Help! I've broken my xv6700

[Trebor]

Hi, I've had an xv6700 for about 2 yrs. now, and I have quite a few contacts in it. I really screwed up by not backing the list up on my computer AND now I've broken my Pocket PC. It will not power up or work by trying to sync it...nothing happens. Here's how I messed it up...(pease don't laugh...I've already gone through the gamut of calling myself all the proper names associated with this major blunder)... I tried to cut out the little piece of plastic under the battery to see if I could put an extra card there to store it, and scraped the circuit board through the thin tape cover attached to the board...I am wondering if there is a way to retreive the phone list by getting it from the chip somehow, or...( I'm probably screwed, right?) Anyway, I happened upon this forum and read Verizonguy's post....maybe he could help. This is (was) such a cool phone...never had any problems with it till now. Here's my e-mail link if needed.... hhowdydoo@excite.com Cheers, Bob

[weedahoe]

DOH!!! Yep, youre screwed, sry buddy. Best piece of advice I can offer (other than getting another) is take it apart FIRST before you try to do physical modding of the unit. I know you know this already though but couldnt but say it. If the unit will not power on and you have not backed anything up through AS or even used something like PIMBackup then there is nothing to be done as far as I know. Next time use something like PIMBack up that can at least be scheduled to back everything up everyday or certain days and even save everything to a card so if something does happen the the main unit, you still have the data on a card. Sorry bro....

[jabu]

Yeah, you're pretty much screwed. Only thing I can recommend is to disassemble the phone and see what you did to the board. Look for broken traces and see if they can be patched long enough to power it on and sync it. This RARELY works and will depend on the extent of the damage.

[aerospaced]

I agree with jabu, for repairing circuit boards, I love the wire wrap wire. It is .030 inch and you really need the stripper that goes with it. you can get it from www.digikey.com and a very fine tipped soldering iron, I would strongly suggest nothing over 24 watts. (oh and solder probably the finest size there) and an exacto knife to scrape the ink off the circuit trace.

NOTE: go to dollar general and buy a 2 dollar electronic device and practice on it before you go after the board. learn to use just enough heat to remove the part. finess is the key. too much heat (10 seconds at a time) can damage the board where the resin holding the copper trace to the board will release and allow the trace to pull off the circuit board. if you do not feel comfortable with the cheap device locate someone local to help you. It sounds like the damage you did is correctable, as long as you only damaged the surface traces. (the board has 7 layers of traces and if you cut down into one of the sandwiched layes, it cannot be repaird, other than finding where it started from and where it goes and putting a jumper from point to point) I have had limited success in trying this, you hold the board up to a light and guess where the trace goes! If you only knicked the surface trace, you can take the wire wrap wire and scrap the circuit trace so that the bare conductor is showing and you take the iron and put a layer of solder over the bare trace. Next stip insulation off the wire wrap wire(tip: leave the wire connected to the rest of the spool, do not cut it yet after the repair, you can take the exacto knife and score the wire and then bend it back and forth until it breaks. it is impossible to deal with a 1/4 inch piece of wire) and then tin it with the solder. You should now have a thin layer on both halves of the circuit traces, and on the wire. PUT THE SOLDER DOWN! Use the solder tinned on to each half, too much solder will bridge the traces and burn up parts. After you are done you will need to take a magnafying glass and inspect what you have done and ensure that no shorts or bridges are created, I'd suggest taking a high res picture before you start so you have a picture of how the traces were and ensure what should be connected; besides it is great for bragging after you get this working!!!!

Just take your time and pratice with the iron before you start!! There are several sites you can google about soldering.

Mike

[weedahoe]

omg. U guys are suggesting micro-circuitry repair to someone that wanted to do operation on a live phone already. Well I guess he has nothing else to lose at this point.

[jabu]

Originally Posted by weedahoe

omg. U guys are suggesting micro-circuitry repair to someone that wanted to do operation on a live phone already. Well I guess he has nothing else to lose at this point.

That's what I was thinking. If it's screwed anyways, can't hurt to try. Well, it can hurt if you set your hand on the soldering iron.

[weedahoe]

Originally Posted by jabu

That's what I was thinking. If it's screwed anyways, can't hurt to try. Well, it can hurt if you set your hand on the soldering iron.

Just like grabbing an exhaust pipe

[niw559]

these phones are pretty solid i am one time my phone fell and was submerged in a glass of water for alittle under 60 seconds..... 2 days later it was working.
you may have total equipment protection which i forgot i had and they will replace your phone for 50$
sprint asurion 800-584-3666

[weedahoe]

Originally Posted by niw559

these phones are pretty solid i am one time my phone fell and was submerged in a glass of water for alittle under 60 seconds..... 2 days later it was working.
you may have total equipment protection which i forgot i had and they will replace your phone for 50$
sprint asurion 800-584-3666

They arent going to replace it when you have physically tried to modify it and failed (or succeeded). That straight out void any and all warrantys