Power Switch Fallen Off!


Mekon

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Feb 22, 2005
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Hi Guys, I wonder if anyone can offer me some help.

I have a Mk1 GP2X which I've been using almost daily for about a year. It's obviously taken a few knocks during this time, the upshot of this is that a few days ago the unit failed to switch on and there was an ominous rattling from inside.

When I opened it up it was obvous that the power switch had completely detached from the circuit board. I hoped it would just be a matter of soldering it back. Having looked closely at both the board and the switch it appears that the switch has pulled off the copper tracks from the board.

As each of the three connections was just a little pad, I assumed that the connections were plated through from the other side of the board. I removed the board and looked for somewhere I could attach wires, but it seems that the board may have another layer in the middle.

Given that I can't solder the switch back to its original connections, does anyone know of anywhere else on the board where these connections emerge, or if there is another way I can turn the thing on?

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Thanks
 
I don't know if yours is the same, but on my dev board, with the unit in the usual position (shoulder buttons top), I see that the top connector of the switch goes to an immediate via to the left of it, and the middle one goes to R18. If you linked these two together with a bit of thin wire (such as modwire), the unit should turn on. You can then put another switch nearer the battery compartment where it would be easier for you.
 
Thanks for the help, Squidge. I've taken a scan of the board to get a clearer view of the problem.

gp2xswitch.jpg


I can see that the middle of the switch does indeed connect up with the bottom of R18. In fact that track covers most of that side of the board so I can solder a wire almost anywhere there. There is a tiny part of the bottom connector still on the board, so it might be possible to solder directly to that. As for the top connection, it seems to be unconnected to anything else.

Any ideas?
 
The top wont be connected anywhere as thats the "off" function so you wont need to worry about that. I would say just the middle and the bottom is all you need.

EDIT: Forgot to mention use some 30awg ceramic wrapping wire, like kynar. That'd be perfect for this repair.
 
Yes, I'd suspect the middle connector is simply connected to either end connector depending on the position of the switch. So I'd just connect the two.
 
Thanks guys. I realised I'd answered my own question with my last post!

I've done the delicate soldering and glued the switch back with araldite (epoxy glue) . I'm just waiting for this to cure before I screw the thing back together.

It seems to me that this switch is a a bit of a design weakness, surely a switch that's going to get turned on and off each time the device is used should be held in place with something more substantial than solder.

Did this get fixed with the second edition?
 
If they increased the quantity of solder it wouldn't be as bad. Same thing with the headphone jacks which falls off when you plug something into it.

but yeah, the switch should have a couple of lugs, so it fits snug on the board before soldering to take the stresses

again... thats gph for you!
 
I just got my gp2x last week and thought it was boken because the very cheap switch doesn't work worth a crap! But after a few tries it came on. Each time I go to turn it on I have to try 3-5 times.

I guess I'll put in a replacement switch of decent quality - should I be resoldering or replacing the headphone jack while I goter open'd up?
 
Squidge said:
If they increased the quantity of solder it wouldn't be as bad. Same thing with the headphone jacks which falls off when you plug something into it.
That was with MK1, MK2 is fine soldered.
However, in that case it wouldn't have helped - the solder was fine, that's why it ripped the copper from the board :)
 
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