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I barely touched it! Honest! — Parallax Forums

I barely touched it! Honest!

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
edited 2015-05-13 23:08 in Accessories
And this happened:

attachment.php?attachmentid=114153&d=1431470147

'Not a big deal, really, as I think it's easily repairable. Here's what I plan to do:
1. Tin the pads with leaded solder and wick it off, so they're completely flat again.

2. Run a Flux-Pen over the pads.

3. Super-glue the board back together where the glue joint was before, making sure the pads are properly aligned.

4. Heat the pads from the top and add solder through the holes so it, hopefully, wicks through and bonds with the pads below.

I suppose I could just use solder paste and reflow it in the toaster oven, but I don't want all the other parts to come loose with unforeseen consequences

Other suggestions are welcome...

-Phil
broke_gps.jpg
422 x 292 - 24K

Comments

  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,155
    edited 2015-05-12 15:45
    You might want to check the plating survived ? (hairline cracks can occur on stress) , and maybe even add a fine strand of wire that can join top/inner/bottom and lower PCB without too much reliance on plating ?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2015-05-12 15:54
    The plating is completely intact on both boards. They separated only on the solder line.

    -Phil
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2015-05-12 16:30
    The fix I outlined above worked. The solder wicked through the holes nicely, making a good bond with the carrier board. And the unit is functional again.

    But to reiterate the warning in the GPS doc, when it says, "Don't press here," it means it -- not even a little bit. :)

    -Phil
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2015-05-12 16:53
    This is the PAM-7Q, correct? I have one of those, dug it out, and tried to get the module to separate from the board. Not a budge, even with somewhat firm pressure -- warning be damned. I can't tell, but there looks to be some type of adhesive around the rim, so it's not just the solder pads holding it together. There looks to be some remnant of failed adhesive on one side of your board.

    Thing is, a GPS is bound to be used in applications with vibration. So soldering alone can't be relied on to hold a physically heavy part to a lighter one. I'm going to guess yours didn't have enough edge gluing.
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,155
    edited 2015-05-12 17:00
    GordonMcComb wrote: »
    I'm going to guess yours didn't have enough edge gluing.
    Glue onto solder mask, also relies on the solder mask adhesion...
    Single edge support as they have done here,is never a good idea..
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,255
    edited 2015-05-13 09:17
    We Carolina boys learned early on:

    If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. If it don't move and it should, use WD-40.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2015-05-13 09:53
    erco wrote: »
    We Carolina boys learned early on:

    If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. If it don't move and it should, use WD-40.

    If you spent your beer money for the week on WD-40 and duct tape, push it in the garage and call it a "classic"! :D
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2015-05-13 12:24
    Phil,

    I know you said you fixed this, however we would be more than happy to get you a replacement. Send me a PM and I will have one sent out. I let our manufacturing department know about this, but so far we haven't heard of any others with this issue.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,255
    edited 2015-05-13 13:08
    mindrobots wrote: »
    If you spent your beer money for the week on WD-40 and duct tape, push it in the garage and call it a "classic"! :D

    Someone beat me to it!

    1HqxhWh.jpg
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2015-05-13 19:36
    Wow. That's actually a pretty good job and doesn't look bad at all. I'll have to remember that when my silver-gray '82 MB 240D gets terminal body cancer. A few years back, there was a '60s-vintage pickup in town that was completely upholstered on the exterior in Naugahyde. You couldn't tell from a distance that it wasn't painted, but up close it looked like furniture.

    -Phil
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2015-05-13 23:08
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    Wow. That's actually a pretty good job and doesn't look bad at all. I'll have to remember that when my silver-gray '82 MB 240D gets terminal body cancer.

    They really should have started from the bottom up for proper overlap direction. Otherwise, it looks not too bad.
  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,175
    Amazing that. I once saw a vehicle who's original color was in fact, the primer used for setting up the body before the actual paintjob was done. Can't remember the model.
  • pedwardpedward Posts: 1,642
    I thought the attention was on the redneck antenna on the car in the background.  Then I noticed the duct tape.

    As for the guy in the foreground, this isn't the smartest way to hide the getaway car after the fact.
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