help! our power port snapped!
 

Unfortunately our some1 tripped on the power cord which is connected to the operator interface. The power port on the operator interface is broken. We have some pictures of our situation. Can some1 give us some advice? Thank you.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/7889/dsc00028or5.jpg
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/7267/dsc00029al0.jpg
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/3135/dsc00030mw4.jpg

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

grr the pictures are blocked wtf?

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

hmm let me try this

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

dang thats pretty bad, im not sure how you can fix it, other then trying to force it back into position or getting a new one in time some how, maybe a more experienced team will have better advice, sorry :(

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

Fortunately for you, the OIs will use their competition port for power at the competitions. Also, the Tether port can be used for non-radio communication and power.

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

That happened to us last year. Since then we've always added a wire restraint to the OI power supply. :P

What our team did was open the OI, desolder the broken power adaptor, and solder a new one we bought off of digikey. It's really not that hard to do. Please keep in mind that this does void the warranty from IFI. :)

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

Also, you can try asking for guidance from the IFI rep at your regional event. We broke off one of those pesky power terminals on our RC last year, and Tom soldered it right up for us at Palmetto after we brought the topic up during the radio update.

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

woohoo, Mr. Finne from Plainfield High School fixed it for us! Thank you!

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

im glad you got it fixed,

looking at one of our team's old OIs, it looks like they ran into the same problem, and fixed it by soldering the power cable right onto the board.

Re: help! our power port snapped!
 

I bought a handful of those connectors last year when ours got snapped. We just soldered a new one in. Since then, tie-wrapped a washer to the wire and hook the washer over a screw near the board.
Its Jameco part# 137673
Brian