Author Topic: Etrex off with any button... (Read 3140 times)

andyoxon · « **on:** 29 June, 2015, 10:47:04 am »

My Etrex Vista HCx is now in the habit of sometimes powering off with any button press. For instance the button 'above' the on/off button, when pressed at any random point in a ride may turn the unit off, this also happens with the map zoom buttons... Sometimes it can't be powered straight back on, so is now on the verge of being 'unreliable'...

Any ideas? Come across this before?

Some background to the unit... https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=91084.0 When I got it, it had leaking alkalines in - which i had to clean up. Only cost ~£35 though. I have another for spares unit, which has an electronic/USB fault, so I could swap the cases.

T42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 June, 2015, 10:56:26 am »

Sounds like the button press is shifting the whole board and breaking contact with the batteries, but that series of Etrexes had battery contact/connection issues anyway after a year or two of use.

Kim will know. Kim knoweth all.

andyoxon · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 June, 2015, 11:29:23 am »

Quote from: T42 on 29 June, 2015, 10:56:26 am

Sounds like the button press is shifting the whole board and breaking contact with the batteries, but that series of Etrexes had battery contact/connection issues anyway after a year or two of use.

Kim will know. Kim knoweth all.

Yes, I can hold the unit on the 'rubber band' only (no buttons) at the top & bottom, twist gently - and the unit powers off.

T42 · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 June, 2015, 01:17:45 pm »

The glue holding the rubber band is likely to fail as well, and the band to stretch. Once that happens water is likely to get in. When that happened to me Garmin offered me a replacement unit for about half price of a new one, but they might have run out of old stock in the meantime. I told them to junk it and bought an Etrex 20 instead.

Mine lasted about two years from new, maybe three. The Etrex 20 is still going strong.

andyoxon · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 June, 2015, 01:25:46 pm »

Birthday coming up so Etrex20/30/x is a possibility...

I've found this link... so looks like some HCx surgery coming up in first instance...

tonyh · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 June, 2015, 01:28:16 pm »

I hope you anaesthetised it properly!

T42 · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 June, 2015, 02:35:36 pm »

Hammer

bryn · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 June, 2015, 05:18:16 pm »

andyoxon · « **Reply #8 on:** 05 July, 2015, 08:44:52 pm »

I've opened up one of the units:

I was going to try and separate the two halves of the unit. I need to detach the SD card reader from the upper section. it's also siliconed in it appears - but this shouldn't be an issue.

Anyone know what the screwdriver types is? It's certainly very small.

Kim · « **Reply #9 on:** 05 July, 2015, 08:55:19 pm »

Why not unplug the cable from the socket on the PCB? Usually part of the socket slides and the cable just pulls out.

Screw looks like Torx, BTW

andyoxon · « **Reply #10 on:** 05 July, 2015, 09:10:03 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 05 July, 2015, 08:55:19 pm

Why not unplug the cable from the socket on the PCB? Usually part of the socket slides and the cable just pulls out.

Screw looks like Torx, BTW

Ah, OK thanks, didn't know I could do that - will have a closer look...

Kim · « **Reply #11 on:** 05 July, 2015, 09:14:34 pm »

Be careful, those socket things are relatively easily broken.

andyoxon · « **Reply #12 on:** 05 July, 2015, 09:31:15 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 05 July, 2015, 09:14:34 pm

Be careful, those socket things are relatively easily broken.

Yes... close-up below. Any ideas as to which section to try and lift? Have two micro flat head screwdrivers...

Kim · « **Reply #13 on:** 05 July, 2015, 09:44:06 pm »

Yep, there you go. The lower whiteish part will be the bit that moves, with the main body soldered in place. Slide it towards the cable (not upwards), so the hooks slide over the bumps and catch on the lower notches. The cable should then slide out easily. Refitting is reverse of removal. Shouldn't need a lot of force.

Manage that and you're fully qualified to replace laptop keybaords

andyoxon · « **Reply #14 on:** 05 July, 2015, 10:17:21 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 05 July, 2015, 09:44:06 pm

Yep, there you go. The lower whiteish part will be the bit that moves, with the main body soldered in place. Slide it towards the cable (not upwards), so the hooks slide over the bumps and catch on the lower notches. The cable should then slide out easily. Refitting is reverse of removal. Shouldn't need a lot of force.

Manage that and you're fully qualified to replace laptop keybaords

Made some progress...

Plan would be to use the OK screen/main board with the good battery comp of the older unit (with USB issue)...

andyoxon · « **Reply #15 on:** 05 July, 2015, 11:59:06 pm »

Thanks for your help Kim...

I have reassembled the rebuilt Extrex, with swapped in good battery compartment, and it works...

and the rubber band even looks reasonably secure. I do have some Everbuild Mammoth DS tape to try in case I need to fix the rubber band more effectively...

This was the root cause of the powering off/faulty contact - corrosion (ebay leaked battery I guess).

Transplantation in progress...

bryn · « **Reply #16 on:** 06 July, 2015, 06:37:56 pm »

Some great macro-photography in this thread. A £££ SLR, or just a cheapo smartphone?? Whatever it was, congrats on getting it all in focus

andyoxon · « **Reply #17 on:** 06 July, 2015, 08:26:48 pm »

Quote from: bryn on 06 July, 2015, 06:37:56 pm

Some great macro-photography in this thread. A £££ SLR, or just a cheapo smartphone?? Whatever it was, congrats on getting it all in focus

Thanks.

Taken with my trusty 2009 Panasonic LX3 compact. Moar pics here.

frankly frankie · « **Reply #18 on:** 07 July, 2015, 09:03:43 am »

Totally off-topic but digital compacts are greatly under-rated macro photography tools - they mostly focus down to an inch or two, and have good depth of field. A DSLR is fine if you want to spend 20 minutes getting that "flower with only one stamen in focus" look, but for anything less arty and more informative, a compact is the best tool for the job.

Quote from: andyoxon on 05 July, 2015, 11:59:06 pm

This was the root cause of the powering off/faulty contact - corrosion (ebay leaked battery I guess).

That's very interesting, thanks for showing us that. The more usual explanation for the turning off problem is that these sprung contacts gradually wear away at the pads on the PCB that they mate with, and a solution is either to re-build the PCB pads with some solder, or to add a couple of connecting wires. A more sophisticated solution is to add a tantalum capacitor soldered across the two pads.
None of that would solve this problem though!

bryn · « **Reply #19 on:** 07 July, 2015, 10:42:55 am »

Quote from: andyoxon on 06 July, 2015, 08:26:48 pm

Moar pics here.

[Off topic] Very nice indeed. Was that the Pitt Rivers Museum about halfway down?

Kim · « **Reply #20 on:** 07 July, 2015, 01:06:11 pm »

Quote from: frankly frankie on 07 July, 2015, 09:03:43 am

Totally off-topic but digital compacts are greatly under-rated macro photography tools - they mostly focus down to an inch or two, and have good depth of field. A DSLR is fine if you want to spend 20 minutes getting that "flower with only one stamen in focus" look, but for anything less arty and more informative, a compact is the best tool for the job.

I still make good use of a Canon A620, sometimes held in front of a circular magnifying lamp in lieu of a ring flash, for documenting stuff as I disassemble it.

tonyh · « **Reply #21 on:** 07 July, 2015, 01:23:48 pm »

Quote from: bryn on 07 July, 2015, 10:42:55 am

[Off topic] Very nice indeed.

Very very nice!

Sennen Cove in there too.

bryn · « **Reply #22 on:** 07 July, 2015, 09:01:23 pm »

Quote from: tonyh on 07 July, 2015, 01:23:48 pm

Sennen Cove in there too.

Well spotted! I once played the piano for a dance in the lifeboat house in the middle of that pic, said lifeboat having been pushed out into the sea to make more room. Long before the invention of GPS, integrated circuits, and other such widgets. Or Health and Safety