jb wrote:
This is slightly OT in that it has nothing in particular to do with
F/OSS, but....
My beloved 4-yr-old laptop died today. I jiggled the power cord a bit
and some smoke came out of the DC jack. I took the whole thing apart
hoping that it was just a simple soldering job, but when I plugged in
just the mobo, I got a spark off the DC jack. So, I want to get the jack
off the mobo, buy a new one, and put it on. The only problem is that
I've never soldered a circuitboard before and I need some help.
I'll throw in a free lunch for anyone who helps.
Do you know the inside and outside diameters of the plug? You may be
able to get a replacement jack at Radio Shack or Central Utah Electronics.
Are you confident the only problem is the need for a new jack? Unless
the jack is loose or damaged, it's quite possible (likely?) that there's
something else wrong.
Once you've let out the magic smoke, it can be tough to put it back in.
Frank
I appreciate the suggestions. I'm pretty sure the problem was just with
the jack because that's the only place that every smoked.
So I went to Radio Shack and bought a solder braid to help get the stuff
off. I got some off, but it was obvious that it was going to take a long
time. So, I followed my brother's suggestion (he's an EE guy) and
clipped off the jack's prongs... To make a long story short, I decided I
didn't know what I was doing and I should stop with the jack still attached.
I plugged the mainboard in just to make sure I hadn't made things any
worse and I hadn't. (The power lights would flash once when I plugged in
the board, and the same thing happened.) Then I had a revelation! Ever
since I had taken out the board, I hadn't tested it with the battery in.
So, I snapped the battery in and voila! I had power.
So, I put it together as much as I needed to: HDD, screen, keyboard, and
it booted! I hooked it up to my LAN, and I am currently backup up my data.
I don't know why it didn't work in the first place, why it smoked, or
why I got a spark from the jack, but it works now.
My brother's first thought had been that the solder had come loose, but
I hadn't seen that when I first got the thing apart. I guess it's
possible that this had been the case and that my mucking around with the
iron fixed it.
In any case I think I'll be buying a new lappy soon.
As for this x20... Taking it apart got me thinking that it could make a
good kitchen appliance. I could frame the screen, wire an extension to
the keyboard....
--jeremy
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