truss64130

It's been a while since I posted, but that means that all has been well with my aging x3i. The sync connector had a piece of plastic inside which helped to support the pins. That piece broke out about a year ago, and now the pins are starting to become mangled. I'm constantly fixing them with small screwdrivers.

Also my stock battery is not holding a charge very well.

When the parts arrive, I'll be replacing the foxconn 543HB connector and a mugen 1100mah battery and I'll post my experiences here. Anyone know of any problems openening the case of the x3i? Soldering will not be a problem when I get it, I'm just looking for any pitfalls I may encounter.

Pebu

I don't mean to underestimate you, but don't underestimate the soldering... They're some small pins.
When opening the case it might feel like you're breaking it. If you do it right you shouldn't be. There is a fine line between only feeling like it's breaking and it actually breaking.
Be sure to desolder the old connector good and clean. Solder wick doesn't really work but a solder vacuum did the trick.

I've tryed to write it down before. Here is the link...
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=143923

Good luck.

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truss64130

Pebu,

Thanks for the info. I was waiting for a flux pen to arrive and was finally ready to go tonight. I used this page as a guide for surface mount soldering techniques, there is a video if you click on the video. http://www.bdmicro.com/smt/

Things did not go as smooth as in the video (dang, that guy is good). I can say that is because of both my inexperience with micro-soldering and the fact that there is much less space to work with on the Axim than in the video. The flux-pen is my new friend!

Everything went successfully, and the worst part was de-soldering the side posts of the old connector. It took a lot of heat, suction, wicks, and time to clean out the old holes. Oh, and a lot of magnification!

I did get the new style connector, pcb board, and it feel much sturdier than the older pin-style. Only time will tell!