I’m looking for a source for the tall (15.5mm offset) MiniPCI sockets found on RB433s and RB411Us–but I want the kind that has all-metal clips and supports that reach down to the board:
…NOT the kind with thin bits of plastic that aren’t even webbed for reinforcement, and snap the second time* you use them:
Technically, the spec claims “Durability: 25 Cycles”. But who here seriously thinks that 25 radio insertion/removal cycles is enough for the lifetime of a RouterBoard?!
Finally: can anyone offer any advice/pointers on de-soldering these sockets from the board, for those of us who don’t have equipment that can heat all 124 pins at once? Preferably without a lot of prying (or cutting), because sometimes I’d like to get a good socket off of a dead board, and that means keeping damage to a minimum.
Is faster, less time consuming and less expensive replacing the board.
I’m a WISP and I have opened, reopened and changed hundred of time wifi module, also from same RB.
This is the first case I see the connector broken for module removal.
Are you sure to remove correctly the module from the RB?
Perhaps that is true in your situation. I have a couple dozen boards with damaged clips, and I am not in a position to spend $1000+ to replace them.
I’m a WISP and I have opened, reopened and changed hundred of time wifi module, also from same RB.
As am I–and I don’t have any trouble with them either.
This is the first case I see the connector broken for module removal. Are you sure to remove correctly the module from the RB?
You’re missing the point. The damage is done before I receive the boards. Most of the time it isn’t so severe; the plastic simply cracks, which allows the clip to “float” and need to be manually lifted to engage the card. And I have yet to find any kind of glue that won’t just snap again as soon as you insert another card.
Of course; that’s because you and I know how to handle these sockets properly. Apparently, some people are simply careless. The point is, I never see this kind of damage to the clips with the metal supports; only to the plastic ones. And even if you are careful, the plastic type will fatigue and crack eventually–long before the metal type would.
No; they were obtained as part of a salvage operation. WISPs upgrade their equipment, or go out of business, all the time. Most equipment comes out fine, but after several hundred previously-used RouterBoards have passed through your hands, you start to see patterns–and you start to accumulate boards with common defects.
In this case, I have a couple dozen RBs worth at least $1K, with broken MiniPCI clips. Some of them can still be made to work, but I wouldn’t rely on them in my network, and I certainly can’t sell them to anyone else in this condition. So, is it worth $1K to R&R a couple dozen MiniPCI slots? It is to me.
So what I need are:
a source for the more durable version of the socket, preferably in small quantities; and
advice from people who do SMT soldering work, particularly on removal.
