An-Drone Project - Off-topic

Hey all! So as a bit of a computer/tablet/phone geek and and a bit of an RC Hobbyist, Ive decided to take on a little personal project to combine the two. At least a little bit to start. In the world of RC quadcopters (aka drones) the big thing that everyone is into is buying these expensive 1080P/4k go pros and other gimbal devices to record video. But not only do we want to record, we want to be able to view a live stream of what the drone sees. You can buy these FPV Cameras on the higher end for $500+.
When I bought ny first drone a fair sized flyer at nearly 2ft diameter, my first flight I decided to strap my old Galaxy S3 to the bottom and catch some cool video. Everything went well, and the video was high def and crystal clear. While there are FPV apps such as AirBoss available, unfortunately its a bit glitchy and crashes often so i didnt bother with FPV, just hit record and flew. After this I decided to start looking into purchasing a gimbal and maybe a gopro hero 3. Seems a bit silly buying a $400 camera to carry on a $100 drone, but I considered it and started browsing.
Before buying anything, I had a buddy want to see the drone fly, so on a semi full charge, I took it up, no phone attached, and after about a minute of flight, the battery went low, lost contact with the controller and helplessly watched it drift into the woods, still haven't found it.
So now instead of looking for an expensive camera, im looking to strip down my old s3 and use it as a camera, but also as a GPS locator, which will have data/gsm/gprs connections. The idea being, that not only a does screen less, make shift house, remotely controlled android device act as a camera, but it can be called from another phone (making it easy to track via sound) or worst case scenario be pin pointed on Google maps, in the event of another downed drone.
I have all the apps installed to make this work exactly how I need it to and want it to. In fact I already have the motherboard stripped out of the housing, and am able to do exactly what I want, except one thing.
The only way the phone will turn on, is with the main components from the screen housing plugged in. Its one ribbon, but its the ribbon the feeds the Screen, the digitizer the home, back and menu buttons and the micro phone and the vibrator pod. All of the components on the back side of the board, the front and rear facing cameras, the sim/tf card readers, the loud speaker, led, volume rocker etc can be disconected, as long as the main ribbon for the screen is attached, the motherboard will boot. After booting I can unplug the ribbon, and the phone will remain on, with everything working that I need to work, including remote access.
I guess the main question here is, how can I trick the phone into thinking the main ribbon is attached? Once I can get it to boot up without it being attached to that ribbon I can begin building a lightweight housing for the board and camer and a smaller battery. I thought about cutting the ribbon and just leaving it attached to the board, my only problem with that is IF it wont boot after doing that, I cant just repair the ribbon and I dont have a spare s3 for parts, which would pretty much leave me with nothing but a dead s3 in pieces lol.
I know most of what xda deals with is software development, but im hoping someone has tinkered with hard ware before. Sorry for the novel, just wanted to cover the details and eliminate getting asked why I want to do this. And for the record I want the s3 screen and housing gone for the simple fact that I can cut the weight from abouy 150 grams to less than 30 grams, which is a huge factor when flying quad copters

Related

Please: Need advice buying Kaiser or Fuze/Raphael off craigslist

Hello, moving from trusty dash/excalibur - doa over weekend - to either kaiser/att tilt or fuze. Going to buy from 3rd party off craigslist - please clue me in as to what to watch out for, problems with phone not obvious, esn issues, etc., going in a couple of hours.
Thanks very much as I am clueless on these phones.
For kaiser, make sure the tilt aspect of the device holds. My first one got really weak that when you'd tilt the screen up it'd fall right back down.
For both, kaiser and raphael, slide it open and close a couple times and watch out if its smooth or not. Theres a ribbon cable that connects the top half of the device to the bottom half, if you hold the device up to a light while sliding it you and sometimes make it out (look between the screen and kb). Look at the edes of this and see if they're freyed at all. If so stay away.
Also the obvious, check for physical damage, take off the battery cover and battery and look at the heads of the screws and see if they've been messed with. They should be black and will show silver if they've been scratched (i.e. opened up with a screw driver).
Look for the warranty sticker, if its not there, stay away. On the kaiser if you take off the battery cover it'd be the hole thats on the top right. There should be a sticher in there that says void in white.
press every button and make sure it works. Open up new note to test the keyboard.
when you take out the battery, look for a white kind of fluffy sticker. If its blue that means the phones been subject to moisture/water.
I'd say thats about it, don't worry if the device runs slow or any of the software part of the device because that can all be flashed and customized.
last note, i'd go with the raphael over the kaiser.
good luck and enjoy your new device.

[Q] G-Sensor not working and other questions

I've just bought an used Diamond for $82. It looks great, there are only a couple very minor scratches on the display (fixable with a little Displex methinks), came with all the standard accessories plus a genuine HTC leather pouch.
Story is as follows: The owner bought it last week for $140, but noticed later that the G-sensor only works up and down. He took to "the only authorized HTC service center in Romania" and they said something about a broken foil and asked for over $150 to fix it, so he decides to sell it. He'd just picked it up from service today (the diagnosis itself cost him $5 so they didn't even give it back for free). He could've sold it for more, but lucky me.
So, i check it out, and accidentally drop it. It falls flat on its back. Okay, it isn't hurt, everything works, i pay the guy and leave with the phone. On the subway back home everything fine, but at home when i try to connect to wifi it won't start. I reboot the thing and i get the dreaded MicropError. Then the backlight decides only to work when it wants to.
I take the thing apart only to find the wireless cable had come out of its connector, and when i lift the mobo out the display cable also detaches easily. I plug the wireless back in, and notice that the display cable doesn't "click" when the board is mounted back in its place. Aha, so this must've been it. Great service center they have, they can't even click a connector in place.
I use a flat screwdriver to make sure the cable locks firmly in place, put a piece of paper under it to keep it from moving around again, and put the phone back together. Success. I haz working HTC.
It's true that a broken G-Sensor can't be fixed, right? Not that i care too much about it, i just want to know a yes/no type answer.
So, now the main question. I already noticed that the built-in speaker is crap, something typical of WinMo devices as far as i've seen. Now, the supplied headphones are also crap and it doesn't have a jack adapter either. Before i slice the handsfree and patch my Samsung in-ears onto it, i want to know if it sounds good on quality headphones. I don't need it loud as the Samsungs are plenty sensitive, but i need good bass. I have a Sony Ericsson w595 and it's got really powerful bass. I used to have a HP iPAQ rx4240, and it was loud, but it was miles behind the SE phone in sound quality and bass.
The main idea is that the HTC will replace one of my two phones - either the Nokia N93i or the SE w595. The N93i is held in one piece by superglue only and sometimes i need to restart it before it will accept a charge (and it's a PAIN opening Symbian menus for the first time after you restart it). The w595 i got as a gift this summer and is in pristine shape complete with protective foil applied to display. So i could easily sell it for what i paid for the HTC.

(Q) Camera pictures are blurry on the left edge

I bought this phone last year to test AT&T's coverage, but am considering promoting it to a more permanent position, so I am finally looking into some of its problems. This phone's camera takes pictures that are clear in the center, but blurry on the left (or top, when shooting in portrait) 20-35%, no matter what. There is a noteworthy dent on the back cover, so the question is if it is more likely that the problem is caused by the bent cover or by damage to the camera module itself. Any ideas?
Either way, you'll have to remove cover, so when you do, take a picture without it. If the problem goes away, it's the back case, replace it.
If not, it might be the camera module, replace it. Either is pretty cheap on Ali, but if you remove the back cover, order a new one. It's almost impossible to remove it without damaging it.
Good idea; will try!
daedric said:
Either way, you'll have to remove cover, so when you do, take a picture without it. If the problem goes away, it's the back case, replace it.
If not, it might be the camera module, replace it. Either is pretty cheap on Ali, but if you remove the back cover, order a new one. It's almost impossible to remove it without damaging it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's pretty much what I was planning after researching things a bit. I'll order just a screen first, then dismantle the device and replace the screen, but hold off on putting the back cover on until test pictures have been taken. I'm excited to get this phone back into working shape!
There's A LOT of stuff you must remove from the screen, speakers, battery etc etc. It can be done, but pay attention.
Report back latter will you ?
Also, when you're putting the (new) back case on it, the top of the device goes first, not the bottom. Don't worry with the USB plug, worry with the power button/IR blaster and the top mic.
Not looking forward to it, but it should be an interesting experience
daedric said:
There's A LOT of stuff you must remove from the screen, speakers, battery etc etc. It can be done, but pay attention.
Report back later will you ?
Also, when you're putting the (new) back case on it, the top of the device goes first, not the bottom. Don't worry with the USB plug, worry with the power button/IR blaster and the top mic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll report back with the results either way. I have seen the videos showing how involved the process is and am not looking forward to it. This should prove to be an educational experience in surgical precision, keeping track of parts, not losing screws, and remembering what order things get installed.
1 down, 2 to go
Screen replacement was a success! :laugh: But wow, that was a lot of work. This has to be one of the most time-consuming screen replacements in the entire industry. As for the camera problem, the issue does persist with the back cover off, so it looks like I'll have to source a new camera module as well as a new back cover (which got slightly damaged in the process).
I'll upload some photos as the project progresses.
Fixed!... but with strings attached
Just to provide some closure for this fiasco, I did finally get the HTC One fixed and reassembled properly. Here's a quick recap:
Following the initial successful screen replacement, I bought a replacement camera module and back cover for the phone (because the problem persisted with the back cover off and because I had ruined the original back cover during the original disassembly). Upon installing both, I promptly reassembled the phone and discovered that the SIM card slot was no good on the replacement screen assembly. Talk about a major bummer!
From here, I was actually able to carefully remove the (shiny new!) back panel without causing any damage and requested a replacement screen assembly. Replacement was the wrong color. Two weeks later, the correct one finally came in, and I went through the (rather convoluted) procedure of painstakingly taking everything off of the screen assembly and placing it onto the replacement... again.
This time, everything worked, (including the SIM slot) so I slapped the back cover on, but was disappointed to find that the volume-down key had come out of alignment during the second back cover install. Also, the vibration motor had worked its way out of place and was rather noisy. For a third time, I ventured back in and managed to get the back cover off without causing much additional damage (there are some small marks on it now, but it still looks a heck of a lot better than it did before) and stuck some adhesive to the side of the motor in order to hold it into the slot better. I also performed the final snapping on of the back cover more carefully.
Finally, the phone is reassembled and fully functional. Camera photos no longer have a blurry edge, but are occasionally blurry either all over or in certain places. It is capable of taking completely clear shots though, which is interesting. Regardless, I've pretty much given up on getting this thing to perfection, and because of the fact that it isn't my daily driver, the camera not working right is not a dealbreaker. At any rate, it seems like finding a properly functioning camera module for this model is nearly impossible. Also, the right (bottom) speaker's volume is now sometimes a little quieter than the left (top) one, depending on the volume. As before, the MicroUSB connection still doesn't allow the cable to plug in all the way, which makes it really easy to accidentally disconnect, but it does still work fine.
With all that said, I've attached a picture of the repaired phone along with a new old-stock Incipio Feather grip casing that I found locally. The Incipio fits pretty nicely and I really like the feel of it, but debris sticks to it amazingly well. Even something as simple as wiping it with a cloth will leave behind a whole covfefe of specs. Liquid baptism and air drying is the only way to fully clean it.
TL;DR? Don't break your HTC One in a way that requires disassembly or repair. Ever. Even if the camera sucks, be thankful that it is fully functional (if it is). If you do attempt a repair operation of any kind, test the SIM card slot and camera (and speakers) fully before putting the thing back together and mind the volume keys as you put the back cover on.

Phone burst into flames during repair, need advice with new parts.

So, the screen on my Note 4X broke, and I wanted to replace it. Long story short, the battery is glued down hard as **** and I managed to damage it, and it burst into flames. I'm fine, I was prepared, nothing but the phone suffered any damage.
But now I'm sitting here, with a phone that's basically still fine minus the frame and the battery, and I still want to repair it.
I'm faced with two questions, first of all, I managed to find (I think) every part I need, but one eludes me. I don't even know what it's for. You can see it here (minute 9:11-9:27):
https://youtu.be/MQazwoEssN0?t=556
It says "C6_LEDFPC_V1.0" on mine. Google tells me nothing about that, and it's not a part I have seen on the repair shop sites. It doesn't even seem to be present on complete frame+display assemblies like this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/LCD...edmi-Note-4X-hongmi-Red-Rise/32810566637.html
And apart from that, I wonder if I missed any part.
I still have:
A new display+digitizer, the back cover, the mainboard with the SoC and the two cameras, the PCB with the charging board, the battery cable, the sim tray, the fingerprint reader, the loudspeaker.
I need:
A new frame, an earpiece, the mainboard flex cable, the side key flex cable, a battery, and the one mysterious piece.
Is that everything? Does everyone has a basic list of all the parts?
anon768 said:
So, the screen on my Note 4X broke, and I wanted to replace it. Long story short, the battery is glued down hard as **** and I managed to damage it, and it burst into flames. I'm fine, I was prepared, nothing but the phone suffered any damage.
But now I'm sitting here, with a phone that's basically still fine minus the frame and the battery, and I still want to repair it.
I'm faced with two questions, first of all, I managed to find (I think) every part I need, but one eludes me. I don't even know what it's for. You can see it here (minute 9:11-9:27):
https://youtu.be/MQazwoEssN0?t=556
It says "C6_LEDFPC_V1.0" on mine. Google tells me nothing about that, and it's not a part I have seen on the repair shop sites. It doesn't even seem to be present on complete frame+display assemblies like this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/LCD...edmi-Note-4X-hongmi-Red-Rise/32810566637.html
And apart from that, I wonder if I missed any part.
I still have:
A new display+digitizer, the back cover, the mainboard with the SoC and the two cameras, the PCB with the charging board, the battery cable, the sim tray, the fingerprint reader, the loudspeaker.
I need:
A new frame, an earpiece, the mainboard flex cable, the side key flex cable, a battery, and the one mysterious piece.
Is that everything? Does everyone has a basic list of all the parts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been thinking that in the video, the guy switched on the phone without that part. so that part shouldn't be a very major component. In my opinion, it can be some sort of sensor. I personally feel its a magnet screen sensor for covers with smart wake up function.
The reason I say this is because when i touch a small magnet on the entire front panel, It gets stuck on that same point.
However I am not very sure as the smart wake is not triggered. Maybe it is because I am on LineageOS.
Hope It turns out helpful.
You will probably need the vibrator motor too, its quite small and easy to lose as I've found.
one like this:
link
That part is the LED for the capacitive buttons. Not important at all if you cant find it

[SOLVED] Pebble Time (Steel) - what kind of microswitch is needed?

Hello,
Some time ago I managed to buy a working second-hand "Pebble Time Steel"... well, almost working. The watch succeeded to connect via bluetooth, showed information on screen properly, was responsive. The only things that worked wrong was the almost worn battery and non-working "back" button.
I like PTS, it has some unique functions that modern smartwatches miss... so I decided to repair it and use as my primary watch.
Never mind the battery, the new one is on its way from Aliexpress. The "back" button however is a big challenge. The previous owner tried to repair it, but he didn't succeed. The only goal he managed was to solder out the microswitch and... leave an empty space. So right now I have PTS with a working motherboard and empty space where the microswitch was.
I tried to find out what type of microswitch it is. Hours of searching internet and online catalogues returned poor results. The only switch that is close to the size of the original was Omron B3U-3000P-B, but it is still a bit too big. A bit risky to use it due to the SMD resistor placed close to the switch. The original switch is 3mm in width, 2mm deep and 2mm high.
Can you please help me to find the appropriate model of the switch?
There is also another way... does somebody have a broken "Pebble Time" or "Pebble Time Steel" motherboard to sell? I could use switch to replace it to my PTS board.
Here are some photos:
- The first photo shows the motherboard, the arrow points the empty space
- The second photo shows one of the other switches
- The third photo shows the front of the switch - there is a black micro knob mounted to the golden spring circle
Sorry for the poor sharpness, my phone doesn't have "macro" mode.
Welcome to XDA.
This device dates back to when?
This site may have a plan if you contact them if the watch dates back 6+ years.
Conversely buying a parts queen cheap might work but you better have excellent desoldering/ soldering skills. These pcbs are easily damaged.
Digikey or Mouser Electronics may have something that small. You need to know what type of switch it is ie NC or NO, single pole etc.
No easy task...
OK, I contacted Rebble Discord and they really helped. Just for your information if someone needs it: this is the Panasonic TACT switch of "EVPAV" series. Right now there is only one model available (EVPAVAA1A) that is a bit thinner than the original Pebble one, but I will find a way to solder it properly.
You can close this thread.
ravan70 said:
You can close this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thread closed at the OP's request.

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