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Hacking it back together.

This is an Xbox One analog stick board that was broken in half. It can be fixed! But why? Fun of course!

solderkingSolderking
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I was given this controller for free because a trigger didn't work. After taking it apart I quickly saw that the board was actually cracked under the analog stick. I removed the stick and the board just fell in two. I decided to see if I could repair it just for fun! I know its much quicker and cheaper to just replace it but sometimes you have to address that "what if?" question.

I started by gluing the two pieces back together using super glue then two part epoxy to really hold it. Once the boards were whole again I started the repair process which consisted of manually reconnecting all the traces that were broken with the board being cracked in two. To do this I had to scrape away enough solder mask to expose the copper underneath, from there I was able to apply solder to the traces and use 30 gauge wire to reconnect them.

For some reason I find this incredibly enjoyable and the fun I got from managing the wire bends and fine soldering was worth it.

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Discussions

dsl wrote 09/21/2020 at 13:36 • point

I assume that there are more then 2 layers, but were you able to make it work again?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Dan Maloney wrote 09/15/2020 at 20:44 • point

Man, that was some rage-quit! Nice recovery though

  Are you sure? yes | no

Solderking wrote 09/19/2020 at 04:17 • point

Haha! I wish I could've seen how hard they punched this poor controller. Thanks!

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Ahron Wayne wrote 09/15/2020 at 18:56 • point

People are sometimes surprised when I show them that there's copper in a PCB, and you can connect to it just like any wire. Cool anti-hack. 

  Are you sure? yes | no

Solderking wrote 09/19/2020 at 04:18 • point

Don't let them see the magic smoke, they're not ready for that yet.

  Are you sure? yes | no

Tom Nardi wrote 09/15/2020 at 06:10 • point

Can't say I would have had the patience to do this myself, but it's certainly a hack of the highest order. My hat's off to you.

  Are you sure? yes | no

Solderking wrote 09/19/2020 at 04:18 • point

For some reason its like meditation for me lol.

  Are you sure? yes | no

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