EEVblog #822 - World's Worst Tablet Computer Teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:35:50 am
content: WARNING: You cannot un-see the dodginess inside this Esinomed Infoview Medical Tablet Computer!

author: CrashO
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 01:15:33 am
content: This has to be the worst pile of shit you have ever teared down, wouldn't it?

author: smd75jr
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 01:33:06 am
content: How did this make it into the country?

author: lowimpedance
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 01:35:39 am
content: OMG now I need to go to the optometrist to check the retina damage.Love the FAIL and BULLSHIT buttons ..... ,I seriously need them at my work too

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 01:42:22 am
content: Hard to believe it's a commercial product? I might smell taxpayer funding at work here?

author: matseng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 02:34:51 am
content: I LOL'd at the address label..... They're located in Prutting, Germany and the Swedish word for "fart" is "prutt".I'd say that Farting is a very suitable city for shitty product like this :-)

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 02:57:39 am
content: Quote from: CrashO on November 24, 2015, 01:15:33 amI think it's the winner!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 02:58:04 am
content: Quote from: matseng on November 24, 2015, 02:34:51 am

author: peterrash
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 03:01:23 am
content: That strange pattern on the display looks just like the displays we used at a company I used to work for. IIRC, they were a ruggedized, hardened glass projected-capacitance touch panel, designed for industrial applications where the operator needed to use the touchscreen while wearing gloves. I think they were made by a company called Zytronic. That display might be a similar type.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 03:02:53 am
content: I am trying to imagine what serial #0001 looked like....

author: rs20
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 03:03:29 am
content: Wow, I won't watch this video until I get home; but given the responses in this thread, sounds like it'll be truly remarkable...

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 03:40:37 am
content: I would like to un-see what I just saw please.

author: cpuerror
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 03:42:08 am
content: The truly sad part, is that more than likely each of those tablets sold for thousands.

author: Dino KL0S
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:10:34 am
content: I've lurked here watching the EEVBlog since the beginning but have only made a few posts - after seeing this POS I just have to vote to name it THE worst kludge I've ever seen in 46 years in electronics. I've seen beginning ham radio operator projects much more professionally constructed.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:21:40 am
content: Quote from: retrolefty on November 24, 2015, 01:42:22 amIs it a commercial product? With a serial number of 11 it might have been one of a handful of proof of concept units thrown together at a moment's notice. Even for a proof of concept I would expect a tidier job, but I think a little more history is needed to make a fair criticism.

author: warp_foo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:26:10 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on November 24, 2015, 02:57:39 amI think we need a Top 10 Dodginess List...m

author: jazz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:47:26 am
content: Uhh, I think it's much more probable that some kid got his hands on one of these (whatever it was before), took out whatever was inside and slapped in some parts so he could run XP on his homemade tablet. Maybe it was a display unit for something else before.I mean honestly, how realistic do you think it is that something like this was actually sold to customers by a company? Sure, we all kinda want it to be true, because it would be really funny. But when you think about it for just a second, it doesn't really make any sense whatsoever.And look at the software it's running: something called "Remote Controll" (sic!) that looks like it was quickly slapped together in some form editor, apparently nothing related to a medical environment. Also this thing seems to run some VNC software.So I'd say it is exactly what it looks like: Something a kid (probably more interested in computers than in electronics) put together for fun.

author: Karlcloudy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:01:20 am
content: Quote from: peterrash on November 24, 2015, 03:01:23 amWell there was a Zytronic label with a Serial and Part No.carefully affixedshoved in there...

author: Tomorokoshi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:14:47 am
content: Let's look at how it might have come about.Someone gets the idea that a touch-screen tablet computer is the next big thing in the medical accounting industry.They pitch the idea to some doctors, some administrators, some VCs, and raise some money. The block diagram of the device makes it look like a grown-up version of a Palm Pilot. Windows XP puts it possibly in the early 2000's.The money is burned through with design ideas and initial software development on a PC. At some point it becomes clear that the project is behind schedule and over budget. Any engineers who were involved at the hardware level are laid off, and someone with a modicum of skills is given the task to put it together at 12 hours per day.Hence, the contrast between some parts that are apparently well thought out, and parts that are clearly bodged and held together with spooge.The eventual bankruptcy was probably predictable given the apparent disconnects between concept, management, and engineering.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:55:57 am
content: Quote from: Tomorokoshi on November 24, 2015, 05:14:47 amThey should have done their homework. Panasonic have been supplying Toughbooks to Emergency Services and Defence (in Australia at least) for many years. Now they have a 'detachable' version which is essentially a Toughbook but the display part detaches to form a tablet computer. NSW Ambulance Service use the Toughbooks to complete their 'paperwork' on. Good luck going up against them.(Sidenote: I actually love the Toughbooks. Very well built. I'd love to see Dave do a teardown on one and really pick it to bits.)

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:05:06 am
content: I really think this is a prototype proof of concept prop. Prop is all it would be, like the first F15 fighter jet concept was made of wood and put together with PVA.Did it come from a client of the company? I doubt it.The casing is made of injection moulded foam, especially for props so it can be carved up and modified on the fly. I imagine it went something like ..." here are all the bits, get it working before tonight so we can show it off" No time for Jaycar or anything, you do what you need to do and hack/cobble what you need to to make it work for the night. I can't say I've seen worse, but I have seen similar. Usually it ends up in the dumpster the next, week, month.To get all jelly mortified about it all is probably out of context.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:17:51 am
content: Quote from: peterrash on November 24, 2015, 03:01:23 amI've seen it on ATMs as well.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:20:04 am
content: I'm guessing maybe this was a series of devices possibly made for some kind of trade show or series of trade shows to generate interest in the product.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:21:35 am
content: There is no excuse for such bad soldering, prototype or not. Soldering is beyond awful. I soldered MUCH better when i was 12.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:25:03 am
content: Quote from: aargee on November 24, 2015, 06:05:06 amAnd put serial number 11 on it. Sorry, I don't buy it.In either case there is no excuse for such shoddy work. Shoddy isn't really any quicker, and more likely to screw up during the demo.It deserved the hammering it got.

author: lincoln
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:28:20 am
content: well that is a coat hanger abortion......

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 07:03:42 am
content: Dave, you are missing "http:" in the link to the forum.Anyway, I would not be surprised if the target customer was a government owed institution or something like that.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 07:24:32 am
content: It looks like an amateur case mod.

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 07:25:37 am
content: PSU board has a LM2576 buck step down regulator, 7815 regulator, and some other SMD ICs which I presume are for the battery charger.So much bodge in this project, ramdom wires of different colours and sizes, the PCB layout from hell, the batteries shoved in whatever space they could find. Those disconnected wires on the batteries seem to be taps for individual cells, was their original plan to use that instead of the voltage regulator board ? Perhaps its to monitor individual cells to determine total battery life.I'm wondering if the case it made from routed chipboard of some kind, I've seen that grain before.I'm with Dave, how on earth could anyone make 11 of these without freaking out and spinning a new PCB. It's almost as if someone made these at home in their workshop, power tools and DIY pcb etching included. No idea why they would put a company sticker on such a product.Did they give these to the customers as demo/learning units, or are they trade booth units that no one got to poke around with properly.

author: danielschroeder
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 08:42:17 am
content: The company which produced that tablet is still alive today (same name, same address, same buisness):http://www.esinomed.de/esinomed/de/web.html

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 09:02:40 am
content: Disappointing that a hammer wasn't involved at the end of the video (after removing the battery "pack" if you wanted to play it safe)Then again Dave probably only threw out the "pack" and the "power supply" and I bet he kept the rest (well I probably would myself)

author: brabus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 09:04:36 am
content: Serial number 11 isbecause they go up to eleven!

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 09:19:24 am
content: Send it back to them in bits and ask about the warranty status.....

author: kyndal
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 09:45:51 am
content: i hope some 12 yr old kid got hold of "some" old esinomed device. and case modded it into this XP Abortionthere is no chance it came from a real company... Tell me it aint so..someone should call these guys,. get the gist on what "was" in the box

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 10:11:15 am
content: On behalf of us all I have just emailed Esinomed with a link to the YouTube video and asked them to comment. Any replies received will be translated if necessary and posted here.This is not what I expect to see from a German company.

author: f4eru
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 10:59:31 am
content: Now That's a brilliant piece of high reliability engineering !Nice find. I'm sure there is a worse "assembly" hidden somewhere.I can't imagine there were 10 of those, nor that it went to a customer. But that kind of thing happens....

author: Barny
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 11:58:03 am
content: They didn't used some electrical tape for the bateries. Its tape for office use.How old is this tablet? 10 to 15 years?All tapes for office use I knew look a little bit different when its that old.I think dave got a prank pakage.

author: stm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:00:10 pm
content: Quote from: danielschroeder on November 24, 2015, 08:42:17 amI thought that too at first.U can also find the CEO at LinkedIn, still as CEO from Esinomed.Then I tried to call them, but the telephone number is no longer active...But really interesting, how and when and for what purpose this ummm tablet was made for... Maybe a primary school project xD

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:10:43 pm
content: Can't believe they put two traces on the bottom of the power supply board. All that horrible wiring, but two extra wires was too much for them?Or... if you're going to make a double sided PCB then at least use the empty underside to bring all the connection wires to one edge of the board and solder them there.Those batteries though. That's the real winner.PS: Those screens with wires are common, I see them in ATMs all the time. I'm guessing it's a capacitive sensor array.Ford also uses wires like that for their "Quickclear" heated windshields. I had one in a rental car once. They're awful, like driving inside a cage. I guess you'd put up with them if you live in a country where you have to scrape the windows every morning but they tried to sell them here in Spain.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:11:36 pm
content: Quote from: stm on November 24, 2015, 12:00:10 pmWhat exactly were you going to say to them?

author: sakujo7
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:19:01 pm
content: Quote from: Barny on November 24, 2015, 11:58:03 amIt's a 2008-ish processor, so it was probably made in 09 or 10.Wild mass guessing: It was for a quick research project, something like "can tablets in hospitals increase efficiency or whatever". The hardware for it got chain-outsourced until it ended up in the hands of an intern...who lost interest when the ipad was released and hurriedly bodged the required units together.

author: Dr. Frank
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:23:47 pm
content: This company obviously is in a 2nd bankruptcy process since April 2015, a final decision about that was made last Friday.No wonder.Trade Register:http://www.online-handelsregister.de/handelsregisterauszug/by/Traunstein/E/ESINOMED+GmbH/334217Frank

author: stm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:25:43 pm
content: Nobody was answering, just the telephone company had a notice, that the specific number doesn't exist anymore...Quote from: Fungus on November 24, 2015, 12:10:43 pmIf u would live in Germany u would love that.The car I owned before my actual car had this damn nice feature... Used to love it! Had sometimes problem with cellular network because of those thin metal wires inside the windscreen, but every winter that problem vanished 😀

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 12:33:51 pm
content: At least CF card is fancy-pancy

author: J.Tax
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 01:07:22 pm
content: It's unbelievable that this kind of company's exist! The shouldn't be producing this in this kind of crap..Even our school projects looks better than this crap!

author: continuo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 01:19:05 pm
content: Put an Apple logo on it and send it to Rossmann for repair. Just for the fun of it

author: bloguetronica
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 02:39:57 pm
content: This thas to be the crappiest product I ever seen! No wonder the company went bankrupt selling that $#/+!Really, on a scale of 0 to 10, I would give -1 for the effort. I don't know if it is laughable or sad. I wouldn't like to see a PCB of mine being treated like that (rewired and all) and shoved into a product like this.Edit: Sorry for my French, but I got sick by seeing this video. I hate companies that manufacture products like that. And most surprising, it didn't came from China. No, it was made in Germany!

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 03:26:12 pm
content: made in a town called 'prutting' ...(prut is the dutch word for 'junk' )

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:29:35 pm
content: Prototype for sure, and probably made in a hurry as well, put together by the software team ( explains the soldering and the battery pack, an EE or even any technician would have done better, along with knowing there are such things as tabbed cells) in a hurry after they had finished the rough application. That they have not pared down the OS install from the basic install ( and I bet it is also running the original CD release of XP, not any updates or service packs at all, it would be dog slow then) and only have the app running shows that, while leaving the rest of the base install on the CF card shows development in a hurry. Production number of 11 says first prototype, they normally start serial numbering from 10 or 100, so that a prospective customer does not feel like they are being used as alpha testers.

author: GNU_Ninja
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:31:46 pm
content: I quite like it. The thing has a certain roguish charm, and you have to admire the skill involved in randomly packing all that stuff in there and actually getting the bloody thing to workPersonally, I think it's someone trying to take the piss. Made for a great video though. Top stuff

author: kcozens
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 04:54:12 pm
content: Argghhh, mine eyes!Wow, that is absolutely incredible. I was just waiting for you to hit the FAIL button.Keep the embedded system board and the case but bin the rest. I was going to say it was the quality you might have for an internal prototype but it isn't even good enough for that. The prototypes made in a company I used to work for looked a lot better than this.I would guess they couldn't find a short enough cable so they cut a longer one down to size. The PCB looks like something you might see from someone just getting in to electronics and who is still learning. Even the soldering looks really bad. This must be one of the worst things I've seen you take apart. A bit of perf board and hand soldering would have made for a better looking power supply board than what you found in this device.The worst part of it is that this was used in the medical profession. I hope no ones life ever depended on the proper operation of the device. If you find yourself in a hospital and a member of the medical staff brought that device in to your room, leave there as fast as you can and find a better hospital.

author: merox
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:06:32 pm
content: The "Tablet" was sent in by the a guy from this german forum, i think they also sent in something last year somewhere around christmas:http://fingers-welt.de/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5580The starter of the thread over there says that the company went bankrupt last year and he picked it up when they where cleaning out their closets/buildings. He called the closet where this came from the "things get put in there and are forgotten forever"-closet. So it most likely was a thing hacked together as a prototype in very early development.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:31:14 pm
content: Ah yes, in French that would be an oubliette or 'place of forgetting', normally a deep dank dungeon where nobody bothers to visit anymore.Still no reply to my email but if they have gone bust then I probably won't get one.

author: bookaboo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:44:43 pm
content: Too bad to be true, I wonder if some beginner got a hold of this unit and modified it for a different use. It just seems strange that they would have enough know how to get something like that to work yet not enough to make it even semi-respectable build quality. My favourite was the sellotape battery pack.

author: 6581
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 05:48:56 pm
content: That thing looked like something I might be able to put together. Not sure if I'd be able to replicate the quality of that power pack, it looked quite impressive.

author: merox
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:12:08 pm
content: Quote from: bookaboo on November 24, 2015, 05:44:43 pmTo be honest, some of our "I've-Got-An-Idea-For-A-New-Product"-Show-and-Tell thingys of some engineers i worked together with sometimes don't look much better than this. Maybe it was just an idea of an engineer which he put together in some spare time without any budget, time or proper parts and this is what he showed up with in some team-meeting.It's rubbish but hey, it was never ment to be a proper product, just something to show to the marketing guys.And to pick this up from a former reply: In our company we also start the serial numbers of products that are sold to customers at something like 100 or 1000. Everything below that are just development systems, sometimes badly hacked together but still good enough for first tests or software development.

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 06:51:53 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on November 24, 2015, 05:55:57 amInteresting you mention them - I was involved in the build of the proof-of-concept for the Toughbook which started off life as a standard notebook with the back cover replaced by a metal box holding a standard 5.25" CDROM drive, 15 NiCd (NiMh?) C-cells and some switchmode buck converters to supply the CD and the parallel-to-IDE converter interface.Suffice to say it looked nothing like the dogs dinner above! This would be about 1995-1996

author: rr100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 07:38:21 pm
content: The company still has a site up -http://www.esinomed.de- looking there I can very well imagine they were doing 5-10 years ago some bodge like this as a prototype or even a small run that got delivered to a customer. Of course everything looks clean on the website but still underneath there are some off-the shelf PC parts and touch screens.One thing I've noticed: the reason they soldered the USB cable to the board is because there wasn't enough space to stick a connector in.

author: rollatorwieltje
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 07:44:46 pm
content: Wouldn't surprise me if they just took an existing sample unit of another product (maybe a "dumb" kiosk monitor?) and bodged it into this, a "tablet". Hence the sticker.Usually our early production samples are used for testing, but when they survive or didn't get used they usually end up in the storage room, otherwise known as the playground. This thing looks nasty, but I could see this happen. The worst I've seen is probably a control box that looked fine on the outside, but contained a massive A3 sized breadboard on the inside. Worked fine, just don't drop it. Or tilt it. Or open the cover...

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 08:17:53 pm
content: Quote from: bookaboo on November 24, 2015, 05:44:43 pma taped up battery for a prototype doesn't seem so bad, you gotta make what you need from what you can get.But the only explanation for such bad soldering by someone who has done any electronics at all is that it was a late night fix at a hotel room using a nail anda lighter

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 08:30:20 pm
content: As the OP said - the company went out of business(ZYTRONICS or ESINOMED?)

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 09:11:41 pm
content: You have to love it...Vomit-Tronix 6000 at its best

author: stm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 09:53:37 pm
content: Quote from: SL4P on November 24, 2015, 08:30:20 pmEsinomed went bankrupt..

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2015, 10:38:57 pm
content: That is truely horrible if it is a limited production unit, hope not.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 01:27:56 am
content: Wow! Fantastic!! Looks like something I would do...

author: all_repair
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 01:48:56 am
content: I would give them more slack. Almost certain this is serial number 1, or 0.001. First piece to show and get the feel from everyone.

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 02:02:29 am
content: Google search of"ESINOMED infoview"gives no results, that had existed before Eevblog video. This crap tablet was probably never sold at market.But hey, there was another crap product from Germany. Do you remember the Welec oscilloscopes??https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/welec-w2000a-another-weird-oscilloscope/

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 02:21:30 am
content: Serial number 00011. Obviously like all good numbers the last digit is a check sum.Now I was going to argue that this is obviously a prototype and clearly would never have seen the light of day in a medical environment, must have been hacked together last minute for a presentation concept or something.Then I started thinking of that double sided PCB with bodged surface mount "Manhattan style" solder and crap everywhere and then the 3, count 'em 3 tracks on the bottom of the board. I just cracked up PMSL that this is a well done troll. I bet he's laughing his arse off at the absurd ingenuity of that double sided board and the world taking it seriouslyI mean those bottom traces and the undrilled through holes are deliberate comedic effect surely?... and they say Germans have no sense of humour...

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 03:26:35 am
content: This may have been the prototype for aniPoo'dpersonal media device?

author: kyndal
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 03:43:10 am
content: i can appreciate this being the version 0.001a just to show and tell..its kinda like this.. and you can do this stuff... etc..i have made several barely working or not even working mock ups.but i dont think there is any excusing the internal abomination they created.for not much more cash.. they could have used electrical tape.... for starters anywayand i think a 4$ eBay soldering iron instead of the candle + rusty nail on a wine cork. would have been a nice touch tooi will bet a case of beer i can make a nicer power-supply on one of those 1$ Veroboards..... in less time than it took to design. print. transfer. etch and HACK to death!what they came up with and i might have even sprung for the magical "single sided" point to point approach haha!just.. NO... just NOhaha

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 03:51:08 am
content: Hmm... I think Dave used up his allotment of "WOW!" for the year. Good thing I wasn't playing the "sounds of disgust" drinking game.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 03:58:36 am
content: Quote from: German_EE on November 24, 2015, 05:31:14 pmIt's where you put Jennifer Connelly when you have no need for her.(It's a good day to be a sentient hand...)

author: acourtois
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 04:36:11 am
content: Yep! Saw that too.Quote from: wilfred on November 24, 2015, 05:19:36 am

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 05:31:27 am
content: Could it have been a contest to see who could bodge together the shittiest design that actually powered on and worked? Maybe someone was really bored?

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 06:56:15 am
content: I reckon that board was a blank PCB they had laying around and was never intended for this use - as a substitute for strip-board.I also agree that whoever put it together did not have a background in electronics assembly, a software guy probably fits the picture here. Or how about an EE with no soldering skills, there are lots of them around.

author: Dr Bob
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 08:01:12 am
content: If this were a proof of concept item to hand around, I wouldn't be as critical as Dave. I've bodged together things that were pretty ugly inside just to get to get feedback on layout and functionality.I prototype with materials I have on hand. Legos, cardboard, paper maché, clay, urethane, plex, aluminium, whatever. It's all good when I want to get an idea off off my computer (wetware and hardware) and into my hands to play with. I just did a project with a friend with two layouts and had mine done before his MakerBot had half of his case "printed". My second iteration will be done on a proper stereo lithography machine in 2 days, in a material that is close to what will be used to produce the finished product.If I were at a point where I was making PCB's, they'd certainly have some thought put into them and would have been produced at a proper PCB company. I made my last DIY PCB about 25 years ago. The price is so cheap these days that it isn't worth messing with photo-resist and ferric chloride. A perf board construction would have looked better than what was pulled out.There is no excuse for delivering a product that looks as cheesy as that tablet. Me thinks the software guy with just enough knowledge of hardware built that POS. Seen that many times before.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 11:37:22 am
content: Did this video get linked somewhere?100k views in a few days!

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 11:46:30 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on November 25, 2015, 11:37:22 amThat makes sense... The title alone has probably made it come up under all sorts of interesting queries!A new EEVblog hit vdeo!

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 11:48:50 am
content: I think that it was a good choice of title on your part, if you Google "worst tablet" your video is up near the top on my search anyway. Leading up to Christmas I expect that people are doing their homework on what not to buy.Thats my observation anyhow.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 01:05:36 pm
content: It made two places on Reddit, but I don't think they are responsible for all the extra views.

author: flextard
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 02:10:41 pm
content: And I thought that the iPod I bodged over the weekend was bad enough!(5-minute epoxy there)

author: AlexBY
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 04:27:26 pm
content: Cheers,Alex, the Sender of the Goodlike Tablet Computer here from Germany.I assure you, that this thing is no fake, not revised in any way, it was made by Esinomed. But: Probably there were no 11 or more of that, its kind of a prototype.But what has bitten the Employe that made the Power Supply, i don't knowWhen i have no time, i take a breadboard and solder it onto there, why would you ever do that, it takes twice the time to do that.Have a nice Evening, Alex PS:

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 25, 2015, 05:36:12 pm
content: That thing has set a whole new standard for Shit Box.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 07:42:36 am
content: I did get a prototype at work once that was a routed board and pretty badly made, the excuse was that it was a prototype that would not have made it out of the design house but for the fact that we needed something to test with urgent so they sent it, but I was a little astonished, A pcb would not have cost that much and it was no wonder the actual prototype boards we paid money for were not much better and still used through hole parts.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 10:50:22 am
content: At least they sold it thinking it would work, and it probably did. You can see the physical evidence of shoddy workmanship in the box. But with firmware, shoddy workmanship is often hidden by the slap-dash programmers who hide their sloppiness. I once inherited and had to rewrite about 50,000 lines of shockingly bad firmware. Almost every line. A terrible experience for anyone who had not been sentenced to prison with hard labour.DLINK sold a modem/router for about 2 years without some of its published functions working and their customer support was non-existent. The firmware was atrocious. I was a DLINK victim and after 18 months of toiling with the DLINK crap, I ended up I smashing it up into tiny pieces with a hammer and posting the debris in a box to DLINK Australia, addressed to the Managing Director with a one page descriptive note about what I thought of his DLINK company and his modem/router. Never touched DLINK since and never will. They are black banned for life.In contrast, yesterday I opened Intel's new NUC for a project I am working on - beautifully made with quality workmanship, quality firmware, and quality design. Designed by skilled engineers no doubt. I fired it up and it worked a treat. Of course Intel is a big company, but they can call on the best engineers.Some small companies can also go a great job, but their quality is only as good as the engineers they want to pay for, and of course the quality of their management. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

author: BU508A
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 11:42:51 am
content: I think I probably find the engineer who did this:http://www.fingers-welt.de/gallerie.htm#a2No, seriously, Mr. Finger (that is really his real name) is a good engineer with an enervation for hot snot.Check out the pictures in his gallery.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 11:55:56 am
content: There's no way that thing was delivered to a client. Everything about it screams mockup for software testing. Probably they wanted to do viability and usability testing, and tasked some intern with cobbling together the hardware. (Usability testing often uses mockups, whether software or hardware.)Medical devices have all sorts of requirements to receive FDA (and equivalent) approval, and I'm sure this thing doesn't come close to meeting them.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 12:07:02 pm
content: Quote from: BU508A on November 26, 2015, 11:42:51 amOh, sure.... let's trust "dining table fireworks" made by the same person who built that power supply.

author: GNU_Ninja
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 12:14:33 pm
content: Quote from: BU508A on November 26, 2015, 11:42:51 amAwesome website

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 12:29:24 pm
content: Quote from: GNU_Ninja on November 26, 2015, 12:14:33 pmOK, this is pretty good:http://www.fingers-welt.de/gallerie/eigen/maschine/flipper/druck.htm

author: vodka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 05:10:57 pm
content: EyeSeeMed by ESINOMED uses Tobii eye tracking to give surgeons hands-free access to dataLink:http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141112005159/en/EyeSeeMed-ESINOMED-Tobii-eye-tracking-give-surgeonsSimply I FEEL SECUREhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62lWemSvKWs]

author: jaxbird
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 05:19:41 pm
content: The most interesting fact is thatMotion Computingmade commercial tablets running both Win CE and XP specifically aimed at medical environments before this monstrosity of a tablet was soldered together by some intern to satisfy some weird requirement.I know this because I was demonstrating these at Chicago expos long before this monstrosity was assembled.Never was a real success though as relying on only stationary workstations is not really an issue in a hospital environment and tablets provide very little benefit, easier just to take patients to nearest workstation.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 05:20:51 pm
content: I can't add anything more to how bad this tablet was constructed. Enjoyed the video but that strand skit got me to look up the Dodgey Brothers and now I find myself watching Classic Aussie Comedy. It's just so strange it's entertaining.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 05:46:35 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on November 25, 2015, 11:37:22 amIt made it even to the Czech Republic:http://www.zive.cz/bleskovky/podivejte-se-na-tablet-s-nejhorsi-konstrukci-na-svete-video/sc-4-a-180533/default.aspx/ Zive is like Czech cnet../btw you still have not fixed the link to the forum. O0

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 05:55:55 pm
content: It was posted on Hackaday sometime this morning.http://hackaday.com/2015/11/26/fail-of-the-week-dave-jones-and-the-case-of-the-terrible-tablet/Quote from: EEVblog on November 25, 2015, 11:37:22 am

author: compet17
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 08:01:22 pm
content: I just contacted Ensinomed by email. I sent them the Youtube link and a few questions about that product. Let's wait for an answer.... :-)Since the company is located in Germany I thought, as a german speaking being, I might have a chance to get some info.I must say that the products on their Website look much more professional than this pile of s**t.

author: FireBird
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2015, 08:44:55 pm
content: Quote from: compet17 on November 26, 2015, 08:01:22 pmThis has been done already (see post #38 for example) and as they seem to be bankrupt, they might currently have other priorities. So don't expect an answer soon.

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 01:36:55 am
content: What I find amazing is that someone has come across this from essentially a collection of off-cast bits and pieces at an auction.Dave makes a video of how bad it is, by inference that this was a delivered product to a customer.No evidence of its background, I'll go so far as to say no proof that it was even this Esinomed company, except a sticker on the back (although it probably was). No verification of the devices history or context where it came from.Now it might go as viral as you can get for this sort of subject/audience (being linked to by other groups and hackaday), what damage to a company could this do?If Esinomed was a trading company, this might be causing some lawyers to be taking an interest right now?Is this akin to someone dumpster diving out the back of Dave's lab, then finding Dave's breadboard mock up of the micro-current and portraying it as the finished goods and how bad the engineering is on such a product. Although I doubt it was anything like this tablet, but still....I don't know, it's just interesting/concerning where this may lead. I know Dave does his vids in his way and that's the way it is, maybe a more thoughtful less assertive look at the device might have been better?

author: timb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 08:08:45 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 03:00:05 amHave you thought about doing a hurdle race at the next Summer Olympics? You're really good at quickly jumping to conclusions.Sent from my Tablet

author: rs20
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 08:12:52 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 03:00:05 amI think it's more likely that Watson would agree with you, until Holmes spoke up.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 09:04:50 am
content: Quote from: timb on November 27, 2015, 08:08:45 amIf you can't see the value in what he is saying, then you're not a very good conspiracy theorist.

author: f4eru
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 10:14:25 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 09:35:54 amNumber 11 does not mean that 10 others have been built.

author: GNU_Ninja
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 11:38:00 am
content: Maybe the serial number is in base 2

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 12:10:31 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 11:32:16 amIf your evil plan was to give a company a bad name you'd build something with Windows 8 on it.Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 11:32:16 amYou've never worked in Germany then?I'm going with Occam's razor: This was a prototype that was built over a sleepless weekend for a trade show on Monday morning.And the number "11" means nothing. I can't believe there's any arguments over the significance of the number 11.eg. I start all my invoices at "11" every year just to make people think I've got more customers than I really have. Nobody wants to see invoice number 00000001 in February.

author: GNU_Ninja
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 12:18:40 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 11:32:16 amI actually work for a German company (who shall remain nameless) and you'd be shocked at some of the jury rigged stuff I've slapped together at short notice to demo for customersThough nothing quite as bad as that PSU board

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 12:33:49 pm
content: Quote from: GNU_Ninja on November 27, 2015, 12:18:40 pmThe PSU board is hard to comprehend.If you're going to do something as horrible as that then just use stripboard. Don't make a special PCB.

author: bktemp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 12:59:47 pm
content: Maybe this was a project done by a student. Quite often students work for some companies to gain practical experience.This computer would have been a perfect project a student could have done: Most of the components used are not so expensive off the shelf stuff. He only had to put them together and add the battery management.Most students only have hobby level experience, so this could explain the PSU board.

author: vodka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 03:50:00 pm
content: But there aren't excuse for the fudge of the batteries , if he would have used several holders batteries, he would have remained as profesional despite the lack of experience in the power supply.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 27, 2015, 11:11:03 pm
content: Got the stats on where the extra views came from:

author: AlexBY
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 28, 2015, 08:49:08 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on November 27, 2015, 03:00:05 amYeah, i'm not active in this forum, but that is in fact because i understand english very well, but writing posts is horrible. I'm more active in the German Forum "Fingers Welt"Watching daves videos for years. And that has surely nothing to do with rigol, etc.Quote from: aargee on November 27, 2015, 01:36:55 amAs this Company doesn't exist anymore (exept their website), this doesn't do any damage to them. It's not, that they come back in a year, we have took All Stuff out of their Production Rooms, at this Adress you find another Company yet. You can try to Email them, to Contact them via Postmail, etc... You won't get any response, trust me.Please stop hating around, it isn't a Fake, it is not payed by any other Company to do damage to Esinomed, etc. I'll found this in the CEOs Office cabinet and opened it at home, my feetnails started to cringe, and since there are tons of fantastic stuff in the Mailbag every week, i thought, bevore dave gets boring, i'll send it to him. And the Teardown was a great video, wasn't it?I'll have a look in my Storage now, evtl. i will find another georgeus Product from them.Maybe some kind of Christmas Present for daveGreets from Bavaria, Alex

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2015, 10:07:00 am
content: Quote from: GNU_Ninja on November 27, 2015, 12:18:40 pmHaving had German suppliers in another industry, I can attest that they either do the best in the world or stuff a down on his luck back alley Shenzhen counterfeiter would not lower his standards to.German firms tend to go all the way at either being great or crap, none of that lazy middle ground.

author: 0xdeadbeef
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2015, 10:32:30 am
content: Quote from: vodka on November 27, 2015, 03:50:00 pmWell, honestly I would assume that the battery holder simply didn't fit. At least not for all of the batteries. Look like they were stuffed into the case.Anyway, I agree this looks like some student's job. Where I work, we also have a "cabinet of failed hopes" where we put all the crap that our students, bachelors etc. left behind.It's always the same: everybody starts with high hopes that we will have that cool program or device in a few months and in the end we either get nothing or a piece of crap - or parts of a piece of crap.Then again, to be fair:When I studied, we had to do six months of internship where three of them had to be somewhat related to electronics. As you needed to do this internship, you usually didn't get paid or only a (very) few hundred DM (yes, I'm that old) per month. So what would you expect an unpaid and unexperienced student to do in three months? First aim is to get the thing working, 2nd aim is to make it look better on the outside than on the inside in case you need to demonstrate it.And come on, this thing was working and it was looking OK on the outside. Of course it was not a real product. The serial number means nothing. Maybe the reused parts from another device. Maybe someone faked a serial number to make it look more professional.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2015, 01:26:50 pm
content: You've made it to freebooting site Dumpert.http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/6699697/4d9b32a1/de_slechtste_tablet_avarrr.html

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 29, 2015, 08:45:02 am
content: Three hundred and six thousand viewsthat's big306086 precisely4696328

author: CrashO
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 29, 2015, 07:11:29 pm
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on November 29, 2015, 08:45:02 amAnd another 57304 viewsat dumpert(Largest Dutch video re-posting site that doesnt bother embedding and just copies content).

author: Chris74656
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 29, 2015, 07:43:18 pm
content: I found the design engineer of that power board.

author: Arlen Moulton2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2015, 08:23:58 am
content: Wow! It looks so bad, Ps, Dave is sending me the motherboard!

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2015, 09:06:49 pm
content: I am wondering about one thing:That computer does not have any interface at all. Just 2 contacts on the top to put DC or AC in and it works.I didn't see any WiFi or bluetooh, nor did I see any USB slots. Nothing on the back.So the only content would have come from that 4GB Compactflash card.Please correct me if I am wrong.The question is:What the heck was it's purpose?This looks to me like a one off thing that pretends to be a commercial product. Something for trade fair visitors to play around with on a booth.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2015, 09:11:18 pm
content: It does look and smell of something thrown together for a trade show. It obviously came long before today's tablets when the best you could get was a mini PC and a processor that just managed to use a bit less power than a regular PC processor.Once the processors were just slightly more energy efficient version of a PC processor, now we have specific processor families for portable devices and i bet android was not around when that thing was "aligned"

author: AlexBY
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 01, 2015, 10:39:35 pm
content: Quote from: Chipguy on December 01, 2015, 09:06:49 pmThere was in fact a Wifi Stick in the USB Port, i forgot to put it back in as i removed it to connect a wireless mouse/keyboard combination. but:you are the first who noticed it.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2015, 11:04:48 pm
content: Quote from: Chipguy on December 01, 2015, 09:06:49 pmMy guess is that it is some sort of display (or a demo unit of) for an operating theater. Having a very sensitive touchscreen that you don't actually have to touch to make it work would be beneficial, as is the "sealed" look that can be washed with a disinfectant.Similar things have been at least tried for displaying medical documentation to surgeons during surgery. I have seen it done even with stereo cameras and later on with Kinect, so that the surgeon can just wave hands at the screen and doesn't have to touch it (sterility issue).According to their website, Esinomed has been making things like xray/MRI viewers, so this would be right up their alley.

author: Godzil
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2015, 11:45:48 pm
content: I don't know if anyone put a comment on that, but :First:If you reverse the name of the company Esinomed what do you have??Demonise!Second:For the case, it's in fact something really cheap to be made and is not molded at all, and at first glance on the video I was thinking the same as Dave, but not after a few seconds. It's something hand made, and I suspect that all the device made are sensibly different on the case, and the quality could be much much more better than that, they didn't even put any pride on the case, tbh. I don't speak about the inside which Dave show how it's awful

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2015, 05:53:20 pm
content: This is a schlock piece of work, but have those demonizing the battery pack ever soldered batteries? The end caps are some variant of steel, often stainless. Too much heat ruins the battery. With the right flux and equipment it is barely possible. That is why professionals almost always weld either wires or solderable tabs.Over the weekend before the trade show, the junior engineer or intern didn't have and couldn't get tabbed batteries, and didn't have access to a welder. Many, many shops don't have one, including mine. The bodged batteries barely fit (Dave had to pry them out) so a battery holder was out of the question. So they spent several hours getting this battery pack sort of soldered together. Corrosion and battery effluent indicates that they did overheat the seals and damage them on several of the joints. But they beat the Monday deadline.The power supply board is also typical of a first effort by a junior person. In school they had a few theory courses. They draw a schematic (maybe leaning on an app note, maybe being overconfident and doing it on their own). Build it. Of course they don't know about commercial prototyping shops, and besides, it's Friday afternoon and the project is due Monday morning. Find out they didn't really understand the spec sheet. Start cutting and bodging until something works. Learn a lot about soldering during their first build, but still have much to learn.Fortunately the marketing department has a label printer, so that part looks professional - even the implication that this concoction has worked ten times before. Marketing never lies, do they?The final touch -after that lost weekend the product ended up in the dead ends bin in the CEOs office. Either it didn't work after all when powered on at the trade show, or the software was so dodgy that no one was interested, or there really wasn't a market or (drum roll) after all this rush they were late to market and someone else got whatever business there was.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2015, 06:05:17 pm
content: If you are willing to I am thinking undoing the hack and restore the machine into some appropriate things. The screen screams Raspberry Pi attachment and the SBC can be reused as a HTPC if it decodes 1080p.

author: Augustus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2015, 06:22:49 pm
content: Over 450.000 views and counting... Not the record yet but it has the potentialThought the "student apprentice" theory was the most convincing. Plus, maybe done by a software guy.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2015, 06:48:14 pm
content: Quote from: Augustus on December 02, 2015, 06:22:49 pmWell it sure wasn't done by anyone considering themselves hardware guys. The soldering shown of the batteries looks like someones very first attempt at soldering.

author: 6581
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 04, 2015, 03:36:59 am
content: Quote from: cleaningOut on December 04, 2015, 12:50:26 amI've done a battery pack using holder + zip ties and at least it handled just fine inside a motorcycle. Sure, not your first choice for production run, but in a small quantity for a prototype kind of device - at least much tidier than the vomit we saw on the video.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 01:44:24 am
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on December 02, 2015, 05:53:20 pmThis ties in with the Metcal thread. The big Metcal tips solder to battery terminals no problem without dumping too much heat into them. Now I'm using my own precision calibrated eyeball to measure what I mean by "too much heat" but I haven't had a soldered battery explode on me yet so I think I'm good to go.

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 07:23:34 am
content: I had to solder batteries myself in the past for prototypes, but what I did was to go into town and get some AA cells with already attached soldering lugs.Here are some examples from a German online store:This still does not look pretty (in my book) but I don't have a spot welder and I had no time to wait for a customized battery pack from my usual supplier.Still much better than the Esinomed Desinomed demonised hackjobFor those who want to know (in Germany) who does customized packs, starting at 1 pcs:http://www.goeke-shop.deExample: 3 Cell 3.6V NiMH pack, 3800mAh, 18650 size (dia 17mm ; lengh 67mm) temperature sensor (Epcos), temperature fuse (Pepi, resettable) and 3 pin Molex connecter (PC fan type) costs around 20 EUR, fully customized in small quantities.

author: rs20
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 07:54:16 am
content: Quote from: Chipguy on December 05, 2015, 07:23:34 amNone of these things are available from the corner store.

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 08:13:27 am
content: Quote from: rs20 on December 05, 2015, 07:54:16 amOk lets see, if I want a custom self made weirdo AA battery pack in weirdo shape, TODAY with parts from a local shop:12 pieces available4 pieces availableOk that one is a problem, so I would need to go without and come back in 3 daysAnd finally:6 meters available, that's more than enough.I am not bothering to look up the molex connector since around the corner of that shop are man PC part shops.I could just go in there, get the worst PC fan ever and cut the leads of.So I could just get into town today, get everying beside the temperature switch that I might just get from another shop and I would be able to make a battery pack TODAY.Edit: Doh... I need to find out if it's possible to resize the images.. they are much larger than the thumbnails on the website.

author: rs20
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 08:17:46 am
content: I'm talking aboutmycornershop. Ain't never seen those batteries with tabs for contacts before in my life, let alone in any shop that I know I can walk into nearby.

author: bktemp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 08:39:32 am
content: Quote from: Chipguy on December 05, 2015, 08:13:27 amI don't think there are much local shops in Prutting selling this kind of stuff...Except from that, let's asume this project was done by a student. Most likely they gave him the computer module + display + touchscreen controller and he had to add only the battery + power supply and put everything into a nice looking case. As a student with almost no experience he maybe didn't know about batteries with welded tabs or he bought the batteries and tried to put them into a battery holder, but later he realized it does not fit into the case. Because he did not want to buy new ones or he had no time to do it, he soldered them together. It is certainly not the best way to do it, but the quickest and often the only solution when you need to make it working right now.Many of us here on the forum have many years of experience in designing and building electronic devices. But this tablet computer clearly looks like it was built by somebody with much less experience. Therefore it is a bit unfair to criticise every detail he could have done better. Yes, it looks bad, but it works and it looks ok from the outside. That is more important.

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 09:16:56 am
content: Quote from: rs20 on December 05, 2015, 08:17:46 amDOH!Ok, my shops are in a bigger city. Not huge but in 2013 official 514.137 people lived here.

author: continuo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 09:22:17 am
content: These "lugged" cells are readily available at most stores who sell rc model stuff. At least here in Germany. You usually wont get them at regular shops. Using the right tools (iron with some serious oomph, fat chisel tip) it's also usually no problem to solder wires to regular double A's. This hackjob looks like if it's done with a 15w firestarter, equipped with a 1mm pointy conical tip and using high melting lead free crap. A full 5 out of 5 facepalms

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 09:22:48 am
content: Prutting only has 2300 inhabitants.The next "Conrad electronic" is 50km away, in Munich. Ok that one hour drive almost.Rosenheim in nearer though, around 60.000 inhabitants. I don't think they got an electronics store that would sell those.Well, from a infrastructure point of view that company is pretty screwed. However since most of the stuff is coming by parcel anyway it does not make a big difference.

author: Yansi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 10:01:17 am
content: Quote from: Godzil on December 01, 2015, 11:45:48 pmWow that's one heavy joke

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 11:07:19 am
content: Quote from: Chipguy on December 05, 2015, 09:22:48 am50km, one hour? I thought this was Germany

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 12:22:15 pm
content: Google directions from Prutting to Munich offer the shortest route of 75.7 km, taking 1 hour. It's about 53 km as the crow flies.... depending on exactly where in Prutting and Munich we aim for.

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 12:25:13 pm
content: Quote from: ivan747 on December 05, 2015, 11:07:19 amIt's MunichJust for the heck of it I just asked Google how long it would take to get from Prutting to Conrad Electronic in Munich.Google answered: 59 mins (including 5 mins for traffic).Sorry, sorry, I was 1 minute off

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 12:27:33 pm
content: ... and that's not taking into account stops for petrol or taking in the scenery.I wouldn't mind checking out Bavaria. One day, maybe.Quote from: Chipguy on December 05, 2015, 12:25:13 pmThat's OK - I just did the same - and it gave me exactly one hour. Your estimate was spot on in my book.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2015, 10:30:44 pm
content: Quote from: Chipguy on December 05, 2015, 12:25:13 pmOh GermansI bet both estimates are accurate to 30 seconds.

author: Klomderper
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 06, 2015, 05:33:09 am
content: Esinomed - LOL Spell it backwards. DEMONISE-portray as wicked and threatening.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2015, 06:05:59 am
content: It was the 11th one that happened to not spontaniously explode when charged. It looks like it was built by chinese children out of salvaged parts. It's probably either a white van scam or something homemade because someone needed a tablet, like now...like right now, so they built one out of stuff lying around and used a blowtorch to solder.

author: Godzil
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2015, 01:02:19 pm
content: Just the screen and the ITX (or whatever the format) PC board would be interesting to keep!

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2015, 03:24:43 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on December 05, 2015, 08:00:48 amHere in the US you can find this service in very modest size cities. Batteries+ does it for example. But not rapidly. I have had a several day wait. They just don't have enough of the business to staff the service full time, or to provide very much capacity. So if the guy who runs the welder is out, or if a local contractor just came in and got all of the batteries for his portable tools redone you have a long delay. Same story for the welder. Cheap, but by the time FedEx delivers it the weekend is gone.

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2015, 05:14:14 pm
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on December 21, 2015, 03:24:43 pmTry Interstate Batteries if you have one of them near you. The one here will custom build or rebuild a pack while you wait and their cells are top quality (as are their lead-acid automotive batteries, etc. Great batteries!)Personally, I usually just do it myself and just solder them (use a hot and fast iron or a gund) even though I have equipment that could be used to spot weld them. Hardwiring and soldering leads to a standard / alkaline battery was proper standard procedure in most VTVMs back in the day (power for the resistance ranges.) There's really nothing wrong with soldering to batteries as long as you do it correctly

author: f4eru
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2015, 06:29:39 pm
content: Quote from: drussell on December 21, 2015, 05:14:14 pmOf course it's WRONG !! it's very dangerous !!Under the plus pole nipple or each and every rechargeable cell sits an overpressure valve (this is why there are holes in it)when you solder on the nipple, the pressure valve seal material gets overheated, and melts.Often, the valve then sticks, which is very dangerous, the battery can explode if treated wrong, instead of making a controlled electrolyte release !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The right way to do it is to use a spot welder for batteries, and zinc strips. You can get very cheap chinese ones from the usual sources.Alternatively, get batteries with tabs, and solder the tabs ! That's safe, as long as the tab edges don't rub against the isolating sleeves of the batteries.

author: gildasd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2015, 07:51:07 pm
content: Quote from: f4eru on December 21, 2015, 06:29:39 pmI agree.Our uni makes it own custom LI-Ion battery packs for solar boat racing.We use a the pedal spot welder picked off a junk heap somewhere and it works great.

author: MartinHocking
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 03:28:22 am
content: Yes I have seen jobs like that before, and even done stuff like that when I was younger lol. anyway what do you do with it after tear down ?? I may have a use for it after a REBUILD ?. anyway keep up the good work love the videos.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 10:04:24 pm
content: Quote from: f4eru on December 21, 2015, 06:29:39 pmTell it to the R/C modelers ;-). Experienced guys would never use spot welded battery packs. Especially those attending competitions or having their toys a bit "professional". I've soldered a lot of battery packs without any failure. Of course I killed few cells on the beginning.I admit that R/C modelers are bit crazy... I've seen really crazy stuff over years, e.g. "human delta peak" charging for famous Sanyo 1700 SCR....In general, you are right and people with no experience should not try to solder any cells, but with your thousand face palms you are overreacting.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2016, 05:35:00 am
content: Quote from: Warhawk on February 22, 2016, 10:04:24 pmSo.... youhaven'tsoldered a lot of battery packs without failure.And the ones that "survived", how do you know they aren't damaged?

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2016, 07:48:59 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 23, 2016, 05:35:00 amCome On ... my battery packs have been working for years...Here is an example of the soldering process example:http://www.lomcovak.cz/dilna/old/baterky.htm(translate from Czech to English or just go through the pictures).There are of course other alternate ways (soldering side by side).

author: mux
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2016, 08:07:42 am
content: If you solder it well, there won't be any measurable damage on the inside. Lithium ion will fail under heat stress through:Ion reduction (long-term heat, arrhenius effect, +10C = 2x faster ageing)Thermal runaway (140-170C)Thermal dissociation of e.g. the electrolyteWhen soldering the cathode, which is connected both electrically and thermally to the entire outside of the battery, it's extremely hard to introduce enough heat into the battery to cause any of the failure modes. You'd have to be heating it for minutes to get anywhere near dissociation or runaway, and even then you don't have any current through the battery to kickstart the runaway reaction. Mind you, lithium ion doesn't use water-based electrolytes. There is no pressure build-up at any time, unless if you're producing hydrogen during thermal runaway.On the anode, you're generally not directly thermally connected to anything but the carbon/polymer rod, so 1) you'll be done in seconds, way too little time to introduce any significant amount of heat into the pack and 2) you have very bad thermal contact to the sensitive bits, so I doubt if you can even get the electrolyte past 100CSpot welding is not necessarily better than soldering. The reason cells are spot welded is simply because it's economical, however you don't get a particularly low resistance weld. The actual welded area is only a few mm2, good enough for laptop battery packs that never go above 1A discharge, but not nearly enough for high-current applications like RC stuff. Soldering is best practice in this case, and if you half know what you're doing it's not going to impact longevity at all for any practical purposes.Hell, up to a few years ago most high-end electric tool manufacturers used special high-copper solder to build their packs (instead of spot welding). Now that surface welding has matured they've moved over to that, but that should say a lot.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2016, 08:12:32 am
content: You are right that I used misleading statement. It should have been :"I've soldered a lot of battery packs without any failure after I learnt how to do that".Btw there is a small business in Olomouc (http://www.satria.cz/) where a guy makes new battery packs or refurbishes them for various handtools e.g. drills, screwdrivers etc. As far as I know he has been been in the business for years and became famous in the community for his quality. He uses soldering as well.Another guy (working now at ON Semi in Roznov) made for him several "ProForms"http://tichytomas.info/clanek.php?id=23which he uses for battery checks....R/C aficionado is not always a kid with his foam toy in a park ;-)

author: Arlen Moulton2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2016, 07:13:55 am
content: Quote from: Stonent on November 24, 2015, 06:17:51 amit is because of the capacitive touch display. They are so bad.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2016, 09:33:47 am
content: Quote from: Arlen Moulton2 on March 01, 2016, 07:13:55 amThey do the job they're designed for.Obviously they'd be unacceptable on an iPad, but for something industrial or something that people use for a couple of minutes? Not a problem.