Be wary about your USB port

Jantteri

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Got the USB port detached from the circuit board. The camera was charging from a power bank and placed on backpack which itself was placed on a scooter storage compartment. Apparently the space was too tight and the USB cord created enough tension to snap the port off.

I'm not saying it's a due to a poor design but I think the port should be attached to the camera body by a little bit stronger way.

image.jpg
 
Dont hang me up on this, but i think a USB port have solderings to the PCB to hold it in place, and other solderings for the connections.

If you attach it tothe camera body then you cant take it apart, so its a trade off i guess.
 
Yep maybe not to the body itself but perhaps some sort of additional glueing into the circuit board could help...
 
No, you are wrong if you don't know how much force is needed to brake that part. I have several devices, as very like you have as well, with micro USB ports and they never been even close to brake despite the "treatment" they have received. In one occasion I dropped charging iPad from a table and guess what happened? The lighting cable plug went broken but nothing happened to the iPad. Just imagine the force when nearly 1kg item drops to a hard stone floor from a half meter. Of course an iPad with it's aluminium body is not the same but somehow they managed to make a very solid joint between the port and the circuit board. And like I said, there's nothing unusual about that when it comes to other electronic devices as well.

This was just a warning for other Gitup users, my travel insurance will cover the damage anyway but does not cover the nuisance and waiting time to find a place where it can be fixed while travelling.
 
Hard to understand how it would end up looking like that.
  • The metal shell of the socket sits within the hole in the plastic case so you can't just force it sideways unless you actually break the plastic case.
  • The socket is well attached to the PCB, to remove it you will need to twist and snap the metal shell.
  • I guess a few KG weight of stuff has landed on it when going over a pothole and used the plug as a lever to prise the socket off the PCB using the case as the fulcrum.
  • This probably wouldn't happen with a micro USB socket because the micro USB plugs are so thin that they will bend quite easily so they can't be used as levers, presumably designed that way to prevent this problem.
A useful warning to be careful when loading anything onto any sort of vehicle - remove all the plugs from their sockets before traveling. It doesn't have to be electronic either, I managed to do a similar amount of damage to a water bottle that I put on the back of my bicycle a few months ago, just the weight of the water inside going over potholes caused an amazing amount of damage because of what it was sitting on, had the bike not moved then there would have been zero damage.
 
Well hard to tell exactly how the damage did happen because I only found it after listening the video sound, and since I haven't been able yet to even open the case (no repair shops nor tools for sale anywhere near here where I'm staying at the moment).

Nevertheless, that USB port is obviously something you should be careful with.
 
@Jantteri , have you solved the problem? Try to contact the seller to get replaced, if no help please contact us.
This is the first time we heard such problem on Git2.
I am familiar with this problem on the SJ4000 earlier version, many returns about the USB port broken.
 
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@Jantteri , have you solved the problem? Try to contact the seller to get replaced, if no help please contact us.
This is the first time we heard such problem on Git2.
I am familiar with this problem on the SJ4000 earlier version, many returns about the USB port broken.

Much appreciated. The problem is that since I am not staying long in one place I cannot send my camera back to the seller (which is Gearbest) and wait for replacement until after several months from now (or, for the same reasons, cannot yet claim compensation from my travel insurance either).

Although I have finally managed to open the case I'm still looking an electronics repair shop which could resolder the port - not sure if there is anyone around here (at Koh Samui ATM) who has enough expertise on that.

Usb1.jpg


Here is what the detached USB port looks like. It is glued (or soldered, can't see much traces of that) to the PCB with four small legs and held in place with two plastic pins. Hard to estimate how sturdy that structure is in general when taking into consideration manufacturing deviation but I would guess that the soldered wires alone would take only a tiny amount of force before giving in. I think that the weakest point of the above construction is when a twisting force is applied in an angle which pulls the two plastic pins and wires upwards. Like I said, if there would be glue on the whole surface facing the PCB, it would make the joint more durable.
 
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those 4 pads are the main mechanical fasteners. in your photo, it looks like they were soldered properly, and actually ripped the copper traces off the circuit board. looks like a trace is still attached to pin 4 as well. the plastic pins are mostly for alignment during assembly, but also for a little reinforcement while a plug is being inserted or removed.

i do agree that some adhesive certainly wouldn't hurt, but if it's being applied by hand during assembly, it could easily get into the port itself and either insulate the pins inside, or physically prevent insertion of a plug. which would be bad. :p
 
I notice the pads are not twisted in any way, looks like it has been lifted vertically off the PCB but it must have been twisted since the case prevents any force left-right or up-down. I'd expect lifting it off to take considerable force. Maybe Gitup should test a few.

For future use in a similar situation, I recommend using a USB cable with a right angle plug, it is much more difficult to put a strong twisting force on a right angle plug than one that sticks straight out.

Is the camera still working? If you have a battery charger and a card reader then you don't need the USB socket to use the camera.
 
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For future use in a similar situation, I recommend using a USB cable with a right angle plug, it is much more difficult to put a strong twisting force on a right angle plug than one that sticks straight out.

Is the camera still working? If you have a battery charger and a card reader then you don't need the USB socket to use the camera.

Yes it is working fine and actually got it in a repair shop today, should be ready tomorrow, let's see how it goes.

Good advise about the cable. In this incident the scooter seat probably landed on top of the cable at just about the right angle to twist the port towards the weakest possible direction, therefore hard to make any conclusions about its durability in general - but of course there's always room for improvement.

UPDATE
Soldering those tiny wires came out to be too delicate task to the local repair guy so no luck this time. May need to wait until Bangkok or some other big city to find someone capable of doing SMD soldering.
 
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Got the USB port detached from the circuit board. The camera was charging from a power bank and placed on backpack which itself was placed on a scooter storage compartment. Apparently the space was too tight and the USB cord created enough tension to snap the port off.

I'm not saying it's a due to a poor design but I think the port should be attached to the camera body by a little bit stronger way.

image.jpg
My Git2P did this after a week of normal use. And, I would say "poor design." The product should be suitable for its intended use, and not fail under foreseeable conditions. Plugging in a USB cable is a foreseeable use. Powering it with an external battery and a USB cable is a foreseeable use. I presume that there is no warranty service in the U.S., so I will follow the example in this topic, and take it to a computer repair.IMG_1351.JPG
 
My Git2P did this after a week of normal use. And, I would say "poor design." The product should be suitable for its intended use, and not fail under foreseeable conditions. Plugging in a USB cable is a foreseeable use. Powering it with an external battery and a USB cable is a foreseeable use. I presume that there is no warranty service in the U.S., so I will follow the example in this topic, and take it to a computer repair.View attachment 33631
Sorry for the trouble, please check PM.
 
It happened to me yesterday afternoon using the cam on my bike with an right handle usb cable (i connected to the bike for charging during video because i couldn't be stopping to check the battery).
 
It happened to me yesterday afternoon using the cam on my bike with an right handle usb cable (i connected to the bike for charging during video because i couldn't be stopping to check the battery).
There are two common methods for protecting individual components on circuit boards from shock and vibration. Those are staking and potting. There is a discussion of those methods at the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/staking-potting-electronics-high-shock-vibration-sean-thomas/
The USB port might benefit from either of these methods, both of which would still allow the board to be removed from the case.

The disadvantage is that once potted, IF the USB port breaks anyway, it cannot be fixed, and the entire board has to be replaced. The big advantage would be if GitUp solved the problem of bad USB ports, in which case the Git2 could be the only actioncam with a reliable USB port, as there are hundreds of thousands of complaints about the other brands, including GoPro.
 
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There are two common methods for protecting individual components on circuit boards from shock and vibration. Those are staking and potting. There is a discussion of those methods at the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/staking-potting-electronics-high-shock-vibration-sean-thomas/
The USB port might benefit from either of these methods, both of which would still allow the board to be removed from the case.
Thanks for the info but now it's too late. [emoji20]

Also, even i'm not accusing GitUp for this, i think that it's not the customers that need to do that; it's something that should be done by the brand when manufacturing the cams. We can't forget that this is an action cam.
 
And most action cams are presumably used while sealed in their protective cases, with no external connectors plugged in, so it's not an issue.

I'm not trying to dismiss the issue, just saying that in most cases they won't be used while plugged in so the port doesn't need to be super strong.
 
And most action cams are presumably used while sealed in their protective cases, with no external connectors plugged in, so it's not an issue.

I'm not trying to dismiss the issue, just saying that in most cases they won't be used while plugged in so the port doesn't need to be super strong.
It was 90% true if the battery lasted longer recording video. And i say 90% because the other 10% is due to external mic.
 
Thanks for the info but now it's too late. [emoji20]

Also, even i'm not accusing GitUp for this, i think that it's not the customers that need to do that; it's something that should be done by the brand when manufacturing the cams. We can't forget that this is an action cam.

I could have been more clear. I was not suggesting that consumers make the modification. I meant the post as a suggestion as to what manufacturers could do to prevent the problem. Staking or potting by the consumer would surely void the warranty.
 
It was 90% true if the battery lasted longer recording video. And i say 90% because the other 10% is due to external mic.

Not true for cyclists. Many of us who record do so continuously. My normal rides last 3.5 to 4 hours. My longer rides (to San Diego) last as long as 6 hours. I use the skeleton case and an Anker Powercore 5000 to give me enough recording juice. BUT, I recommend a zip tie or other strain relief on the external USB cable, so that it does not bounce around and/or exert lateral forces on the USB port.
 
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