antenna broke!!!!!

microsizer · #1 11-06-2002, 06:07 PM

today my zip zaps antenna just came off, not the antenna from the control the one inside the zip zap that one broke

. how can i fix this? pzl help! can i crazy glue it back? or will that mess it up?

MTL · #2 11-06-2002, 06:12 PM

solder is the only answer.

Kajoq · #3 11-06-2002, 06:36 PM

The antenna on my first Zip had started to come off... was hanging on by 2 strands... Your only choice is gonna be to solder on a new antenna, Look on the bright side! you can put on a longer, better antenna! with cooler colors! Hehe, I put a piece of blue cat 5 on mine.

john · #4 11-06-2002, 06:37 PM

OK, take a breath. Where did it break? If it broke in the middle somehwere, you can twist it back together and you'll be fine. If it snapped off the board, then you'll need to either solder it back on, or solder on a new one. It's scary if you've never soldered before, but it's really easy.

Just reflow the solder that's on the board. First, expose the copper at the end you wish to solder. That is, remove the plastic insulation that covers the wire, but just on the end of the antenna!

Then, push it in place. There is a hole in the PCB that the wire fits through. It will acommodate 26 gauge and lighter wire. It may be plugged with solder. If it is, it will be harder to do. Basically, heat the blob of solder on the top of the board so it gets soft. Push the wire in the hole before it hardens. Voila. Done.

Of course, you have like a half a second before the solder hardens, but you'll get it. Just be patient and make sure the solder doens't get so hot that it starts to move on you. If it flows and touches something else, you've got real trouble.

If it barely connects to the board, you can either reheat the solder to get a better contact, or add more solder (just a little).

You'll be fine if you just take your time and don't get careless. If you are too shaky, use some sort of clamp to hold things in place. Just whatever you do, don't rush it.

john · #5 11-06-2002, 06:39 PM

Oh, one last thing. If you untie the knot on your ZZ, you need to be gentle with that antenna! The knot is what holds the thing on when you pick it up by the antenna, and I know you do. Everyone does.

microsizer · #6 11-06-2002, 07:57 PM

this is bad i never soldered ne thing befor and i dont even have the thing to solder it. so crazy glue wont work lol? well do they sell that soldering stuff at radio shack?

Mattydiah · #7 11-06-2002, 08:09 PM

I picked up a gun type soldering iron and a thin electronics tip (which you'll need) at radioshack for 7 bucks Monday night.

Its really cheap and works really well, go get one.

go_zz_go · #8 11-06-2002, 08:18 PM

its easy dont be to scared take your time and be steadya little tip is to use the angled part of the iron not the point, it will make sinse when you see it also to familarise your self with soldering if you are worried pick up a toy radio kit or something they are pretty cheap and learn on that its fun i have heard of cold solders but they tend not to work so i would go buy a good cheap iron and a little solder heck they even have starter kits, iwould also get the bulb sucker to help remove excess solder as this is your first go its nice to have the correct tools to undo stuff,,, its really easy also practice soldering two wires together good luck

ejaf · #9 11-06-2002, 08:32 PM

The guys answering you are great...just follow their advice, and you can become a pro at soldering this stuff.

Here's what I did the first time though...decided to do the double stranded cat 5 mod, but the directions I found never said to only put ONE strand through the hole. Took me forever to figure out the hole wasn't big enough for TWO strands (hello).

After I got over the initial scare of that though, it gave me the confidence to fix my steering wire when it broke off the PCB.

Tips on this board are awesome!

microsizer · #10 11-06-2002, 10:24 PM

thnx guys for all the help! hopefully ill buy all teh stuff by this week

microsizer · #11 11-07-2002, 04:07 PM

so wat antenna would i buy to replace it? i want a good one, i think it was cald cat 5? or sumthing like that, and can u tell me where i can buy
it

ejaf · #12 11-07-2002, 07:59 PM

cat5 is the cable used to connect computers on an ethernet connection. I just happened to use it because I found a piece lying in the garbage at work. It's the perfect size/thickness for a replacement.

Doesn't have to be that, though...I would think that if you can find a piece of phone wire lying around your house, you can just take off the pastic and you'll see 4 different colored wires. That should work just as well, and it's cheaper!

john · #13 11-07-2002, 09:15 PM

I'm using 26 gauge solid core wire. Why? Becuase 3 rolls of it (150') are cheaper than Ethernet (Cat5) cable. Yeah, I'm cheap. But it works.

If you can scrape up an Ethernet cable though, you can rip it apart and use one of the strands (or two if you're into the twisty color thing). Ethernet cable is lighter and more flexible and will probably work better. As long as the wire is one solid strand instead of lots of little twisted wires you'll get better range, and you can bend it into fun shapes! It sucks for going under things though because it's more rigid than the stock antenna. That's not really a big deal for most people though, it depends entirely on where you drive.

And I've found, oddly enough, that the antenna gets better range with the insulation left on. But it may have been a fluke.

microsizer · #14 11-07-2002, 10:51 PM

kool thnx agian!

microsizer · #15 11-10-2002, 01:20 PM

umm another question, im confused do i only have to solder 1 strand of the wire? or do i solder all of them, i think sum1 said sumthing like that