motherboard repair

[bay82]

My Axim x50v is not syncing/charging reliably. I took it apart and found that the sync connector has come disconnected from motherboard, probably from someone wiggling it while it was in the cradle (aren't kids great?). All the leads coming from the back of the block are just laying on top of their terminal spots, and they move if I wiggle the connector. Not good.

My question is - are the terminals on the connector soldered to the motherboard or are they silver-epoxied like the battery leads? I have the ability to solder it, but I don't want to try if it's not solder I'm looking at.

Thanks, Jack

[Drifter]

Hi. From what I know of taking one appart they are soldered to the motherboard, obviously I have not tried such a repair. Epoxy would be too weak a connection

Good luck with refixing, if all fails, have a look on Ebay, you can buy a donor X50 or x50v motherboard and case ( without the screen) for approx $80

[bay82]

Thanks Drifter. I showed it to a techie upstairs (at work), and he said I should try soldering it. I used a very sharp pencil tip soldering iron (dry - without adding any more solder), and just pressed each terminal down into it's place. The hot solder stuck to both surfaces again, and bridged the gap when I released the pressure on the hot iron, and the treminal sprung back up. I had to use a 15x magnifying loupe to see what I was doing.

Everything appears to be working now, but I will try syncing and charging when I get home and give an update. I'll also move the cradle up a little higher so curious hands can't reach it.

Thanks again,
Jack

[bay82]

Success! I sync'd and did a charge from the cradle this afternoon, and it worked perfectly. I'll have to treat it very gently, and if it ever fails again, I'll probably have to replace the motherboard, but it was worth a little time and effort to fix it myself.

Thanks,
Jack

[Drifter]

Glad you are sorted. Remember Ebay is a good source motherboards should you need to replace it