Baby Brennan: usb-c connector making intermittent contact

[Dave Lester]

As part of tidying up my affairs I've recently (last week) cracked open a brand new BB1 -- bought a few years ago -- and successfully transferred the contents of my old JB7 to it. 

My wife is ecstatic about this BB1, but struggles with the force required to change the re-chargeable batteries; this is partly due to Parkinson's. Initially, the BB1 appeared to work using the usb-c power supply. Now it does not.

If I still had any purchase documentation, I'd return it for repair, but I fear these are long-lost, even if it was still within the initial cover.

So, a few questions: 

(1) Does the BB1 run when connected to a PSU via usb-c (or have I misunderstood how this works)? Does it need batteries installed even if connected to the mains?

(2) How can I tell whether it is still under warranty? (Unlikely, though that is.)

(3) Re-soldering a dodgy connection would have been a bread-and-butter thing forty years ago doing a summer job with Comet Service, but I cannot find out how to get into the main body of the BB1. (I've got the cloth cover off successfully -- as used to upgrade the SD card.)

So, return to the authorized repairer (for £65 + P&P each way) for a new connector (costing 50p or so)? Or find an instruction sheet for disassembly?

Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions,

Dave Lester

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Dave,

1.  Are you sure that the BB1 USB-C connector is the problem?  The power supply or the cable could be at fault. The BB1 power supply is a standard 5 volt 2 amp unit that many mobile phones use so you could try one of those as a test.

The BB1 will run without batteries when connected to a mains power charger.  It does not require batteries to be fitted when connected to the mains power.

2.  The warranty is a standard 12 month duration.  Brennan normally issues an email at the time of purchase, so if you could locate the email, then perhaps you could be in luck.  The first BB1s were sent out in October 2019 so they are still relatively new today.

3.  I haven't yet 'broken in' to a BB1 further than the front cover so I cannot advise you on that subject.  But the circuit boards are so fine now that replacing the socket might not be practical.  I last used a soldering iron on a Tosbisba DVD player in 2003 and the soldering iron looked more like a welding torch!  Miniaturisation has been extreme in the last 20 years!

However, as a hopefully helpful tip, my wife is quite 'sore' on charging connections.  She has, so far, mashed an Apple Lightning connector into a Kindle Reader (which is a microUSB connector) so the Kindle was beyond economic repair, then mashed the Apple Lightning connector into a Samsung S6 phone (I did manage to get a replacement microUSB assembly for this for about £5).

The solution was to purchase the product in the link below.  This gives you a set of little 'plugs' which you insert into each device, then the connection is a simple magnetic cable connector, so domestic harmony is restored!  This has been one of the best investments that I have made recently! 

AUFU Magnetic Phone Charger Cable…

Regards,

Peter.

[Dave Lester]

Thanks Peter. Yes the PSU and lead work; they are in fact the ones I use with my macbook air.

And yes, I'm also aware of the nature of modern soldering. Our SpiNNaker boards have a power supply connector which is dimensionally consistent with a wide range of power supplies -- including many that are of a much higher voltage than the required 5V!

We had a policy that if you blew the voltage regulator you got to solder in a new one! If there'd been space on the board a tiny 1A fuse might have been a good idea.

Dave

[PMB]

Hi Dave,

Just checking - it appears the Macbook air runs on 14.5V, the BB1 is only 5V.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Paul,

The Macbook Air power supply is supposed to autosense the receiving device's voltage.  So it should switch to 5.2V automatically.   Below is an excerpt from the spec.

• 【Flexible Power Delivery Charger】- Our Type-c charge with PD identification, its PD technology automatically detects and delivers 20.3V 3A or 14.5V 2A or 9V 3A or 5.2V 2.4A which enabling charging for almost all USB-C devices

Regards,

Peter.