1
Technical Support / Re: Dead Rosetta - SD card slot has come adrift
« on: April 15, 2024, 03:09:47 pm »
Follow-up For Information
I asked Graham to send me the old board so I could examine it - never having come across this fault before. I have it sitting here in front of me as I type - thanks Graham.
The following is simply a statement of what I found and should not be taken as implying any negligence or inappropriate action by Graham - simply a cautionary tale for us all. It could easily have happened by the projecting end of the microSD card catching on something at any time when the unit was being fitted or removed from the plane, or from any bag it might have been carried in.
You should be able to see from Graham's earlier photo that the card slot comprises a thin stainless steel 'cover' into which is clipped a plastic 'inner', which forms the card mount itself and contains the contacts to link the card to the board. The two parts are held together during construction by very small moulded clips at each corner of the plastic liner. The card slot also contains a fine 'reed microswitch' inside the right-hand side at the back - which closes when a card is installed, telling the board that a card is present. The whole unit (including the 4 case mounting points, 8 separate card contact fingers and the 2 switch contacts) is then surface mounted onto the PCB during manufacture as a single unit.
Unfortunately, this one looks like it must have experienced downwards pressure being applied to the projecting card end at some point, which has dislodged the stainless steel cover from the plastic clips and broken the casing away from the PCB, though the printed circuit board itself looks intact (i.e. the damage hasn't pulled the tracks off the board). The reed switch has, however, become twisted and distorted (probably simply by trying to reinsert a card after the case had unknowingly sprung apart). Unfortunately this means that the only practical 'repair' will be to remove and replace the 'card slot' as a unit.
As an exercise, I have now obtained a replacement card slot and tracked down a friend with the necessary temperature controlled heat-gun equipped solder station to carry out the repair. Now I just need to find the time to give it a go.
Best Regards
Peter
I asked Graham to send me the old board so I could examine it - never having come across this fault before. I have it sitting here in front of me as I type - thanks Graham.
The following is simply a statement of what I found and should not be taken as implying any negligence or inappropriate action by Graham - simply a cautionary tale for us all. It could easily have happened by the projecting end of the microSD card catching on something at any time when the unit was being fitted or removed from the plane, or from any bag it might have been carried in.
You should be able to see from Graham's earlier photo that the card slot comprises a thin stainless steel 'cover' into which is clipped a plastic 'inner', which forms the card mount itself and contains the contacts to link the card to the board. The two parts are held together during construction by very small moulded clips at each corner of the plastic liner. The card slot also contains a fine 'reed microswitch' inside the right-hand side at the back - which closes when a card is installed, telling the board that a card is present. The whole unit (including the 4 case mounting points, 8 separate card contact fingers and the 2 switch contacts) is then surface mounted onto the PCB during manufacture as a single unit.
Unfortunately, this one looks like it must have experienced downwards pressure being applied to the projecting card end at some point, which has dislodged the stainless steel cover from the plastic clips and broken the casing away from the PCB, though the printed circuit board itself looks intact (i.e. the damage hasn't pulled the tracks off the board). The reed switch has, however, become twisted and distorted (probably simply by trying to reinsert a card after the case had unknowingly sprung apart). Unfortunately this means that the only practical 'repair' will be to remove and replace the 'card slot' as a unit.
As an exercise, I have now obtained a replacement card slot and tracked down a friend with the necessary temperature controlled heat-gun equipped solder station to carry out the repair. Now I just need to find the time to give it a go.
Best Regards
Peter