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The MiniUSB socket fell off after 48 hours, how do I…?

Hardware
#1

The miniUSB socket fell off the Smart Citizen card today after 2 days of use. In an attempt to stay positive and to salvage the project that I’m trying to finish for next week, I tried to solder it back on, but that’s not working.

Is there any other data I/O possibility? How does the SD card reader work? Can it work without the miniUSB port?
Is there any other way to charge the battery? (I don’t want to attempt the solar panel hack seeing the experience of the EE on this forum).

#2

Hey, sorry for the negative experience with the hardware! Here are some quick answers, and we’ll follow up shortly with a bit more detail. I apologize in advance for the fact that the solutions to some of your questions require purchasing additional equipment.

  • Is there any other data I/O possibility?
    There’s a way to both flash firmware (through the ICSP connector) and communicate with the hardware’s I/O. Can you let us know a little bit what your immediate plan with the Kit is (log data for post-processing, program new firmware, post data to www.smartcitizen.me etc.)?

  • How does the SD card reader work? Can it work without the miniUSB port?
    For the so-called ‘offline mode’ you need to change a couple of things and update the firmware on the Smart Citizen hardware. This can be done using a USB ISP such as:
    http://www.adafruit.com/products/46
    And no, the miniUSB port is not needed during this mode of operation (the port is not required either if you’re logging data to www.smartcitizen.me).

  • Is there any other way to charge the battery?
    We’ll update the information on the Solar Panel issue shortly. In the meantime, there are LiPo battery charges such as this:
    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10217
    that you can use to charge the battery as well.

#3

Thanks for your thorough response.

  • I just wanted to be able to configure the sensor on another wifi network and I assumed I need the miniUSB connection for this.

  • as for the SD card reader, as you state, it doesn’t require the miniUSB port, but in order to update the firmware, I thought I do need the miniUSB port.

  • thanks for the battery charger reference. I ordered one that should be here tomorrow.