AR-DV1 Dv1 takes header & survives

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MStep

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Probably like many of you, I have receivers dispersed around various areas of home and work so I can always be in earshot and at arm's length, including several AOR DV1 receivers. And not all of them are situated in the most secure locations-- some are simply on three or four foot high stools, situated around my space.

A few days ago, quite inadvertently, a friend who was a bit tipsy at the time, swung into one of my DV1's and sent it straight into the ground. My heart fell into my stomach at the sound of the DV1 hitting the floor--- from what I recall, it landed on it's front panel, then fell over on it's back.

Not only the sight, but the sound of something like that is indescribable. Something between a thud and a thunk, followed by a soliloquy of non-printable exclamations along the lines of "oh shoot" and such.

It might as well have landed on my head-- I wasn't seeing stars; I was seeing dollar signs dancing around before me.

Picked up the radio and gave it a few shakes-- oh no, no, no--- something is broken-- I can hear rattling from inside the case. Needless to say, that put a damper on the evening's festivities. It was not good.

The next day, my composure having been somewhat returned, I gingerly took a look, and except for the rattling, no obvious physical damage. Small sigh of relief.

Got out a screwdriver to pull off the case and look at the damage. The largest of the metal shields on the circuit board had popped off. A quick look online at some photos of the board and I was able to located the area where it belonged. Close inspection of my unit revealed clips on the board to which the small metal case popped right into. Powering up, and everything seems to be normal. Oh man, never again please !!!!!

There is no real moral to the story, except perhaps to position your equipment securely and avoid visits from drunken friends.

Just wanted to share that experience.
 

marlbrook

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PHEW

Glad it survived. My biggest worry is the USB cable. Either tripping on it and pulling the Radio off the desk, or accidentally leaning on the USB plug, and damaging the socket on the board. Easy to do.

I posted about this before. I bought a magnetic USB cable. Small piece fits into the USB socket, then the cable attaches to that magnetically. Now if there is any undue pressure the cable just detaches itself.

The other advantage is removing insertion pressures. Once the small part is inserted into the socket, no need to ever remove it. I have had several pieces of equipment where the USB socket eventually failed due to lots of plug insertions.

Since fitting it I discovered just how often undue strain can be put on the USB plug/socket here, usually without even realising it. On several occasions the cable connector has disconnected itself, due to me accidentally catching it when doing something else. Had it been an ordinary plug, that unwanted 'force' would have been taken by the radio's USB socket.

I tried a very cheap magnetic cable assembly initially and it did not work. OK for charging, not data.. I then bought a better one ('Wsken' for charging and data), and that works fine. Did not cost much, especially compared to the anguish of damaging the AR-DV1 and having to get it repaired.
 

MStep

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Great tip about the magnetic USB cable Marlbrook. I generally don't keep a USB cable attached to my radio on a regular basis, but of course the AC supply and antenna coax cables are always connected, and they are also very easy to trip over, especially because of the positioning of some of my equipment. It's a less than optimal arrangement, necessitated due to lack or space.

Needless to say, I feel very fortunate that the receiver did not incur any permanent damage. Thanks again for your input Marlbrook.
 

oceans777

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MStep glad it suffered no permanent damage - I know that feeling well having dropped my first AR8200 into a lake years back.

Malbrook’s magnetic USB connector is a great idea - I’ve lost count of how many of these awful micro USB connectors have failed even with care using them. Nice tip.
 

marlbrook

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Malbrook’s magnetic USB connector is a great idea - I’ve lost count of how many of these awful micro USB connectors have failed even with care using them. Nice tip.

Thanks,

Unless you have had one of the USB sockets fail (usually due to mechanical pressure after a number of plug insertions), and managed to look at the PCB it is not apparent how fragile the connections are. A few tiny bits of solder holding them in place.

Some manufacturers will glue them to the board as well, but even then, given their tiny footprint, that does not provide much extra adhesion.

Added to that, any upward or downward pressure applied to the USB plug as it is, or while it is inserted is subject to a fulcrum effect which puts even greater strain on the socket.

It is only a matter of time before they eventually fail, just depending on how many times a plug is attached, even if done carefully.

The result can vary from inconvenient to very severe, if the whole board itself is damaged, particularly if that has to be replaced.

The magnetic connector is such an elegant and simple solution. Several Manufacturers also let you buy extra end pieces (the bits that lie 'flat' and stay plugged into the equipment), which cuts down on how many cables one might need.

I use them on numerous items, varying from Mobile Phones to Tablets, not just the AR-DV1. In addition to protecting the Units they are fitted too from mechanical pressure and wear, it is so simple to attach / detach the cable.
 

iMONITOR

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Sep 20, 2006
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11,156
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S.E. Michigan
Probably like many of you, I have receivers dispersed around various areas of home and work so I can always be in earshot and at arm's length, including several AOR DV1 receivers. And not all of them are situated in the most secure locations-- some are simply on three or four foot high stools, situated around my space.

A few days ago, quite inadvertently, a friend who was a bit tipsy at the time, swung into one of my DV1's and sent it straight into the ground. My heart fell into my stomach at the sound of the DV1 hitting the floor--- from what I recall, it landed on it's front panel, then fell over on it's back.

Not only the sight, but the sound of something like that is indescribable. Something between a thud and a thunk, followed by a soliloquy of non-printable exclamations along the lines of "oh shoot" and such.

It might as well have landed on my head-- I wasn't seeing stars; I was seeing dollar signs dancing around before me.

Picked up the radio and gave it a few shakes-- oh no, no, no--- something is broken-- I can hear rattling from inside the case. Needless to say, that put a damper on the evening's festivities. It was not good.

The next day, my composure having been somewhat returned, I gingerly took a look, and except for the rattling, no obvious physical damage. Small sigh of relief.

Got out a screwdriver to pull off the case and look at the damage. The largest of the metal shields on the circuit board had popped off. A quick look online at some photos of the board and I was able to located the area where it belonged. Close inspection of my unit revealed clips on the board to which the small metal case popped right into. Powering up, and everything seems to be normal. Oh man, never again please !!!!!

There is no real moral to the story, except perhaps to position your equipment securely and avoid visits from drunken friends.

Just wanted to share that experience.


That's impressive! Not just that the radio survived but your friend as well! :wink:

The only AOR product I've ever owned in the past was the AOR-8000 scanner and I felt the physical/mechanical build quality was very poor.

Thanks for posting, even though it must have been painful reliving that experience!
 
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