Question Front USB sockets broken - repair possible?

[strobolt]

I have an Antec P182 case for which the front USB (2.0) connectors have broken. It's a bit peculiar (imo) dual USB port where the middle metal divider first went loose and then inevitably the USB pins have bent and broken off over time.

Is this feasible to repair (do they sell that kind of replacement USB header somewhere?) or better to just leave it?

Here you can see the case (photo from internet) with the USB ports between FireWire port and the 3,5 mm ports.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

usually when this type of damage occurs the manufacturer would send an entire new panel to replace the damaged section.

you can see the case (photo from internet)

you haven't properly included an image.

 

[dwd999]

If you have usb ports on the rear of your case that are not currently used it may be easiest to get a usb extension cable (male to female) and run it around to the front of the case.

 

[strobolt]

usually when this type of damage occurs the manufacturer would send an entire new panel to replace the damaged section.

you haven't properly included an image.

Thanks, I'll check with Antec that what would this cost but I'm pretty sure that it will be cheaper to just get an 5,25" bay USB hub.

I was primarily thinking that if there's some place where one could order this kind of specialiced parts and do some soldering to get it replaced cheaply.

If you have usb ports on the rear of your case that are not currently used it may be easiest to get a usb extension cable (male to female) and run it around to the front of the case.

This is actually what I've been doing so far and it has worked like a charm for the occasional connect of USB stick as I've attached it with zip-ties to the case.

 

[BFG-9000]

You can't get those panel assemblies any more. Used to be you could simply order them from store.antec.com/parts but even 11 years ago they were no longer available.

Best to find another USB header with the ports stacked like that and carefully transplant only the ports to your panel with epoxy, and may as well upgrade the ports to USB 3.0 while you are at it (requires a different motherboard header)

 

[strobolt]

You can't get those panel assemblies any more. Used to be you could simply order them from store.antec.com/parts but even 11 years ago they were no longer available.

What, how can they not provide support for a case that's barely 15 years old...

But the USB header + Epoxy sounds like a plan I was thinking in lines of. Need to investigate a bit more how the header is attached to the case. By quick googling seems that it's going to be a bit difficult to find a double-header fitting to that slot but probably just a thick single slot header will fill the slot sufficiently.

 

[strobolt]

Well, the whole front port assembly is just one big blob...seems it's not possible to replace just the USB ports as I was planning. Firewire I wouldn't be missing but I'd need replace the headphone ports as well if I would want to replace the whole thing. Seems like not worth it...

 

[DSzymborski]

Honestly, your current solution with the zip ties is probably the best one. What it comes down to is how much time you want to spend just to get an elegant solution for front USB ports on a case from 15 years ago. Once you're talking a couple hours of your time, it would simply make far more sense to buy a more modern case; they've gotten so much better over that time period.

 

[strobolt]

Would it make more sense? Yes. But it's hard to let go of an old friend

 

[BFG-9000]

Looks pretty straightforward, you just have to be willing to hack up whatever is required to fit the new ports into there and careful not to break other things. USB 2.0 would be a direct replacement for$6.69

USB 3.0 would be an upgrade as presumably you are not still using a 15yo motherboard in that case

However your stock port assembly may look more like this on a PCB

In which case it'd be up to you if you'd instead prefer to repair yours by soldering in a new stacked port cluster

I should point out the last time I ordered the correct port assembly from Antec it was only $15.95 back then. These are less, but a lot more work.

 

[strobolt]

Okay I clearly didn't search hard enough as I couldn't find those stacked USB ports but you're right that those should be a fairly straightforward to plug in as they are exactly the correct shape for the slot. Still a bit worried though about if I'll be able to put a new port there while keeping the PCB intact for the audio connections. Cleanest option would probably be then just to solder new 2.0 ports in place of the old ones but I'd be kinda tempted to go for the 3.0 if I can just make it fit. The 3.0 connector is at the front of the mobo (Asus B660 D4 Plus) as well while the 2.0 is further back. So I guess next I'll have to try to open the assembly carefully to try to retain the option to put it back together and evaluate whether the new USB 3 cable is feasible or if I'm better of just soldering a new 2.0 header to the PCB.

 

[strobolt]

Ok so apparently I hadn't actually broken any pins at all, just bent them. Only thing broken was the middle divider which I just epoxied back to it's place and did some bending for the pins and now the USB 2.0 ports seem to work fine again. The one on the right side was in a lot worse shape and it's still not 100 % good as new but let's see if it'll give any issues in practice. Weirdly it seems to temporarily disconnect if I push the plug too hard inside but if there's no pressure then the connection seems secure. Also not sure how much the pins like bending back and forth and how long they will end up lasting eventually but we'll see.

But as I was already set on upgrading the front panel to this decade and the assembly plastic turned out to be surprisingly soft and quite easy to cut with a knife (I had assumed it would be some hard ABS), I decided to do a surgery and remove the FireWire port with the intention to replace it with USB 3.0 while keeping the assembly intact on one side to be able to still secure everything to the case as earlier. Firewire at least wasn't on any PCB, just the cable going through the assembly and hotglued in place. If I had known that I could've just removed enough of hot glue and pull it out but I was expecting to have to solder it off the presumably common PCB with the USB ports so I removed the cover from one side altogether.

On the motherboard there's two USB 3 headers: one 19 pin IDC20 header and one Type E / Key A USB C header (only Gen 1 unfortunately). Ideally I'd like to utilise the latter one and put a type C connector then in place of the FireWire port since I think it should fit nicely (=without cutting) the existing holes in the case. USB A is a tad too tall and I'd like to save the 19 pin connector as I've been planning to get a 3,5"/5,25" card reader (to get rid of the one on the desk) and those typically seem to utilise the 19 pin connector. Also, I was planning to put just one USB3 port there so it feels like I'm "wasting" the other supported by the same header.

I tried to find a simple Type E / Female USB C cable and the best option I've found so far is this cable by Fractal Design that is designed for it's Pop / Focus 2 cases but seems to be one of the rare cables with the connectors I'm looking for. I'd probably need to trim attachments on the C connectors to make it sit on the front panel assembly but assuming it's similar soft-ish plastic then that shouldn't be an issue. More of an issue seems to be that it's not in stock in the nearby stores at least. If I can't find a proper USB C cable then I'll probably end up going with a single type A connector cable.