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Soldering For Non-Solderers?
DanielMarkham asks: "A few months ago I bought a 4GB USB drive from jmtek Online. I really liked the drive -- heck, 4 GBs were awesome! But over time, using it in my tablet PC, the connectors started loosening up between the USB plug and the IC. Eventually, the part that plugs into the computer came loose from the rest of the drive. So, now I've got six-hundred bucks worth of useless plastic. I don't know anything about circuit board repair, so I'm in a bit of a fix. As I understand it, the 90-day return period has timed-out, and there's not much I can do in the way of a refund. But all of my data is still on there, I just need some way to re-connect the USB plug to the circuit board. I guess that would involve soldering? Do you guys have any idea how I could get the USB drive fixed without spending a lot of time or money?"
Look for Ham clubs, Robot clubs, heck, even your local LUG could have somebody competant to help you out.
Good Luck!
Stop the world; I need to get off.
or to the authorized service centre, or, gasp, try talking to the company. Perhaps they can help?
Slashdot, why are you running away?
I dunno, but around here, I'd just get out the yellow pages and start phoning around. But hey, now we've got the net and /., why do any work ourselves, eh?
So much for old-fashioned American ingenuity and initiative, but I digress.
Words to men, as air to birds.
You could attempt it yourself, but it's a gamble if your inexperienced.
Your local University or Community College has a Electrical/Electronics Engneering or Technician program with lots of students who will solder stuff for at low cost and might even help teach you how to do it. I've repaired quite a few devices that people brought into the school lab. Call up a professer (or department head if no individual instructor's numbers are public); they will probably be more then willing to give a student some work with real world troubleshooting and repair.
------ Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.
> (eek, someone correct that spelling)
I hope that by someone you mean, just-a-second-let-me-get-the-dictionary-and-prove- that-I-am-not-completely-lazy
Cause, really, you have a good point, and I would hate to see it obscured :)
I came here to do two things; chew bubble-gum, and kick ass. I'm all out of bubble-gum.
Subjects like this make me really miss Heathkit.
Most of you kids are too young to remember them as they were in their prime. They used to sell kits that allowed you to build almost anything electronic and you learned as you built. They had the very best documentation available anywhere for anything. Every manual started with a brief course in soldering. They also had some excellent training courses including.....soldering.
If this were the 1980's I would recommend that you purchase a kit from them. You would then learn to solder and be able to go on to fix your drive, and maybe go on to build one of their excellent amateur radio sets or TV's or robots.
Sigh
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
Re your sig... I agree entirely. Coming across something that is just outrageous nonsense but only really having the option of "over-rated" (troll, flamebait aren't really appropriate) doesn't really do it justice.
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