P3A - repairing circuit board

[mmjax]

A friend of mine crashed his P3A pretty bad, and bought a shell to swap the guts over to. In the process of moving everything over, somehow he pulled one of the sockets off the PCB. According to the markings on the PCB, I believe it is for the transmitter antenna(s). The cable and plug are still intact. He doesn't want to send it back to DJI for repair; instead he is ok with "rolling the dice" and me trying to repair it, knowing there is a risk of further damage. I have done soldering on this scale before, and am pretty confident I can pull off this repair successfully, but I would prefer to do it the right way. The way I see it, there are 2 options:
1) Purchase a new socket, and solder it to the board after removing the old pins (AKA the right way)
2) Cut off the plug and solder the wires directly to the board and remaining pins (AKA the easier way)

Having said all that, I have attached pics that show the board, socket, and plug. The socket has 5 "double" pins, only 4 of which are used (the center pin is not used).

Can anyone tell me what to search for with regard to purchasing the socket. I'm really not sure what to call it.

Anyone have any additional thoughts or advice?

 

[FRBEAR]

Solder the wires to the board. Replacement socket may have pins that are difficult to get to, to solder and require more heat on the board.

 

[N017RW]

I can say at this point it is the Compass connector so there's no worry about any affiliation with transmitter functions.

 

[delirious]

Hope it works for you. If not, send me a PM. I have a P3a board I'll part with.

 

[CityZen]

It's a JST GH-series connector. You can probably find it at Digikey or Mouser.

 

[mmjax]

It's a JST GH-series connector. You can probably find it at Digikey or Mouser.

Yes, that's it - thanks! Found it at digi-key - BM05B-GHS-TBT(LF)(SN)(N)

 

[mmjax]

The new JST connectors came in yesterday. They look identical to the damaged one - except not damaged of course. Today I removed the old (broken) pins and tinned the pins on the new connector. When my new fine tipped soldering iron comes in tomorrow I'll be finishing it up. Wish me luck!

 

[mmjax]

All done! Now to see if it works...

 

[N017RW]

Looks like the execution was perfect.

 

[bbfpv]

Wow. Soldering is a skill I wish I had. Nicely done!

 

[mmjax]

Far from perfect. It doesn't look like factory soldering, but the connections are solid with no bridges that I can see. The proof is in the pudding, let's see if it flies and the compass works ;-)

 

[Carlos Lizardi]

I need to repair GST connectors that broke off of center board in crash. Tet JST connectors that broke off the center board are the one for the compass and the one for the positioning system. They sit next to each other. Does anyone know who/where I can send them for repair? (Other than dji). I'm not comfortable doing that kind of repair myself.

 

[ngvuanh]

I need to repair GST connectors that broke off of center board in crash. Tet JST connectors that broke off the center board are the one for the compass and the one for the positioning system. They sit next to each other. Does anyone know who/where I can send them for repair? (Other than dji). I'm not comfortable doing that kind of repair myself.

Any pictures?

Sent from my D6616 using Tapatalk

 

[Carlos Lizardi]

Any pictures?

Sent from my D6616 using Tapatalk

Yes. Notice the two missing JST connectors.

Image

• Carlos Lizardi
• Apr 19, 2016

Notice The two missing JST connectors

 

[Mako79]

All done! Now to see if it works...

I heard to use flux if you don't want to flux-up your soldering job.

 

[drm]

I have lots of experience with building and repairing electronics. Where are you located?

 

[Carlos Lizardi]

I have lots of experience with building and repairing electronics. Where are you located?

I'm near Frederick, Maryland.

 

[drm]

I'm near Frederick, Maryland.

If you have the parts, I can do the repair. I am in Ohio.

 

[Multicoptertec]

I need to repair GST connectors that broke off of center board in crash. Tet JST connectors that broke off the center board are the one for the compass and the one for the positioning system. They sit next to each other. Does anyone know who/where I can send them for repair? (Other than dji). I'm not comfortable doing that kind of repair myself.

Send it to me.

 

[Carlos Lizardi]

How much?