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Hi, I broke my universal last night :.(
I was using a charger that came with my gps, and it fell 30cm off the bed table and hit the floor, striking the charger cable. The gps charger is longer, so without the rubber collar to absorb the shock, the usb plug twisted inside, and broke the usb connector off the motherboard.
pics: http://boldra.com/images/universal/
I use my universal very heavily, so I want to get it fixed as soon as possible. I've done simple repairs on laptops and phones before, including soldering on a power connector in a dropped vaio. How would people rate the difficulty of this one?
The first issue will be to get hold of a suitable screwdriver, but I'll also have to source a new usb connector.
Has anyone got any experience or tips they could share?
Thanks!
Boldra
Boldra said:
Hi, I broke my universal last night :.(
I was using a charger that came with my gps, and it fell 30cm off the bed table and hit the floor, striking the charger cable. The gps charger is longer, so without the rubber collar to absorb the shock, the usb plug twisted inside, and broke the usb connector off the motherboard.
pics: http://boldra.com/images/universal/
I use my universal very heavily, so I want to get it fixed as soon as possible. I've done simple repairs on laptops and phones before, including soldering on a power connector in a dropped vaio. How would people rate the difficulty of this one?
The first issue will be to get hold of a suitable screwdriver, but I'll also have to source a new usb connector.
Has anyone got any experience or tips they could share?
Thanks!
Boldra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi first of all, based on my experience with opening universal - when you start opening PLEASE READ OPENING INSTRUCTIONS on FTP - there is PDF file for this. And second one - try ty find a cheam MP3 player with same USB connector - you will never belive what is inside of those tousands MP3 players - I even find inside one a DiskOnChip for universal
Thanks, they look like two very good tips! I was actually going to check out the second hand shop for old cameras with mini-usb connectors, but mp3 players sound like a good idea too.
Boldra
I had the same problem. I fixed it myself too. I just used the USB connector that was broken off and soldered it back.
I don't think a new connector is going to be needed. More likely your biggest problem will be broken off tracks on the motherboard.
Thanks Patrick, I love the net! I've never personally met anyone with the same device, but now here I am talking to someone who's actually had exactly the same problem!
I've now opened the case up (after downloading the beautiful maintenance manual), and it looks like there are indeed a couple of bits of the mobo broken off and stuck to the connector.
I've had a look with a magnifying glass, and it looks like the 4th connector in particular is going to be difficult to match up. I've been checking out the USB spec, and, if I'm reading it right, this connector is only used for a usb hub. I think on the universal it's not actually connected to anything. Really, I'll just be pretty happy if I can just get connectors 1 & 5 joined up again, so I can recharge!
The other thing I'm worrying about is how I can firmly attach the connector back onto the board so that it doesn't easily break off again. I'm considering a drop of superglue to fix the usb connector onto the mobo before starting the soldering. How did you solve this problem? Are you relying entirely on solder to take the load?
Boldra
Boldra said:
The other thing I'm worrying about is how I can firmly attach the connector back onto the board so that it doesn't easily break off again. I'm considering a drop of superglue to fix the usb connector onto the mobo before starting the soldering. How did you solve this problem? Are you relying entirely on solder to take the load?
Boldra
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Click to collapse
Don't even think about it !!! If you put some glue there you can say goodbye to your device if it brokes again you cannot protect device from this - is more cheap to repair him again
You should put this warning up:
Warning, HORROR pictures ...
must be over 21 to watch ...
Boldra said:
Thanks Patrick, I love the net! I've never personally met anyone with the same device, but now here I am talking to someone who's actually had exactly the same problem!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you search the forum here you will notice there are hordes of people with the same problem. It's safe to say this is a design flaw of the Universal.
Boldra said:
I'll just be pretty happy if I can just get connectors 1 & 5 joined up again, so I can recharge!
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Click to collapse
Same here. I stopped messing with it when it started charging again. It doesn't connect through USB anymore, but I can do that via bluetooth as well.
Boldra said:
The other thing I'm worrying about is how I can firmly attach the connector back onto the board so that it doesn't easily break off again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put some extra solder on the large pads on the side. I have a feeling that that helped put it on the board more sturdy. I also changed the way I use the Universal. Before I would use it with the charge cable atached so the battery would stay full. Now I never move it around when the cable is attached. So now when the Universal is charging, the first thing I do is take the charge cable out and then open the unit and switch it on.
superglue will not work. you must solder it back on.
from those pics it's impossible to estimate the damage.
open it up and take some new pics.
If you open your batterycover you see two silver pins in your hd2. If you then look at the back of your battery cover you see two squared areas where they connect to the battery cover. What are they for?
Those pins are to charge the batt. Check out this site and you'll get the idea of it's use:
http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=8708
aren't these the same pins (sorry i didn't check vid so sorry if it shows this), that are used for the car mount... which u replace the back when u use and those pins activate navipanel?
hi, the tow silver pins are to connect the backcover with the electrical part of the phone. so different electrical potentials between the phone and the (metal)backcover are prevented.
MasK said:
Those pins are to charge the batt. Check out this site and you'll get the idea of it's use:
http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=8708
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Click to collapse
thats what the three golden pads are good for. but be aware that htc changes their minds and distribute now a 'modificated' version of the carkit.
http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/de/p_htc_item.aspx?i=188277
http://i.expansys.com/i/b/b188277.jpg
you can find more info about it, here in the forum (accessories).
mad
ok, the potential thing is understood. thx m8
the car kit thing really is a pity. due tha i decided to switch to herbert richter in one and brodit in the other car. the last oneis the one i recommend because it has got some space behind the phone. herbert richter doesn't. the result is that with hr my leo often has a heat problem. believe me, it's getting very hot!
I didn't buy the HTC extended battery but one from amazon sold by Karen Deals. Link is below
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0NVM3EA1B2VE9HN3AKMA
Battery
Model No: cs-ht8585xl
Part No: 35h000128-00m, ba s400
Rating: 3.7v 2400mah
Lithium Ion
Induction Unit
Palm Pixi charging back with Palm touchstone charging dock
Operating System
Shubcraft 1.4d
Video:
Images are attached below!
Induction charging has the same charging speed as plugging it into a wall outlet. Very fast!
Sidenote:
I tried using a multimeter with the 3 contacts located under the battery and could not get it to register anything (with and without the charger plugged in). I then tried shooting 5v through it using 6 different combination (2 plugs for 3 contacts) and still couldn't get anything. If anyone knows a way to use these 3 contacts for charging please leave feedback. Also if anyone can find a minature microusb male connection that'd be great.
Well done, it's a really nice mod!
The 2400 mAh is a bit too bulky for me, though the extended uptime must be awesome. I'd even consider something similar, were it not that you're using the microusb to charge. If only you could connect it straight to the battery, would be so much more convenient. It'd still work in for instance car kits and attached to a pc.
Never the less, well done.
Looks great, i would try this myself but i cant stand the bulk of extended batteries and the stock metal back would almost defiantly interfere with the current. Where did you get the decal from?
Angelusz said:
Well done, it's a really nice mod!
The 2400 mAh is a bit too bulky for me, though the extended uptime must be awesome. I'd even consider something similar, were it not that you're using the microusb to charge. If only you could connect it straight to the battery, would be so much more convenient. It'd still work in for instance car kits and attached to a pc.
Never the less, well done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't plug in directly to the battery since the battery doesn't have a balancer board on it and it would explode if it were to be overcharged without one.
JJbdoggg said:
Looks great, i would try this myself but i cant stand the bulk of extended batteries and the stock metal back would almost defiantly interfere with the current. Where did you get the decal from?
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Click to collapse
I got the decal in the automotive section of Walmart. It came with 2 big/4small stickers for 7usd
UPDATE: Made the microusb head smaller! Letting liquid electrical tape dry then I'll post pics.
this is a really nice mod. what about the possiblly of going via the nav panel connectors instead of micro usb. this would as far as i know leave the usb port free and also not have the disadvantage of having a usb connector attached which can be easily damged.
Personalyu i wouldnt do this mod as i use my phone to tether a hell of a lot so it seems pointless to me, but being able to just sit your phone down and have it charge is awesome.
Great work!!!!
veda_sticks said:
this is a really nice mod. what about the possiblly of going via the nav panel connectors instead of micro usb. this would as far as i know leave the usb port free and also not have the disadvantage of having a usb connector attached which can be easily damged.
Personalyu i wouldnt do this mod as i use my phone to tether a hell of a lot so it seems pointless to me, but being able to just sit your phone down and have it charge is awesome.
Great work!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tired the navpanel connections with no success. If anyone has a multimeter please try to do it to theirs (with charger plugged in).
that is really odd....only think i can think of is manye theres something that needs to happen with the middle pin.
nice work i think that decal are very cute indeed!
PPL this is knowed from a long time! This pins are used for example with Car Kit like CU s400: http://www.slashgear.com/htc-hd2-cu-s400-car-kit-gets-priced-detailed-coming-december-1360143/
This car kit is in two versions: like this on 1st photo - use other battery cover which use this "mysterious" pins to run NaviPanel and charging battery and 2nd version with charging via microUSB port.
I hope this helps a bit.
veda_sticks said:
that is really odd....only think i can think of is manye theres something that needs to happen with the middle pin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This "odd" middle pin you can find in every phone battery too. If you depart any battery you can find there a little electronic circuit.
I think, that this pin is used to metering battery charge, but i can be wrong - im not advanced in electornics.
I'm well aware of the existance of these products but cannot figure out what the three contacts below the batteries are.
Maybe some users having one. In that case he/she can make photos of all connectors or better - check it with multimeter which connector is +, - and this middle one.
Maybe some service manuals can tell something more abt this. I searched for it and i did'nt find nothing useful.
FRANQ_23_PL said:
Maybe some users having one. In that case he/she can make photos of all connectors or better - check it with multimeter which connector is +, - and this middle one.
Maybe some service manuals can tell something more abt this. I searched for it and i did'nt find nothing useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also did a search on google and xda but with no luck. I don't think it inputs 5v into the machine since I did shoot 5v into the 3 connectors using different combination.
Hi all,
The contact closest to the center of the phone (looking along the longest axis of the phone) is the +5V, the one furthest from the +5V is the ground, and there's a small voltage on the center contact, positive to ground. These +5V voltage shows up (on my phone) only when the mini-USB charger is plugged in.
I've got the +5V terminal of the Pre plate attached to the +5V contact on the phone, and the other one attached to the GND contact. Inductive charging works at 341ma (as measure by the hardware and read by BattClock) at maximum, which is probably not coincidentally also the limit set on USB charging, at least from my laptop.
I tried hooking the Touchstone up to a Apple ~1" cubed charger, didn't get any charge. I haven't read the USB power specifications, but according to the people at the Palm forums you have to have a USB spec power-capable charger to initialize the Touchstone, and the USB ICs signal this by connecting the two data lines. This can be approximated by clipping a USB cable and twisting the data lines together on the Touchstone side of the cable. This allowed the Apple charger to power the Touchstone.
The HTC stock charger works fine, as does an 800ma Verizon charger I had laying around. I tried hooking the Touchstone up to both a [email protected] switching charger and a 5V 8A supply, the Touchstone still charged at 341ma. I'm guessing this is software, firmware or hardware limited, just like the computer USB connection. I would speculate that if you shorted the middle pin to the ground pin, it might remove this restriction. Or fry your phone, I didn't try it.
There's a guy on the Pre forums who got the Touchstone to consume about 1.02A (http://forums.precentral.net/palm-p...b-adapters-touchstone-dock-2.html#post2020491) so the thing can, apparently transfer some power. I don't know how long it would last at those wattages, but I'm going to read a bit on the USB power spec and see if the 341ma limit can be lifted.
It's kind of nice to use the internal connector, because it leaves the microUSB port open. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. With the relevant portion of the Pre cover stuck to the back of my phone, there are no wires out of the chassis and the added part doesn't add any considerable bulk to the phone. It protrudes less than the camera.
Anyways, hope this isn't a thread-jack or too long, but I figured it might help anyone that's going to take the time to do this.
Thanks to the community here.
Did you dremel and hotglue the plastic case to the metal case? Interweb highfive from me to you!
Can you post pictures of the inside wiring please?
I did. I basically cut out a square from the HD2 back large enough to hold the coiled length of wire that is needed to allow the back to be removed and articulated. Then I used Super Glue to fix the section of the Pre back containing the inductive coil and circuitry to the HD2 back.
If you're trying to maintain your warranty I might suggest DigiKey part number 478-4687-1-ND, it's from the AVX "MOBO Spring Contact Interconnect Solutions" catalog under battery connectors (I can send you a .pdf copy of the catalog, it's too big to upload to forum). This is a 3mm pitch connector that should mate well with the internal connector - but - I don't have calipers so I would measure before ordering. I just soldered the wires to my HD2.
I'll post some pictures soonish.
And yeah, high five for sure. Thanks for pioneering this. My last phone was retired when the power connector became flaky, so it's nice not to have to worry about the contact wearing out.
Ur mod is on a dutch popular website!
http://tweakers.net/nieuws/69360/mod-maakt-draadloos-laden-mogelijk-op-htc-hd2.html
Right angle micro-usb
I'm looking to do the same thing with my Vibrant and have been searching for a similar connector. I just did a quick google search and found these angled connectors:
http://www.usbfirewire.com/u_microb_cables_angled.html
I tried soldering it your way with no sucess
Soldering pins are as shown
(If viewing vertically with top up)
(leftside of hd2) negative x positive (center of hd2)
bumping an old thread to see if you've taken pictures of the contact points yet.
Sorry it took me so long to reply. Two pictures, the first is the terminal with the wires soldered in, the second shows how I got the cables from the Palm coil/board through the cover. The terminals as you look along the longest axis of the phone with the microUSB plug closest to you are GND, something, and +5v.
So from left to right: 1 GND / 2 ? / 3 +5v.
DISCLAIMERWhat follows is a modification I did on a non genuine (apparently) HTC AC charger with the european plug, bought from ebay. It includes desoldering and soldering so some experience is needed. For whatever reason, XDA forum and I, cannot be held responsibles for any kind of damage done to your mobile phone or charging equipment. Proceed at your own risk.
So that's the deal, I bought a DHD last month but it came with a UK charger. Using an adaptor made the whole thing really huge and flimsy, so I ordered a european charger from ebay. The thing is that when Im using the UK, Battery Widget Pro reports "AC charging" (800mA max) but on the ebay one it reports "USB charging" (380mA max).
I read this thread the other day and I thought why not give it a shot on this charger. After all, its cheap and I wont have to mess up with wires and USB extensions. Apparently, you have to short the Data wires together and leave them floating.
Step 1) Open the case
This is somewhat difficult. The case does not have any kind of screw so its glued down. In order to open the case without "severe" (cosmetic) damage I used a small vice. Just squeeze gently the upper part of the charger on both sides and you should hear a *clac*. After that using a bit of force and a flat screwdriver, you can open it.
Step 2) Remove the resistors on the Data+ contact
In order to create a dummy USB connection, Data contacts had to be adjusted according to USB specifications. So Data- was grounded and Data+ had a voltage of around 2.1V. Firstly, remove the resistors. Use a desoldering tool, a pump, a pair of pliers, whatever.
Step 3) Remove the PCB trace connecting Data- to ground
This is a bit tricky. As I mentioned before, the Data- is grounded. You must remove the pcb trace. I used a small flat screwdriver used on clockwork repairs to scratch the trace. You have to be patient and careful but it does the trick.
Step 4) Short the Data contacts and close the casing
Thats easy. Just a bit of solder between the middle USB pins (on the pcb side of course). After that close the casing, applying a bit of super glue on the rim. (sorry I didnt take a picture of this )
Thats it! You're done. What we've accomplished you say? Well, on USB charging my phone reported max 380mA. With this mod, it can reach 540mA! Its still not 800mA but its a gain nontheless. The charger is just warm. If it gets burned, I wont care much. As I said, its cheap.
(this is a report of 445mA, I will change it with a better one as soon as I have my phones battery lower )
Attention do this at our own risk as it may damage our phone.
My used samsung galaxy pocket-neo was becoming impossible to charge causing me to break the adapter cables with constant wiggling and balancing acts to get it to work. I took it apart and the micro usb socket looked like an extremely difficult soldering job to replace.
The solution I am using for more than a month with no adverse effects is to cut the plug off and strip the 2 power wires at one end of an old usb cable. There are 4 different coloured wires, red, black, green and white. The green and white wires transmit data, whilst the red and black are the power lines. Red is positive, Black is negative. The sleeve of the cable has a metal mesh which is not necessary for my purposes so I electrical taped it back onto the cable.
The next step is to remove the battery of the phone: I have only done this on phones with removeable batteries. The ones I have used have three terminals; one is plus and one minus, the middle one is for a thermistor in the internal of the battery so that it doesn't overheat. Check the plus and minus with a tester to be sure and look at the way it mounts into the phone. The corresponding terminals in the phone are where I connect the wires.
Now here is the complicated part, - or negative(black) goes to the one negative copper pin in the back of the phone. The positive +(red) wire however needs to bridge the other two pins for reasons that I would like to find out. The white and green wire got taped up seperately to avoid short circuits and I replaced the battery to hold the wires firmly in place and closed the back of the phone. Plug the phone into a charger or external power pack (DC 5v) and it will work fine with no overheating, I suggest this be monitored for a while as it may vary with other hardware.
There may be better ways to do this, as far as I can tell in my case I am not actually charging the battery, instead the phone is running directly from the external power source. The strange thing is that the software(CM11) battery icon slowly discharges and after about 10 hours tells me I need to charge the battery but never turns off and when I restart it is immediately back up to full.
I have tested with a normal cable and the micro usb is still working even though it is still only working when I constantly wiggle the cable, I have cleaned it and as far as I can see its not going to ever work properly.
It would be good to know why the battery does not chargewhen using this method. I imagine it has to do with the internal workings of the phone that control the charging, discharging and battery temperature.
Making the old hardware live longer.
Replacing the micro usb is doable with a hot air gun a pair of tweezers, a clunky spring loaded solder sucker, a flux pen and two pairs of 3.5 x magnification reading glasses. You dont need any fancy rework station or microscope, assuming you have steady hands, reasonably good eyesight, and some soldering experience. I just tried this myself yesterday and fixed and Ace 3 and two S3 mini boards from my junk pile, and while it was a little tricky, it didn't require any brain surgery skills, just care, patience and some previous smd soldering experience.
Proceed as follows, mask off all of the surrounding components with kapton tape, apply lots of flux from your flux pen, then heat the plug carefully, pointing the hot air across the plug and away from the rest of the board. Grab the (hot) metal can of the USB plug with the tweezers, and gently lift it. Only remove the plug when all the solder is melted, and it feels loose, to avoid pulling off any tracks. Remove those tracks, and the phone is for the bin. Next, clear any holes that are required to mount the new plug, take care at this stage, as it is imperative that the replacement plug sits flush on the board otherwise the pins on the plug, wont touch the pads on the board, and worse still, you wont get the case back on at the end of the process.
To fit the new socket, clean the pads... no really clean them.... now make sure they are clean, and then flux them and tin them. Fit the new plug, and check that it sits flush to the board. Tack down one metal lug only on the can of the new plug. Check again that the pins are lined up, and carefully drag solder them. Check for shorts. Check again... clean the pads and check again. If you are happy, tack down the remaining three lugs, make sure they are flush and that there are no blobs of solder on the tops of them. Clean the board again. Test... Profit
Total time including additional swearing, re-cleaning... re-re-cleaning and re-fitting.. about 30 minutes and two strong coffees.
The replacement USB plugs are readily available on ebay typically around the £2 ($3) mark, but there are several different styles, and they are different, so make sure you use the correct one for your board.
Now back to your question... why does your battery not charge when you tack the wires to it... simple... it is trying its best not to explode. The USB port provides 5V, but the battery needs between 2.8 and 4.2 vots.. depending on its current state of charge, and this is what the charge controller chip within the phone provides. Anything else and the protection circuit kicks in.
I suggest if you don't fancy repairing the USB plug yourself, you get one of those cheap "universal" usb phone chargers from China, they cost about the same as the replacement USB plug, but are (marginally) less likely to blow up your battery.
itsthatidiotagain said:
Now back to your question... why does your battery not charge when you tack the wires to it... simple... it is trying its best not to explode. The USB port provides 5V, but the battery needs between 2.8 and 4.2 vots.. depending on its current state of charge, and this is what the charge controller chip within the phone provides. Anything else and the protection circuit kicks in.
I suggest if you don't fancy repairing the USB plug yourself, you get one of those cheap "universal" usb phone chargers from China, they cost about the same as the replacement USB plug, but are (marginally) less likely to blow up your battery.
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Click to collapse
Good description of the soldering job, the samsung pocket neo is very small but I look forward to having a go at fixing it properly one day, I dont yet have a magnifying glass or solder sucker, but I want to get them. Without these tools the job would be near impossible.
Little update: the phone is charging, I have disconected it and it holds its charge nicely, the internal software just doesn't register the trickle charge it is recieving, I have loads of old chargers and new usb cables and my old second hand phones micro usb port is way too damaged to work anymore with any charger. I use it as a modem principally, so it is connected every day and providing wifi to multiple devices and has no problems with over heating. Now nearly two months have passed and it works fine. Using this method it is possible to completely remove the battery as well. The phone is running directly off the 5 volt power with no ill effects.
It would be convienient to connect it directly to a pc in usb debug mode occasionally, and this is a very good reason for eventually fixing the usb plug.:good: