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Dead Rosetta - SD card slot has come adrift - Updated

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grahambaker:
Some time ago I had some reliability issues with my 'powered by a Charge2' Rosetta, but these went away if I followed the mantra of pulling the USB port circuit breaker before engine shutdown, and not powering it up until after engine start. I was never really convinced that this really got to the bottom of the problem, but it's seemed to work for the last few months.

Out of the blue today the Rosetta just wouldn't work. USB or Anker battery, nada. All I'd get was three green flashes from the Bridge board, and a solid red light from the Pi, and nothing more. On the bench back at home I've found the problem, in that the outboard end of the SD card socket has come away from the Pi, leaving it hinged from the inboard end, so the poor bugger can't boot up and just sits there. I suspect a flakey SD socket connection has been the problem the whole while, and it's finally given up the ghost.

My soldering skills certainly aren't up to the job of reseating/replacing the SD card slot, so I'd welcome suggestions on options.

- can anyone replace the SD slot for me?
- has anyone a dead rosetta with a good Pi they'd sell me?
- is the right Pi still available to buy new?
- do PAW Towers offer a sensible trade in against an Fx?
- any other suggestions?

As an aside, I had to fly with a SkyEcho@ today in its place. My aircraft is certified ADSB out equippped so I was only using it in receive mode. Whilst it saw plenty of traffic, I remain convinced it's highly selective in what it does receive, as I flew above, behind, below and in front of a mate in another certified ADSB out equipped aircraft for two hours and it never saw him once, despite Vector showing his aircraft broadcasting loud and clear. I just can't bring myself to trust the SE2 the way I do the PAW.

JCurtis:
The power up sequence will be because cranking the engine will cause a low voltage. This may cause the Charge2 to switch off, so reboot the Pi.

That looks recoverable, possibly. If you can’t get a replacement Pi easily happy to have a look at it.

grahambaker:
I've just seen that a new Pi 3B+ is about £40.

Can one of the tech team confirm yhat this will work OK? If so I may just short cut the process and buy a new one now.

exfirepro:
Hi Graham,

Thanks for posting - that's certainly a new one on me. I have come across a few dodgy microUSB sockets (including one of my own, which Jeremy kindly replaced for me), but have never come across a microSD slot casing become detached before.

The obvious cause would be downwards pressure (away from the printed circuit board) applied to the socket, such as if, for example, the Rosetta case was disassembled without first removing the microSD card - but that usually breaks the end off the card, not the socket. To force the socket off the board would require considerable leverage - unless of course the solder joints were already weak.

As the actual contacts are all on the PCB itself, it should just be a case of re-soldering the two front case mounts back onto the PCB - unless the force has lifted the solder tracks off the board. in which case there wil be nothing to solder to.

A replacement Raspberry Pi3B (not Pi3 B+ *) if you can find one, is the obvious fix, or a resolder if the tracks on the board are still intact. I have just swapped a Classic for a customer to an unused Pi3B which he got from eBay, so they can still be found. If you swap the Pi, remember to advise Ash (support@pilotaware.com) of the new MAC address and he will issue a new licence code for any remaining licence period.

* I run a Pi3B+ on one of my 'test' units. It will work, (though not officially supported) and draws a a fair bit more current than the 3B in use (though still well within the capability of your Charge2.

Please let us know how you get on.

Oh and OK on your comments re SE2.

Best Regards

Peter

JCurtis:
There is loads of stock of the 3B+ in the uk, Rapid electronics have 200+.
Definitely the easiest solution.

I thought they had ceased production of the 3B with the + version the direct replacement.

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