Re: [NTLK] Soldering the Interconnect Port

From: Ed Kummel (tech_ed_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Apr 07 2003 - 22:19:39 PDT


No...Hot melt glue will not work. It is too soft. You
need some kind of epoxy like Marine-Tex or something
similar. Unfortunatly, I tried this but there isn't
enough room to get enough epoxy around the connector
to give it any kind of strength.
I've described this before on this group. If your
interconnect port is pushed in, then it's basically
shot and nothing...and I do mean nothing...there is
nothing you can do...as in...NOTHING! will make that
port reliable again. What happens is that there are
two plastic "bumps" or "nubs" on the underside of the
interconnect port. These nubs seat in two indentations
drilled into, but no all the way through the main
board. The Interconnect port is pressed down to seat
these nubs into the indentations and the ears on the
sides are soldered to two surface mounted solder pads.
The preasure of the solder holding the interconnect
port to the board is sufficient to cause the plastic
nubs have enough strength for a limited number of
insertions. The solder and plastic nubs are integral
and both rely on the other to add strength to the
design.
Unfortunatly, when the interconnect port is pushed in,
it usually means that something gave....either the
soldered ears on the motherboard gave way, or the
plastic nubs have sheared off. Usually both. The
soldered tabs loosen up just enough to allow the port
to wiggle. This constant wiggle will weaken the
plastic nubs and when the solder finally gives, the
last push on the port will usually shear (or bend
beyond use) the plastic numbs off completely. And
without those plastic nubs, there is no strength other
than the solder tabs...and anyone who knows solder,
knows that solder don't hold up to repeated force.
And! The heat needed to solder the interconnect port
to the motherboard will probably ruin the board. The
mother board looks to be a multi-layered board,
meaning that there may be up to 8 seperate layers of
traces inside the board. Excessive heat can ruin
traces inside the fiberglass thereby causing the Newt
to be ruined.
I speak from experience. I "fixed" mine using a
professional soldering station, and a 10X magnifying
binocular headset. I have a dozen years of
professional soldering experience and am Tempest
Technology certified. The "fixed" port lasted only a
single insertion. That was enough to get a backup off
of the Newt before I sent it off to repair
(unfortunatly, Apple is not doing this anymore...or so
I heard) They fixed a bunch of things, including the
interconnect port. It worked twice. Once when I
restored my data to the Newt and once again when I
tested out my keyboard. Since then, it's just been
like a red-headed stepchild...I don't dock my Newt
much (if ever) but I purchased peace of mind by
getting one of the SER-001 dongle killers...It wasn't
a necessary item, but I guarantee you, if I hadn't
purchased it, my Newt would have failed and I would
have had no way of getting my data off of it...not it
had the ser-001 and my Newt's been trouble free.
If I were you, I'ld wait until the ser-001 is
re-released and get one (or five) and forget about
fixing a port that was poorly designed in the first
place...will apple ever learn...
Ed
web/gadget guru
come and see my Newt on the web (well, mostly) at:
http://65.84.243.167

--- Sunder <sunder_at_sunder.net> wrote:
> I've not tried this - but hot melt glue sounds like
> something that might
> do the trick. Not sure if the temperature would be
> too hot and cause
> damage.
>
> But once it cools, it turns into an almost-like
> plastic block. Just be
> sure none of it enters the port itself. :) And make
> sure you don't put so
> much that case won't fit afterwards.
>
> To clairify - if you do this to your Newt, you do so
> at your own
> risk. :)
>

=====
"If the nation escalates to 'red alert', you will de assumed by athorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home."
 - Sid Caspersen, NJ's director of the office of counter-terrorism

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