Iridium No-Go

A bit of an odd update today from the team – with the added excitement of a competition..
The Iridium Go WIFI Router (pictured in the middle of this photo) has got a bit of a dodgy micro USB connector and the charging of its battery has become a bit erratic. Thus there are no photos today.
So here is the competition:
Anyone got any good tips for fixing a slightly erratic micro USB connector port?
Prizes:
For the most useful that works – a personal thank you message from the team
For the funniest – an Iridium Go paperweight…(if it cannot be fixed!)
All entries in the comments below:
[Spectre Admin]
Hopefully posts back to normal tomorrow.
Pinch the connector holding pins on the cable of the micro USB cord. or…
Slightly expand the width of the Micro USB cord. or…
Clean the Micro USB charging port with compressed air, or a tiny rod of plastic.
If these work, great, this is just what I use during these situations.
Good Luck.
Mind boggling! Hard to imagine from the comfort of my couch!
Bite the male micro USB plug with your teeth to make the slot slightly smaller.
It gives it a tighter connection.
Enjoying the updates, cheers.
Try folding food packaging or similar to wedge the connector into the USB to keep the connection.
It could be the cable…
We had a similar problems for charging kit from solar panels, in a remote area, while climbing Noshaq in 2012.
Q
Thanks everyone for the bright ideas – I’ve copied them across to the team. I’ll let you know the outcome.
Hi guys, If the plug is held flexed up or down slightly does it start to charge? As stated above, likely a poor pin connection. Do you have another mobile phone charge lead to try (USB to micro USB?), assuming it is the lead and not the port on the unit?
Also, the internal Li-ion battery of the iridium unit wont like charging at temps below 5 degrees as the battery chemistry wont work the same. This can cause internal battery resistance and possibly charge shut down monitored by the unit as a fail safe to protect the batterires from damage.
Make sure the unit is warmed up before charging from solar and charge it from the 1A port at the USB connection. The slower charge rate will be accepted more readily than forcing a fast charge.
Hope this helps
Hey, thanks James, I’ll forward that to the team – you know that Sat Comms is Leo’s favourite subject 😉