Replacement Casing?

[bigred-oz]

Just a quick intro - I am a newb' here. Due to being isolated in Perth, Australia I took the chance to buy a well-looked-after 2nd hand unit from an enthusiast I met here in Perth who had 2 Pandoras.


I am now starting to play with it and enjoy it - kudos to the guys who brought this project to reality - I have read much of the posts about all the hassles that have transpired in dealing with suppliers and manufacturers etc. Good on you for sticking with it!


As for my Pandora- my case is for sure not a perfect fit, and also a bit creaky in both use and opening. Further to this last night I noticed that some chips of plastic have been breaking away from one side of the top half, where the seam is between the hinges. I remember in my reading seeing an admin saying something about there was something wrong with the plastic mix on the early cases, but try as I might I can't seem to find the post/thread I read that info in again.


Long story short, since I am an experienced tech' and don't need to waste others time doing work for me that I am well capable of, can I in any way get hold of a replacement case of a better grade? Is there such a thing ? Will it cost me much, especially given my location ?


Thanks in advance for any advice/help/comments. And I am looking forward to partaking in this nice community.

 

[JeFF]

http://www.icontrolpad.com/pandoraprivate.html This page let's you buy a new case. Costs 30$.

 

[DaMummy]

warning. it is likely the same thing. nothing has really changed in the case department since release

 

[bigred-oz]

I can only hope every other Pandora does not have as poor quality plastic case as mine does ?!


TBH if I had bought mine new I would be returning it promptly.

 

[moz]

The creaking is fairly normal as far as my understanding goes, but as for the chipping, I've not really heard of that at all. But anyway, good luck with the replacement case

 

[Link]

All cases are not the same, there are definitely a few bad ones out there and this sounds like the case


You could consider the Sugru fix pinned at the top of the support forum.


I have a case in the same state as yours. The plastic cracked away from the hinge and now it is literally a hole. Looking inside, I don't see any components, just some more plastic, so I'm in no hurry to repair this myself. My hinge opens and closes without any other issues. This hole that appeared is almost dead center under the lid on the hinge.


There was talk of tweaking the cases more, but I don't know any additional info here.

 

[MarioPandio]

Shame that your case is breaking up. I've had 3 Pandora's and only the second one had a slight crack near the usb port develop, rather than any of the hinge based cracking that a few people have experienced. I found the quality of all three units to be very good in general. Sure there is an uneven edge to the lip of the lid, a slight lift in the left side of the lid due to the hinges force from the right side but otherwise, they have been reliable and sturdy (I dropped one unit a few times and it was totally unscathed) and all 3, have had good hinges, where it will stay put at any angle.


I've been very lucky perhaps but equally my contact with the sales team and the level of customer service, has also always been prompt and beyond the scale of any other company, whereas others have reported huge delays in their communications.


The thread your seeking for a new replacement case was posted above but in the meantime, this stickied post by the moderator Prometheus, details how to use 'sugru' to fix and stabilise case cracks.


http://boards.openpa...es-using-sugru/


It maybe that its faster to patch up the case you currently have, than for the replacement case to be sent to you. Craigix is possibly(?) in the process of shipping the majority of the spare cases and other Pandora items to Evil Dragon at present, who will be dealing with the Pandora entirely via his own German business soon. So those spare cases maybe difficult to get issued to you promptly.


The current cases will all come from the old stock aswell as DaMummy pointed out above.


They may suffer the same problems but according to EvilDragon, he is seeking improvements to the case mouldings and plastics in use, that will hopefully alleviate these remaining issues with the newer production in the new year. I'll drink to that

 

[Link]

h34r:

 

[bigred-oz]

Thanks all for the input and info - especially MarioPandio.


I am going to look into the products in the linked post, and figure out which I can get here in Oz.


I do have some DevCon here from previous automotive fix-its, but IIRC that is more intended for metal bonding rather than plastic(s).


So nice to see this seems to be a friendly group of genuine enthusiasts - that is becoming a rarer and rarer thing these days (sadly).


I hope down the track when I am not such a newb' that I can in turn help others.

 

[bigred-oz]

BTW who is this Craigix? Does he currently distribute or manage spare parts or something ? His name has come up in various threads I have been skimming - and I couldn't help but notice it's not usually in a positive context, either ?!


I would gladly pay for a new casing, but if it's going to be the same low quality and/or take forever to come, it hardly seems worth the bother (or money).

 

[moz]

Craigix is part of the OPT (Open Pandora Team) He basically created the Pandora with the help of others.

 

[DaMummy]

but since the change to produce boards in germany, craigix has taken over the part of EvilDragons old job, as mostly doing pandora distribution. Craigix is located in UK, if you ordered from openpandorasales@gmail.com or gbax, you ordered from craig. EvilDragon is from germany, and he used to do german, and other close countries distribution for pandora, and other nice open source and retro gadgets. new orders go to ED now instead of craigix. the reason you see some negative comments about craig, is because....hes kind of a weird fall-off-a-roof kinda fella, very persistant, and rather likes things his way or the highway, and while it may have caught him some of these negative comments from some core members and developers, it is all around believed that the pandora would have never had the chance to see the light of day if it wasnt for his stubbornness, plus he makes a great Yin to EDs Yang. there is also Fatih, who we hear very little from around these parts of town, he is the guy who does distribution in and around Turkey, and he's also responsible for dealing with Chinese companies that make parts for pandora. also...craig is the main guy behind the iControlPad, which seems to be doing quite good

 

[scoobydoo]

You might get a good case though.

 

[sukhi2011]

Don't bother with the cases because they are from china,anything made by them will be low quality,but if germany,uk,japan they will high quality cases.


My pandora from the back where clips into is half broken and i was bit worried but it's ok,the battery lid fits perfect without any problem.

 

[MarioPandio]

SHEILA: Times have changed


Our posters are getting worse


They won't obey the moderators


They just want to rant and curse!


SHARON: Should we blame the government?


LIANE: Or blame society?


STUART/GERALD/RANDY: Or should we blame the images on iTV?


SHEILA: No, blame CHINA!


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: With all their squinty little eyes


And flapping heads so full of lies


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA! Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: We need to form a full assault


EVERYONE: It's CHINAs fault!


SHARON: Don't blame me for my son Stanley


He saw the darn cartoon and now he's off to join the CPC!


LIANE: And my boy Eric, once, had my iPAD on his shelf


But now when I see him he tells me to fuck myself


SHEILA: Well, blame CHINA!


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: It seems that everything's gone wrong


Since CHINA came along


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA!


Blame CHINA!


COPY SHOP EMPLOYEE: They're not even a real country anyway


CAROL: My Panda could've been a dual core or had an OLED display


Instead it burned up overclocking just past 1.3 to my dismay


EVERYONE: Should we blame the hotfix?


Should we blame the fire?


Or the Certain Company who allowed the PCBs to expire?


SHEILA: Heck, no!


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA! Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: With all their hong kong phooey hullabaloo


LIANE: And that butch bitch Mulan, too


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA! Shame on CHINA for...


The TV OUT cables we must ourselves make Peca cut


The iTrash we must buttonlessly bash


The laughter and fun mustn't all be from FOXCONN


We must blame them and cause a fuss


Before somebody thinks of blaming us!

 

[bigred-oz]

LOL re China.


I know quite a bit more about Chinese manufacturing that the average person, but probably not as much as the mod's here would.


There are so many different grades of products made in China, and this can be especially true with both plastic and metal based manufacturing.


Of course the biggest issue is that due to the way the international business world works so many things are spec'ed down to a low, low price, with little consideration for spending the money to have a product up to a certain standard.


And then on top of that is the issue that paying "extra" to have something up to a particular standard does not mean that they won't just take your money and then shaft you by producing a low grade product anyways - followed by all the excuses under the sun like language difficulties, tooling and other assorted lies.


At least out of all this comes enough Chinglish for me to Google and keep my giggle on.


http://www.wired.com...ers-660x495.jpg

 

[dtho2312]

My case is very squeeky and wobbly around the screen hinges but I have learned to live with it. Now if I could only charge the battery to 100% (and not 93%) I would be ectstatic amdnot just very very happy with my panda ;-)

 

[Link]

My case is very squeeky and wobbly around the screen hinges but I have learned to live with it. Now if I could only charge the battery to 100% (and not 93%) I would be ectstatic amdnot just very very happy with my panda ;-)

Have you tried draining the battery, then removing it for 10 minutes, and try a full charge?

 

[fusion_power]

SHEILA: Times have changed


Our posters are getting worse


They won't obey the moderators


They just want to rant and curse!


SHARON: Should we blame the government?


LIANE: Or blame society?


STUART/GERALD/RANDY: Or should we blame the images on iTV?


SHEILA: No, blame CHINA!


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: With all their squinty little eyes


And flapping heads so full of lies


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA! Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: We need to form a full assault


EVERYONE: It's CHINAs fault!


SHARON: Don't blame me for my son Stanley


He saw the darn cartoon and now he's off to join the CPC!


LIANE: And my boy Eric, once, had my iPAD on his shelf


But now when I see him he tells me to fuck myself


SHEILA: Well, blame CHINA!


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: It seems that everything's gone wrong


Since CHINA came along


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA!


Blame CHINA!


COPY SHOP EMPLOYEE: They're not even a real country anyway


CAROL: My Panda could've been a dual core or had an OLED display


Instead it burned up overclocking just past 1.3 to my dismay


EVERYONE: Should we blame the hotfix?


Should we blame the fire?


Or the Certain Company who allowed the PCBs to expire?


SHEILA: Heck, no!


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA! Blame CHINA!


SHEILA: With all their hong kong phooey hullabaloo


LIANE: And that butch bitch Mulan, too


EVERYONE: Blame CHINA! Shame on CHINA for...


The TV OUT cables we must ourselves make Peca cut


The iTrash we must buttonlessly bash


The laughter and fun mustn't all be from FOXCONN


We must blame them and cause a fuss


Before somebody thinks of blaming us!

Trouble with China? Hm... we should have asked earlier what would Brian Boitano do?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANfxroJ_0m0

 

[dtho2312]

My case is very squeeky and wobbly around the screen hinges but I have learned to live with it. Now if I could only charge the battery to 100% (and not 93%) I would be ectstatic amdnot just very very happy with my panda ;-)

Have you tried draining the battery, then removing it for 10 minutes, and try a full charge?

Tried everything really I think but will give it another go