EEVblog #1281 - Garmin GPS Repair

[EEVblog]

Repair of a Garmin GPS unit, with characteristic Dave screw-up and Murphy.
https://www.eevblog.tv

[johnlsenchak]

 I wouldn't have  fixed  something like that, in my opinion  it's just  not worth  it. I would  have just thrown  it in the recycle  bin and bought a new one  with  updated firmware  Problem  solved  !

[tocsa120ls]

Good on ya I have a handful of those mini-USB cables cut up in my spares box, the ones you buy nowadays are built down to a price (sub-$1) and are absolutely atrocious.

I fixed a similar GPS last month for a friend, his cable frayed and was making intermittent contact, of course this drained the battery, eventually killing it. Replaced the battery and cable, new cable was crap. Replaced the cable, turns out his car charger died as well. (lifted positive trace)

I politely asked him not to bring me anything more complicated than a rock to fix next time.

[thm_w]

I wouldn't have  fixed  something like that, in my opinion  it's just  not worth  it. I would  have just thrown  it in the recycle  bin and bought a new one  with  updated firmware  Problem  solved  !

- Reduces waste
- Saves money
- Makes an interesting youtube video
- Some of these units have lifetime map upgrades

[johnlsenchak]

[

- Reduces waste
- Saves money
- Makes an interesting youtube video
- Some of these units have lifetime map upgrades

- Reduces waste ( agree)
- Saves money   ( Not  real when the stuff is made  China and sold abroad  on the ultra cheap)
- Makes an interesting youtube video    ( Not  real  when  most of the components  are surface  mount)
- Some of these units have lifetime map upgrades  ( You can  just use the maps on your cell  phone)

[JustMeHere]

I've seen this statement before in data sheets too.  I thought the device side should not connect the shield pins to GND. 

"Shield should only be connected to Ground at the host. No device should connect Shield to Ground."

http://www.hardwarebook.info/Universal_Serial_Bus_%28USB%29

[SilverSolder]

[

- Reduces waste
- Saves money
- Makes an interesting youtube video
- Some of these units have lifetime map upgrades

- Reduces waste ( agree)
- Saves money   ( Not  real when the stuff is made  China and sold abroad  on the ultra cheap)
- Makes an interesting youtube video    ( Not  real  when  most of the components  are surface  mount)
- Some of these units have lifetime map upgrades  ( You can  just use the maps on your cell  phone)

Using a cell phone for navigation can be a bit annoying at times.  Apart from reception issues causing problems occasionally, phones tend to drain their batteries faster than a dedicated GPS.

[richnormand]

At one point Dave mentioned in the video that he is using lead-free solder (unless I misunderstood).
For that type of repair (hobby, non commercial) I use leaded solder since I can use a lower temperature, less toxic flux, better wetting, better joint appearance and less susceptible to cracks and adhesion issues when stressed in a connector here.
Any reason to use unleaded for this repair that I am missing?

Edit: Any reason to use "un"leaded...... thanks thm_w

[thm_w]

I've seen this statement before in data sheets too.  I thought the device side should not connect the shield pins to GND. 

"Shield should only be connected to Ground at the host. No device should connect Shield to Ground."

http://www.hardwarebook.info/Universal_Serial_Bus_%28USB%29

Not sure where they get that info from, I would trust Intel over them: https://www.ti.com/sc/docs/apps/msp/intrface/usb/emitest.pdf
"Tie shell to ground plane"

There are so many discussions of this already, https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/usb-shield-ground-connection/

At one point Dave mentioned in the video that he is using lead-free solder (unless I misunderstood).
For that type of repair (hobby, non commercial) I use leaded solder since I can use a lower temperature, less toxic flux, better wetting, better joint appearance and less susceptible to cracks and adhesion issues when stressed in a connector here.
Any reason to not use leaded for this that I am missing?

Yep flux is more toxic and has more fumes, as you are dealing with higher soldering temperatures.

One possible motivation, Dave has young children so if they have a lot of lead exposure and do not wash their hands that could be an issue.

[EEVblog]

One possible motivation, Dave has young children so if they have a lot of lead exposure and do not wash their hands that could be an issue.

Mrs EEVblog has banned the kids from using leaded solder 

[SilverSolder]

I remember playing with liquid mercury with my bare hands,  in science class (probably grade 5 or 6)...    Explains a lot!!!