EE "Smart Hub" teardown (work in progress)

Okay, so I finally got round to tearing down my EE "Smart Hub" for you. Here are some photos to keep you going, and I am currently uploading ~5GB of 1080p60 HD footage to YouTube, which should be edited and ready by the early hours of tomorrow morning.

There *appears* to be an unpopulated header, under the large aluminium heatsink on the rear of the PCB. It's 4 pins... hmmm... looks interesting... may have to probe that with my DMM & COM port adapter

Enough chit chat, here's the photos, including the 4 pin header photo:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmeFWUaY

[UPDATE]:

I probed what I *think* is the UART header, for hours, and not a peep coming out of it. I've kept the casing off, just in case I fancy another try, another day.

I made a VERY rough looking teardown video, and only after I'd uploaded 5GB+ of separate videos did I discover that YouTube's online video has been scrapped - slightly inconvenient! Anyway, if you can handle a playlist in 4 parts, not terribly well narrated (I was going to scrap it and do it all again in ONE video, later) then have at it:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFUV5P_WUeC3M...

Edited by glossywhite (Thu 26-Apr-18 03:54:20)

Good work !

I thought you'd be pointing out more of the components & less of the tabs, but maybe that's to come.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Good work !

I thought you'd be pointing out more of the components & less of the tabs, but maybe that's to come.

HAHA! Yeah, I got a bit carried away on those... I was enabling those with them to be able to open theirs, therefore become self-sufficient, hence the detailed tab explnations. Because my whole life has involved me learning how to get inside electronics and devices, I am very much focused on showing people how to do so, and showing them the EXACT tab locations - close up - means they are enabled to significantly lessen their chances of messing up their devices.

Yeah, phase 2 is yet to come - I need to get that heatsink off and see if I can find the UART pads - I have my logic analyser to hand...

Edited by glossywhite (Fri 27-Apr-18 00:28:52)

Update:

New video: https://youtu.be/r8xnXqsyuss

Heatsink removed, new photos added to Flickr gallery (link in OP), and a new video currently uploading...

Edited by glossywhite (Fri 27-Apr-18 04:07:52)

Cam?

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Cam?

?

You use "Cam" when you point at those 2 metal boxes labelled "Frame 1 & 2".

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

You use "Cam" when you point at those 2 metal boxes labelled "Frame 1 & 2".

Ah, CAN, hahah.

OK, then, CAN?

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

OK, then, CAN?

Can: metal screening cans.

If you want & for a small outlay of money, for a complete job you could get hold of a 2nd-hand BT SH 6B off eBay, strip that down & compare.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

If you want & for a small outlay of money, for a complete job you could get hold of a 2nd-hand BT SH 6B off eBay, strip that down & compare.

If someone donates one I'll do it.