[SOLVED] Front of case being detached

[j.pickens]

Well, I just received my "one nubber" and I am very happy with it.
The right nub was a bit "crunchy", but I did the dust blaster thing and exercised the nubs well.
Here are the results:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mGSR0xvkPA

However, I do have a problem with the front of the case being detached in the middle.
Comments appreciated.
Thanks,
j.

 

[mali]

However, I do have a problem with the front of the case being detached in the middle.

Does the stylus fit properly in the slot? Maybe the part that's holding the stylus isn't attached properly. You could try squeezing the case parts together and pressing the upper part of the case protrusion between the slots inwards at the same time. Watch the end of this vid to see how it looks inside:
http://www.youtube.com/user/EvilDragon1717?blend=2&ob=1&rclk=cth#p/u/10/B50Kh70AeE4

 

[MWeston]

However, I do have a problem with the front of the case being detached in the middle.

There's a little barb on the bottom half of the case and a little bar on the top half. When the two halves are pressed together, they would normally click together but it looks like that bar broke off or more likely (since it isn't something that hangs way out), that part came out of the mold improperly and didn't even get that bar. The only solutions would be to either return it for a new case or maybe put a drop of glue along the inside edge and squeeze it together. The usage of that bar is only for cosmetics and holds the front together which you can see it clearly isn't. It doesn't affect anything inside like the keymat or PCB but again, it just doesn't look pretty without it.

 

[j.pickens]

Wow,
A couple of hours after I posted this, MWeston hisself responds!

So, I just posted up another video of the repair.
It was quite simple, just worked the barb on the lower case half to its proper form.
The case halves now catch together.
I would bet that this barb will fail in the future in my Pandora or others.
The good news is that there is plenty of room in there to glue reinforcing pieces of plastic or aluminum
to the sides of the barb, extending the barb laterally, and giving more "beef" to catch the top bar on the case.

No biggie.

Thanks to Michael, and to Mali for moving this to its own thread.
You could put a "Solved" prefix on the tread title.

This kind of mondo-amazing response from the Pandora team is a great reason to feel confident in a Pandora purchase.

I have never in my 52 years gotten this kind of support for any product, EVAR!!!

The link to the update video should be active shortly.
I have to go to work, but click on the earlier link, and search my youtube account, and it should be there.

 

[gruso]

Great to hear. I love seeing [SOLVED] appear in a thread title!

 

[mali]

I just drop the link to the repair video here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jdotpickens#p/a/u/0/Gj0-sdQQ14I

:blink:
That case is built like a tank! Try penetrating a case from a big corporation like that

 

[j.pickens]

Just got home to post the link to the repair video, and see that Mali has ninja'd me.
Thanks.

I'm happy with the video, I think it will help others with this simple repair.
That barb is TINY! You don't realize just how small the pandora is from these videos unless you see one in person.
Look at the size of my hands for reference.

And what I mentioned above about future repair for this likely to fail part is that it should be very easy to fabricate
some barb extensions to glue alongside the original barb should your case come apart here.

The reason I think this will happen to others is that there are screws at the other edges of the case, but none there.

So, if it happens to you, don't fret, it can easily be repaired.

 

[purplepup]

...
And what I mentioned above about future repair for this likely to fail part is that it should be very easy to fabricate
some barb extensions to glue alongside the original barb should your case come apart here.

So, if it happens to you, don't fret, it can easily be repaired.

Watched your video as my Pan arrived with the same gap as yours had, but on taking mine apart I can't see a barb, just a rough edge to that sticking up bar. So it seems it's sheared off either during manufacture/assembly or in transit. It looks like the barb was tiny so just the force against it may have broken it. Maybe it should be redesigned bigger or in metal.

As I'm not that good at modding/repairing stuff, what would you recommend (other than sending it back) as a solution to this ?
What sort of easy fabrication are you talking about ?

It's not affecting me using it but the bulge ruins the look, is annoying and the SD cards move about a bit when it flexes.
Thanks.

 

[j.pickens]

First, I'd examine the barb closely to see if it has broken off, or is just deformed.
Mine was deformed to the point that the bottom horizontal edge of the barb was bent downward to meet the base line of the case between the SD cards.

I used a very sharp screwdriver to work the barb open and upwards, as you can see in my video.

If the barb is broken or can't be restored to the proper position, I'd fabricate two barbs out of aluminum can metal or something similar.

Cut them so they have the correct profile, and are sized to fit alongside the case barb all the way to the inner case bottom.
Then clamp them on both sides of the barb, position them carefully, and hit them up with some thin cyanoacrylate glue.

I build small RC helicopters, and these sorts of reairs are very common.