Loose Hinge

[Pinballwzd]

After playing with my son's 3DS, I like very much how it has multiple stopping points in regards to the screen. I find that the Pandora, at least with mine, has one good staying position.. which is fully open.
When I open the screen to the first position to play, it very easily ( with any movement ) falls to the fully open position.

Is there any way to tighten the hinge ?
I have had 3 Pandora units so far and quite honestly.. found them all to be a bit loose.

At least I have not had any case cracking issues thus far...

 

[Chaser]

I don't think the hinge can be tightened and changing LCD cable can break the hinge entirely, so I think its pretty much a one time build affair. You may want to try something like this http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/56918-lid-holder-3-house-hold-items-and-quickly-built/page__view__findpost__p__921166 to give a solid support for play at an angle.

As an aside, I've also had 3 Pandora's but all of them had decent hinges that hold well at pretty much any angle, though I prefer 180 for gaming. Seems to be luck of the draw. I am slightly concerned with the recent reports of case cracks and seemingly brittle cases though. Something aint right with some of them clearly

 

[Prometheus]

Just a quick thought for something that might (no guarantees, but *might*) possibly increase the friction on the hinge - a very-ridiculously-thin layer of Sugru, which is a substance that's shaped like modelling clay, but which cures into silicon-rubber after being exposed to air for a certain amount of time.

There isn't much clearance between the hinge and the base (I'd guess that it's only about a millimetre or so at the most, so anything added would have to be less than that), so it would certainly have to be applied ludicrously thinly. However, it's the only option that I can think of that won't be too bulky, and also wouldn't require fitting something that only allows the hinge to stop in one place. Another advantage is that if anything should befall the unit and it needs to be RMA'ed for whatever reason, the Sugru could be cleanly cut off.

 

[TitanUranus]

Try sticking a bogey in the hinge, or some mucous then let it dry. If you're a man, there's some other options you can try that will be more fun.

 

[slaeshjag]

Try sticking a bogey in the hinge, or some mucous then let it dry. If you're a man, there's some other options you can try that will be more fun.

Good luck on sending in one of those units for RMA.

 

[DaveC]

After playing with my son's 3DS, I like very much how it has multiple stopping points in regards to the screen. I find that the Pandora, at least with mine, has one good staying position.. which is fully open.
When I open the screen to the first position to play, it very easily ( with any movement ) falls to the fully open position.

Is there any way to tighten the hinge ?
I have had 3 Pandora units so far and quite honestly.. found them all to be a bit loose.

At least I have not had any case cracking issues thus far...

Blame Nintendo.

The hinge for the Pandora is made by the same company as the DS one but Nintendo has an exclusive with them and they won't sell 2-position hinges to anyone else. They would make a custom hinge for the Pandora but that would cost a small fortune.

The one on the Pandora only has one true position, fully open. The bad news is eventually the stiffness at in-between positions will eventually loosen up as the plastic wears, and will only lock in the open and closed positions.

 

[Trip]

The hinge for the Pandora is made by the same company as the DS one but Nintendo has an exclusive with them and they won't sell 2-position hinges to anyone else. They would make a custom hinge for the Pandora but that would cost a small fortune.

I suppose there could always be a revision of the Pandora that uses two small hinges set to different locking positions instead of one big one. Nintendo wouldn't have any reason to complain then

 

[DaveC]

The hinge for the Pandora is made by the same company as the DS one but Nintendo has an exclusive with them and they won't sell 2-position hinges to anyone else. They would make a custom hinge for the Pandora but that would cost a small fortune.

I suppose there could always be a revision of the Pandora that uses two small hinges set to different locking positions instead of one big one. Nintendo wouldn't have any reason to complain then

Already thought of that but that is a fairly major redesign. While the CAD work is no big deal, new molds would need to be made which would rout the LCD cable through the middle of the lid so that each end could be a hinge. That would be pretty costly, maybe someday if there is a MK2.

 

[Aurekana]

Has anyone yet tried replacing the Pandora hinge clicker with one off a used or broken NDS or similar? I'm too afraid of destroying my hinge to give it a go myself.

 

[Pinballwzd]

I thought of building or designing a product for the Pandora that would mount securely underneath with rubber fingers on the sides. It would have an arm that wraps around the back and bends to support the lid.. This way it can be removed and yet easily adjusted to any position.
I am just looking into finding rubber or plastic coated bendable metal wire to use in the design. Would be nice to make a mold for the base our of metal with rubber secure posts or fingers to protect the pandora while holding/gripping it securely.

If someone wants to work on it with me, I would be open to coming up with a small dev. team..