After I posted about the bridge boards I got another interesting PM from fzabkar about broken USB ports. I found it interesting since I just saw where somebody posted that they fixed a probelm by resoldering several connections on their bridge board.
I suspect that part of the problem is that the connector relies on surface mounted tabs for anchoring. IMHO it would be better for these tabs to be through-hole types.
Another problem is that RoHS mandates the use of lead free solder which has a much higher melting point than leaded solder. Technicians are reporting numerous solder related issues in consumer equipment in forums such as sci.electronics repair. Therefore it’s not surprising that defence, aerospace, and medical applications are exempt from RoHS. Ironically, those applications where safety is paramount demand the use of unsafe materials.
-Franc
Maybe WD should check into this solder issue and review their supplier’s quality on these boards since broken USB ports are a frequent problem here.
Joe
