I think I messed up while trying to do a detachable mini-usb mod on my Filco...

[justin one]

Here's the thing:

I ordered a mini-usb female to mini-usb male cable in order to do a detachable mini-usb cable mod to my Filco Majestouch 2. While removing the internal usb connector in the Filco I yanked a little too hard and pulled one of the wires out of the connector.




Then after that happened, I stripped the mini-usb cable to find that it only has one ground so I'm not even sure if I can use it.



So my questions are:
What type of connector is that? Should I get a new connector and redo the end?
Will that mini-usb cable work with the Filco?

I was planning on cutting the Filco USB cable and the mini-usb cable and just soldering them together so I wouldn't have to mess with the connector, but it seems like I'm going to have to now.

[alaricljs]

Well you didn't yank the wire out of the connector, it's broke at the connector.  That is a difficult thing to fix, but it is possible, you need to get the pin out of the connector housing and solder the wire back on.  Not the easiest thing if you're not experienced.

As far as I can see the mini usb on a cable has the right number of conductors, it looks like you cut the shielding which would match the dull black wire of the filco.  That dull black is heat shrink over the shielding.

[IvanIvanovich]

It's not as bad as you think. You can get some new connector pins (not sure which size is need from photo, but probably floppy or fan connector size) and a crimper and pin remover to use the connector. 2nd ground is connected to cable shield, and it appears that your mini usb has it, you just need to strip off some of the sheath to get at it, twist it and connect that to the plug end.

[MMB]

It looks like the female part of the USB adapter might have a controller in it that could be possibly interfering with something?

[MechKey]

That braided wire stuff is shield.

[justin one]

It's not as bad as you think. You can get some new connector pins (not sure which size is need from photo, but probably floppy or fan connector size) and a crimper and pin remover to use the connector. 2nd ground is connected to cable shield, and it appears that your mini usb has it, you just need to strip off some of the sheath to get at it, twist it and connect that to the plug end.

I'm going to order some of those, thanks.

In the meantime, I got the pins out of the connector. They're almost too small to work with but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try:

[longweight]

That sucks man!

Please tell me that you didn't pull on the cable to get the connector out of the socket?

[justin one]

That sucks man!

Please tell me that you didn't pull on the cable to get the connector out of the socket?

No, I was putting pressure on the two ends which hold the connector in (which is in there really tight!) and my finger slipped. 

[boost]

You can have this if you really need it.

[longweight]

That sucks man!

Please tell me that you didn't pull on the cable to get the connector out of the socket?

No, I was putting pressure on the two ends which hold the connector in (which is in there really tight!) and my finger slipped. 

I have done something similar before! I find it best to use a small terminal driver to gently lever the connector out.

[WhiteFireDragon]

What is that white plastic connector called? Name or link would be great.

[justin one]

You can have this if you really need it.

This is really nice of you.

[MechKey]

You can buy new pins or swipe out of fan connectors.

[justin one]

Good news everyone!

So I decided to venture over to deskthority earlier and there just happens to be a thread titled "Filco detachable cable mod" : http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/filco-detachable-cable-mod-t3269.html

and it had the exact information I needed, which is what type of connector and terminals are on the Filco USB cable:
terminals http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/50212-8000/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtVoztFdqDXO4kE7oxCzz%252bs
connector http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/87369-0500/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujcqV0sYV0oavFOLrzo0eQUE5OfMbNyLhk%3d

They're super cheap so I ordered ten terminals and two connectors just to be on the safe side (was only $5).

boost also shipped out his cable to me so I'll try to use that before I use these.

[Appeac]

There's always the option of soldering the wires of the adapter directly to the leads. Desolder the female port off the pcb, attach wires, and hot glue the **** out of it.

[WRXChris]

I've heard of people having trouble detaching this cable from the pcb in the past.  What I do is use a small flat head screwdriver and carefully wiggle it back and forth to pry the connectors apart, you kinda have to walk it out, if you pry one side too far the plastic will break.  Once it's loosened up, you can grab it on either side with your fingers and pull it the rest of the way out. 

this is for future reference of course, and for others thinking about filco modding!

[justin one]

There's always the option of soldering the wires of the adapter directly to the leads. Desolder the female port off the pcb, attach wires, and hot glue the **** out of it.

This is my last resort plan.

Edit:

Also just ordered a magnifying stand and a soldering kit so I can do things right:



My wallet hates me at the moment.

[WhiteFireDragon]

terminals http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/50212-8000/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtVoztFdqDXO4kE7oxCzz%252bs
connector http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/87369-0500/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujcqV0sYV0oavFOLrzo0eQUE5OfMbNyLhk%3d

Thanks for these links! How do you plan on crimpling the pins? A crimple tool costs like $300. Are these anywhere to by pins that are already crimpled?

That was a big investment for soldering stuff to reattach 1 wire lol

[justin one]

terminals http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/50212-8000/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtVoztFdqDXO4kE7oxCzz%252bs
connector http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/87369-0500/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujcqV0sYV0oavFOLrzo0eQUE5OfMbNyLhk%3d

Thanks for these links! How do you plan on crimpling the pins? A crimple tool costs like $300. Are these anywhere to by pins that are already crimpled?

That was a big investment for soldering stuff to reattach 1 wire lol

I'm gonna try to just bend them on my own with pliers or something. It can't be that bad, right?   

And it's not that much considering I'll definitely use the soldering kit and stuff in the future. I'll also be getting the detachable cable finished.

[justin one]

Update:

So I received everything I needed to fix the board (connector, terminals, soldering iron, solder, heatshrink). After messing with soldering wires to terminals and shoving them into the connectors only for it to not work, I decided to go for the last resort. I soldered the wires directly to the pins underneath the board so I didn't have to desolder the connector and it works! I am now typing this on my MJ2 with a detachable mini-usb cable. Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions on how to fix this.



It looks a little sloppy with the cable hanging out of the case but it works and I'm not going to mess with it lol.

[Appeac]

Yay, I won!

Looks good, btw.

[mrvio47]

what if you make the steps to make detachable usb for filco 

[tjcaustin]

what if you make the steps to make detachable usb for filco 

Step 1: Don't necro old thread (jkjk)
Step 2: Buy USB A to whatever USB male connector you want (the popular is mini, but this would work with any tbh)
Step 3: Buy female USB connector that matches the end not going to PC
Step 4: Cut OE Filco cable near case (I'd say keep 2 - 5" of slack wire)
Step 5: Strip OE Filco slack cable to the individual wire pairs
Step 6: Solder on female USB connector to Filco slack\
Step 7: Plug in USB cable bought in step 2.

OR

Step 1: Buy a 2 piece cable from mimic-cables.com
Step 2: Take apart filco and unplug OE cable
Step 3: Plug in female usb to filco connector piece of mimic cable and reassemble filco
Step 4: Plug second piece of mimic cable into fem usb and plug into pc.