[NTLK] Plan for Performing eMate 300 Hinge Repair

[Alan Grassia]

Hello Forrest and Newton Friends,

Thank you for the informative information about performing the soldering tasks that are part of an eMate 300 hinge repair job.

It sounds like I will be able to do this job without too much trouble.

Cheers,
Alan Grassia
 
-------------------------------
MessagePad 2000, MessagePad 2100, eMate 300
 
Website: http://blog.smartphonefanatics.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alanmgrassia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alangrassia
 


On 4/16/21, 2:22 AM, "NewtonTalk on behalf of Forrest" <newtontalk-bounces at newtontalk.net on behalf of newton_phoenix at mindspring.com> wrote:

    Hi Alan:

    Yes that one will do nicely.

    The wattage of a soldering iron reflects how hot it will get. Generally speaking, you will wait a bit longer for a 40 watt to heat up and be useable, as opposed to the 25 watt. But you could do more serious soldering work with the 40.

    Hotter is not necessarily better. I have a soldering gun that if I recall is something like 100 watts or more. That will obliterate most simple soldering jobs.

    You will find the soldering work to be remarkably easy, and I’m not just saying that because I have experience. Follow the instructions—plug in the iron and allow it to become hot. It’s a good idea to “tin” the tip of the iron the first time you use it. This “tinning” is nothing more than applying solder to the tip and allowing it to melt—of course, once it becomes hot—then wiping off the excess with a rag. I like to tin the tip a couple of times. A properly tinned tip will conduct heat better and will therefore be more useful.

    Red wires are almost universally positive and is the current or power coming into the circuit; black is almost universally negative (and is the Ground of the circuit). Carefully mark the locations of your wires ahead of time—I wrote RED or “+” directly on the plastic of my eMate with a Sharpie to designate the red or positive wire’s location; the same with the black one (BLACK or “-“ , of course). Trust me, this will save you HOURS later on, trying to figure out which went where. (Of course, you can refer to Frank’s pictures as well.)

    Desoldering the wires is as simple as touching the hot tip to the wire. In most cases the wire will come loose on its own, but if not grasp it and gently pull it free. Re-soldering is much the same, except you are now holding the wire to the terminal you want to connect with, and touching the hot iron to that joint. In most cases you will not need any additional solder to make that union.

    Congratulations, you have completed your first soldering task!

    Mahalo,
    Forrest

    Sent from my T-Mobile iPhone 11

    > On Apr 15, 2021, at 6:45 PM, Alan Grassia <alan.grassia at gmail.com> wrote:
    > 
    > Hello Newton Friends,
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > Two weeks ago I purchased an eMate 300 in good condition on eBay.  I received it about a week ago.  Having read the recent posts here, I get, I need to open this eMate up and check for and possibly do the hinge repair.
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > Reading the eMate 300 disassembly directions on Frank’s website, Pda-Soft.de at https://www.pda-soft.de/en/hardware/emate/disassembly/disassembly.html.
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > I do not have any skills with electrical wiring or soldering.  Is it possible for me to disassemble the eMate without desoldering the four wires on the system board?
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > If the answer is ‘No’, or ‘It’s really more difficult that way’, is there a specific soldering iron that I should look for to heat up the solder to remove/reinstall the four wires?
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > For example, is there a difference in soldering iron kits?  Is a 25-Watt soldering iron better than a 40-Watt soldering iron for this kind of work?  Here’s an example of a soldering iron kit that a local home improvement store has for sale: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weller-25-Watt-Standard-Duty-Soldering-Iron-Kit-SP25NKUS/204195328#overlay
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > What do you folks think? I accept that I need to do the repair.  I’m looking for some guidance about how best proceed.
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > Thanks in advance.
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > Cheers,
    > 
    > Alan Grassia
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > -------------------------------
    > 
    > MessagePad 2000, MessagePad 2100, eMate 300
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > Website: http://blog.smartphonefanatics.com
    > 
    > Twitter: https://twitter.com/alanmgrassia
    > 
    > LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alangrassia
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > 
    > http://newtontalk.net
    > http://twitter.com/newtontalk

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    http://newtontalk.net
    http://twitter.com/newtontalk