1. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    I agree that nostalgia is important, but in my particular case on the matter of 9900, there is absolutely no nostalgia involved. I have not used any Blackberry long enough like you guys in the first place, and I am not emotionally attached to things like phones (but certainly like vehicles), and choose whatever I believe serve my purpose. If going by nostalgia, I would rather go for iPhones but not Blackberry, particularly the legacy device :-). I am using the 9900 strictly for its functionality. I am using only the part of 9900 that works so well in the way I use it, complimented by another modern phone. I probably feel nostalgia toward 9900 when I lost it or it finally has reached the EOL :-)
    That makes you kinda cool ha ha
    03-20-17 09:53 AM
  2. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    Steve or anybody else, how do you clean the charge and contacts on the actual JM1 battery, or do you bother? Those tiny little gold squares that are surrounded by plastic shoulders are impossible to clean unless you use something sharp with a piece of cloth on the end.
    03-20-17 09:58 AM
  3. anon(8063781)'s Avatar
    I'm not exactly unbiased so take it fwiw but I think you mostly summed it up. Q & Classic are pretty much same internals. I probably prefer Q's hdmi but slimport is ok. Like you, I greatly favor Q's swappable battery and comfortable size.

    Despite the considerable size difference, I find Classic much more single handed friendly. Simply because of its toolbelt. A big deal, for me. Classic's trackpad implementation has evolved subtly with recent OS to a point where my hand actually looks forward to using Classic! That's saying a LOT, coming from me.

    Thumb is still occasionally coerced to venture above Classic's toolbelt, but improved some with latest OS. Far, far more 99 like than Q, fwiw.

    Like my 99 on large hdmi (thru PB) I also really LIKE Classic's Trackpad & TB over hdmi or Miracast. Qi is also available on Classic... Fwiw.

    Overall, I'd grab the Classic. The toolbelt tames its size nicely. Its battery CAN be replaced but it's a pita's pita. Lol. The display IS nice. (At least you get SOME benefit from the oversized dimensions of the thing. Lol)

    As in 2013, lack of toolbelt still kills Q. Imo. One ponders if our Bolds would even be talked about today, had RIM fitted toolbelt to the comfortably sized, swappable battery Q?? Don't get me started... Lol.
    Thanks for the response. The trackpad and buttons ARE really the selling point, aren't they?

    But, I did the pros and cons, and in the end I'm going to stick with the Q10. The deciding factors: I re-watched a Classic disassembly video (I hate working with all that doube-sided tape); and I realized I'd have to replace all my Q10 accessories as well. I also have a couple of new keyboards, a spare screen, etc.

    So, instead of grabbing the Classic, I've bought two new complete housings for the Q10 (black and white), so I can make it new again. I like the black with silver bezel look. Total cost: USD $17.

    While I was at it, I grabbed a new bezel and keyboard for the 9900.
    mushroom_daddy likes this.
    03-20-17 10:19 AM
  4. idssteve's Avatar
    Thanks for the response. The trackpad and buttons ARE really the selling point, aren't they?

    But, I did the pros and cons, and in the end I'm going to stick with the Q10. The deciding factors: I re-watched a Classic disassembly video (I hate working with all that doube-sided tape); and I realized I'd have to replace all my Q10 accessories as well. I also have a couple of new keyboards, a spare screen, etc.

    So, instead of grabbing the Classic, I've bought two new complete housings for the Q10 (black and white), so I can make it new again. I like the black with silver bezel look. Total cost: USD $17.

    While I was at it, I grabbed a new bezel and keyboard for the 9900.
    Yep, trackpad and buttons are THE selling points, imo. Essential for my use case but we're all different. It's just a tragic shame there should even be a question about it. An epic blunder on BB's part, imo.

    I'm still waiting to get my battery dead Classic back to our facilities before attempting repair. My smart guys are teasing that they'd rather schedule a couple root canals for that day... Lol. And they take EVERYthing apart! Including iPhones. Lol. Was Classic made impossible intentionally?? Idk.

    Like you, so long as I can keep 99 limping along, I can tolerate almost anything as secondary carry. Even my waiting D60. Lol.
    03-20-17 10:47 AM
  5. anon(8063781)'s Avatar
    Yep, trackpad and buttons are THE selling points, imo. Essential for my use case but we're all different. It's just a tragic shame there should even be a question about it. An epic blunder on BB's part, imo.

    I'm still waiting to get my battery dead Classic back to our facilities before attempting repair. My smart guys are teasing that they'd rather schedule a couple root canals for that day... Lol. And they take EVERYthing apart! Including iPhones. Lol. Was Classic made impossible intentionally?? Idk.

    Like you, so long as I can keep 99 limping along, I can tolerate almost anything as secondary carry. Even my waiting D60. Lol.
    For me, the Q10 is the work device. It works very well with Exchange ActiveSync.

    The Bold 9900 is my home device. Everything I use regularly still works well: Tapatalk, AP News, UberSocial (set up with a Twitter Newsfeed, like an RSS reader), Kindle, and PodTrapper. It's kind of shocking how functional it remains.
    03-20-17 11:08 AM
  6. idssteve's Avatar
    Steve or anybody else, how do you clean the charge and contacts on the actual JM1 battery, or do you bother? Those tiny little gold squares that are surrounded by plastic shoulders are impossible to clean unless you use something sharp with a piece of cloth on the end.
    Well, there are some really "high tech" approaches but... Lol. One of my faves (not THE fave but reasonably affordable) is a felt tipped pen that dispenses Deoxit... About $13 at amazon. The felt can do some minor abrasive cleaning.

    https://www.amazon.com/DeoxIT-Pen-NS...UvbUpU12810226

    But, realistically, I've rough cleaned my share of them with a napkin wrapped around a toothpick... High tech, huh? Haha. Lol. Just be careful to not damage the corners of the pockets. Important to get some sort of contact lube on the abrasively cleaned surface to minimize oxidation of the bare metal exposed by the abrasion.
    03-20-17 11:18 AM
  7. xanadome's Avatar
    Steve or anybody else, how do you clean the charge and contacts on the actual JM1 battery, or do you bother? Those tiny little gold squares that are surrounded by plastic shoulders are impossible to clean unless you use something sharp with a piece of cloth on the end.
    This is probably Steve's subject, but let me chime in. I use pencil eraser to clean these points for the longest time I remember since I was kid. Just touch the tip and gently jiggle erasers. Eraser is actually harsh (I think) so I use it very gently, just enough to remove any "dirt" or grime. As to the battery part, which is slightly recessed, eraser still works but some kind of coarse cloth might be better. But then, there is always specially formulated electrical contact cleaner solution, which I believe Steve uses (he mentioned it a couple of times in his posts). I believe those gold plating on contacts are so thin that aggressive use of abrasives will easily remove the gold plating. But so far, this method worked every single time. Just use it very gently. Just a touch of it is probably enough to remove dirt.
    idssteve likes this.
    03-20-17 11:27 AM
  8. kb7sqi's Avatar
    For me, the Q10 is the work device. It works very well with Exchange ActiveSync.

    The Bold 9900 is my home device. Everything I use regularly still works well: Tapatalk, AP News, UberSocial (set up with a Twitter Newsfeed, like an RSS reader), Kindle, and PodTrapper. It's kind of shocking how functional it remains.
    For me the Bold 9900 has became both a home & work device lately. After a few more app purchases, I've been able "lessen" my need to carry my Priv or a BB10 device. I always have to carry my iPhone 6s which is my "work" phone, but for the most part, I can now almost do everything on my 9900. Here's a list of some of the apps I've been using the last few weeks on my 9900:

    Cloud Explorer for OneDrive/Google Drive
    VNC
    Forseti RDP Windows Client
    BBSSH/Rove Mobile SSH
    Tapatalk
    Google Authenticator for all my 2FA accounts
    Mobipocket/Kindle App for E-Books
    PodTrapper
    WhatsApp
    Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn apps
    iSilo
    eWallet sync'ed to my desktop
    KeePass
    PhotoStudio Pro
    BBM of course!
    Police Radio Scanner
    TuneIn Radio Pro
    AT&T Navigator
    eBay

    Just to name a few. I also picked up Trillian last night for $0.99 in the app market. It works much better than IM+ Pro btw for Instant Messaging. It actually stays connected. :-) Two downfalls. The font is small. You can't change it, and I couldn't create my "Trillian" account on my 9900. I created it on my Priv & then was able to log in w/ the account on the 9900. After that, all my IM accounts started right up. I need to be able to use Google Talk, AIM, & ICQ. Trillian has worked great so far & for me well worth the $1! Now, I couldn't get the AP News app to work since you mentioned it & I tried UberSocial last night & wasn't able to log in to my twitter account as well. I'll give it a shot later. Also since you guys mentioned Spotify a while back, I finally re-added Premium to my account. It's been ages since I used Spotify. I loved it back in the days I used my webOS devices. I loaded it up on my 9900 & all my old playlists came right up! I played some music for a couple of hours the other night, but I don't think I'll keep using the service. I've already loaded up 20+ gigs of music on my sdcard & TuneIn Radio Pro takes care of the rest really. :-)

    As a side note, I did a couple of sim swaps last week. First was to try out the latest BBM update on Android. Everything updated just fine & the app does work well, but after using BBM on the 9900, I just enjoy using the app as much. Secondly, I also moved over to my Classic for 48 hrs. It'd been a few months since I used my Classic as a daily driver. I found BBM slow/sluggish on the device. Chats were slow to load up, I was missing several Channel updates, etc. My Classic is running the latest 10.3.3.x w/ a clean install. I also noticed some of my email accounts were slow to get email. So, my sim card went back in the 9900 & that's where it's staying. I get the added bonus of being able to get my work email over BIS and everything else is working 100%. Hope everyone has a great week! Take care!

    Steve, K4SQI
    idssteve and mushroom_daddy like this.
    03-20-17 11:56 AM
  9. idssteve's Avatar
    Totally agree.



    All good advices, thank you.
    Yes, I too am a bit nervous of frequent use and the durability of charging port, and that's why I wanted to use the desktop charging pod in car.

    I have been away from bluetooth for so long (except my wireless desktop keyboard and trackpad, but never on the phone :-), and never felt any inconvenience but your post made me rethink a bit. Whatever you are doing must have come from years of experience and I will revisit the stuff like SmoothTalker although it's a bit pricy, and I d not need signal amplifier etc, as I live in a city center. But what the heck, it seems to have all the conveniences that a gadget freak might enjoy, LOL

    BTW, I always love your avatar that makes me giggle a bit. I came from the same era and I still treasure and keep my slide rule that I used in my univ. as a memento It was amandatory purchase for engineering student. It's amazing that man went moon by a rocket designed by using slide rules.
    Yep, still keep my old 6" magnified VSR in desk drawer... Pull it out a few times per year... For "nostalgia". Haha. Battery life is AMAZING!! Haha.

    As you likely know, there's way more to that avatar's monster SR than "size envy". Larger truly means greater precision! When it comes to slide rules, at least. Sort of a statement on the current trend toward monster devices. Lol.

    Slide rule races were well established pastimes, in my school days. Once calculators started appearing, it was natural to include them. I stuck with my "antique" until a fellow student beat my slide rule with his RPN HP35. Newer & more popular, "Conventional" Ti's with "equals" keys never really bested my slide rule performance. That RPN HP smacked my slide rule silly!! Lol. Worked & saved all summer & mowed yards after work, to finally purchase an HP35. Which clobbered my old slide rule by my own hand! (Left, of course. Lol) Until the LED display HP drained its battery, at least. Lol. Later got an hp21, HP65 and finally an LCD & programmable hp41, which I still use.

    My point? The only performance I've ever truly cared about besting was my own. Each day. Whether in slide rule races or at 1/8th & 1/4mile bracket races. Once a new strategy PROVES superior for my needs, I'm all over it. After 5+ years, I'm still waiting for a newer strategy to PROVE itself superior to 99 for my needs.

    Functionality might eventually get stripped out and (like HP41 before it) they've already ceased production, but the "other strategies" have thus far only proven their performance at throwing roadblocks in the way. None have thus far PROVEN faster nor more precise for my needs. Winning by making the other guy lose is a loser's win. Imo.
    Last edited by idssteve; 03-20-17 at 01:49 PM.
    03-20-17 01:34 PM
  10. xanadome's Avatar
    Yep, still keep my old 6" magnified VSR in desk drawer... Pull it out a few times per year... For "nostalgia". Haha. Battery life is AMAZING!! Haha.

    As you likely know, there's way more to that avatar's monster SR than "size envy". Larger truly means greater precision! When it comes to slide rules, at least. Sort of a statement on the current trend toward monster devices. Lol..
    At the risk of embarrassing myself for ignorance, I always thought your avatar was your tongue-in-cheak humour, and that SR came from "Steve's Photoshop" or a poster or something, i.e., not real. Then, I thought about it, and as you say the accuracy of SR is proportional to its size by the nature of the design. So, I googled it, and there they are, Monster SRs! NASA and astronauts used it. I always marvelled how engineers those days in SR era could design most sophisticated "gadget" of the day :-). But I never thought they are using larger SR (the more distance between scales, the more accurate, of course). By the time I graduated from the school, it was already the electronic calculator era (but I remember that computers, at least most of them were using punched tape reader IBM monsters), and I never had a chance to look back or use SR, hence it went into my personal collection (I guess I can say it was indeed a "nostalgia") to remind myself how hard I worked in the school (lie :-).


    My point? The only performance I've ever truly cared about besting was my own. Each day. Whether in slide rule races or at 1/8th & 1/4mile bracket races. Once a new strategy PROVES superior for my needs, I'm all over it. After 5+ years, I'm still waiting for a newer strategy to PROVE itself superior to 99 for my needs.
    Functionality might eventually get stripped out and (like HP41 before it) they've already ceased production, but the "other strategies" have thus far only proven their performance at throwing roadblocks in the way. None have thus far PROVEN faster nor more precise for my needs. Winning by making the other guy lose is a loser's win. Imo.
    True and true! (and true)
    03-20-17 02:44 PM
  11. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    For me, the Q10 is the work device. It works very well with Exchange ActiveSync.

    The Bold 9900 is my home device. Everything I use regularly still works well: Tapatalk, AP News, UberSocial (set up with a Twitter Newsfeed, like an RSS reader), Kindle, and PodTrapper. It's kind of shocking how functional it remains.
    My AP News worked beautifully, but then suddenly DIED about 5 months ago. Nice app but the Location finding setting for GPS never worked since I discovered it.

    Steve you own a Dtek60?

    -sent from a beautiful Bold 9900
    03-20-17 04:59 PM
  12. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    Well, there are some really "high tech" approaches but... Lol. One of my faves (not THE fave but reasonably affordable) is a felt tipped pen that dispenses Deoxit... About $13 at amazon. The felt can do some minor abrasive cleaning.

    https://www.amazon.com/DeoxIT-Pen-NS...UvbUpU12810559

    But, realistically, I've rough cleaned my share of them with a napkin wrapped around a toothpick... High tech, huh? Haha. Lol. Just be careful to not damage the corners of the pockets. Important to get some sort of contact lube on the abrasively cleaned surface to minimize oxidation of the bare metal exposed by the abrasion.
    So that pen......it is fine-tipped enough to actually fit into the tiny contact squares on the battery to clean them?

    I've actually used (and I was NOT going to admit this) a small flatheat screwdriver, the kind to tighten glasses screws, and put it into a sock or some cloth to clean the contacts.

    Not high-tech at all, but it has to be done sometimes.....

    -sent from a beautiful Bold 9900
    03-20-17 05:03 PM
  13. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    This is probably Steve's subject, but let me chime in. I use pencil eraser to clean these points for the longest time I remember since I was kid. Just touch the tip and gently jiggle erasers. Eraser is actually harsh (I think) so I use it very gently, just enough to remove any "dirt" or grime. As to the battery part, which is slightly recessed, eraser still works but some kind of coarse cloth might be better. But then, there is always specially formulated electrical contact cleaner solution, which I believe Steve uses (he mentioned it a couple of times in his posts). I believe those gold plating on contacts are so thin that aggressive use of abrasives will easily remove the gold plating. But so far, this method worked every single time. Just use it very gently. Just a touch of it is probably enough to remove dirt.
    I'm not sure how an eraser would ever fit into those teeny tiny contact squares on the battery. I understand why Blackberry built the contacts with protection like that, surrounded by plastic BUT next to impossible to clean.

    -sent from a beautiful Bold 9900
    03-20-17 05:05 PM
  14. mushroom_daddy's Avatar
    Here's a list of some of the apps I've been using the last few weeks on my 9900:

    Cloud Explorer for OneDrive/Google Drive
    VNC
    Forseti RDP Windows Client
    BBSSH/Rove Mobile SSH
    Tapatalk
    Google Authenticator for all my 2FA accounts
    Mobipocket/Kindle App for E-Books
    PodTrapper
    WhatsApp
    Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn apps
    iSilo
    eWallet sync'ed to my desktop
    KeePass
    PhotoStudio Pro
    BBM of course!
    Police Radio Scanner
    TuneIn Radio Pro
    AT&T Navigator
    eBay

    Just to name a few.
    Thanks for your post and details of the miscellaneous apps that you are using with your 9900.

    I'm very interested in the Cloud Explorer app as I hadn't appreciated that it was possible to access G drive.
    Could you expand a bit on its capabilities?

    Similarly, I'm pleased to hear that Podtrapper is working for you.
    Did you recently purchase that from BBW? I was a bit cautious about paying for that app as there's no evidence of activity on the developers website for several years.
    03-20-17 05:08 PM
  15. anon(8063781)'s Avatar
    My AP News worked beautifully, but then suddenly DIED about 5 months ago. Nice app but the Location finding setting for GPS never worked since I discovered it.
    Mine didn't work at first either. If I remember correctly, all I had to do was go to settings, choose location, and enter a US postal code. I chose a Seattle zip code, since it's nearby.
    03-20-17 05:12 PM
  16. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    For me the Bold 9900 has became both a home & work device lately. After a few more app purchases, I've been able "lessen" my need to carry my Priv or a BB10 device. I always have to carry my iPhone 6s which is my "work" phone, but for the most part, I can now almost do everything on my 9900. Here's a list of some of the apps I've been using the last few weeks on my 9900:

    Cloud Explorer for OneDrive/Google Drive
    VNC
    Forseti RDP Windows Client
    BBSSH/Rove Mobile SSH
    Tapatalk
    Google Authenticator for all my 2FA accounts
    Mobipocket/Kindle App for E-Books
    PodTrapper
    WhatsApp
    Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn apps
    iSilo
    eWallet sync'ed to my desktop
    KeePass
    PhotoStudio Pro
    BBM of course!
    Police Radio Scanner
    TuneIn Radio Pro
    AT&T Navigator
    eBay

    Just to name a few. I also picked up Trillian last night for $0.99 in the app market. It works much better than IM+ Pro btw for Instant Messaging. It actually stays connected. :-) Two downfalls. The font is small. You can't change it, and I couldn't create my "Trillian" account on my 9900. I created it on my Priv & then was able to log in w/ the account on the 9900. After that, all my IM accounts started right up. I need to be able to use Google Talk, AIM, & ICQ. Trillian has worked great so far & for me well worth the $1! Now, I couldn't get the AP News app to work since you mentioned it & I tried UberSocial last night & wasn't able to log in to my twitter account as well. I'll give it a shot later. Also since you guys mentioned Spotify a while back, I finally re-added Premium to my account. It's been ages since I used Spotify. I loved it back in the days I used my webOS devices. I loaded it up on my 9900 & all my old playlists came right up! I played some music for a couple of hours the other night, but I don't think I'll keep using the service. I've already loaded up 20+ gigs of music on my sdcard & TuneIn Radio Pro takes care of the rest really. :-)

    As a side note, I did a couple of sim swaps last week. First was to try out the latest BBM update on Android. Everything updated just fine & the app does work well, but after using BBM on the 9900, I just enjoy using the app as much. Secondly, I also moved over to my Classic for 48 hrs. It'd been a few months since I used my Classic as a daily driver. I found BBM slow/sluggish on the device. Chats were slow to load up, I was missing several Channel updates, etc. My Classic is running the latest 10.3.3.x w/ a clean install. I also noticed some of my email accounts were slow to get email. So, my sim card went back in the 9900 & that's where it's staying. I get the added bonus of being able to get my work email over BIS and everything else is working 100%. Hope everyone has a great week! Take care!

    Steve, K4SQI
    Wow!!! Interesting, and I was wondering about Spotify on the 9900 because I did DL it to the 99 but it just works so good on the iphone. Most of my apps are purely "social." Facebook and Twitter are still great and I don't miss the inbox for messages on the native FB app because I can just run desktop browser version, notifs even work for that. BBM was always great and Tune-in as well. I am just on the free version of TuneIn and it's great just off the 9900 but for some reason when I pair my Blackberry VM-605 I have some "Bitrate" issues. But no idea if that is SIM related. It shouldn't be I would assume because TuneIn is meant to run off wifi as well as data.
    I guess I am sort of in your boat now Shuswap, I use the 99 around the house because I lost Whatsapp and AP news the last time I swapped sims and that "miffed" me a bit."

    I LOVE the Screen Dim app I found because I find the lowest BB brightness setting of 10% way too bright, and now I can go to almost black if I want.

    I'm going to stick with Spotify because you can find pretty much anything. Also there was a great article on Appy-Geek yesterday about how it is their first choice for best music app because chance are if you want a song you should find it. Also because even after 4 months, some brand new full albums get put on Spotify for free. With the exception of holdouts like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift who pulled their music supposdly, because they weren't being paid there.



    -sent from a beautiful Bold 9900
    03-20-17 05:18 PM
  17. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    Mine didn't work at first either. If I remember correctly, all I had to do was go to settings, choose location, and enter a US postal code. I chose a Seattle zip code, since it's nearby.
    Well that's just it, it did not allow me to enter any Canadian Postal Code, It only offered US Zips. USUALLY apps offer the ability to enter both. But I am far enough north where I don't want US weather/headlines on my feed But I might try that next time for the heck of it.

    -sent from a beautiful Bold 9900
    03-20-17 05:23 PM
  18. xanadome's Avatar
    I'm not sure how an eraser would ever fit into those teeny tiny contact squares on the battery. I understand why Blackberry built the contacts with protection like that, surrounded by plastic BUT next to impossible to clean.
    I never had any problem in cleaning those contacts. I probably had to clarify a bit. When I said pencil eraser, I meant the one attached to the other end of regular pencil, which is small, perhaps a few mm dia?
    I mentioned coarse cloth might be a better tool but I "always" used pencil eraser. I do not think BB deliberately designed the battery contact recess. I think they used a thin plastic cap to hold these contacts, that's all. I do not believe manufacturer would make elaborate design for that parts which will make assembly time consuming. Besides recess is just tiny. If you push eraser a bit, it is reaching those contacts surfaces. Better still, you can use the ridge of eraser for finer contact. I honestly do not remember how I was cleaning those, as I never paid attention but probably just lightly pressed eraser. In any case, it never failed to clean it. Theoretically, you should not use too much abrasive materials but those gold plating of low amp (milliamp level) application may not be too sensitive to the removal of the gold plating. Just a light touch of eraser usually did the job, although the use of dedicated solution should be better of course. I am not too nervous about it, and in fact, I only feel the need for contact cleaning every once a year or so. I never investigated but I do not believe it is so much about dirt/oil etc but these contacts eventual produce oxides film that looks dark but could be easily removed, unless caused by spark etc. I will google about it. All in all, when everything else failed, there is always a pencil eraser. That's what I am trying to say I guess (although I never used anything other than eraser, simply because I am too lazy to find and easy anything else :-)
    03-20-17 05:38 PM
  19. anon(9721108)'s Avatar
    I never had any problem in cleaning those contacts. I probably had to clarify a bit. When I said pencil eraser, I meant the one attached to the other end of regular pencil, which is small, perhaps a few mm dia?
    I mentioned coarse cloth might be a better tool but I "always" used pencil eraser. I do not think BB deliberately designed the battery contact recess. I think they used a thin plastic cap to hold these contacts, that's all. I do not believe manufacturer would make elaborate design for that parts which will make assembly time consuming. Besides recess is just tiny. If you push eraser a bit, it is reaching those contacts surfaces. Better still, you can use the ridge of eraser for finer contact. I honestly do not remember how I was cleaning those, as I never paid attention but probably just lightly pressed eraser. In any case, it never failed to clean it. Theoretically, you should not use too much abrasive materials but those gold plating of low amp (milliamp level) application may not be too sensitive to the removal of the gold plating. Just a light touch of eraser usually did the job, although the use of dedicated solution should be better of course. I am not too nervous about it, and in fact, I only feel the need for contact cleaning every once a year or so. I never investigated but I do not believe it is so much about dirt/oil etc but these contacts eventual produce oxides film that looks dark but could be easily removed, unless caused by spark etc. I will google about it. All in all, when everything else failed, there is always a pencil eraser. That's what I am trying to say I guess (although I never used anything other than eraser, simply because I am too lazy to find and easy anything else :-)
    I've just never seen a pencil eraser that small LOL.

    If it was intentional or wasn't, I think the plastic squares over the contacts on the battery was probably smart because they might've known people would put the batteries in their pockets possibly with loose change or keys and they might not have wanted the metal to come in contact with the contacts. Or say, women putting spare batteries in their purses with many other things loose that might contact the metal. But I don't know just a theory.
    03-20-17 05:54 PM
  20. idssteve's Avatar
    So that pen......it is fine-tipped enough to actually fit into the tiny contact squares on the battery to clean them?

    I've actually used (and I was NOT going to admit this) a small flatheat screwdriver, the kind to tighten glasses screws, and put it into a sock or some cloth to clean the contacts.

    Not high-tech at all, but it has to be done sometimes.....

    -sent from a beautiful Bold 9900
    It does OK. See photo. Not great but the phone contacts themselves aren't anything resembling full width either. I've also been guilty of scraping with metal in a "do or die" pinch. Sometimes just gotta do what you gotta do. Lol.

    Problem is the gold plating is very thin and gold is very soft. Scratches thru the gold plating will expose base material (Cu?) to oxygen and potential corrosion. I have access to literally hundreds of JM1s and consider them consumable supplies. (NOT for tax purposes, tho. Lol) Even so, a conductive protectant like Deoxit (and others) can help prevent oxidation of exposed surfaces.

    In general, those felt tip pens do pretty good job but I still sometimes get a plastic, or even wooden toothpick involved. Sometimes wrapped with paper towel. Or? Paper can be pretty abrasive, also. BUT, like I said, JM1s are consumables for me. Fwiw.
    Attached Thumbnails 9900:Resurgence of popularity!-deoxit-pen-jm1.jpg  
    03-20-17 06:05 PM
  21. xanadome's Avatar
    I've just never seen a pencil eraser that small LOL.

    If it was intentional or wasn't, I think the plastic squares over the contacts on the battery was probably smart because they might've known people would put the batteries in their pockets possibly with loose change or keys and they might not have wanted the metal to come in contact with the contacts. Or say, women putting spare batteries in their purses with many other things loose that might contact the metal. But I don't know just a theory.
    Hahah, I was not too precise, eh? :-)

    I actually measured my pencil eraser and it was 5mm dia. It's a most commonly used pencil eraser. The one contained in my mechanical pencil has actually 3mm dia eraser.
    Re the recess of the contact, I am sure it is just the contact place holder for the cheapest assembly. That way, there is no need to precisely cut the metal contact. A thin molded plastic is just fixing those contacts. But what do I know? It is just my guess. I cannot think mfr ever put any additional effort to put money in that cheaply assembled battery :-).
    As for putting battery with loose metal etc, I NEVER EVER do that for the precise reason you mentioned. I seldom carry spare batteries, but when I do, I wrap it with plastic wrap, paper or small plastic bag etc. I never expose its contacts to other metallic objects. Inadvertent short circuiting might cause all sorts of troubles from just draining of juice to fire.
    The recess is not at all deep enough in the first place to avoid any contact with other metals when mixed with them in pocket or other small compartment.
    03-20-17 06:07 PM
  22. xanadome's Avatar
    http://forums.crackberry.com/attachments/blackberry-bold-9930-9900-f235/419927d1490051071-9900-resurgence-popularity-deoxit-pen-jm1.jpg
    What a great looking battle scarred battery it is!
    03-20-17 06:10 PM
  23. uxWare's Avatar
    Sorry for being dense but what's "winh**"?

    I'm all ears on ANYthing RPN!

    winhex not an RPN calc, but a hex-editor
    I self-censored , as I understand this method to find ser/numbers is banned here.
    Anyway , there is a generic J2ME RPN calc, a bit not easy to work with link -> Calc - Java Calculator: Scientific, Statistical, Financial, Programmable, Graphing, RPN
    03-20-17 06:10 PM
  24. xanadome's Avatar
    In general, those felt tip pens do pretty good job but I still sometimes get a plastic, or even wooden toothpick involved. Sometimes wrapped with paper towel. Or? Paper can be pretty abrasive, also. BUT, like I said, JM1s are consumables for me. Fwiw.

    LOL, to tell the truth, lazy me actually used the tip of paper clip to actually scrape off dark deposits.

    Like you said, it's just poor little battery that you won't use for too long a time, and I have 6 extra sets of brand new ones that I accumulated one way or the other. Even if the gold plating was scraped off, I do not think it will cause too much of a problem. Like you said, it's just a throw-away battery.
    03-20-17 06:16 PM
  25. idssteve's Avatar
    What a great looking battle scarred battery it is!
    Haha... Poor thing has likely shared pocket space with change, keys, pocket knives, etc... As you pointed out, ANYthing metal risks a short. AND shorted Li-ions are SERIOUS business! I generally keep them well segregated from pocket metals but when you're working with dozens of others, all sharing from a communal stash of JM1s... Never know.

    Overall, we've been VERY lucky and no "in pocket thermal runaways". Lol.

    One coworker did once experience an in-phone "thermonuclear runaway" ... Lol. Possibly from a "pocket damaged" JM1??? He felt the heat against his face during a call, quickly told the client he'll call back in 3 minutes and used his pocket screwdriver to pop out the smoking JM1 onto the concrete plant floor. Where it continued to release all the smoke left in it. Lol. That area of the plant was cleared of personnel and thoroughly ventilated while "trained" guys cleaned it up. The hideous odor was still quite strong when I came on shift hrs later. That black scar still marks the site. Lol.

    That coworker reportedly popped in his spare JM1 and called the client back in under 3 minutes. As promised. Lol.

    I DO agree, however, that these batts really aren't designed to endure sharing pocket space with typical pocket items. That meltdown might have easily left a hideous scar on a thigh, if it happened in pocket! Given the energy density packed in the modern marvels, it's certainly something to respect.
    03-20-17 06:41 PM
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