Broken charging hole

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Kent Walters

Shaggy,

Yes, you are right; I stand corrected, and offer my sincere apology.

No problem. I probably could have said it better.

Agreeing with Mr. Franklin that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” I will go further than recommending caution to those who use their DR’s with the cable attached. The mini USB plug that comes with the DR affords too much leverage against the socket in the event of any mishap; I have strained mine while shifting my position in my chair. I think it is not just mishaps, but repeated insertions and removal, with the associated wiggling, that takes a toll on the solder joints. I have recommended elsewhere using a 12” left-angled Mini B USB extension cable; If one of these is installed around the DR, under the corners, so that it exits at top, it will provide effective strain relief, and keep the DR’s port from being damaged. It need never be removed. I hacked my own, but a commercial one can be found here. (The links here seem to change, if it doesn’t work, just go to http://www.usbfirewire.com/ and search for ‘Left angle mini B 12’ extension cable.’)

Excellent idea.

[omro]

Does anyone know what the far left prong of the 5 prongs that slot into the USB connector does?

When my USB connector broke, it seems to have snapped off this far left prong. I only have 4 remaining.

[Kent Walters]

omro,

If the socket itself is broken, it will need to be replaced. If the circuit trace on the board is damaged, the pin on the socket could be wired to the appropriate small hole behind the socket with a jumper wire (be careful). See the attached illustration; for reference, S1 (switch 1, on the lower right) is the DR’s Reset button.

A surface mount USB Minni B socket can be found at Digi-Key, on page # 66 (Molex USB Connectors, Figure 14) of their current catalog.

Type “Mini-B” USB, SMD, Bottom Mount
Digi-Key part # WM17141CT-ND
Single part price US $1.14, plus shipping

If ordering elsewhere, it is Molex part # 48242-0001

Digi-Key ships fast, and has no minimum order requirements.

On the DR1000, as seen from above (with the connector visible on the circuit board), the USB connector pin 1 is far left (marked on the board with a white dot). I’m not sure of your reference to ‘far left,’ but pins 1 and 5 are necessary for charging.

This is the Mini USB pinout:

Pin*********Signal*******************Color (for cable wires)
1*******VBUS (power +)*****Red
2*******Data -*******************White
3*******Data +******************Green
4*******ID************************<Ra_PLUG_ID (for a Mini AB socketed OTG device)
5*******GND (power -)*******Black
Shell**Shield*******************Drain Wire

I hope this helps.

Kent Walters

[omro]

It's the little prongs that fit into the USB connector. They are on the motherboard, the USB connector can be slotted over the top and then resoldered. However, if the far left one is a power prong, it's a bit pointless.

[Kent Walters]

It's Okay, you're good! Your USB port has come apart, rather than come entirely off; it can be replaced. Those 'little prongs' are the socket's leads--they are soldered to pads on the board, and need to be removed to install the new socket.

Keep in touch,
Kent Walters

[kleykenb]

iRex seem to have an interesting business model : they try to design their stuff as cheaply as possible, then they sell it at double of the manufacturing cost. When something breaks, which it is nearly designed to do, they will charge a little over manufacturing cost for the replacement (a replacement which is not even equal to the original one : I got a replacement under warranty and the case was not even closed : it was probably a 'refurbished' DR with faults, that did not pass the 'quality' controle in the factory).
And we , in essence , are told that it's all NORMAL, part of being a "pioneer".
I'm still waiting for somebody from iRex to state that they design the way they do (bad quality plastic) for 'environmental reasons', really... That would be the nail in the coffin.
Sorry but now that I notice that the USB design crap is affecting more and more people I wanted to do a little rant :-D
One can only hope that people will be very cautious when the DR800 goes to market .. they're gonna start selling it right before X-mass and people are going to be overly eager to waste their money on yet another iRex farce, I fear.
How about we put some money together, buy a DR800 ASAP and crack it open so the world doesn't need to wait untill warranty expires to find out what crap they are being sold ;-)

[Kent Walters]

kleykenb;

I have not responded to some of your previous posts, even when I thought I should, so, first, let me thank you for your efforts.

I can’t imagine what motivated iRex’s design choices; even when they do address an issue (like the power problems), thier statements and promises seem to fall somewhat short of truth, and while I do believe they are trying (even half-heartedly), I have doubts about their ability.

It seems to me that if they charge €300 to repair a broken USB socket, they must be replacing the board, but only a comparison of serial numbers would reveal that; do you know if your serial numbers are the same? That’s an awful lot of money just to replace the socket. Also, the partly opened case could be your old case, not properly closed, or as you suggest, a refurb; Poor worksmanship either way.

It is not a bad quality plastic, it’s simply the wrong type for the application. If it ws an economic choice, they could make more money by selling a better made product, and if it was environmental issue (hard for me to believe) they could have used an aluminum frame and spared landfills and recycle centers a load of junk.

Still, I like the DR’s potential; iRex very nearly made an awesome piece of hardware, but sabotaged their own effort with poor choices in hardware, marketing and support.

Sooo... I like your idea about the DR800, if you can arrange the details, I will commit $100 US; I paid more for my broken screen 1000S, just to see if I could make something more usful out of my good one.

Again, kleykenb, thanks for your efforts.
Kent Walters

[kleykenb]

Originally Posted by Kent Walters

kleykenb;

I have not responded to some of your previous posts, even when I thought I should, so, first, let me thank you for your efforts.

I can’t imagine what motivated iRex’s design choices; even when they do address an issue (like the power problems), thier statements and promises seem to fall somewhat short of truth, and while I do believe they are trying (even half-heartedly), I have doubts about their ability.

It seems to me that if they charge €300 to repair a broken USB socket, they must be replacing the board, but only a comparison of serial numbers would reveal that; do you know if your serial numbers are the same? That’s an awful lot of money just to replace the socket. Also, the partly opened case could be your old case, not properly closed, or as you suggest, a refurb; Poor worksmanship either way.

It is not a bad quality plastic, it’s simply the wrong type for the application. If it ws an economic choice, they could make more money by selling a better made product, and if it was environmental issue (hard for me to believe) they could have used an aluminum frame and spared landfills and recycle centers a load of junk.

Still, I like the DR’s potential; iRex very nearly made an awesome piece of hardware, but sabotaged their own effort with poor choices in hardware, marketing and support.

Sooo... I like your idea about the DR800, if you can arrange the details, I will commit $100 US; I paid more for my broken screen 1000S, just to see if I could make something more usful out of my good one.

Again, kleykenb, thanks for your efforts.
Kent Walters

[/I]

I'm in for 100$ too.
Mind you, I won't be doing the breaking open this time for I have little time and my knowledge of electric circuitry is too basic. So we need 2 more rebels to jump onboard with money and maybe 1 more to do the breaking ?!
[Waves the Jolly Roger]

[Kent Walters]

Hi kleykenb, hi all;

My suggestions for testing would be, first, a rigorous use of all of the 800's features, testing the OS and included apps (with no third-party anything), the firmware, and the power usage/recharge elements of the unit for consistent and reliable performance.

Then I would then examine the hardware, to see if iRex has made the case stiff enough to protect the screen from flexing when in use by an average person, and if any shortcomings cause excessive use of anything--for example, of the USB/charging port--or any unusual measures (like reset-reset-reset). (Although I, myself, prefer captive cables to circuit board mounted sockets, they are only really necessary, IMHO, where a device needs to be plugged in while in use.)

Check out the battery, both for its availability out in the world, and any removal/replacement issues.

All testing should be, by intent, non-destructive. The flex test could be done by placing the device under test on a table, with a single coin under three corners, placing a one pound or 1-half kg weight on the unsupported corner. If pressing down on the elevated corner, until it touches the coin, lifts the weight, then the case should be considered to be sufficiently stiff. If the case flexes, and does not lift the weighted corner, then this case, like the DR1000's, is gaining it's strength from the screen instead of protecting it from flex, and prospective buyers should be warned to use a stiff protective case. If the screen cracks, the world should be warned not to buy.

Finally, a teardown, with pictures, would be nice, but not necessary for most potential buyers.

I can't think of anything else that needs to be tested to make a buying recommendation... Anybody else?

Kent Walters