Disassemble Screen Hinge

[koan]

Disaster struck my SL-C750.

Some time ago I had to take apart my 750 due to a broken power button. When I put it back together the screen hinge make a much louder clicking sound. At the time I thought that reassembling it had left some part slightly loose. Now I know the real reason: I broke the hinge mounting.

In one of the photos attached is a close up of the screw that mounts the spring mechanism to the case. The mounting post that the screw screws into is broken. Does anyone know how to disassemble this properly ? I plan to use epoxy resin to glue in the post and the black part and then use a scalpel to trim to fit.

In the photo I have marked the LED light guides (1) and the power connector on the circuit board (2). The screw in question has an arrow.

The next photo shows an overall view.

I found the problem after I noticed the case has many cracks and one of the external screw mounts was falling off (due to the extra hinge movement). My plan is to skim over the cracked parts of the case with a wafer thin layer of epoxy resin. The last photo here shows the broken external screw mount.

[Varti]

Sad to hear about that broken hinge. I have never attempted to open my Z, since I'd be too afraid of breaking anything. There might be some info on how to disassemble your 750 here: http://repair4pda.org/disassembly_sharp.html I have seen there's a working link to a disassembly of an SL-C3000 there, though in japanese only and with some very small pictures. There were some 750 guides on http://www.guylhem.net/ too, but sadly the site is no longer online and archive.org doesn't seem to host a copy of it.

Some time ago, an user on the #zaurus channel has advised me to search for any Zaurus and related accessories on the japanese Yahoo Auction site (thanks Tomoe!). There are usually lots of offers there, not surprising since the Zaurus has been mostly sold in Japan. You might try to search for a replacement SL-C750 there, the best and cheapest would be a broken one for replacement parts. Many, if not all items there are usually shipped to Japan only, but you can use the Buyee service which will receive the goods for you and sent them to your address for a minimal fee. I have never tried to order anything from there, but I'd like to try this someday.

http://buyee.jp/item/search?query=sharp%20...%83%AB%E3%82%B9

Varti

[zaurusrex]

Hello, also sorry to hear about your 750.

You could try to ask about a replacement part from conics . net

I think they are also located in Japan and used to sell Zauri.

I see they still carry some parts for the 760.

http://conics.net/catalog/product/view/id/386/s/sl-760-base/

Feel free to update us and good luck!

[Varti]

Hi zaurusrex,

nice to see that Conics still has some Z stuff, too bad they still have just a few items left:

http://conics.net/catalogsearch/result/?q=zaurus

Last year I tried to contact Trisoft and asked them if they still had any Z stuff for sale, they never answered me though.

Varti

[koan]

Hi zaurusrex,

Thanks for the suggestion.

I have now done the disassembly that I needed to do and now the task is to put everything back together, and working.

I would be tempted to get a replacement for the bottom part of the case because of the cracks in my case but the area around the headphone socket is high stress so I think it is unlikely that it won't be cracked on the replacement.

If I had time/money/skills I would make a model of the case and 3D print it or get one CNC milled in aluminium.

[Varti]

You might want to give this replacement a try, it's selling for a low price :

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Sharp-Zaurus-SL-C76...JEAAOSw-0xYlt5n

It's a SL-C760, but from what I have seen on the net the bottom part of both the 750 and 760 seem to be the same.
If that 760 will result be fully functional, you might also consider switching to it by reusing 750's battery and battery cover. The only difference seems to be the battery's capacity (950 vs. 1700 mAh), see http://www.brighthand.com/news/review-shar...0-from-dynamism .

Varti

[koan]

Thanks Varti,

I've worked out how to disassemble the bit I need to fix and I think I'm going to clean it up and glue the broken part back in place. The Zaurus case is not very strong.

I've been a bit busy recently but should have time to do this soon. I'll take a lot of pictures and make a gallery showing the break down so it can be of use to other people.

[Varti]

Nice to hear you are progressing, looking forward for the end result.

Varti

[koan]

I posted some photos and a little write up at http://www.lyndonhill.com/Projects/Zaurus/tear-down.html

In summary, the repair did not go well. I don't recommend trying to fix the case in this way. But at least I learnt a little about how to disassemble a Zaurus and at least my Zaurus still works.

[Varti]

Pity that it didn't work at the end, but as it often happens the only way to find out if something is feasible is by trying. I'm surprised that no-one has thought of taking the measurements for a 3D printed case yet (or at least I could not found any online), especially since this is now becoming more and more popular on other, retro devices.

Varti