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These are a few my recent iPod repair experiences.
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This is a story that takes weird jump off into the supernatural.
I got a call from Jeanette Ford here in Santa Rosa, California. She used to live in Marin but re-settled to Santa Rosa recently. She had an iPod that had clear hard drive problems from what she described to me. But she went to describe the the importance of the iPod and its sentimental value because it had belonged to her son who passed away last year.
The iPod she described to me made it sound like it was 30GB 4th Gen Photo iPod and a drive from the period would exhibit all the symptoms she was describing.
When she got here I was pleased to discover it was actually a 5th Gen video iPod. Those drives I have, 4th Gens almost never. She left it off and I told her it would ready about an hour later.
When I opened the iPod I was hit with the smell of burnt plastic and as I turned the drive over to release it from it's ZIF connection I saw where the smell came and then saw the cause. The two output capacitors for the earbuds had both been crisped. When this happens you get no sound for one (if one cap is burnt) or both (if they are both burnt) the earbuds.
In the past I've seen this caused a couple of ways. In one case two fellows in the Coast Guard at the Two Rock Road Coast Guard Station in Petaluma used their iPod as source for "music on hold" for the base phone system. In another case a client used their iPod as a sound source through power amplifiers/PA system between sets at a rock concert and that baked the caps.
Typically this happens when someone has the volume on the larger amplifier that is using the signal from the earbud jack as sound source turned up too high. Because the iPod provides a pre-amped signal, the appropriate way to use this as a source is to turn the volume on the PA to zero, then turn the iPod to 60% volume, then slowly turn the PA volume up to what's needed.
So here's the strange part... even though the caps are crisped on Jeanette's logic board, I still am getting sound out of both sides or the earbuds.
The replacement drive was $60 and labor was $40 and she had her son's ipod ready and working for his sister
to have and use with his memory.
Fixed - Total cost..$100.
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I got an email from Jan Brannon of Saltzburg, Pennsylvania
on Saturday July 26th 2008 at 2 in the afternoon reading, "Hi! My son has a 5th generation 30gb video ipod that took a fall into a swimming pool last night. It was blinking under the water (ugh!)....but it was retrieved in probably less than 10 seconds. We haven't tried turning it on since then.
Found your website and am contacting you to see what you think! You can email me back or if you want to call"
I called her and we discussed what had happened. On Friday her son Ryan had been standing right the edge of their swimming pool with his back to it. In his rear pocket were his cell phone and iPod with the earbuds plugged in. His phone rang and he went to pull it from his pocket. His earbud cable was wrapped around the cell phone and yanking it pulled the iPod out of his into the swimming pool.
A girl nearby was able to undress to her bathing suit and jump in after it in less than 10 seconds, but the damage had apparently been done and the iPod wouldn't come on again.
It arrived here on August 1st 2008 in the morning. By the afternoon I had all the parts of the iPod that had been dropped in the pool working again except the hard drive.
I sent Jan a PayPal request for the $60 for the drive after calling her to tell her the result.
She paid it later that day and the iPod was on its way back to them the next morning.
Total cost $60 for the drive and $40 for labor/return shipping.
Fixed - Total cost $100.
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Tim Burke called me on July 28th 2008 from Laguna Niguel in Southern California.
Over a several day period his iPod was at the bottom of a cup holder well which held a couple of separate cups in a common area. What he didn't know was that his daughter had spilled quite a bit of 7-UP into the well and his 6th Gen 80GB video iPod had become immersed in a pool of 7-UP that becoming more concentrated as the summer heat in the had simmered off the fluid.
It arrived on August 1st and looked in very sad shape. There was a smear of fluid trapped between the back of the faceplate and the top of the inner LCD screen which told me the inside wouldn't be in too good shape.
When I opened it, there was a clear sticky mess through out. I went through a total clean up of the device and tore it down completely. Notice I've even dismantled the hard drive to process out all the stickiness there.
Once I was ready, I put it back together and found 3 major parts work to factory spec. The hard drive didn't work at all, the LCD was cloudy from moisture trapped in the layers and two of the battery's 5 leads on its ribbon connector had totally corroded away.
I emailed Tim and presented him with 4 options. This is that message:
"Tim,
So after tearing down the device completely and laundering every part of the 7-up, the LCD is cloudy because it has the fluid trapped in the layers, the drive I couldn't make work at all event though I took it all apart to clean... but there was corrosion on it's controlled card, the battery has two of the 5 traces on its ribbon connection completely corroded away. So the battery ($23) , LCD ($41) and 80GB drive ($100) would have to be replaced to bring this back factory utility. Replacing those parts would cost $164 plus the $40 labor rate would bring it to $204 which is close enough to the $209 price of a new one on the Apple website which they sell as 'refurbished' but aren't they are brand new.
Here are options.
- for any sake of sentimentality you can have the three parts replaced and the cost will $204
- You can replace the drive with a 30GB which is more than enough for about anything going on.
(A 30GB will store 18 hours of vide *and* 30 days of un-repeated music even though it has just an
11 hour battery). The 30GB drive is $60 not $100 and replace the battery for $23 which will give you a
good portable device as an iPod and external portable hard drive but you wouldn't be able to rely the
LCD to see fine detail but it is useful. Then the additional cost would be $83 for the drive and battery.
- You can replace the drive with a 30GB drive at $60 and not get a new battery.
It could be used then as the sound source in a none portable application like a home docking
station or as the sound source for a car stereo that relies on a car adapter for power (I use the
Monster iCruze for example in my car). Then the additional cost would be $60 for the drive.
- It doesn't get repaired and I send it back with a $20 refund
Let me know the way you want to go.
- Frank"
This is a shot of his cloudy screen.
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Steve Geelhood from Seattle, Washington
sent me an email Monday July 28th 2008 reading,
"Hello,
My 2nd Generation Nano went through the washing machine. I'd like to mail it off for service and wanted to let you know it was headed your direction. It's actually functional and nothing needs to be backed up but it has water vapor in the screen area and I figure it's worth it to get that all dried out and taken care of."
It arrived on Friday August 1st in the morning. I had his 8GB Red Nano 2nd Gen working by the afternoon to ship back out to him at 3PM that same day.
The total cost for Steve was $40 which included return shipping back.
Fixed - Total cost..$40.
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I'm in Sonoma County... Northern California wine country.
If you live nearby, are traveling through or live in the San Francisco Bay Area bring your iPod to me and I can do the work while you wait or go wine tasting for a while. Send me an
email just to make sure I have on hand whatever parts your repair will require.
Call or email me
with questions or to set up a repair. You can also call, I am here most days from 8am to 8pm
Toll Free 1-877-IPOD-PRO (1 - 877 - 476-3776)
Send the device to:
Frank Walburg
2145 Service Court
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403-3139
Methods of payment
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