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Showing posts with label DYI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DYI. Show all posts

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Nintendo Switch Game Card Reader Repair


Today we are going to teardown a Nintendo Switch and replace the Game Card reader. This guide has lots of great pictures, but if you would like to watch the video version, head to the bottom of this post. 

This project came about after my kids OG Nintendo Switch decided to no longer read game cards.  

Now, we have very few games that are of a physical nature, as most of what we have are digital downloads. That being said, they really enjoy a Switch VR game, and it is only available via the physical card, so we have to get this fixed. 



I contacted Nintendo support to see what options were at my disposal, and after a few troubleshooting questions they determined I needed to send the unit into one of their repair centers.  


That didn’t sound like something I wanted to waste the time or money on. 

Now some people have reported a way to bypass this issue by plugging headphones into the 3.5mm port right after inserting the game card. This supposedly works as the audio port and game card reader share the same circuit board, and in theory more power is pulled to that board when doing this.  This didn’t work for me, so I broke out the flashlight to see if we could identify the issue. 


Sure enough, some of the internal pins look to be bent, which I assume is from a kid inserting a game card backwards.  I tried to bend them back, but couldn’t get it to sit properly in the original position, so I went ahead and ordered a new replacement to install.  



There are a few of these floating around, and I put the link to the one I used in the video description, they run about $30 bucks.   

Replacement Card Reader - https://amzn.to/38RvnKP

Disassembly of the Switch is fairly easy, but you do need one of these triangular heads to remove the screws. In addition to the triangle bit, you will need a standard Philips head. 


There are a lot of screws so make sure you have something to keep track of these tiny things. 

First power down the Switch completely, and remove the Game Card and MicroSD card if they are still present. Note that on the sides of the Switch, you don’t have to remove all the screws, just the one in the middle of each side. 

After going around and removing the screws we can take the back panel off and then remove this metal plate which is also a heat sink. Before removing the plate, detach the MicroSD card reader. This will now allow us to remove the heat sink.  


After a few more screws we are able to remove the card reader PCB.  Here we have 2 small ribbon cables that we have to pop off. Be careful not to damage anything as the connectors are pretty fragile. One is a press fit, the other has a hinged securing mechanism. 


With the old reader removed, we can see again where those pins are bent.  If you want to try and bend them back, it will be easier to do so with the reader removed from the Switch, otherwise, grab the replacement and retrace our steps to assemble the Switch. 


Now before I put the entire back plate back on, lets first test the card reader.  Luckily for me, It works!  Not we can finish putting it back together.  Now My kiddos are happy that they can use the few card based games we have again.

Well, that’s its, only takes about 5-10min to do this, and as long as you keep track of all the screws, it’s a very easy fix. 

Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to watch the video for this repair, hit the link below. 

https://youtu.be/_MDU_OsRlH8




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Friday, November 8, 2019

3D Printed Stands for Google Home Minis (Andy & ED209 Mech from RoboCop)

We have a few Google Home units spread throughout the house.  A few with screens, and in the kids bedrooms the smaller "Mini" speakers.  The kiddos love to play music on them, and set their alarms for school. As a family, we also use them for an intercom system to get everyone's attention in the house, no matter what room they are in.


The units themselves are pretty simple.  Basically a speaker + mic, with a touch sensitive surface to control playback and volume if not using your voice. Although they look just fine sitting on a nightstand or dresser, my kids wanted an upgrade.  Time to start up the 3D Printer!



Found 2 files on Thingaverse that would work perfectly. For my oldest daughter, Andy the Android giving a cute wave.  She actually picked this one out, and the end result looks great. The other file was a bit more complicated both the print and assemble (not to mention paint). My son loves Legos and robots, so when we saw the ED209 Mech from the 1980s RoboCop movie, it was the perfect fit for his bedroom.  I very much underestimated just how large this model was... but 48 hours later, all the parts had been printed out.


As can be seen below, there is a mix of colors here... since I was going to paint this model, decided I would use up a few random spools of filament that were taking up space and almost on their way out.


I did have to split a few of the larger parts in half when printing, otherwise there would have been far too many supports to deal with.  After printing those parts, just glued the halves together, and then started the priming process. 


Small woodworking clamps come in really handy at this stage.  For the glue, I go with E6000 Craft Adhesive for these types of projects.  It takes a bet to set, but once it does, locks in very tight, and is semi-flexible which is really nice since kids might be playing with this stand. Get glue that is too rigid, and you will find your parts coming apart with even the slightest bend.  E6000 is the way to go.  Here is an Amazon Link for a 3.7oz bottle.


With everything assembled, it is time to start priming. This is a very important step for two reasons.
1) Primier will help cover up any small imperfections that may result from difficult areas to print
2) Painting directly on top of PLA or PETG will result in poor adhesion and the paint will eventually start to flake off.  Get some good primer and go to town. 

You can use any sand-able primer found at your local hardware store for a print of this size, and probably be OK.  I personally like to use primer from "Army Painter" as is goes on very thin, and covers really well.  A thinner coat will ensure that you don't cover up any detail on the model while still prepping the surface for the paint. 


The Army Painter spray on primers are primarily made for tabletop miniatures (which is what I originally purchased it for), but is did really well with this larger model as well.  I highly recommend it for these types of applications. Here is an Amazon link if you want to give it a try.


With the priming complete, I brought out the Airbrush and began to lay down some nice base coats.  With the base applied, I switched over to my brushes and started some of the detail work and accent coloring.  After the colors were all applied, went back over the entire model again with a matte clear coat to protect the paint.  Really pleased with how it turned out, and my son was super excited when he saw it looking over he bed from the dresser.







After these 2 stands were completed, my youngest 2 daughters were not going to be left out of the fun!  They wanted the "Andy" as well, but went with a transparent purple for the body color. Looks great in their room,, but its going to be a challenge for them to keep from touching this little guy!



These were a lot of fun to print out and paint.  My kids really enjoy them, and hope fully they will have them for a long time (if they can keep their hands off).

Here is a quick video I put together that shows much of what I explained above. Thanks for stopping by!


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Monday, September 25, 2017

Solar Eclipse Pics & Celestron Telescope Filter (3D Printed)

The August Solar Eclipse was an amazing event. Luckily for us, we were only a short 3 hours away from Totality.



In addition to watching the eclipse with my family, I wanted to use my telescope to better see the the event. I have a Celestron NexStar 127STL, which is roughly a 5in Maksutov-Cassegrain. I was surprised after looking on Amazon and B&H Photo, in the lack of available slide-on filters for this size of telescope. So I set off to design my own.

The most important part of this “make” is the ability to block out the harsh brightness of the sun, so I grabbed an appropriate sized solar film. I found a 6in x 6in film on Amazon for around $15.

With that selected, I set out on the slide on filter design. It consists of 2 parts.

  • Primary cap to slide over end of telescope and hold the film
  • Secondary ring to hold film against the larger cap 

Pretty simple to create after measuring the telescope and creating the initial design in SketchUp. I also chose to add some clips to the outer cap to keep the inner ring snug against the cap, therefore keeping the film in place.



With the design completed I printed the two parts, and cut the film to fit inside the outer cap. The print came out great, and for perfectly over the 127STL.








Problem is, this was printed in PLA and I was worried that the hour leading up to the eclipse, would be too hot for the PLA to handle. Reprinted both parts in ABS.

With the final print completed, we drove to St Anthony, ID and set up camp. We were part of a sizeable viewing party, And I began taking photos with my camera about an hour before the eclipse actually started, and let people come up and see the sun in all it's filtered glory in the telescope. Sun Spots were easily visible.







The eclipse began, and a hushed silence and twilight darkness was ushered in as Totality approached. Once we hit full totally, I pulled the filter off, and was a amazed at the detail that was visible,especially the colorful corona  around the eclipsed sun. In person it was amazing, but I wasn't able to really capture it with my DSLR or through the telescope with my phone. I decided to stop messing with it, and just enjoy Totality with my family.



After the event, we drove home and I began to sort through the photos. After minimal editing, I had a pretty good “Timelapse” of the eclipse process.



Here is a modified pictures with the key eclipse phases placed next to each other.


Overall the print worked perfectly, and I will hold onto it for future Sun viewing. Also want to invest in a better camera mount for better pictures, and will be sure to post an update once I have something to show.

Not really eclipse related, but I was able to get some pretty good long exposure shots the night before.


Thanks for stopping by!


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Monday, July 24, 2017

Cryptocurrency Mining Rig Build – 2nd Rig & Video Overview

Project Index:
I was able to get my 2nd Rig up and running, showing the "stacked" configuration of my case design.




The hardware is identical to the 1st one, but instead of 1060s I am running 6x GTX 1070s.  Here is the component list for the 2nd Rig.

In addition to higher hash rates (average 32Mh/s per card), they generate a LOT more heat.  Had to install a 4x fan setup to push the heat away towards the room's exhaust vent.


Here are the videos I put together outlining the entire process.






Thanks for looking!
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CryptoCurrency Mining Rig - Performance Tweaks to Maximize profitability

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With the hardware installed, on to the software portion of this build. Installing Windows 10 on the M.2 SSD is the same as any system, using a USB connected DVD drive or better yet a USB drive configured to install Windows.  Don’t worry about drivers, as any modern motherboard with 6 PCIe lanes should handle driver installation automatically during the installation process.**

**Note – You may have to modify certain settings in your system BIOS to allow for the use of 6 GPUs at the same time within Windows.  Refer to the manual for your specific motherboard for details.

With the particular Motherboard I am using, I had to make sure the following settings were configured as shown below.

Verify that BIOS settings are as follows:

  • Windows OS > Windows 10 > Enabled
  • PCI Settings > 4G > Enabled
  • PCI Settings > PCI > Gen1

The following are the tips that work for my system specifically, and may not necessarily be the best thing for your build, but maybe it will help you in some way.

Once Windows has fully installed, you want to run Windows Update and ensure that Windows Anniversary Edition update is installed. As of July 2017, if you are fully up to date, you will have that update as well.  Once all of the updates are completed, give your system a reboot, and then check out the Device Manager and ensure that all 6 GPUs are showing up.



If all the GPUs are showing up, we can assume that Windows automatically installed the correct GPU drivers, and its time to see if mining works properly with these cards. For my situation, installing the most up to date NVIDA GeForce drivers from Nvidia’s website actually made my mining performance worse, so I have been using using the drivers installed automatically by Windows instead.  If your cards aren’t showing up, or you are experiencing poor mining performance, best to uninstall graphics drivers using the DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) utility, and let Windows reinstall the drivers after reboot.



There are various mining applications you can run, along with mining pools you can join.  I chose to go with NanoPool and use Claymore’s Dual Miner to mine Ethereum. There is some configuration that will need to be done, but nothing too difficult. Once everything is set up, lanch the .bat file to start mining Ether. Off the bat, stock GTX 1060s will get between 18-19 MH/s. With a little bit of overclocking I was able to get on average 22 MH/s per GPU, and also reduced my power draw.



I was surprised to find that with this “under-clock” of the GPU, this system is only pulling around 35 watts from the wall when idle, and around 560W from the entire systems during mining operations. Not bad at all, considering I am getting a combined total of 132 MH/s from this system.



At this point you are pretty much done.  I do recommend installing some monitoring  / remote access software to check on the system when you are away. With everything up and running, you can just leave it alone and it will keep mining away.  As long as there is sufficient cooling, it should be pretty maintenance free, and can run for weeks at a time without any issues.








Thanks for taking a look at my project blog, and hit up the next post if you would like to see a video overview of the entire build process. I will also be building a 2nd system in the following weeks with GTX 1070s! So take care, and be sure to check back. Thanks.
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CryptoCurrency Mining Rig - Parts List & Assembling the Ethereum Rig

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For this post, I am just going to go over the components I used for the build. Not really going to do into detail on how to put the parts together, as it is no different from a normal PC build, and there are TONS of other resources available for that. I will just focus on things unique to this case and Cryptomining specifically.



Here is the component list for this build. As mentioned before, the GPUs are from 3 different manufactures, but they are all GTX 1060s, so linking their Overclocking profiles will still be easy to do.  All of these links will take you directly to the product on Amazon.  I will list a few options around the same price for the GTX 1060 GPUs, as availability is pretty rough right now. Which ever video card you go with, make sure it has at least 6GB of video RAM, as the DAG file for Ethereum will surpass the 3GB threshold very soon.
The following are nice to have, but not required. Helpful with troubleshooting and remote system management. I will also go over my methods for remote management in a future post.


Most of these parts are interchangeable with other components, so feel free to shop around if you think you can find a better deal with a different component. At the time of purchase, these were the best price for performance.  The Motherboard specifically is a good buy for the price, and works great with 6 GPUs with little effort.

For the most part, assembling this rig is the same as any PC. You will add the Power Supply, Motherboard, M.2 SSD, Processor and RAM.  Some people choose to just have the motherboard sit on top of the wood planks, with rubber bumper feet underneath.  I wanted things a bit more secure, so I added motherboard standoffs to the wood planks, and attached the motherboard to the standoffs with thumb screws. No need to use a ton of standoffs since the motherboard will not be sitting vertical, 4-5 should be plenty to keep things secure and supported where needed.



I also decided to add an illuminated latching switch the build. I could have just used one of these jumpers, but I wanted something that looks a bit nicer, and could be secured to the case. You just need something that will power on and off the case, and having an LED indicator is nice but not necessary.



You can choose any size you want for the button, I went with a 16mm.  Drill the mounting hole wherever you plan on having the button. Thread the button in place, and then attach the cable to the front panel headers according to the specifications of your motherboard.



The final component that is unique to this type of case is the need to use PCIe riser cards for the GPUs.  As there is not enough room or or enough PCIe x16 lanes for 6 GPUs, so we use these adapters.  This particular motherboard has 2 x16 PCie lanes and 4 x1 PCIe lanes.


We plug the x1 adapters in these lanes, and then connect the riser card to the GPUs via a USB 3.0 cable.  I prefer to use the angled USB adapters here, as there is less stress on the connectors and cables with this configuration. The pictures below should make all of clear.



With the riser cards installed, and the GPUs mounted, the build is pretty much done.  As I mentioned earlier, this design is stackable, so I wanted to show how I will be achieving this so I can add a second mining ring in the future. You can’t stack the cases directly on top of each other, as there won’t be enough room for the GPU power cables between them. You will need some sort of risers between the cases. You could probably use rubber stool feet or something similar, but I designed some standoffs to work with the 3/4in aluminum, and used my 3D printer to make them.



Here you can see how they will attach to the case, allowing for the stackable design.



And here is what the 2 cases together look like on top of the stand I built earlier.  As you can see, plenty of clearance for the GPU power cables.  Now on to software and mining tweaks.



Next up, I do a run down of performance tweaks to get the most out of your mining rig.
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