i used to struggle to clear holes even with good quality solder wick but the method i use now which works great is just an old fashioned solder sucker, i hang the board at the end of the table, take hot air to one side to liquify the solder and then i come with the pump on the opposite side to avoid getting burnt and since heat is being applied at the same time it prevents the solder from hardening by the time you get the sucker in place, done right you can clear 2 holes in rapid succession
Graham; I agree with you. Here across the pond in the States, too many non-functional electronic devices end up in the e-recycling bin, or worse in the landfill [dump]. I too enjoy fixing issues like this. Keep up the great work.
When using hot air to melt / remove anything, start at a lower temperature (100c to 150c), Most wire coatings are rated at 150c, better coatings at 200c, rated is an operating value which means they will tolerate more than rated before failure. These and most plastic will not melt but burn with high heat and 250c, especially from a hot air gun (localized heat) will destroy or deform plastic items before you realize it. Plastic is never melted to a liquid form but extruded in a malleable form...
@@jaro6985 So there is a difference between prepping the pads, and Tinning, you will apply solder then use a wick to remove all the solder this will leave the pins with just the silver solder on the surface, this will allow both the to bond easier, Key is to wick away the solder,
It was interesting knowing that you didn't know that alcohol is good to remove hot glue. I am fairly new to hot glue myself (~ 1 year) and discovered by accident that alcohol breaks hot glue when I was cleaning a pcb that had hot glue holding wires and the hot glue gone britlle and then it could be wiped. The hot glue can be reused by melting it again with a old soldering iron tip or something like that. I use hot glue often to bind things to a surface (like hold wires against a pcb) in a non-permanent way and it doesn't damage plastics.
50/50 liquid flux and 99% isopropyl mixed together in a syringe applicator bottle, drip that all over the soldering wick. Makes even the cheap crappy wick perform very well. I don't use the gel based flux at all, and I have borrowed this specific mixture from a person whose job is to solder together medical equipment, all day every day. It may seem like it might be messy but it works better than any other type of flux that I have tried. it also cleans off super easy.
Learning how to solder one video at a time from you. Thanks for making these. Hopefully soon I can be building pc's for clients but also fixing them if something breaks on them.
I had the same problem. I dissolved the glue with Azeton and peeled it off. Was no problem. For the soldering I gave the platina away. Thanks for the information how to open ist and howe to get the platina out!
yep, bumped into that connector thing too (I'm only repairing electronics as a hobby from time to time), why do they make so many variations of those connectors, I don't know... That desoldering gun, I want one, it's really cool, I'm using that stupid old spring one. Great video as always, thanks!
The easy way of doing Micro USB ports on these types of devices is to apply maximin solder to the pads drop the port in and heat from the bottom of the pcb with hot air station , While the board is still hot just touch up the port pins with some flux and solder iron
keep the solder iron on the pad and then stick the tip of the toothpick into the hole while removing the solder iron from the pad, that a easy tip i find what it works what the pad will not over heat
I've found with some micro-usb connectors (such as on the Amazon Kindle Fire HDs) to have a honking great heat-sucking ground plane around them, absolute SOB to de/resolder. Also, looked up cost of these speakers; £130-ish new, so definitely worth saving!
Must admit I was given an Anker bluetooth speaker as a present and was dubious of the sound quality, too many cheap boomboxes as a teenager. Was very pleasently surprised by the sound quality from it, lovely sound and more bassy than you expect for its size. Would definitely pull it apart if it every needed it, surprizing the battery life if they're just used as an occasional speaker for devices. Modded my main hifi with a usb BT receiver and a buck converter to allow my phone to be played back easily. Its surprizing just how capable BT has grown into compared to its earlier versions.
Algorithm feeding comment. Thanks again, Graham! Good tips. Oh, and nice editing on the BGM continuity at the end, nice touch! I like the song as well and followed Thomas Hood on Spotify. Cheers mate!
When using hot glue.... heat up the glue stick with your hot air gun and dab the stick around the area you want. Using a glue gun isn't hot enough and the glue will eventually come apart from the plastic. If you use a hot air station it heats it up significantly more making it a LOT stronger. Laptop repairs on broken metal hinges are done this way especially if you can't repair a hinge due to the plastic screw inserts holding the hinge is broken. The seal you made won't last especially with the amount of vibration that the speaker will produce. You should also use a knife tip for soldering fine pins instead of that tiny conical tip. Most people in the industry stay right away from conical tips. Three you should get are the knife, chisel and bent tips. If you used a knife tip on that USB port you would have had a very nice and clean finish with solder melting under the pins and flow onto the pads making it much stronger. Just a tip so please don't take it as harsh criticism. I like your video's because your honest and you try hard. You just need to practice your soldering skills which I know you know as well as you've mentioned it numerous times now.
I used to use a knife-tip, and everyone told me to get a BC2 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ However, interesting tips about the hot-glue, I'll give it a try next time I'm working on something like this. I'm not a fan of using it on structural stuff, and prefer to replace parts.
I'd probably let it dry then break it off. Various folks in the comments report that IPA is good for assisting with this. A good strategy here might've been to use IPA to break the glue's hold on everything, then cut it apart and 'unwrap' it from the wires.
Depending on the age of the speaker, i probably would have asked for a new battery to be dropped into it too while you had it open. Its obvious that its an item that someone loved otherwise they would have thrown it away and bought a new one instead. Out of curiosity. How much would a USB repair like this cost? ::EDIT:: After a quick google i can see this costs about £99 -- it was a good move not throwing it away haha
Yea, I charge £20-£30 for fixes like this. I don't think they're really economical to charge more, so you need to not mind doing some low-margin jobs in between the high-margin stuff. I'm willing to do it because they're good practise and make for (IMHO) interesting videos. People like watching stuff get fixed.
Hi, I tried replacing the USB port on Marley Get Together Mini but not successful. Thinking to buy a new usb charging board and connect to exisiting wires. Can you advise what I need to buy and what/where to connect to old wiring?
Oddly this one was a bit jank, the phone/bluetooth speaker was actually playing back slightly faster (or slower?) than the MP3, no idea why, so the transition had to be really quick and rough to sound anywhere near right. Surprisingly not too hard to do in a non-linier editor though!
Could someone that owns this speakers test the next song and tell me if your device also sounds bad with that bass? I just bought mine but when I play it I feel it sounds awful and that those basses cannot be handled :(, I do not know if I should ask for another for a change or a whole refund The song is: Norton Commander by Men I trusy
Graham, what is the link to your electric screwdriver again? What's the power/wattage? I ordered an Ankilo? model ... wondering if I should change to yours ...
It's a Sequre SQ-ES126. It's not a torque monster, so don't expect to be zapping out self-tapping screws like most of the ones from this speaker, but it's a god-send for laptops with like, 20 PH0 screws in the bottom case. Not sure it'll change your world if you already have an electric screwdriver though... Affiliate Link: sequremall.com/collections/screwdriver/products/electric-screwdriver?ref=fl20o11jut
Marley em-ja013 sound box's internal battery was repaired due to a mistake, the ic on the main board was burnt. I can't identify the power and regulator ic, so I hope for a picture showing all the smd ic clearly. Please help me.
I use a Quick 857dw+, which is 650w if I remember correctly. Seems to handle everything I'd be capable of so far, much much more effective than my old station that was 700w, but couldn't put the heat down due to having a crappy fan-in-handle blower.
Are you serious you run a "business" it was very obvious it had screws holding it together n well of course hot snot to seal it but hey you got there in the end, I will say nothing beats experience in the trade of which I have 4 decades n given time you will become as wise as me please note I'm trying to be derogatory or put tickets on myself just noting the fact of experience could of done this much quicker n hope you continue to learn & become wiser.
Isopropyl alcohol is great at loosening hot glue. It doesn't dissolve it but it makes it brittle and seeps underneath to detach it from the item.
Yeah it's devastatingly effective.
great tip, didn't knew about it
But plastic not a good idea
Never thought I was going to find a video about this speaker on UA-cam. Awesome content my friend.
i used to struggle to clear holes even with good quality solder wick but the method i use now which works great is just an old fashioned solder sucker, i hang the board at the end of the table, take hot air to one side to liquify the solder and then i come with the pump on the opposite side to avoid getting burnt and since heat is being applied at the same time it prevents the solder from hardening by the time you get the sucker in place, done right you can clear 2 holes in rapid succession
99% IPA works a treat. Doesn't dissolve the hot glue, just peels off from where it was glued.
+1 for this. 👍
Yes the easiest way
Just came down here to comment that about 99% IPA!
99% IPA for getting hot glue off. Much safer than heat 😉
But what if I use 100% IPA?
@@comicsanz97 Then the universe will implode.
I've been teaching myself how to solder in order to repair electronics and build a keyboard. It's a nice little relaxing hobby for me.
Amazing timing! I just bought a couple of bluetooth speakers with damaged charging ports to practice on 😁
Thanks for the excellent content.
Graham; I agree with you. Here across the pond in the States, too many non-functional electronic devices end up in the e-recycling bin, or worse in the landfill [dump]. I too enjoy fixing issues like this. Keep up the great work.
Nice! I fixed one of these a couple of weeks ago. Hot glue-tastic.
When using hot air to melt / remove anything, start at a lower temperature (100c to 150c), Most wire coatings are rated at 150c, better coatings at 200c, rated is an operating value which means they will tolerate more than rated before failure. These and most plastic will not melt but burn with high heat and 250c, especially from a hot air gun (localized heat) will destroy or deform plastic items before you realize it. Plastic is never melted to a liquid form but extruded in a malleable form...
"its going to be a doddle" (checks running time)
Order yourself a few cheap bar clamps Graham for the next time you need that third hand
Another fantastic video ....just need more of your video to watch
New sub here. I came for exactly this purpose but realize you're very much into fixing other stuff by the looks of it. Excellent!
Small tip, if you tin the connector first makes it easy to to flow back to the board.
Yeah but then you risk it not sitting flat on the board due to solder under the pin.
@@jaro6985 So there is a difference between prepping the pads, and Tinning, you will apply solder then use a wick to remove all the solder this will leave the pins with just the silver solder on the surface, this will allow both the to bond easier, Key is to wick away the solder,
@@rcook0001 Oh wicking would help, good point.
Nice fade of the music from the speaker to the editing software.
I use an old cheap soldering iron to remove hot glue. or sometimes i can use a utility knife to slice around the opening when possible .
It was interesting knowing that you didn't know that alcohol is good to remove hot glue. I am fairly new to hot glue myself (~ 1 year) and discovered by accident that alcohol breaks hot glue when I was cleaning a pcb that had hot glue holding wires and the hot glue gone britlle and then it could be wiped. The hot glue can be reused by melting it again with a old soldering iron tip or something like that. I use hot glue often to bind things to a surface (like hold wires against a pcb) in a non-permanent way and it doesn't damage plastics.
50/50 liquid flux and 99% isopropyl mixed together in a syringe applicator bottle, drip that all over the soldering wick. Makes even the cheap crappy wick perform very well. I don't use the gel based flux at all, and I have borrowed this specific mixture from a person whose job is to solder together medical equipment, all day every day. It may seem like it might be messy but it works better than any other type of flux that I have tried. it also cleans off super easy.
Learning how to solder one video at a time from you. Thanks for making these. Hopefully soon I can be building pc's for clients but also fixing them if something breaks on them.
I had the same problem. I dissolved the glue with Azeton and peeled it off. Was no problem. For the soldering I gave the platina away. Thanks for the information how to open ist and howe to get the platina out!
Very nice fix. I love it , giving such units a second chance . Dutch regards, Nico.
To avoid the spiky solder blobs just use excessive amounts of flux. It make its flow so much nicer
There are always thing that can be learned from watching your vids even for advanced repairers. Your clips are pure gold! Keep up the good work 👌🏻😁
yep, bumped into that connector thing too (I'm only repairing electronics as a hobby from time to time), why do they make so many variations of those connectors, I don't know... That desoldering gun, I want one, it's really cool, I'm using that stupid old spring one. Great video as always, thanks!
I have to say, I love the sonic screwdriver.....😃
Pro tip, use ISOpropyl alcohol to loosen the hotglue.. With a bit of patience, it works wonders...
The easy way of doing Micro USB ports on these types of devices is to apply maximin solder to the pads drop the port in and heat from the bottom of the pcb with hot air station , While the board is still hot just touch up the port pins with some flux and solder iron
"I like doing these if I'm honest" i like watching these if I'm honest
Freezing hot glue makes it brittle, using compressed air upside down works great to freeze things.
keep the solder iron on the pad and then stick the tip of the toothpick into the hole while removing the solder iron from the pad, that a easy tip i find what it works what the pad will not over heat
I've found with some micro-usb connectors (such as on the Amazon Kindle Fire HDs) to have a honking great heat-sucking ground plane around them, absolute SOB to de/resolder. Also, looked up cost of these speakers; £130-ish new, so definitely worth saving!
I got the big version of this speaker and it's really good.
1A not enough to chargea phone? I use a 500mA charger and it charges just fine. Nice vid.
Must admit I was given an Anker bluetooth speaker as a present and was dubious of the sound quality, too many cheap boomboxes as a teenager. Was very pleasently surprised by the sound quality from it, lovely sound and more bassy than you expect for its size.
Would definitely pull it apart if it every needed it, surprizing the battery life if they're just used as an occasional speaker for devices.
Modded my main hifi with a usb BT receiver and a buck converter to allow my phone to be played back easily. Its surprizing just how capable BT has grown into compared to its earlier versions.
Algorithm feeding comment. Thanks again, Graham! Good tips. Oh, and nice editing on the BGM continuity at the end, nice touch! I like the song as well and followed Thomas Hood on Spotify. Cheers mate!
Adamant: 1A is not enough to charge a phone.
Me: Charging smartphone with 0.5A to extend phones battery lifespan
USE the equipment and show how to use it, so the DIYers will get familiar with those tools and get some for themselves.
huge speaker magnets no wonder it's heavy!
IPA melts glue pretty well.
Nice job. Thanks
I name this de-soldering gun ... "Angry Mallard"
1A USB charges phones just fine
Great stuff!
When using hot glue.... heat up the glue stick with your hot air gun and dab the stick around the area you want. Using a glue gun isn't hot enough and the glue will eventually come apart from the plastic. If you use a hot air station it heats it up significantly more making it a LOT stronger. Laptop repairs on broken metal hinges are done this way especially if you can't repair a hinge due to the plastic screw inserts holding the hinge is broken. The seal you made won't last especially with the amount of vibration that the speaker will produce. You should also use a knife tip for soldering fine pins instead of that tiny conical tip. Most people in the industry stay right away from conical tips. Three you should get are the knife, chisel and bent tips. If you used a knife tip on that USB port you would have had a very nice and clean finish with solder melting under the pins and flow onto the pads making it much stronger. Just a tip so please don't take it as harsh criticism. I like your video's because your honest and you try hard. You just need to practice your soldering skills which I know you know as well as you've mentioned it numerous times now.
I used to use a knife-tip, and everyone told me to get a BC2 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
However, interesting tips about the hot-glue, I'll give it a try next time I'm working on something like this. I'm not a fan of using it on structural stuff, and prefer to replace parts.
great! I can fix my marley !
If you had decided to clean up the hot glue when you were melting it, what would you have used to wick it away? Toilet paper?
I'd probably let it dry then break it off. Various folks in the comments report that IPA is good for assisting with this. A good strategy here might've been to use IPA to break the glue's hold on everything, then cut it apart and 'unwrap' it from the wires.
They use jst wire cable to improve quality connection.
should have changed the thermal paste
Could you suggest how to modify it to avoid that bass covers other frequencies?
Good job
I diy. I just enjoy watching the equipment I dont have any of that.
Depending on the age of the speaker, i probably would have asked for a new battery to be dropped into it too while you had it open. Its obvious that its an item that someone loved otherwise they would have thrown it away and bought a new one instead.
Out of curiosity. How much would a USB repair like this cost?
::EDIT::
After a quick google i can see this costs about £99 -- it was a good move not throwing it away haha
Yea, I charge £20-£30 for fixes like this. I don't think they're really economical to charge more, so you need to not mind doing some low-margin jobs in between the high-margin stuff. I'm willing to do it because they're good practise and make for (IMHO) interesting videos. People like watching stuff get fixed.
you pulled out the battery question is can you still use it without the battery? like direct plug it? thanks
Posible to upgrade to usb type c? Mine is broken, and need a change of connector. As well could upgrade
Hello brother, I have a question?
Can I "safely" power the cpu from a different "independent" psu?
Hi, I tried replacing the USB port on Marley Get Together Mini but not successful. Thinking to buy a new usb charging board and connect to exisiting wires. Can you advise what I need to buy and what/where to connect to old wiring?
26:35 how long did that sound transition take to get right?
Oddly this one was a bit jank, the phone/bluetooth speaker was actually playing back slightly faster (or slower?) than the MP3, no idea why, so the transition had to be really quick and rough to sound anywhere near right. Surprisingly not too hard to do in a non-linier editor though!
Hi I’ve got one of these boom boxes with the same problem how much do you charge for the fix ???
Excelente, tienen el circuito o diagrama del equipo ? Muchas gracias.
Could someone that owns this speakers test the next song and tell me if your device also sounds bad with that bass? I just bought mine but when I play it I feel it sounds awful and that those basses cannot be handled :(, I do not know if I should ask for another for a change or a whole refund
The song is: Norton Commander by Men I trusy
where can I get prime tools like the ones you have?
Graham, what is the link to your electric screwdriver again? What's the power/wattage? I ordered an Ankilo? model ... wondering if I should change to yours ...
It's a Sequre SQ-ES126. It's not a torque monster, so don't expect to be zapping out self-tapping screws like most of the ones from this speaker, but it's a god-send for laptops with like, 20 PH0 screws in the bottom case. Not sure it'll change your world if you already have an electric screwdriver though... Affiliate Link: sequremall.com/collections/screwdriver/products/electric-screwdriver?ref=fl20o11jut
@@Adamant_IT Thanks, man!
How can I purchase a battery for my get together mini ?????
Marley em-ja013 sound box's internal battery was repaired due to a mistake, the ic on the main board was burnt. I can't identify the power and regulator ic, so I hope for a picture showing all the smd ic clearly. Please help me.
Hey mate! What brand or model is the electric screwdriver you use?
It's a Sequre SQ-ES126
Also use Isopropyl alcohol
Link to ebay replacement connector?
Battery is 2 x 18650 maybe ?
How do you make a video by starting off saying this is going to be very easy and then it turns into German Engineering?
How many W does your hot air station have? Thanks
I use a Quick 857dw+, which is 650w if I remember correctly. Seems to handle everything I'd be capable of so far, much much more effective than my old station that was 700w, but couldn't put the heat down due to having a crappy fan-in-handle blower.
What's the part # for the port
first 30 sec. in video and i love you
Wait who are the people watching this?
6:58 they are crap 💩 😂
First here..!!
Hobbyists? DIYers too broad?
Are you serious you run a "business" it was very obvious it had screws holding it together n well of course hot snot to seal it but hey you got there in the end, I will say nothing beats experience in the trade of which I have 4 decades n given time you will become as wise as me
please note I'm trying to be derogatory or put tickets on myself just noting the fact of experience could of done this much quicker n hope you continue to learn & become wiser.
Has anyone done this repair with a USB-C port? Is this even possible?