Waste Makers Rule! Why the Service Techs have Vanished. Lousy Design and Zero After Sales Support.

[TLS Guy]

I’d be curious about just how the cable was inserted into the port. Even if it had snapped off for whatever reason, the end should have been easily removed with a pair of needle nose pliers or even tweezers. I swear, it looks like it was crazy glued together after it was initially broken. Weird.

The owners tried to pull it out with needle nosed tweezers, and that was the mess I received it in. I have been able to get a good grasp with needle nosed pliers but it does not budge. I think the locking mechanism is still intact, broken, but locking it in place.

There are a lot of reports of what highfigh suggested on the Net. Often it either does not work, and more often than not does more harm than good. I don't want to damage the PCB it is attached to.

More bad news though, Mouser have been in touch with me and are certain there are none available in the US. So it looks like Chinese sellers are the only option.

So, I have done the deal with a Chinese seller. There are a number selling this item, and it looks as if this item is no longer manufactured. So I will get five of them for about $18.00. I was hoping to avoid dealing with a Chinese parts supplier, but it seems that is the only option. Shipping will take 3 to 4 weeks.

As far as I can tell from the serial number this unit is six years old. They stopped making the units in 2020, and say software support will stop 2025.

There is no mention of parts, but I would bet they skirted the law on that.

I suspect this port was custom for this unit, and as is usual with this type of Chinese manufacture, there is only one run, and when they are gone they are gone.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I found it too, but they are Chinese vendors.

They are, but unlike buying on a Chinese website, eBay gives you good buyer protection.
Plus Digikey does have a very similar part in stock:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cliff-electronic-components-ltd/FCR684208R/19109855

 

[TLS Guy]

If someone pounds on it hard enough, it'll go. This snapped off flush, so needle nose won't work. A really small screw could be used, too- the problem is in finding one that's small enough.

I am not going to use a "brute force and ignorance" approach to this repair. I never do. I have worked on enough vintage gear of all types including tractors, boats, boat motors and cars. The rule is TO BE CAREFUL. If you smash what was not broken before you put yourself way behind, or make repair impossible.

So, hopefully the correct parts arrive and at least one of the five work! The repair will then be done by the book.

But I think you can see why it is not worth opening a shop to repair endless junk of this nature. So, let this inform members why you can't find a service tech in your area most likely.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yeah, the cover and springs on those things often just came apart. If a piece of either of them became wedged between the cable end and port while it was being inserted, it would be difficult to remove it from the port if it was forced into it.

 

[TLS Guy]

They are, but unlike buying on a Chinese website, eBay gives you good buyer protection.
Plus Digikey does have a very similar part in stock:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cliff-electronic-components-ltd/FCR684208R/19109855

This is an active device, so close is no use. Since as usual these days, there is no circuit, no parts list and no component specifications or tolerances. I have no idea what the specified driving voltage is, or the current draw. The UK tech got one that he thought was close, but the pin spacing was different so he could not install it on the board, and had to find the correct one.

The reason I started this post, is to highlight how totally unacceptable modern electronic manufacture is. It is a total disgrace.

This business of making one off components for a given device is the cause of it all. Once they are all gone then there are units that could otherwise be repaired destined for "so called" recycling. We all know that's a joke.

The thing is that if I was working on my 58 year old Quad 22 preamp, I would know what components to source, and alternatives. Same with my Revox tape machines from the seventies. All information to be able to provide competent service was right at hand from day one. Back then what we have now would not have been tolerated and should not be now.

The seller says he just has those four bags of five of these ports and won't be getting more. I just ordered one bag, as I hope I never see another of these wretched things.

 

[TLS Guy]

Yeah, the cover and springs on those things often just came apart. If a piece of either of them became wedged between the cable end and port while it was being inserted, it would be difficult to remove it from the port if it was forced into it.

By the look of it that is precisely what happened. I think it was inserted upside down with force, and broken off trying to remove it.

 

[lovinthehd]

By the look of it that is precisely what happened. I think it was inserted upside down with force, and broken off trying to remove it.

The optical toslink port is a very poor design.

 

[Trebdp83]

I was very pleased with the LG C1 multi directional optical port.

 

[lovinthehd]

I was very pleased with the LG C1 multi directional optical port.

That's a step in the right direction. Does make me wonder why this particular general design of both connector/port came about and why it won....

 

[Eppie]

I have ordered from Ali-Express on more than one occasion and they never abused my credit card. It's like Amazon where they provide the sales platform so you are not dealing directly with the Chinese supplier. It's often a necessary evil for electronics components. When my brother-in-law blew a channel on his 1980's Kenwood receiver, I tried Digi-key and Mouser and even tried to substitute similar rated transistors, but in the end it was only Ali-Express that had the proper transistor and only $5 for 3 pairs (NPN and PNP pairs). And they had the exact matching part number, not some substitute, for a 40 year old amp section.

The repair videos I watch on YouTube most often use Ali-Express for parts. You can't beat the price, but for more expensive chips and transistors you have to watch out for fakes. Shipping can take a while if it comes by container ship but I have been lucky with local warehouses on occasion. It's not a bad idea to have an extra credit card with a low limit for these purchases if hacking is a concern.

I share the frustration with serviceability. When I repaired car audio it was very obvious which engineers took serviceability in mind with their designs. Clarion gear was very easy to disassemble and diagnose; Alpine was a nightmare. The challenge with a lot of newer gear is the use of surface mounted components. You need a microscope, hot air soldering tool and a steady hand with modern circuits. There are shops that have the proper tools for this stuff, but they are few and far between. The lack of schematics requires good knowledge of common circuit designs and the ability to find part specifications. Sometimes you can look up the specs for an IC with sample circuits and use that to determine what the surrounding components should be. As described by the doc, getting these things apart is usually half the battle these days. I hate plastic tabs and clips!

 

[TLS Guy]

I have ordered from Ali-Express on more than one occasion and they never abused my credit card. It's like Amazon where they provide the sales platform so you are not dealing directly with the Chinese supplier. It's often a necessary evil for electronics components. When my brother-in-law blew a channel on his 1980's Kenwood receiver, I tried Digi-key and Mouser and even tried to substitute similar rated transistors, but in the end it was only Ali-Express that had the proper transistor and only $5 for 3 pairs (NPN and PNP pairs). And they had the exact matching part number, not some substitute, for a 40 year old amp section.

The repair videos I watch on YouTube most often use Ali-Express for parts. You can't beat the price, but for more expensive chips and transistors you have to watch out for fakes. Shipping can take a while if it comes by container ship but I have been lucky with local warehouses on occasion. It's not a bad idea to have an extra credit card with a low limit for these purchases if hacking is a concern.

I share the frustration with serviceability. When I repaired car audio it was very obvious which engineers took serviceability in mind with their designs. Clarion gear was very easy to disassemble and diagnose; Alpine was a nightmare. The challenge with a lot of newer gear is the use of surface mounted components. You need a microscope, hot air soldering tool and a steady hand with modern circuits. There are shops that have the proper tools for this stuff, but they are few and far between. The lack of schematics requires good knowledge of common circuit designs and the ability to find part specifications. Sometimes you can look up the specs for an IC with sample circuits and use that to determine what the surrounding components should be. As described by the doc, getting these things apart is usually half the battle these days. I hate plastic tabs and clips!

You have underscored the whole reason for this post. No one can do what you just described without charging a fortune for it. So the end result is off to the recycling center, and online with Crutchfield or like, an in with the new. This is the wastemaker world we live in.

 

[lovinthehd]

You have underscored the whole reason for this post. No one can do what you just described without charging a fortune for it. So the end result is off to the recycling center, and online with Crutchfield or like, an in with the new. This is the wastemaker world we live in.

Gotta love capitalism set free, though

 

[Eppie]

You have underscored the whole reason for this post. No one can do what you just described without charging a fortune for it. So the end result is off to the recycling center, and online with Crutchfield or like, an in with the new. This is the wastemaker world we live in.

Which is why I am a big proponent of right to repair legislation. It's taking many years to get adopted though as it is state by state and usually limited to specific industries.

 

[highfigh]

delete, please

 

[highfigh]

I am not going to use a "brute force and ignorance" approach to this repair. I never do. I have worked on enough vintage gear of all types including tractors, boats, boat motors and cars. The rule is TO BE CAREFUL. If you smash what was not broken before you put yourself way behind, or make repair impossible.

So, hopefully the correct parts arrive and at least one of the five work! The repair will then be done by the book.

But I think you can see why it is not worth opening a shop to repair endless junk of this nature. So, let this inform members why you can't find a service tech in your area most likely.

You need to realize when someone is joking.

 

[highfigh]

The optical toslink port is a very poor design.

HDMI is no better, but at least it has a little metal to help.

To make it worse, coiling an optical link too tightly can cause the signal to be reduced enough to stop transmission and that's not even as bad as kinking it.

 

[highfigh]

I have ordered from Ali-Express on more than one occasion and they never abused my credit card. It's like Amazon where they provide the sales platform so you are not dealing directly with the Chinese supplier. It's often a necessary evil for electronics components. When my brother-in-law blew a channel on his 1980's Kenwood receiver, I tried Digi-key and Mouser and even tried to substitute similar rated transistors, but in the end it was only Ali-Express that had the proper transistor and only $5 for 3 pairs (NPN and PNP pairs). And they had the exact matching part number, not some substitute, for a 40 year old amp section.

The repair videos I watch on YouTube most often use Ali-Express for parts. You can't beat the price, but for more expensive chips and transistors you have to watch out for fakes. Shipping can take a while if it comes by container ship but I have been lucky with local warehouses on occasion. It's not a bad idea to have an extra credit card with a low limit for these purchases if hacking is a concern.

I share the frustration with serviceability. When I repaired car audio it was very obvious which engineers took serviceability in mind with their designs. Clarion gear was very easy to disassemble and diagnose; Alpine was a nightmare. The challenge with a lot of newer gear is the use of surface mounted components. You need a microscope, hot air soldering tool and a steady hand with modern circuits. There are shops that have the proper tools for this stuff, but they are few and far between. The lack of schematics requires good knowledge of common circuit designs and the ability to find part specifications. Sometimes you can look up the specs for an IC with sample circuits and use that to determine what the surrounding components should be. As described by the doc, getting these things apart is usually half the battle these days. I hate plastic tabs and clips!

They had those parts because the original design used off the shelf components, not proprietary.

 

[highfigh]

Gotta love capitalism set free, though

With the pricing and demand for large opening orders by Sonos, it's not capitalism as much as greed.

 

[lovinthehd]

HDMI is no better, but at least it has a little metal to help.

To make it worse, coiling an optical link too tightly can cause the signal to be reduced enough to stop transmission and that's not even as bad as kinking it.

Lol almost mentioned that but....

 

[TLS Guy]

You need to realize when someone is joking.

Hard to tell. There are numerous serious post advising what you said in jest, as a remedy for this problem.