Damaged Proteus

I have unfortunately damaged my Proteus, it fell off the table onto the carpeted floor. The earphone cable was plugged in at the time and the earphone socket is now slightly loose. This means that I have to move the earphone jack until I get what I think is the correct sound. I have opened the unit to see if I can re solder a dry joint but find that the unit is constructed using SMD techniques. I have recently upgraded my soldering iron to conform to the required standard and have built a project using SMD components. It was quite a learning curve even though I have had years of technical experience. What I need is some information on how to repair the earphone socket. Is it an SMD device? and can it be soldered without using solder paste under the socket? Is it possible to repair using a soldering iron with a very fine tip? if so where are the soldering points? Finally if not where can I send it in England to be repaired? Thank you for your assistance.
Regards Allan.

Hi Allan;

So sorry to hear about your accident!
I'll see if I can find out what the procedure is to fix it yourself. In the meantime, if you want to get the unit repaired, you should first contact the dealer you purchased the product from.
Unfortunately, MP is in the USA, so if your UK dealer cannot help you you may be looking at some expense to ship your unit to MP.

I'll try and get you some answers though.

-Andy.

Hello Andy

Thank you for your prompt reply, I look forward to any further information you can supply. It may be necessary to purchase a new earphone socket incase I have bent the socket contact leafs. Could you get a price for me.

Thank you for your assistance.

Regards Allan

Hello, Allan--

Though we love the reliability of surface mount technology, we don't entirely trust its mechanical strength when it comes to jacks--so we used standard through-hole audio jacks (3.5 mm). You should be able to repair this yourself, given your evident experience with soldering (and de-soldering). I'll check with our engineer to see if he has any spares on hand to send you.

Kind regards,

Robert

Hello Robert

Thank you for that information. If you can send me a replacement earphone jack that would be great as it will also identify the soldering points for me.

Thank you for your help.

Regards Allan

I have been using my Proteus "vary carefully" for some time, but I would like to fix it before it stops working permanently. I often have to move the earphone plug slightly for the missing channel to work. This will not last however and I would appreciate some concrete assistance. Robert had requested a replacement socket to let me have (I am happy to pay for it) but this has not arrived. This would be the best way of fixing the problem as it will negate the possibility of the distortion of the spring contacts in the socket. However if this is not possible could you send me a diagram of the circuit board showing the solder points for the audio socket. When I checked the board some time back the socket appeared to be a surface mount device although Robert mentioned that sockets have always been through the board mounting. The serial No of my unit is MPMB060501982.
Thank you Allan.

Hi, Allen--

Apologies, I'm not watching the forums for warranty related issues--please contact me at mpinfo@mindplace.com so we can discuss off-list.

Thanks much,

Robert