Hacking Oh.. My godd..

[cory1492]

That part is known as an oscillator or clock crystal. At a guess, the card should work without it (except SD card would not be accessible in any sane fashion (it needs a frequency to sync to), hence freezing).

The reason it doesn't look like the one in the gbatemp review is the simple fact they have been sourcing parts that do the exact same thing from different companies and in different packages (I assume availability and cost are the factors). In fact, you see those three pads with the x2 in between? Alternate location or secondary clock chip location.

Try what was suggested with the tape (make a bit of a pad between the component on the case so it has a tiny bit of pressure against where it connects to as well), it's not a permanent solution but it would tell you if it is going to work or not.

If all that was damaged in the drop was that one component (likely, it looks like everything else is in place and the crystal was connected with a bad/cold joint which is why it came loose), and the component still works (does it still look completely square? nothing on it that looks like it cracked off in ultra tiny bits?), soldering it back on will likely fix your cards problem. I'd do it for you if you were my neighbor, it's a matter of 20 seconds work.

 

[maxpowersin]

Hey cory

Thanks for your expert advice.

I will try putting tape and trying it out. I am happy that you see nothing else wrong with it.

Also to answer your question it is completely square and nothing else seems to be broken!!

I will do the tape fix and report back here

 

[striderx]

Hey cory

Thanks for your expert advice.

I will try putting tape and trying it out. I am happy that you see nothing else wrong with it.

Also to answer your question it is completely square and nothing else seems to be broken!!

I will do the tape fix and report back here

The good news is that you can't break it any worse than it is.

The bad news is that it's probably impossible for you to fix with hand soldering.

Those little blocks on the circuit board are SMD's -- surface mount devices.

They're mechanically installed using an adhesive and soldered using a technique called wave soldering. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_soldering

If it were simply a two terminal resistor, you could conceivably hold it in place and make an ugly but successful and probably reliable repair by doing it yourself.

But from the looks of the circuit board in your pictures (which the first one by the way shows this pretty well) there are three terminals on that component -- one on each end and one in the middle. It's that middle one that's gonna be a bitch. I've got some pretty serious heat guns, but none that could do that job without also frying the circuit board (melting, charring, melting adjacent solder joints, etc...) and the ASIC at the same time.

You can try, and I wish you luck, but I suspect if you even tried to find someone to do this for you, the first thing they'd ask is, "How much does that thing cost to replace?" And when you answer them, they'll say, "Then I suggest you just replace it... it'll be cheaper and easier." Hence why today's electronics are disposable.

Good luck regardless...

striderx

 

[JPH]

Just buy a new R4.

No big deal.

They're like 40 bucks now.

 

[maxpowersin]

yaa probably
but need to find people who ship to india!!

 

[JPH]

yaa probably
but need to find people who ship to india!!

india?

I heard there are vendors who sell ds flashcarts on the streets in asia...

 

[maxpowersin]

asia as in china

in india ds are rare
leave alone flashcarts!!!

 

[striderx]

asia as in china

in india ds are rare
leave alone flashcarts!!!

Seriously, we feel for ya, man...

good luck

striderx

 

[maxpowersin]

Yaa

Can u tell some websites for cyclo which ship to India!!

I tried like everywhere.

If I don't get it fixed I have to buy another flash cart

 

[zeppo]

you said dealextreme ships, right? why don't you just get a new r4? They don't break that much...

 

[maxpowersin]

Yaa

but you see it's only been like 3 months!! and it breaks

I love the r4 no doubt about it but still you must agree it's been a bad experience for me!!
I mean i never dropped the r4. The first time I dropped it breaks!!
I am highly doubtful of the sdhc compatibility in r4!!

I am more interested in cyclo because of the sdhc compatibility!!

Also I did some hunting and found people who are selling r4 in my city for like 45 dollars!!
Kind of high but very convenient!!

Because I can go to the shop and buy it no probs at all!!

 

[Nero]

Yaa

but you see it's only been like 3 months!! and it breaks

I love the r4 no doubt about it but still you must agree it's been a bad experience for me!!
I mean i never dropped the r4. The first time I dropped it breaks!!
I am highly doubtful of the sdhc compatibility in r4!!

I am more interested in cyclo because of the sdhc compatibility!!

Also I did some hunting and found people who are selling r4 in my city for like 45 dollars!!
Kind of high but very convenient!!

Because I can go to the shop and buy it no probs at all!!

Ooh, nice. That is really awesome to have people near you selling Flashcarts.

You're interested in the CycloDS because of SDHC Compatibility? You've seen the costs of MicroSDHC's right? For a 4GB SDHC, least I've seen is $55.

 

[maxpowersin]

Yaa
that's true

but in future the prices will go down

and also there are other neat features in cyclo!!

 

[silverspoon]

.

 

[Osaka]

I say... get a new one... but if you are going to get a new one, you might as well TRY to fix this one ^^;

 

[zeppo]

lol. I like how you say "Yaa".

by the way, you should see if it's a chinese r4 or an english r4. I thought there was some kind of difference in the hardware...

 

[maxpowersin]

Hmm..

I am still torn between getting a new r4 and getting this one fixed.

If stridex is right about the stuff he is saying then I am probably better off buying a new one (cyclo or r4). Stridex are you absolutely sure about this thing not getting fixed easily?

silverspoon is pretty confident about fixing it and I know him and trust his ability!

But I am pretty doubtful if just soldering the chip will fix the problem..

@zeppo
I am pretty sure it's a English r4 because my brother got it from u.s.a when he was there on some work! (he bought it from deal extreme)

I am almost 99% sure I will ship it to silverspoon. Let him try his best and let's see what happens. If he fails fixing it then I will save the money and buy a new r4 or cyclo!!

In any case I cannot play games on my ds for a while

I will report back the developments here

lol I feel like a news official

 

[striderx]

You can try, and I wish you luck, but I suspect if you even tried to find someone to do this for you, the first thing they'd ask is, "How much does that thing cost to replace?"  And when you answer them, they'll say, "Then I suggest you just replace it...  it'll be cheaper and easier."  Hence why today's electronics are disposable.

Good luck regardless...

striderx

very simple I have done soldering on playstation console which was a lot more complexed than this. this one looks like a piece of cake. We are trying to find a person who could solder it for him in his local city if, we cannot find any guy he is most likely to ship it to me to do the job. I will check the circuits with a meter for continuity and current flows all over. Its fixable if I find it broken anywhere. Would be more than pleased to do it for him without any cost other than the 50 rupees (1US$= 39.40 rupees and hell no its not zelda currency.

) he is gonna put inside the box for return shipping

That's good to know repair's possible. In my line of work we have the luxury of doing just what I said. SMD's seldom get repaired or replaced. At least not by us. I know for a fact our suppliers will diagnose and repair defective boards I'd have just written it off.

They've got mad soldering skillz I guess...

striderx

 

[Jademalo]

this same thign happened to my origional m3simply

note the word original. (or however you spell it lmao

)

 

[lenselijer]

Changed the language????

I don't understand

R u saying mine is the Chinese one!!

you got the chinese version but the people converted it for you to a english version, thats why there is that small wire.

i would try the heatgun trick, dont make it too hot, just enough so the part sits in place again.