Ds Hinge In Pandora, Success!

[dgame]

There has been mention of the Pandora’s hinge being similar to that of the Nintendo DS.

EvilDragon mentioned this in one of his recent videos.

I had ordered several types of DS hinges and finally got around to trying them over the weekend.

The result is by using an OEM Original Nintendo DS Axel Hinge the Pandora’s lid will ‘lock’ open at 162° versus the normal 180°. Like a DS with the new hinge you can still push the lid all the way open if you desire.

This is the position my Pandora now 'locks' in when open.
View attachment 587 View attachment 588

EDIT2: The dealextreme “Screen Shaft Hinge for NDS” also works the same way but ‘locks’ open slightly wider than as the OEM hinge. They also don’t lock into position as strongly as the OEM (from the dealextreme comments.) I've seen these advertised as being OEM, they are not:

NOTE: The OEM DS hinge looks like the picture below. It has shiny metal and flat ends not stepped. The ball bearing locks into a corner and not into a groove in the middle.
EDIT: The larger of the two hinges may have a groove in the middle for the bearing, but it is not as pronounced as the dealextreme version above, which is probably why the actual OEM one 'locks' tighter.
View attachment 589

The original DS hinge comes in two parts, a long and short axel; I used the longer one in the Pandora.

The NDSi /XL/LL hinge will NOT work (without modification) as it is of a slightly different design.

EDIT2: I THINK the DS Lite hinge is too small though I couldn’t find the one I ordered to try. I seem to recall them being very tiny though.

The DS Lite hinge is the same as the longer of DS Phat hinges. I tested one and it works.

WARNING: Changing the hinge in the Pandora requires taking most of the entire unit apart. You have to figure out how to get the lid open and if you are unfamiliar with how the Pandora is assembled YOU LIKELY WILL BREAK SOMETHING trying this. I previously ordered several spare parts from the nice ladies at openPandora sales, including several LCD cable sets. I ended up killing the LCD cable in the process and had to replace it. It was definitely worth it to me, but I advise that you order some spare LCD cables first if you plan on attempting this mod.

 

[EvilDragon]

Nice
When I first saw the picture of an NDS hinge, I thought it looks AWEFUL familiar.

Well, it's the same company that does them

 

[Dunny]

Are there any hinges out there that lock at about 110[sup]o[/sup]? I've found that using my Pandora like a laptop is the most comfortable for me and any further open than that and it feels unnatural.

D.

 

[skeezix]

Lately I've been running at 90deg and gravity does okay..

But at 3am I need backlit keys

I know mweston put some solder pads in for powering and controlling leds.. Anyone done it? Any convenient place to drop lihht surfaces in there? Doubt it.. Pretty tight in there

Jeffphone

 

[dgame]

I edited the first post.

The summary:

Both the original DS (Phat) and DS Lite hinges can be used in the Pandora.

When used they lock the lid open at about 162°.

The OEM hinges are better quality and hold stronger.

The OEM hinges have shiny flat ends and are not stepped on the ends like the aftermarket hinges.

The aftermarket DS (Phat) and DS Lite hinges do work in the Pandora.

The OEM DS Lite hinges are probably the easiest OEM ones to still get.

They OEM DS Lite hinge looks like this:

 

[fusion_power]

so does the NDS Hinge actualy have 2 lock positions? Because it reads like the second position at 180 degrees is only hold by the lid/case design itself.
This way we also could had such a hinge in the Pandora since the Beginning. Just using a simple hinge with one lock position at 135 degrees or so and the 2. position would be by 180 degrees via the case itself.
Should not interupt with any Nintendo patents IMHO. Now it's to late for this but watching back it actualy didn't made much sense to choose a hinge lock piece for the Pandora that locks at 180 degrees when this is the end position of the lid so or so. ^^

 

[dgame]

@Dunny, the way the current hinges are designed they lock at opposite points. So with the DS hinge my Pandora does not slam shut as the ‘lock’ engagement part is now about 18° lower than fully closed. It still holds tight though. The locking points are 180° apart. To get 110° would probably require offset locking points or somehow turning the hinge. The best candidate would be the NDSi hinge as it has extra plastic material that would need to be cut/ground/removed in order for it to fit into the Pandora anyway. Grinding the plastic with a smaller angle in mind could possibly work. The desired effect would be turning the hinge inwards from the stock DS position.

@fusion_power, The DS hinge has one lock position and the second position is held by the lid/case. In the Pandora the DS hinge goes all the way to about 185° where the lid engages the case. The stock Pandora hinge locks at 180°.

 

[DisgruntleElf]

So is ED offering to do this for an additional fee for anyone who wants it? He might as well make some extra money when fixing the RMAs. At least repairing Pandoras won't be a complete loss of his time and money.

 

[CPUnltd]

not a bad idea, disgruntleelf, but probably won't happen... people would complain that they were being gouged for something that is 100% optional... people like to complain...

 

[DaveC]

Should not interupt with any Nintendo patents IMHO. Now it's to late for this but watching back it actualy didn't made much sense to choose a hinge lock piece for the Pandora that locks at 180 degrees when this is the end position of the lid so or so. ^^

If they were designed in then we would have had to order these hinges from aftermarket resellers. That is bad practice as they come and go.

We inquired with the current OEM company that makes both the Pandora off the shelf hinges and the DS ones. We asked about putting in the DS ones with two positions but said they had a legal contract with Nintendo and could not sell them to anyone else.

 

[Aurekana]

Pardon me if I missed something, but it looks as though both the DS hinges and Pandora hinges have locking points 180 degrees separated, probably because of two ball bearings on opposite sides of the center shaft. Is there such a hinge part that has more than the two positions, i.e. one at 0 degrees, one at 180 degrees, and one at 135 degrees?

EDIT: looks like someone already asked essentially what I just did. Sorry.

 

[sebnec]

Hi, everyone !

I read this topic some monthes ago and finally decided to register to the forum !

The fact is I can't stand my Pandora's screen opening to a 180° angle, and hesitated between the fact to sell my game system or to change the hinge.

I opted for the second solution, but I need more detailed informations before I can work it out, cause I'm not good when it comes to precise manual work !

I sent a message to dgame, so I could get some help.

Did someone else try to change its Pandora hinge ? Was it an easy task, and are you 100 percent satisfied with it, now ?

TIA for your answers.

 

[directive0]

I'm so tired of the screen flipping to 180° when I'm on the bus so I have ordered an NDS hinge and plan to try it in my Pandora this month.

Any advice from those who have tried it? I'm comfortable around electronics, I am a certified technician. Have no shortage of sprudgers, pry tools, etc. I hear the screen cable is easy to break, can anyone elaborate on that? I have seen ED's tear down video and will be using that for guidance. I appreciate any further counsel.

 

[levi]

I used ED's video successfully to disassemble my Pandora. Eventually my hamfisted attempts at reinstalling the LCD cable caused the connector to fail (best advice I have for that it to try to connect it before placing the board in the case, with the board held aligned to the vertical end of the cable. You'll need to be careful inserting the board after that not to pull on the cable too hard, and to align the microphone correctly, but it should be doable I think.

But I don't think you'll have to go that far to replace the hinge. Just pop out the lid inner, open the bottom, remove the light pipes and pop the hinge out - I forget if the microphone is on the same side as the hinge, if so you'll need to pop the board out of the way. The hinge is very stiff to pop out the first time, but if you don't care about the hinge you can use however much force you can.

Also, I had trouble removing the screws from my case bottom, but while I've seen a few people with similar problems over the years, most people don't seem to have that problem, so I guess it depends on your exact case.

 

[Klumpen]

But I don't think you'll have to go that far to replace the hinge. Just pop out the lid inner, open the bottom, remove the light pipes and pop the hinge out - I forget if the microphone is on the same side as the hinge, if so you'll need to pop the board out of the way. The hinge is very stiff to pop out the first time, but if you don't care about the hinge you can use however much force you can.

A tutorial video for this (especcially for the Pyra) would be awesome. It wouldn't even need to show a DS hinge, just how to get to the original one.

 

[Xcl4m4t10n]

+1 to the video idea. I think I am going to hardly dislike the Pyra hinge...

 

[edgex004]

I think these are the default starting point:

 

[directive0]

Structurally integrity on my pandy is failing. The case has suffered multiple hull breaches. I think its time for an overhaul. I have been amassing spare parts to replace the exterior and I think that will be a good excuse to try this hinge mod too.

If anyone has any last pieces of wisdom to share before I try it please let me know!

Wish me luck!

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

I use the wifi antenna to hold my screen up in place

 

[Eight Bit]

Nice combi-case @Shenmue