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-- Cracking open my Minstrel... (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=11713)

Here's my dilemma: Once upon a time, I had a Minstrel modem which worked very well. It never casued any fatal errors, always got great connections, and generally made me feel good about my purchase. Then one unhappy day, it stopped charging and died. the charger still put out its 5V or so, but the modem wouldn't accept it, and its little green status LED refused to light.

So I called Yadayada and they apologized profusely and promptly called Novatel for me and had another sent out. It has different software installed on it - no Eudora or Eudora web. In their place are some YY specials I didn't have to deal with before. It crashes all the time now. I now know the pain everyone else has been experiencing.

I still have the old one. Can anyone tell me

- what tool to use to get the thing open - looks like a teeny star wrench - and where to buy it
- if swapping the batteries/charging systems would be a beeotch
- if there's any way to swap the memory chips - a brain transplant, in other words

I'm waiting to see if YY will have my old one repaired. If they won't, I need other options. Having to do hard resests five times a day is getting infuriating, especially when it was nearly flawless once.

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...the patron saint of the easily amused...

You need Torx tools

I bought some small Torx tools from http://www.wihatools.com to open my Minstrel S. I discovered that you will need the T5 torx driver and handle to disassemble the Minstrel S modem.

They are about $10.00 in all, but you will not find them in your local hardware emporium.

David

davidstl - find anything good inside?

Minstrel S revealed

I couldn't resist! I opened one of my Minstrel S modems and took a photo which I will post shortly. The case is in three pieces which come apart easily.

The first part is the front cover which is secured by four screws. The next thing you see is a logic board which plugs into the transmitter with a microminiature connector. Be very gentle when lifting the logic board away from the transmitter. When you lift away the logic board, you see the battery in the middle housing between the transmitter an a logic board. There are two screws securing the middle section of the case to the back cover. Avoid removing these screws because you can swap battery and logic boards without going any further. The transmitter is in a shielded enclosure attached to the back cover.

If you have two units to work with, you are in good shape. Just swap out logic board and/or battery until you find a combination that works. Good luck.

David

Minstrel S photo

This picture should give you enough reality in terms of physical mass so the previous description should make sense.

http://www.stlawrence.to/wirelessPD...-S-revealed.JPG

Snapping the three parts of the case back together requires care and judgement. Do not use force. Good luck.

David

Looks pretty simple. I just hope the dead part that's preventing charging isn't integral to the logic board.

Thanks mucho for the info.

__________________
...the patron saint of the easily amused...