Has anyone repaired or disassembled a Precision Pro NX7 Pro rangefinder?

[evilelf]

I purchased the device back in 2019 from eBay, used.  I opened a ticket with them but I already know where the conversation is going: "you aren't covered under warranty", "where and when did you purchase it", and "that's an old unit".  I am not asking them for any repair services; just how to open the housing.  I am pretty sure a wire leading to the battery compartment has come loose.  I have had to tap the unit to come on for the last few months and it just went dead mid-round this week.  I hate throwing things in a landfill and also wasting money; however, I have no delusions that they care about helping as it does not make them more money.

[evilelf]

I know I purchased this unit used, but for a company's response to be so flippant is a bit surprising to me.  Why on Earth would I, or anyone that knows of my repair story, buy a new product from them.  For entertainment purposes, see below.  I assume I splurge and buy a Bushnell, but if a rangefinder breaks, is there any company out there that will actually help you repair it?

 

NX7 Pro stopped working

Awaiting Reply Brian K. ● 4 days ago

 

Over the last few months, I have had to tap the unit with my hand to get the battery to power the unit, but it just died on me. I am assuming a soldered connection came loose inside the unit. Can you provide me with any information on how to disassemble the unit?

 

Complete

 

 Eric P. ● 4 days ago 

 

Hi Brian,

Thanks for reaching out! It seems this is an older unit. Can you confirm when and where you ordered this from?

Thanks,

Eric

Brian K. ● 4 days ago 

 

I bought it on eBay on Dec 10, 2019. I know it is not covered under warranty, but I would hate to just pitch it in a landfill when I know I could fix it if I could open the housing.

 Chris ● 1 hour ago 

 

Brian,

 

Sorry we don't have anything we can provide you with to help with what you're asking!

Brian K. ● 1 second ago 

 

So the company response to a failed unit is "We won't fix it and we won't help you fix it. Please dispose of the unit in the trash." This truly inspires me to buy a new unit from Precision Pro. I expected this response but was hopeful that wouldn't be the case.

[larrybud]

On 7/14/2023 at 6:22 PM, evilelf said:

I purchased the device back in 2019 from eBay, used.  I opened a ticket with them but I already know where the conversation is going: "you aren't covered under warranty", "where and when did you purchase it", and "that's an old unit".  I am not asking them for any repair services; just how to open the housing.  I am pretty sure a wire leading to the battery compartment has come loose.  I have had to tap the unit to come on for the last few months and it just went dead mid-round this week.  I hate throwing things in a landfill and also wasting money; however, I have no delusions that they care about helping as it does not make them more money.

 

 

Guarantee you the rubber will have to come off, both the black gripper part and the green front face. The case splits down the middle. Whether you can glue that back on successfully or not, I don't know. Probably have to use contact cement.

 

The black gripper part may be sonically welded, so you might tear it when trying to remove it. The case is then either screwed together or has plastic snaps.

[evilelf]

56 minutes ago, larrybud said:

 

 

Guarantee you the rubber will have to come off, both the black gripper part and the green front face. The case splits down the middle. Whether you can glue that back on successfully or not, I don't know. Probably have to use contact cement.

 

The black gripper part may be sonically welded, so you might tear it when trying to remove it. The case is then either screwed together or has plastic snaps.

 

Odd thing is the black part is not fully rubber; only parts are.  It is like it is poured into a mold with the black hard plastic somehow. The green front is hard plastic as well.

 

[evilelf]

So maybe the black rubber is bonded to the black housing underneath...

[larrybud]

The green front snaps on. Might need a special tool to pry it off without damage.

The rubber part I'm speaking of is the part with the honeycomb pattern. That's separate from the main black case, it's just welded on really well. 

 

I have one of these (not the nx7) but the case is the same. Moving the rubber to the side I've exposed 2 screws (hard to see the one in this photo) I'm sure more where that came from:

 

 

Edit, here's another one.

 

So you have a couple of options here. Either remove the rubber coating and easily expose all the screws, or probe the rubber coating, finding the screw holes, and poke a hole through them.

If you have a case for this (not sure they make one) then removing it is probably easiest. Might be able to take a razor and cut along the seam breaking the glue/weld line

 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by larrybud

[ThinkingPlus]

My guess on why the PrecisionPro folks won't give you info is liability protection. They don't want to get sued because they aided you in hurting yourself. I don't know their design, but while the laser pulses when they exit the device are eyesafe, there may be places inside the device where that isn't true. If you manage to fire the laser while everything is open, catch a glint in the eye, and do damage to your eyesight, they want to minimize their liability. Highly unlikely, but we live in an extremely litigious world.

[evilelf]

Well I took off the rubber and I may have ruined that part for no reason.  No seams or screws.  Ugh.

 

[larrybud]

Did you look on the other side?

 

The seam goes down the centerline of the two case halves.

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by larrybud

[evilelf]

2 minutes ago, larrybud said:

Did you look on the other side?

 

The seam goes down the centerline of the two case halves.

 

 

No seam.  It seems as as they slide this black housing on top of the green cap and it snaps; I think.  I might just take a hammer to this thing.

[evilelf]

Yep, I pulled the rubber off for no reason at all, along with the rubber on the eyepiece.  The green plastic cap snaps on and two screws allowed me to slide the insides out.

 

 

[evilelf]

25 minutes ago, ThinkingPlus said:

My guess on why the PrecisionPro folks won't give you info is liability protection. They don't want to get sued because they aided you in hurting yourself. I don't know their design, but while the laser pulses when they exit the device are eyesafe, there may be places inside the device where that isn't true. If you manage to fire the laser while everything is open, catch a glint in the eye, and do damage to your eyesight, they want to minimize their liability. Highly unlikely, but we live in an extremely litigious world.

 

I don't buy that.  It is planned obsolescence; but they don't have the respect to just state so.  They could have at least told me how the green cap came off and saved me from ruining the unit.  They could at least said something to the effect of "We offer a discount for original purchases of units in the event of failure" but nothing.  They simply don't care.  It is just another disposable thing to buy and throw away.  Oh well, hopefully I can fix it from here.   If I can't, why would bother buying another a new one from THEM?

[larrybud]

did you break the tabs on the green coverplate?

 

Were the battery wires broken?

[evilelf]

5 minutes ago, larrybud said:

did you break the tabs on the green coverplate?

 

Were the battery wires broken?

 

The tabs holding the green cap are broken.  Voltage good going to the contacts on the board.  Something else...

[larrybud]

Lesson learned. You can't brute force stuff open. You have to figure out how something is assembled and reverse engineer it.

 

Probably a bad solder joint somewhere. Get a magnifying glass out. Or the wires going to the power switch (or the switch itself).

Edited July 19, 2023 by larrybud

[evilelf]

I have reseated every ribbon cable.  Tested voltage at the solder point on the board.  Won't come on.  I don't visually see anything.  It is odd how it was not a catastrophic failure, but rather a slow death.  I am not sure what that mean in the world of electronic boards and components.

[evilelf]

I have a jeweler's loupe and I can't find anything wrong.   Before it died, I would hit the button and it would not come on.  I would shake or tap it hard and it would turn on but sometimes it would read the battery was low when it was not.

[evilelf]

Fresh set of eyes after a night's sleep...

 

I reseated every ribbon cable and jumper again and looked at every solder joint.  Everything good.  Put the same battery back in and it works now.  It must have been a ribbon cable that got jostled loose.

 

So in the end, if the customer service would have just told me how it was constructed, I would have a nice looking working unit again, but instead: I tore off the black rubber coating around the unit and it now looks horrible.

 

I hope this thread proves to save somebody else's unit correctly so they can preserve its appearance and prevent it from being tossed in a landfill.

[snagy2000]

I'm one and done with Precision Pro. I bought a NX9 Slope from them and have had a couple back and forth emails with them regarding a broken battery clip and lost battery cover. Their last response being nonsensical. Both of their responses were sent with customer service email surveys, which I hate receiving in general, I never fill them out. Seems like they're more interested in getting high marks than providing good customer service. Didn't use to be that way! 

[TW3s]

I have the NX9 and I also contacted them about it not reading yardage. It works fine, just won't read yards. After reading the other stories on here I don't feel alone in my situation. I contacted Jonah Mytro about my unit. Here I was thinking he was an a**,but turns out there all a** holes. I to asked for a troubleshooting guide,literature or Tech support NOT a warranty claim as mine is no longer covered. It's as if he didn't even read my Email. Pretty much told me to kick rocks and gave me a coupon for the new version. Why would I won't another one when the one I have and have only used 3-4 times, has been kept dry indoors (no battery leakage) looks like the day I got it, dosnt work. They must be smoking the same cheap plastic that they make these out of. There products are not worth the price. I always give companies the benefit of a doubt or atleast a chance to redeem themselves. They have shown no remorse and have taken no responsibility. The lack of customer support or even caring that they have a very unhappy customer. I am no longer a customer and I never miss a chance out at the couse to warn people of the inevitable untimely death of PrecisionPro products and lack of customer service. I personally do not see this company and there product surviving the test of time as there competitors.