dismantleforerunner205 - ctorunner

1 de 5

https://sites.google.com/site/ctorunner/dismantleforerunner205

Dismantle the Garmin Forerunner 205

No tools are required. Just use your finger-nails to pry off the case along the line (red arrow). It's amazing that
Garmin only used glue to assemble the unit.

The display and the bottom are separated.

There are no wires in-between. They are connected thru some pins.
I also found no O-ring between two cases. Well, as I can pry it off easily, you can imagine its capability in waterresistance...
Indeed, I found water inside the case. The up/down-arrow keys (the soft-plastic keys) stored some water (not
moisture only). It's not on the circuit board or battery anyway.

The GPS antenna is at the left-hand side,

wrapped in silver plate.

20/11/2012 18:31

dismantleforerunner205 - ctorunner

2 de 5

https://sites.google.com/site/ctorunner/dismantleforerunner205

The battery is sticked by 2-sided tape. It's a

3.7V, 750mAh Li-ion battery.
Does it look like the 4th-generation iPod
battery?

Believe it's the SiRFIII chipset under. Note

the golden contacts for connecting to the
battery.

20/11/2012 18:31

dismantleforerunner205 - ctorunner

3 de 5

https://sites.google.com/site/ctorunner/dismantleforerunner205

The micro-switches (up/down arrow, and

enter).

I wiped the water and let it dry for a week.

Then I temporary fixed the case with scotch tape. When I turned it on again, amazingly it worked again (although the
up-arrow key didn't work at all).
I used it to have a 20km test run...
Unfortunately, because of the hot/humid weather, my sweat 'melted' the tape and suddenly the cover fell on the
ground. I had 3 pieces... the cover with the display, the attenna, and the remaining battery with the wrist strap.
I thought it was a 'total loss' and packed everything back home.
Then I found all parts weren't broken and it's just the connector loosen between the attenna and the display.

20/11/2012 18:31

dismantleforerunner205 - ctorunner

4 de 5

https://sites.google.com/site/ctorunner/dismantleforerunner205

Again, there were plenty of moisture (sweat)

inside. I removed the battery this time and
found the speaker (buzzer) was totally
eroded. Ah... that's why I found the level of
'beeping' sound went lower and lower.
The salty water (my sweat) actually went it
from the 4 tiny holes at the back, eroded the
buzzer and then the micro-switch.

I cut the wires of the buzzer and blocked

the holes with strong glue.
To disable the up-arrow key, I used a knife
to cut out the switch.

Again, I put everything back and tried, haha, it's still working. This time I carefully cleaned the case and then glued
them together with silicone sealant (the one for decoration, usually used in the bathtub, kitchen, etc).
Now the unit is survived. Without the up-arrow key, most of functions could still be used (navigated with down-arrow
instead). The only problem is that I cannot increase the screen contrast as it requires the use of up-arrow.
Without the beeping sound is not a big deal at all. At least I can keep using it until the new model is out...

20/11/2012 18:31

dismantleforerunner205 - ctorunner

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https://sites.google.com/site/ctorunner/dismantleforerunner205

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20/11/2012 18:31