2:13 I live in the US but spent the first 40 years of my life in England. I miss the humor so much. Moments like this crack me up and make me feel like I’m back home. Thank for these fantastic videos mate.
Shame the radios were playing hardball, you had the balls to try it and didn't balls up the reBALL which was very nice indeed. I've run out of BALL sayings... I wanted to get 'curve ball' in there but I'm struggling...I'll get my coat. Great video mate 👍
I really love watching your videos, even when you fail. It's nice to see the real struggles people face with these things and the troubleshooting process you go through.
I know nothing about electronics or microchips or how to solder - but these videos are totally absorbing and interesting to watch. Keep them coming, Im like 50 video "balls in" deep at the moment
Well that was frustrating. Looks like you've had a run of hardcore-to-impossible fixes. I guess that's all part of the repair game. Amazing first try on the chip reball. Skills, Steve!
Thanks Toxo! I really enjoyed the reball and I think it went well, so I count this one as a learning experience! Hopefully the next one will be easier! 👍
You should use solder paste with the templates instead of the solder balls. You just put the template over and then put the paste and start spreading it. It will go in the holes and its then easy to use the hot air gun to melt the paste.
This is not a good idea. The whole point of solder balls is consistency, paste will never be consistent. The bits of solder in the paste are inconsistent sizes and the distribution in the flux is also inconsistent.
@@doofwop very true. Solder paste is powdered solder suspended in flux, solder balls are self explanatory as far as their physical construction. Solder powder is not uniform, solder balls are the same size and weight, meaning the same exact amount of solder on every point. You can probably get pretty close using paste, and it may be effective for temporary use like in data recovery, but it is inconsistent and unreliable at best. I'm not saying that it can never work, I'm saying the correct way to do this is with solder balls.
Great video. I have to say that my anecdotal experience with those kinda 00s ish "Pure" radios was that they were sort of delicate and never really lasted long.
Even though it didn’t work out, it was still very interesting. When you weren’t sure if you had lifted some pads for that BGA chip, you could have compared it to the other board you removed the chip from.
Thanks Todd! That's a good call, I should have done that in the video, but I have since, and those pads don't go anywhere, so I'm happy enough! I'll definitely be revisiting this! 👍
@@StezStixFix with those pcb tracks being there for no reason under the BGA chip they may be there for a lot of reasons,, just two reasons are the PCB board supports various models or even Brands of radios with varying features that the brand name have in their design or the PCB may even support several different types of BGA chips each requiring different supporting components and features that the above mentioned Brand Name Radios have in their design..
Good to see you attempt and complete your first reball, watching those balls drop in to place was a joy to watch. I’m yet to do one but I’m sure my time will come haha.
It looks like the chip you swapped is faulty. At 33:11 in the video it has a discoloured spot between the 11s on the top row and the AS on the bottom row. This indicates that a fault developed internally and got hot at this point and burnt the packaging. So it looks like you replaced a faulty chip with a faulty chip just that the chips had two different faults. On a different note the pads that came away when you used the solder wick to clean pads on the board. Preparing it for a new BGA chip. Are like you thought NC pads. Because they aren't connecting to anything it takes less heat for them to lift. But since they aren't connecting to anything it's no biggy if they lift.
Thanks pds! I think you're dead right about that chip. I might try and get hold of another one and try again. And thanks for confirming the lifted pads were NC! I was 90% sure but it's really appreciated when someone confirms it 100%. Thanks mate! 👍
@@StezStixFix I wonder if also because there was no copper pad for the solder to be attracted to, whether it may have jumped across to another pad and created a bad connection? Might be worth doing a quick flow of chipquik (very low melt) and then turn the iron right down to the lower temperature, or not putting balls on the chip where there will be no corresponding pad?
I don’t know if you read comments on old videos. Since I’ve subscribed not long ago you’ve added 2k subscribers and you’re now over 20k, very well done indeed.
Excellent reball! Made me wanna try one myself! Really enjoyed the video. Just one thing. The extra cam on the side maybe use it only when necessary? Those changes of angles to the side at least to me are distracting more than anything else. Just my opinion. Keep the great work!
for cleaning the flux after reballing a chip id recommend getting a soft brissle tooth brush, it wont leave any fibres and you are less likely to pull a pad if a ball gets hooked on a fibre
Old video so you might have figured it out , but when reballing tape the chip down with kapton tape if possible and then position and always tape down the template and leave the template in place as it is supposed to be there during the process and then used a heat gun with lowish air flow
I love it went I witness Growth, I watch a lot of videos and I see even the Pro's who make a living by fixing electronics fail, so keep them thar Broken Radio's because one day you may give them another go once you learn a little more about capacitive touch switches.. 🐨 APU I dropped a 👍
Is it worth repairing these? Some older UK Pure DAB radios don't support DAB+, older internet radios don't support AAC+, and the OLED displays for some models, which have a limited lifespan, are no longer made. FWIW, in my experience Pure had amazing customer service - when I asked them where I could buy a European plug adapter, they sent me a new AC adapter; when my son broke the aerial, they sent me a new one, and when the display on my Evoke Flow died three years out of warranty and I asked them where I could get the spare part, they sent me a new Evoke F3 to replace it. And they were great about sending firmware updates.
that "mystery" FS chip seems to be a DAB-specialized microcontroller. found a single press release from pre-2007 announcing it: "The *Chorus 2 FS1020* chip is a new *programmable DAB baseband receiver* providing significant space, cost and power savings on a typical radio or mobile handheld devices. The chip is now in mass production and products using the chip will appear in the market early 2007. [...] Chorus 2 has *640Kbytes* of integrated memory [...] *Meta122 CPU* with [...] *DSP* [...] switched mode *power supply* which eliminates the need for external regulators, *power-on-reset* , digital *clock* (DCXO) [...] *USB* 2.0 OTG interface, support for TFT and LCD *displays* , ATA/ *ATAPI* interface for hard-disk storage, and NAND Flash, memory stick and SD interfaces"
Evoke Flow radios are notorious for having an OLED display that fades to nothing over time. I’ve replaced the display on mine twice now. As the radio also has a clock, you don’t have to press the power button to get the display to turn on. However I don’t think this is the problem with your two, as the on/off button will also light up when pressed to turn on the radio.
After all, you've tried it, it can't always work, especially if it was your first attempt. Great video unfortunately had no time to look at it until now!
Hey, what IR camera do you use? By the way, great video! It's always a learning opportunity watching these mate. You gave it a go and that's what counts! Keep it up! Love from the states!
Hi Stez, i did not know if you used flux while reflowing the replacement chip if not you can try a reflow with flux. In this case i guess is that all the bga ic are faulty.
I feel obligated to let you know that I read "My FIRST REBALL" as "My FIRST FIREBALL" and got excited. I mean, fireballs ARE possible with retro tech and repairs like this.
I used to have a Pure Evoke Flow dab radio and if I remember correctly this radio features a OLED display and Wi-Fi internet radio facilities and the firmware could be updated. From memory when power is applied and the power button is pressed the radio would enter standby mode display with the current time then you have to press the button again to power on I think. Firmware updates were over the internet Or usb?? I’m not so sure. My radio worked flawlessly for a few years then finally the OlED display got dimmer and dimmer until it faded out altogether and gave up the ghost. It was such a shame because I think the radio worked ok but albeit without the display which was a great loss so reluctantly I had to bin my prised radio. Thanks for sharing.
"One of the most tedious thing's I've ever done in my entire life." Also how to tell everyone that you have never had lunch duty in an Elementary school opening yogurt packages for students.
I was really hoping for some help here... I have a Pure Evolve 1S which is dead at switch on. I have some electronics experience so thought I would have a go at trying to fix it. But looking at the inside I was put off by all the RF screening cans. Maybe there is a simple power transistor before the big chip. Looked on ebay and there are several dead ones, so I think it's a common problem.
Hi Tim, I revisited this radio and got it going eventually. You're right, there are plenty for sale with the same no power issue, but I don't think a single failing chip is responsible, I had 2 of these with shorted components around different chips, so it seems like there are multiple failure routes. I found them hard to diagnose! 👍
Those AS3654B chips are notorious for failing like this, its because the silly manufacturers thought that it would be a good idea to build all of the power handling and switching inside of the chip without the appropriate cooling for the chip.
Hi Steve ... SORRY .. I tend to give Vince headache Items too :) (The blu-ray player wouldn't go past the Philips screen, before turning off, so maybe the rattle in the post worked).
😁 Haha, thanks Lee! It's no problem at all. I just feel bad that you sent me something working! I'll send it back to you if you drop me your address in the email? Those Pure radios were definitely great items though. But I also feel bad about those! 😊 I will definitely be revisiting them though 👍
Thanks NayNay! It's the Logitech Harmony Elite, I have a hub with a remote control but it also has an app that you can control all your devices from too. Really useful but I think they may be discontinued now!
do ba do ba do do ba do do do da do do de da do da do da de do ba do ba do ba do do ba do do ba do do do da de eeey eey eey eey eey eeey eey eey eey eey eey eey eey ey ey ey, Tetris But Its Random Words
![[UA] NAVI проти G2 Esports | Blast Premier Fall Final](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QWlIm4FGESQ/mqdefault.jpg)
2:13 I live in the US but spent the first 40 years of my life in England. I miss the humor so much. Moments like this crack me up and make me feel like I’m back home. Thank for these fantastic videos mate.
Shame the radios were playing hardball, you had the balls to try it and didn't balls up the reBALL which was very nice indeed. I've run out of BALL sayings... I wanted to get 'curve ball' in there but I'm struggling...I'll get my coat. Great video mate 👍
😂 Haha! brilliant, thanks Vince 🤣 I'm trying to think of a ballsy reply, but i think you've used them all!
@@StezStixFix It takes real balls to admit when you're out of puns =P
🤣🤣🤣
Balls to the wall. That’s how we roll😂
LOL
Patience of a saint. I'd have been fixing it with a claw hammer within the first 20 minutes I think!
Video quality, production and electronic repair skills are increasing EVERY single video Steve, fantastic job. Grats in advance for 2k! 😋
Thanks Joey, that means alot dude! 👍
That re-ball tho!
YOU ARE A GOD!
I'm hoping your channel to take off like Vince's. Your content is actually well put together and I like your sense of humor. :-) Big potential.
Thanks Boris, that means alot! 👍
I agree, there is huge potential here.
I really love watching your videos, even when you fail. It's nice to see the real struggles people face with these things and the troubleshooting process you go through.
I know nothing about electronics or microchips or how to solder - but these videos are totally absorbing and interesting to watch. Keep them coming, Im like 50 video "balls in" deep at the moment
Well that was frustrating. Looks like you've had a run of hardcore-to-impossible fixes. I guess that's all part of the repair game.
Amazing first try on the chip reball. Skills, Steve!
Thanks Toxo! I really enjoyed the reball and I think it went well, so I count this one as a learning experience! Hopefully the next one will be easier! 👍
Nice work on the reball, very impressive!
Looking forward to Part 2. 👍
Thank you David! I'm looking forward to giving it another go! Thanks 👍
Dear god that chip re-balling bit got me on the edge of my seat !
You should use solder paste with the templates instead of the solder balls. You just put the template over and then put the paste and start spreading it. It will go in the holes and its then easy to use the hot air gun to melt the paste.
Note, do not use flux with solder paste, as solder paste is literally tiny balls of solder suspended in flux; so it can make it flow too much.
This is not a good idea. The whole point of solder balls is consistency, paste will never be consistent. The bits of solder in the paste are inconsistent sizes and the distribution in the flux is also inconsistent.
@@Druid_Plow totally untrue and it's obvious you know nothing about it
@@doofwop very true. Solder paste is powdered solder suspended in flux, solder balls are self explanatory as far as their physical construction. Solder powder is not uniform, solder balls are the same size and weight, meaning the same exact amount of solder on every point.
You can probably get pretty close using paste, and it may be effective for temporary use like in data recovery, but it is inconsistent and unreliable at best.
I'm not saying that it can never work, I'm saying the correct way to do this is with solder balls.
Great video. I have to say that my anecdotal experience with those kinda 00s ish "Pure" radios was that they were sort of delicate and never really lasted long.
Even though it didn’t work out, it was still very interesting. When you weren’t sure if you had lifted some pads for that BGA chip, you could have compared it to the other board you removed the chip from.
Thanks Todd! That's a good call, I should have done that in the video, but I have since, and those pads don't go anywhere, so I'm happy enough! I'll definitely be revisiting this! 👍
@@StezStixFix with those pcb tracks being there for no reason under the BGA chip they may be there for a lot of reasons,, just two reasons are the PCB board supports various models or even Brands of radios with varying features that the brand name have in their design or the PCB may even support several different types of BGA chips each requiring different supporting components and features that the above mentioned Brand Name Radios have in their design..
@@KorAllRBare Ah, thanks 🐨! That makes perfect sense 👍
Good to see you attempt and complete your first reball, watching those balls drop in to place was a joy to watch. I’m yet to do one but I’m sure my time will come haha.
😁 Thanks Dan! It was SO satisfying, i can't wait to do another one!
The reball is certainly a win, regardless of overall outcome. Be proud.
Good to see you attempt your first reball there Steve i found it a really interesting watch and another great vlog too - Nice 1 👍
Thanks Chris! I was really pleased with how the reball went. I can't wait to try another one! 👍
That reballing was massive!
It looks like the chip you swapped is faulty. At 33:11 in the video it has a discoloured spot between the 11s on the top row and the AS on the bottom row. This indicates that a fault developed internally and got hot at this point and burnt the packaging. So it looks like you replaced a faulty chip with a faulty chip just that the chips had two different faults.
On a different note the pads that came away when you used the solder wick to clean pads on the board. Preparing it for a new BGA chip. Are like you thought NC pads. Because they aren't connecting to anything it takes less heat for them to lift. But since they aren't connecting to anything it's no biggy if they lift.
Thanks pds! I think you're dead right about that chip. I might try and get hold of another one and try again. And thanks for confirming the lifted pads were NC! I was 90% sure but it's really appreciated when someone confirms it 100%. Thanks mate! 👍
@@StezStixFix I wonder if also because there was no copper pad for the solder to be attracted to, whether it may have jumped across to another pad and created a bad connection? Might be worth doing a quick flow of chipquik (very low melt) and then turn the iron right down to the lower temperature, or not putting balls on the chip where there will be no corresponding pad?
absolutely loving these videos!
Awesome, thank you! 👍
Great job reballing the chip. I'd love to see you do more with BGA stuff.
10K subs, wohoo, conggrats!
I don’t know if you read comments on old videos. Since I’ve subscribed not long ago you’ve added 2k subscribers and you’re now over 20k, very well done indeed.
Good golly the patience of St. Steven placing the balls on the bga
I really really know about the Chorus 2 as I was deep into engineering at Imagination Technologies when we designed it.
well done on the reball. looked really good
Thanks Chris! 👍
Excellent reball! Made me wanna try one myself! Really enjoyed the video. Just one thing. The extra cam on the side maybe use it only when necessary? Those changes of angles to the side at least to me are distracting more than anything else. Just my opinion. Keep the great work!
Thanks Arreglando! I
Appreciate the feedback on the side angles! Will take that on board 👍
for cleaning the flux after reballing a chip id recommend getting a soft brissle tooth brush, it wont leave any fibres and you are less likely to pull a pad if a ball gets hooked on a fibre
Old video so you might have figured it out , but when reballing tape the chip down with kapton tape if possible and then position and always tape down the template and leave the template in place as it is supposed to be there during the process and then used a heat gun with lowish air flow
Always extraordinary and entertaining! Win or lose, your vids are awesome. Keep up the interesting and thorough work! Jealous!
Thanks Tidder! Really appreciate that 👍
Good job with solder balls 👍
New balls
please
I love it went I witness Growth, I watch a lot of videos and I see even the Pro's who make a living by fixing electronics fail, so keep them thar Broken Radio's because one day you may give them another go once you learn a little more about capacitive touch switches..
🐨 APU I dropped a 👍
Thanks 🐨! I've got some reading up to do methinks. I will definitely be going back to these. 👍
3:06 That's my main camera for shooting my videos.
That was epic Stez.
Thanks Ned! ☺
Is it worth repairing these? Some older UK Pure DAB radios don't support DAB+, older internet radios don't support AAC+, and the OLED displays for some models, which have a limited lifespan, are no longer made.
FWIW, in my experience Pure had amazing customer service - when I asked them where I could buy a European plug adapter, they sent me a new AC adapter; when my son broke the aerial, they sent me a new one, and when the display on my Evoke Flow died three years out of warranty and I asked them where I could get the spare part, they sent me a new Evoke F3 to replace it. And they were great about sending firmware updates.
Lee has a little bit of everything
He sure does! 😁
that "mystery" FS chip seems to be a DAB-specialized microcontroller. found a single press release from pre-2007 announcing it:
"The *Chorus 2 FS1020* chip is a new *programmable DAB baseband receiver* providing significant space, cost and power savings on a typical radio or mobile handheld devices. The chip is now in mass production and products using the chip will appear in the market early 2007. [...] Chorus 2 has *640Kbytes* of integrated memory [...] *Meta122 CPU* with [...] *DSP* [...] switched mode *power supply* which eliminates the need for external regulators, *power-on-reset* , digital *clock* (DCXO) [...] *USB* 2.0 OTG interface, support for TFT and LCD *displays* , ATA/ *ATAPI* interface for hard-disk storage, and NAND Flash, memory stick and SD interfaces"
Great job 👍
Evoke Flow radios are notorious for having an OLED display that fades to nothing over time.
I’ve replaced the display on mine twice now.
As the radio also has a clock, you don’t have to press the power button to get the display to turn on.
However I don’t think this is the problem with your two, as the on/off button will also light up when pressed to turn on the radio.
Great determination to get the radios working. I think they were just really cheap radios with many failures.
After all, you've tried it, it can't always work, especially if it was your first attempt. Great video unfortunately had no time to look at it until now!
Thanks Wolli. I'm hoping to have another go at this soon! 👍
Only ever seen a reball done with solder paste and a template. I didn't even know these little solder balls existed O.O
Valiant effort!
Hey, what IR camera do you use?
By the way, great video! It's always a learning opportunity watching these mate. You gave it a go and that's what counts! Keep it up! Love from the states!
Thanks Travis, really appreciate that! The thermal cam is a Huepar. I'll double check the model when I get home and let you know! 👍
I feel your pain brother !!!
😁 thanks Guy!
For your first and third radio you should check around the power switch board or try to replace the power switch
Hi Stez, i did not know if you used flux while reflowing the replacement chip if not you can try a reflow with flux. In this case i guess is that all the bga ic are faulty.
Thanks Jimmy! I think the replacement chip might have been dodgy too i!'m gonna revisit this one👍
I feel obligated to let you know that I read "My FIRST REBALL" as "My FIRST FIREBALL" and got excited. I mean, fireballs ARE possible with retro tech and repairs like this.
I definitely need to do my first Fireball! 😁
I used to have a Pure Evoke Flow dab radio and if I remember correctly this radio features a OLED display and Wi-Fi internet radio facilities and the firmware could be updated. From memory when power is applied and the power button is pressed the radio would enter standby mode display with the current time then you have to press the button again to power on I think. Firmware updates were over the internet Or usb?? I’m not so sure. My radio worked flawlessly for a few years then finally the OlED display got dimmer and dimmer until it faded out altogether and gave up the ghost. It was such a shame because I think the radio worked ok but albeit without the display which was a great loss so reluctantly I had to bin my prised radio. Thanks for sharing.
My hero!
First one i suspect a connector issue. Maybe on dvd player, maybe on the guy who sent it tv.
I have a Grundig dab radio that needs love. Think it just needs a clean inside. I get round to it
Stick the stick in is what she said stezzzzzzy lol 😆😂🤣 and the captin bogde shirt made an appearance 😆
😁 Haha, yeah a little cameo from Captain Bodge in this one. 😂
you are the Man 😂👍👍👍
1st class video to watch thank you take care kind regards from me kenneth
"One of the most tedious thing's I've ever done in my entire life." Also how to tell everyone that you have never had lunch duty in an Elementary school opening yogurt packages for students.
Amazing. You can feel your pain as you watch. Where did you get the re-balling kit from please?
Hahahah is Lee a 'Friend' and that look you do hahahah
Haha, thanks Beaps! 😁
You should try working on an electric piano for the 90s
I was really hoping for some help here... I have a Pure Evolve 1S which is dead at switch on. I have some electronics experience so thought I would have a go at trying to fix it. But looking at the inside I was put off by all the RF screening cans. Maybe there is a simple power transistor before the big chip. Looked on ebay and there are several dead ones, so I think it's a common problem.
Hi Tim, I revisited this radio and got it going eventually. You're right, there are plenty for sale with the same no power issue, but I don't think a single failing chip is responsible, I had 2 of these with shorted components around different chips, so it seems like there are multiple failure routes. I found them hard to diagnose! 👍
Loving the videos. Top work. Could I just ask which heat gun do you use and at what temperature generally? Thanks.
Those AS3654B chips are notorious for failing like this, its because the silly manufacturers thought that it would be a good idea to build all of the power handling and switching inside of the chip without the appropriate cooling for the chip.
Got to give you 10 points for tenacity alone.
Think I may have just binned it.
But then I dislike DAB greatly lol.
They are so poorly made.
Around the 20min mark I would've thrown em both in the bin lol
Hi Steve ... SORRY .. I tend to give Vince headache Items too :)
(The blu-ray player wouldn't go past the Philips screen, before turning off, so maybe the rattle in the post worked).
😁 Haha, thanks Lee! It's no problem at all. I just feel bad that you sent me something working! I'll send it back to you if you drop me your address in the email? Those Pure radios were definitely great items though. But I also feel bad about those! 😊 I will definitely be revisiting them though 👍
@@StezStixFix Don't worry about the Bluray player. From memory, it only cost £1.50.
@@leenewby2563 oh wow! OK, thank you I'll give it to my daughter! 👍
Lee likes your videos so he sent you some trash. N-I-I-C-E-E-E ! ! !
I will try almost anything to fix something, but a bga? never. Isn't that grid mask used for the board and not the chip?
I too have a failed Pure radio also a dead screen. Very annoying it was expensive! Thought I was buying "quality".
It's extremely difficult to check capacitive switch operation without a debugging kit.
why you dont injekt Voltage at this shortet Capacitor ?
Vince fix them too
Good job. You should ball some more
Can I send u a Hisense Roku tv power board. I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Red light just blinks when I try to turn it on. No visible damage
36:55 Stop!! Apply the Hot Air Gun!!😨
Hey, great video. What is the universal remote that you used?
Thanks NayNay! It's the Logitech Harmony Elite, I have a hub with a remote control but it also has an app that you can control all your devices from too. Really useful but I think they may be discontinued now!
@@StezStixFix thank you so much. I'm binge watching your videos. Great stuff! Greetings from South Africa!
@@CyberStudios 😃 thank you! Don't go too far back, some of those ones make me cringe! 😁
Trying. To fix pure. Evoke. DAB radios. My. First. REBALL. Attempt
Do you gave a link to the EXACT Flux you use? Thanks!
Where can I find your test leads from the multimeter
I bought a set from Amazon. Like this one: amzn.to/3KQVaQ0
BGA chips just seem like an absolute nightmare..i don't see why they can't just have normal legs coming out like other low profile chips
What is the gel you use on solder joints? What does it do?
Nice try. I Really enjoyed the video though.
Rather you pulled out Samsung chip & main chip why don't you pulled pulled out smd capacitor & short test out of from board? it more effective 😖
which flux do you use please?
You may already know this by now, but I think you need to flow the balls before removing the template, so they stick to the pads below.
Jetzt kommen die ganzen Schwurbler und Querwillis aus den Löchern. Haben die eigentlich einen Lebensberechtigungsschein? 😂
you need metal PCB holder!
About the blu-ray player, if it is like a ps3 blu ray it is two different lasers, i guess you played back a dvd but maybe the other laser is a dude
Never heard of DAB radio, what’s that?
Whatever the outcome, I will never buy a Pure Evoke DAB radio. The fact you have three death ones, say a lot about the brand.
Good decision, I also have a dead one.
do ba do ba do do ba do do do da do do de da do da do da de do ba do ba do ba do do ba do do ba do do do da de
eeey eey eey eey eey eeey eey eey eey eey eey eey eey ey ey ey, Tetris But Its Random Words
Great vids. However we need to see you actually DAB every time you say DAB radio.
Touch sensitive power switches are the dumbest thing ever.. lol. I hate touch buttons all together.
……👏🖖👍
for shits and giggles, if you really dont want to reball a chip why not wire it directly.
balls
Pure radios are pure evil
This was not a good video to watch at bedtime I think il be dreaming of solder balls all night that's solder balls not soldier balls 😂😂
boring zzzz
dont have to watch it dude
⟨ 37:16 ⟩
for me, you are an artist....
😊✨❤️