Motorola H700 bluetooth earpiece dissassembly instructions (Jeff L?)

[William Beckley]

Anyone have pictures of how to open the Motorola H700 bluetooth earpiece?

Googling, I found a "JeffL" picture of the opened earpiece over here:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/Motorola-H700/Motorola-H700-inside.jpg

And, I found written instructions (but no pictures) over here (&
elsewhere):
http://www.wikiopens.com/how-to-disassemble-a-motorola-h700-earpiece.html

Four of these Motorola H700 ear pieces have all gone bad on me over time
(I can hear the caller yet the caller can't hear me) so I want to fix
them
because, when the H700 works, it works well, & it still uses the
ubiquitous
mini-USB charger.

PS: Yes, I know to press both volume switches to mute and to unmute
the Motorola H700 bluetooth earpiece (that's not the problem with the mic
not working).

After extensive googling, I find three fixable things seem to go bad:
1.> The red microphone wire breaks (due to poor initial quality)
2.> The tiny microphone hole has a filter inside that clogs
3.> The microphone switch contacts need to be periodically cleaned

A reference for the first issue above is here:
http://beastwith.in/2008/07/06/why-the-motorola-h700-sucks/

A reference for the second H700 repair is here:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t242124-h700_motorola_microphone_problem

And, a reference for the third Motorola H700 repair is here:
http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/motorola/54848-motorola-h700-question-
not-entering-pairing-2.html

Unfortunately, all three references have DIFFERENT instructions for
opening
up the Motorola H700 clamshell - so that's why I ask (I wonder if JeffL is
the famous Jeff L. of this newsgroup?)

And, none of the references show anyone actually disassembling the
earpiece.
For example, this reference (wrongly) tries to explain how to open the
H700
http://www.ehow.com/how_8202854_disassemble-motorola-h700.html

This one refers to disassembly photos on a geocities site that no longer
exists:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t242124-h700_motorola_microphone_problem

Here's the geocities Motorola H700 disassembly instruction site that's
gone:
http://www.geocities.com/jconkwright/H700fix.html

Q: Does anyone know how to resurrect those Motorola H700 disassembly
pictures?

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:20:34 +0000 (UTC), William Beckley
<willbe...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Anyone have pictures of how to open the Motorola H700 bluetooth earpiece?

<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/Motorola-H700/Motorola-H700-parts.jpg>
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/Motorola-H700/Motorola-H700-inside.jpg>
Associated text is at:
<http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/motorola/54848-motorola-h700-question-not-entering-pairing-2.html#post558998>

What happened in two of these headsets was that the tiny plastic pin,
that is used to depress the switch when the microphone switch is
extended, wears down until the switch no longer activates reliably.
Various people have given me their broken H700 headsets for repair. My
batting average is about 50% by filling the groove gouged into the
microphone plastic with epoxy.

If you look at the above picture, I've labeled the "pair switch". The
circular rubber thing is the switch. If you remove it, underneath is
a bizarre shaped tiny plastic pin with a "jog" in the middle. It's
easy to drop and loose so be careful. That's the pin that is wearing
a groove into the hinge area of the microphone. Slop some hard epoxy
filler (i.e. 24 hr epoxy, not 2 hr epoxy) into the wear area, and it
will work again for a while. However, instead of gouging the mic
hinge area, the plastic pin will start to wear. No fix unless you
want to beg MotoGoogle for replacement parts. You can probably slow
down the wear with some grease or keeping the area clean, but that's
too much work for most users.

I probably have more pictures buried in the office archives.

>Four of these Motorola H700 ear pieces have all gone bad on me over time
>(I can hear the caller yet the caller can't hear me) so I want to fix
>them because, when the H700 works, it works well, & it still uses the
>ubiquitous mini-USB charger.

I haven't seen that problem. When the switch doesn't work, nothing
works. In between new and dead, is the intermittent zone, which is
highly frustrating.

However, methinks your problem is a dead battery. Charge up the
headset, go away for an hour or three, and measure the terminal
voltage. A good fully charged new battery will measure about 4.0-4.2
VDC. Anything over 3.9V will probably be ok. Any less is a dead
battery. For a better test, I use a West Mountain Radio CBA-II.
<http://www.westmountainradio.com/cba.php>

>After extensive googling, I find three fixable things seem to go bad:
>1.> The red microphone wire breaks (due to poor initial quality)
>2.> The tiny microphone hole has a filter inside that clogs
>3.> The microphone switch contacts need to be periodically cleaned

3.> The microphone switch is a piece of crap and needs to have both
the PCB contacts, and the rubber elastometric connector cleaned
regularly. The contamination seems to be condensed breath and sweat.

>Unfortunately, all three references have DIFFERENT instructions for
>opening
>up the Motorola H700 clamshell - so that's why I ask (I wonder if JeffL is
>the famous Jeff L. of this newsgroup?)

Yeah, that's me. Instructions are simple. Pry it open with a plastic
or metal spudger (spatula) starting at the end opposite the charge
connector. It comes off in two layers. First the outer decorative
shell. Then the two halves of the clamshell come apart.

>And, none of the references show anyone actually disassembling the
>earpiece.
>For example, this reference (wrongly) tries to explain how to open the
>H700
> http://www.ehow.com/how_8202854_disassemble-motorola-h700.html

No kidding. Mine have no screws.

>Q: Does anyone know how to resurrect those Motorola H700 disassembly
>pictures?

No, but I still have a baggie full of dead H700 headsets and similar
Motorola mechanical marvels. What exact model do you have and I'll
see if I can tear it apart. However... I'm busy for a few days and
there's no available bench space in my palatial office to take photos.
This may have to wait.

--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[DerbyDad03]

On Oct 11, 12:19 pm, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:20:34 +0000 (UTC), William Beckley
>

> <willbeck67...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Anyone have pictures of how to open the Motorola H700 bluetooth earpiece?
>
> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/Motorola-H700/Motorola-H700-parts.jpg>
> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/Motorola-H700/Motorola-H700-inside.jpg>
> Associated text is at:

> <http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/motorola/54848-motorola-h700-questi...>

> Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
> Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Thanks for all this info. I have been using various models of the
Motorola "flip-boom" headsets for years. They are my favorites
although I've a few go bad. Now I have a way to possibly resurrect
them. Of course, I tend to lose them before they go bad. I now have 2
since I lost one, bought a replacement and then found the other one -
in a pair of pants after they had been washed. I covered it in rice
for a few days and it works fine.

I would like add this to Jeff's comments regarding "Mine have no
screws":

If a link includes the words "ehow" don't even waste a mouse click by
following the link. I don't know who writes that crap, but I have yet
to find any useful information via ehow. Either the instructions are
so generic/vague as to be completely useless or they are flat out
wrong. For example, look at this other link that supposedly explains
how to "disassemble-motorola-h700-earpiece". The device pictured is
not an H700, therefore it's no wonder the instructions are wrong.
Typical ehow crap.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7860454_disassemble-motorola-h700-earpiece.html

[William Beckley]

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 09:19:52 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> What exact model do you have and I'll see if
> I can tear it apart.

It's the Motorola H700. I think it's the first one they made.

Here is a picture of two of my broken Motorola H700 earpieces:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11023148/img/11023148.jpg

From reading the text DIYs, it's confusing whether there
are 3 screws or not; and whether to pry off the clamshell
or to pry out the mini-usb connector first.

> A good fully charged new battery will measure about 4.0-4.2 VDC.

I can hear the speaker but they can't hear me.
Under charge, the colors go from red to yellow to green.
So, I don't have any 'direct' indication of a bad battery.
Although, these have been sitting around for a while, broken, so,
the battery may have failed - but I don't think so.

I'm not sure though HOW you test battery voltage without opening
it up.

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:07:41 +0000 (UTC), William Beckley
<willbe...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 09:19:52 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> What exact model do you have and I'll see if
>> I can tear it apart.
>
>It's the Motorola H700. I think it's the first one they made.
>
>Here is a picture of two of my broken Motorola H700 earpieces:
> http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11023148/img/11023148.jpg

Mine looks exactly like the silver one in the photo.

>From reading the text DIYs, it's confusing whether there
>are 3 screws or not; and whether to pry off the clamshell
>or to pry out the mini-usb connector first.

No screws. Here's how I got mine apart.
1. Find a sharp screwdriver and pry ANYWHERE under the black plastic
decorative cover. The chrome button will just fall out.
2. One the microphone end of the device, you'll see 4 slots. They're
the only 4 slots so you can't miss them. To the left and right of the
four slots is a tiny air gap between the two halves of the clamshell.
Insert a screwdriver into each slot and pry the clamshell halves
apart. Do not try to separate the halves yet.
3. The tiny disk shaped rubber contact thing will fall out, land on
the floor, and you will spend 10 minutes trying to find it.
4. The clamshell halves will NOT easily separate. One end is hung up
on the USB connector. Pry on where they seem to be stuck together and
it will eventually release.
5. The rest should be easy and obvious. The two chrome buttons will
try to fall out.

>I'm not sure though HOW you test battery voltage without opening
>it up.

You have to open it up.

No photos tonite. I'm dead tired.