Cobalt: adapter cube fix?

[Marco76]

After several seasons, the adapter that came with my Cobalt quit working and was replaced. The problem seemed to be that the mounting point for the USB and AC connectors broke loose within the shell of the adapter "cube." It is not very well secured, and some lateral movement on an attached cable might easily torque that mount and break it.

I wonder why the assembly is not more robust.

It occurs to me that the mounting might be strengthened DIY by injecting silicone into the spaces surrounding the jacks. Once the silicone sets up, the jacks will be much more secure. Being non-conductive, the silicone should not affect the circuitry within the cube. Perhaps, there would be a heat dissipation issue, if that is why the adapter shell is largely open around the jacks' mount.

What do you think?

 

[area51tazz]

Good thought

 

[RonR]

Atomic actually started putting some compound on those connectors some time ago to reinforce them where they meet the circuit board, as a solid knock with the cable plugged in (particularly the A/C cable) could sometimes break the solder joints with the PCB. It made quite a bit of difference. If you got it replaced you may already have that reinforcement. You won't harm anything with adding more, so long as it stays out of the insides of the USB or A/C connectors and doesn't interfere with the contacts inside them. There isn't a heat issue. The opening is big because some off the shelf USB cables won't fully insert otherwise.

Ron

 

[Marco76]

Thanks for the info. Can someone tell by looking if a specific unit has the reinforcement?

 

[RonR]

Thanks for the info. Can someone tell by looking if a specific unit has the reinforcement?

You could if you took it apart, otherwise it's not very easy to tell. Try looking around the edges of the connectors.

Ron

 

[Marco76]

Again, thank you for the information.