Hi, it's my first time on this site and as I was reading through the forums here and I just saw a section for headphones and I was wondering if anyone works with ipods or knows anything about the output section? Well when I was servicing an amplifier I had a "home made" RCA cord that plugged into the amplifier and well the open part touched the chassis of the amp. Could this have destroyed my iPod output?? And does anyone know if it could be repaired?
In my experience, iPod outputs are usually quite resilient to things like shorts to ground and other problems on the ouput. If the iPod still plays and music can still be heard through the headphones socket, then there shouldn't be anything wrong. If you can't here anything though, it is likely that the output stages are damaged and it is highly unlikely that they can be repaired-at least easily. One solution would probably be fitting a new motherboard, but for the price and hassle, you may as well go and buy a new iPod. 
The output stages in iPods and other MP3 players probably use minute opamps and other IC's which are extremely difficult to replace by hand (all iPods are put together by machines which can achieve much greater levels of accuracy and are much cheaper than doing it by hand).
The output stages in iPods and other MP3 players probably use minute opamps and other IC's which are extremely difficult to replace by hand (all iPods are put together by machines which can achieve much greater levels of accuracy and are much cheaper than doing it by hand).
jackand08 --You speak truly. Just disassembly and getting it back together is a pain. I would have no problem replacing the part and would do it no strings attached. Also if we could get the schematic I would try to resource the part, but in order for Apple to build this teriffic product they had to incorporate such a high degree chip level integration that we might not be even talking about a op-amp as such, but op-amp circutry that is a sub assembly in a larger scale IC. Does it make any noise? Anyone had one apart? What model exactly?
Last edited:
Ok Here is a pretty typical block diagram of the codec that is used. Very highly integrated. And I found a wonderfull guide to dissasembly ect, and complete documentation over at the EDN site. Its amazing how much work has gone into revere engineeering this product. If anyone is intrested I can e-mail but its about 8M
Attachments
Well, the IC that is used there (Wolfson WM8980) is pretty easy to get-possibly even free (as a sample ). BUT, the only thing would be replacing the original for the new one. It comes in a 40 pin QFN package that would be extremely difficult to solder and you would probably risk scorching the PCB even if you did manage to solder it properly. So... its not looking that good unfortunately .
Aside from that, there are some great tutorials on opening up iPods but a lot of the time, it depends on what version you have. I've cracked open an iPod classic in minutes but I'd imagine that opening the nano or the touch would be much more difficult.
). BUT, the only thing would be replacing the original for the new one. It comes in a 40 pin QFN package that would be extremely difficult to solder and you would probably risk scorching the PCB even if you did manage to solder it properly. So... its not looking that good unfortunately .Aside from that, there are some great tutorials on opening up iPods but a lot of the time, it depends on what version you have. I've cracked open an iPod classic in minutes but I'd imagine that opening the nano or the touch would be much more difficult.
I tried to build a single-tube AM transmitter. It worked okay...but it only had a range of about 1 foot. I took it downstairs to show my dad and plugged it in. All my wires were strewn about since I had just taken it apart to try and fix it. When I plugged it in, I accidentally moved the iPod cord (with my old nano plugged in) which hit up against the 120VAC line...the screen lit up very bright and the thing never came on again. It was about a month out of warranty too!!
I tried opening the original iPod mini several years ago, and it was a challenge to do it without marring the plastic top and bottom. If all else fails, take your iPod to an Apple store and get 10% off your next iPod purchase! (that's what I did!)
Kyle
I tried opening the original iPod mini several years ago, and it was a challenge to do it without marring the plastic top and bottom. If all else fails, take your iPod to an Apple store and get 10% off your next iPod purchase! (that's what I did!)
Kyle
Yea, that's the only thing about opening iPod's-it is pretty much impossible to open them without scratching or deforming the case (especially if it's metal). When I said before about being able to open an iPod classic within minutes-well the case was damaged quite badly and couldn't be put back together properly. Thankfully, the actual circuitry was irrepairable anyway!
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.