https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...13#post1987613

Last edited by knc1; 10-20-2012 at 09:42 AM.
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Old 10-20-2012, 09:42 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pepijndevos View Post
Yes, I found these threads you mention.

Like I said, they don't go into much detail about how to get off the back cover without ruining it. It would help to have a clear picture of where these pins are located.

IIRC geekmaster bent the wires back for photography. A warned dodo counts for two.
I ripped the pads of the circuit board on one K4 when bending the wires back for photography, as I recall. Now I have the wires securely taped down to the circuit boards in my kinldes after soldering, so they should even survive getting the serial wires yanked.

I used fine enamel-coated wire salvaged from a dead CFL (energy-saving compact fluorescent lamp). There are transistors and diodes in those electronic ballasts too, in addition to a nylon bobbin wrapped with wire.

EDIT: A little clarification: I used short lengths (about 2 inches/ 5 cm) of fine wire to attach to the PCB pads, so i could move bend the wires to move them out of the way, and I attached a longer serial cable to those shorter fine wires. I used a three-strand strip cut from an 80-pin UDMA IDE cable, which is small enough to route out the case next to the microUSB connector, and still plug in the USB cable. My K5 has its back cover on, but still I can connect to serial on that cable dangling from the bottom.

P.S. I have a series diode inside my K5 on the serial TxD line, so that shorting it does not harm it. That also allows me to safely pull it up to +3.3v or +5v TTL logic with a pullup resistor, because the kindle can still pull it to logic zero (0.7v across the diode, in this case).

Last edited by geekmaster; 10-20-2012 at 09:57 AM.
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Old 10-20-2012, 09:47 AM   #6
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Probably some silver plated, teflon insulated, "wire wrap" wire would do also.
If you happen to have it (or can get it from a local store, such as: Radioshack).
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:30 AM   #7
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Thanks for the info about the serial console. But I was mainly hoping for more info on how to get to it.

I found this one video: http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Kindle_4

It's what I was referring to about they guy who was so content about breaking only 2 pins.

I'll probably just rewatch that over and over to see what he does and what I should do better.

Ah! ANother slightly useful image: http://www.cnet.com.au/amazon-kindle...07.htm#image13

Last edited by pepijndevos; 10-20-2012 at 10:33 AM.
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:36 AM   #8
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Disassembling electronics while under power on a metal top table is a: Bad Idea (tm).
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