Broken DSTT, Not Loading, Not Recognized or Blank Screens

Broken DSTT, Not Loading, Not Recognized or Blank Screens

I know what is it to wait for an item and receive it broken... I just received my DSTT from dealextreme and dude!!... It took 2 and a half months to arrive... dang, never waited so long since when I was kid and had a pen-pal in the ex Yugoslavia...

So I want to share some useful info with people wanting to bend or even step and bite their DSTT cards.

FACT: 1) I am too far from HK and the return shipping would be non cost effective, and extremely patience killer.
FACT: 2) I have some experience and tools to repair electronic devices.

My DSTT card worked yesterday when took it out of the box, when downloaded the OS v1.08 and put it on the memory, the card only worked after second time I tried (bad foresee) but I was able to test some games and functions like download play very well without problems and pretty fast compared with my SuperCard DS ONE SDHC.

Today the DS didn't even recognized the card, tried my other DS and nothing either so compared the DSTT against the SCDS and first noted the DSTT PCB was not straight, instead was a little bended on a corner so proceeded to disassemble the card.

WARNING: if you can wait and return the item to receive a refund for your money, or want a exchange or whatever the store proposes you then it is a good idea to do that. I just don't have the patience and time, and I like to dismantle things as a hobby.

I has nothing to lose so i began, though this card is pasted then was traumatizing to do it carefully with an exacto blade around the junction until something cracked and the two parts began to separate.

Got the circuit board out and there was the problem... Cold Solder Joints (means bad QC), you can note the cold solder in the SMD devices but there wasn't cracked joints so I guessed the most difficult to solder was the problematic one, (Murphy's Law =D) a squared IC at the top right corner (it looks like a flash memory) with contacts in the bottom, only repairable maybe with a hot air gun.

I don't have a hot air gun by now but I used a small piece of rubber to make some pressure over the IC when covers are together, that is to make this IC only to have better contact with the PCB (similar result of bending the card, though there is another round chip moulded to the PCB so bending the card should be harmful to that IC and also to the other not so good solder joints on other parts of the circuit)

After that I used normal tape to keep the covers together (don't cover the contacts, TF slot or the clip holes at the side of the card) And should keep like that for a while until I get a hot air gun.

Problem solved, in that budget way, the card is a bit bulky and not so easy to take out of the DS as before but it is fully working and you can take off the memory with the card still in.

Less bad the other 5 cards I ordered never arrived and i got my refund or I would be very pissed off by now, doing such low budget repairs to all of them... Anyway now I can make my tests and write a review. By now I like the DSTT GUI, speed and price but I don't think on buying more in a while, call me when their QC department pass the QC and leave aside the coffee and donuts, or should be hampaos and tea? Whatever it is, I am more confident with SuperCard...

Good Luck...

My DevKits Blog (En Español)

Bienvenidos sean todos a este humilde blog de tecnología...

Hace ya buen tiempo me dedico a reconstruir aparatos electrónicos como pasatiempo, ya sea para aprender, afianzar conocimientos y practicar (la práctica hace al maestro); y seamos sinceros XD también para ponerles las manos encima, probar sus funciones, características, analizar su tecnología e imaginar "que más" se podría hacer con esas funciones; claro está, dentro de lo que el tiempo me permite, pues no todos nacemos con dinero en los bolsillos y hay que trabajar.

Últimamente estoy sacando fotos como guía de los aparatos más interesantes que logro desmantelar, pues como nunca se sabe si te vuelve a llegar el mismo aparato para reparar, y muchas veces estas guías le sirven a otros con problemas similares, mejor es estar prevenido para no cometer los mismos errores y hacer un trabajo cada vez más fino.

El problema con estos sofisticados o no tan sofisticados dispositivos electrónicos es que, por la relación: "Costo de Reparación VS Costo de uno Nuevo", en su mayoría son catalogados a estas alturas, como tecnología desechable, y seguramente muchos reparadores como yo, que estamos fuera del amparo de las casas fabricantes, carecemos de la información necesaria para realizar un trabajo que ya de por si, aún teniendo herramientas e información como: esquematicos de circuitos, diagramas de ensamblaje, puntos de prueba, etc.; es un trabajo bastante incierto, puede llegar a demandar mucho tiempo y puede ser considerado una ruleta rusa tecnológica.

Por ahora estoy organizando el material que tengo, y siempre estoy leyendo información de nuevos dispositivos que destacan por diversas características interesantes.

Sobre mi pues diria que soy una especie de antagonista, una persona que nunca se queda impresionado con superficiales trucos de mercadeo como diseños, nombres sugestivos o de moda, o las premisas de que solo por ser de X o Y marca un aparato es de mejor calidad y tiene las mejores características. Yo siempre analizo los segundos, terceros y cuartos lugares porque los avances tecnológicos y las ideas innovadoras, por extraño que parezca, no son exclusividad de las empresas con más dinero, equipos de investigación y desarrollo... Cualquiera puede tener una idea más allá de lo común, aunque lastimosamente no cualquiera puede echarla a andar XD...

Espero estar pronto de vuelta...
Saludos...