**** BEGIN LOGGING AT Thu Dec 07 03:00:01 2017
Dec 07 06:23:10 <Oksana> Tired. Trying to make a list of possible things that can go wrong with N900, hardware-wise. 1) Broken stylus (replace); 2) Broken touchscreen and-or LCD; 3) scratched/peeling_off touchscreen (use screen protector from start); 4) broken/scratched plastic; 5) lost of dust/sand inside; 6) water damage
Dec 07 06:23:11 <Oksana> (green rust); 7) black flat antennae scratched to the level copper is visible; 8) doors for SIM/microSD card broken off; 9) battery cover broken (camera lens cover, stand, magnet...)
Dec 07 06:23:49 <Oksana> Broken things are mostly preventable by not letting device fall, ever. But lots of dust/sand and water damage...
Dec 07 06:30:18 <Oksana> I cannot reconcile how "lack of moving parts is better for long-term durability" with "half-press to focus camera button"
Dec 07 06:30:34 <Oksana> Unless half-press is replaced by capacitive touch?
Dec 07 07:10:52 <KotCzarny> oksana: you can add the things i have seen: bad lcd flat cable
Dec 07 07:11:45 <KotCzarny> and modem desoldering itself (some suggest it can happen from hw kb usage)
Dec 07 07:12:38 <KotCzarny> and of course standard usb port woes (from bending the charger cable during connect/disconnect)
Dec 07 07:15:05 <KotCzarny> there is also generic 'broken screws' by either flat heads or broken threads
Dec 07 07:16:03 <KotCzarny> and my wakeup switch is worn out from use to flatness, helps to have nails in that case
Dec 07 07:16:44 <KotCzarny> and people running n900 overclocked risk frying the cpu over time
Dec 07 07:39:41 <Vajb> i can add one more thing. Tracks on which screen slides can be worn too. If u think of tracks as north to south line. Track ends can be worn so that screen sits at more south when closed.
Dec 07 07:41:26 <KotCzarny> ah, yeah, slider mechanism
Dec 07 07:41:43 <Vajb> yes
Dec 07 07:42:35 <KotCzarny> oh, and there is also possibility to blow up the speakers (but only if one uses alsa directly without evilaudio)
Dec 07 07:43:59 <Vajb> also i have worn out headphone connector
Dec 07 07:45:17 <Vajb> mostly it clips signal on left speaker when connector moves. Also occasionally device may think that there r no headphones connected
Dec 07 10:13:20 <teotwaki> "are"
Dec 07 10:15:00 <Maxdamantus> Vajb: I have similar issues, but suspect it's basically that the headphone connector is abve to move too much.
Dec 07 10:15:30 <Maxdamantus> So it can easily lose contact with the board or make the wrong sort of contact.
Dec 07 10:16:22 <Maxdamantus> (it's not soldered onto the board; the pins are just positioned so they press against pads on the board)
Dec 07 10:17:25 <Maxdamantus> I might sometime try just jamming a small amount of paper into the slot in the case for it.
Dec 07 10:24:30 <Prissy_Tonkinese> so it's the same story as usb port?
Dec 07 10:24:51 <Prissy_Tonkinese> the frailness
Dec 07 10:51:06 <Maxdamantus> No, because the USB port is attached to the motherboard. The audio jack just sits in the case and can be removed without modifying anything.
Dec 07 11:06:48 <DocScrutinizer05> funny that I only witnessed broken flat flex cable, and that - in all honesty - was agter dis- and re-assembling device for the first time, without advice fromn service manual, though despite I'm an engineer, I might have fekked up
Dec 07 11:07:33 <DocScrutinizer05> and I have like 4 N900 constantly in use, and servicing a few more
Dec 07 11:10:02 <DocScrutinizer05> yes, I *heard* plausible reports of all of the above. Not significantly more than for any other device though, except for a soldering problem (prolly in early N900 batch built) with USB, and the notorious "No SIM" error from pressing so hard on kbd that PCB bends and modem BGA solder joints snap open
Dec 07 11:11:45 <DocScrutinizer05> btw U dropped N900 hard (from ~140cm to stone pavement) a few times, and one time in a futile effort to catch the fall with my foot, *stepped on it* - worst damage was a tiny dent of one metal display frame corner
Dec 07 11:11:54 <DocScrutinizer05> s/ U / I /
Dec 07 11:11:54 <infobot> DocScrutinizer05 meant: btw I dropped N900 hard (from ~140cm to stone pavement) a few times, and one time in a futile effort to catch the fall with my foot, *stepped on it* - worst damage was a tiny dent of one metal display frame corner
Dec 07 11:12:19 <inz> How was the pavement?
Dec 07 11:12:35 <Prissy_Tonkinese> I like tests
Dec 07 11:12:42 <Prissy_Tonkinese> s/tests/cats
Dec 07 11:12:51 <Prissy_Tonkinese> ah, I see now
Dec 07 11:13:06 <DocScrutinizer05> of course the device is not rated "water proof", so what a problem report is "green stain on PCB form water in device" ???
Dec 08 00:35:01 <Oksana> KotCzarny : Ah, yes. LCD flat cable can be easily cut by a card (paper, cardboard or plastic) sneaking inside the slider. Or just wear out because of metal/sand/slider/whatever. Haven't heard about modem problems for a while, but USB port is like the most common-to-occur-and-difficult-to-fix problem
Dec 08 00:36:39 <Oksana> Broken screws: I can fairly easily remove most of "flat head, round +" screws with screw extractor (used to just drill off the heads before that, but it's not a kind solution). Haven't seen broken threads in a long while.
Dec 08 00:38:39 <Oksana> >> and my wakeup switch is worn out from use to flatness, helps to have nails in that case << Fun, haven't seen this one. But setting auto-black-screen to more than 10 seconds helps. Because unfortunately, just tapping the screen to wake it up doesn't seem to work? Not like it does with Nokia N9?
Dec 08 00:39:31 <Oksana> Slider mechanism also peels off black paint from part of assembly. Just because of friction of spring.
Dec 08 00:41:45 <Oksana> >> of course the device isnot rated "water proof", so what a problem report is "green stain on PCB form water in device" ??? << Probably exposure to humid air, such as, on the beach. It was never dropped into water, or spilled on.
Dec 08 00:42:52 <Oksana> green stain on EM metallic shields on PCB, the ones which are visible when device is separated into two parts by removing four long screws.
Dec 08 00:47:53 <Maxdamantus> I put a blob of epoxy on the slider on my other case, feels decent, but haven't used it actively since I swapped it with another case while waiting for it to cure.
Dec 08 00:48:13 <Maxdamantus> (because the notch was warn down)
Dec 08 01:23:59 * Oksana was wondering; regarding the LCD flat cable, what's the name of the connector that attaches it to motherboard? Is it possible to extend the length of this flex cable? Because then, it might be doable to turn the slider into something "passport"-shaped, 11x12 cm. Of course, it would be a touch too
Dec 08 01:26:06 * Oksana wide to be really passport form-factor. But still, it opens more possibilities for exploring different case for the same device.
Dec 08 01:53:13 <Oksana> Where can I find battery cover for Nokia N900? EBay isn't helpful: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Original-Nokia-N900-Akku-Cover-Batterie-Deckel-Schwarz/182661505599
Dec 08 02:05:26 <DocScrutinizer05> living near sea may cause slaty mist in air that kills alu windows, cars, and probably also the zinc on shielding cans. Those nano salt crystals get everywhere- That's right
Dec 08 02:05:40 <DocScrutinizer05> s/slat/salt/
Dec 08 02:05:41 <infobot> DocScrutinizer05 meant: living near sea may cause salty mist in air that kills alu windows, cars, and probably also the zinc on shielding cans. Those nano salt crystals get everywhere- That's right
Dec 08 02:07:06 <DocScrutinizer05> >>find battery cover<< get a whole case, prolly easier and should be same price. When you're lucky the cover cam mech etc is OK
Dec 08 02:07:28 <DocScrutinizer05> they were sold for like 10 to 15 bucks, a 3 years ago
Dec 08 02:22:08 <DocScrutinizer05> krdb test
**** ENDING LOGGING AT Fri Dec 08 03:00:02 2017