Linksys BEFSR41 Teardown
Duration: 45 minutes
Steps: 6 Steps
Taking things apart just for fun at Maker-Faire 2010! Let’s see what’s inside and how it all fits together.
Step 1
– Take a good look at the device from the top down. It’s time to get up close and personal with it!
Step 2
Good news! This model doesn’t hide any screws or notches beneath the rubber feet. Just a little tug is all it takes to pop off the front blue panel. (It’s held in place by a recess/notch on each side, so you’re all set!)
Step 3
– Once you’ve popped off the front blue panel, just slide the top panel back and lift it off with ease! It’s held in place by a couple of friendly plastic notches connecting it to the bottom panel.
Step 4
– Take out the tiny Phillips screw from the logic board—this will let you lift off the bottom panel.
Step 5
– After popping off that one screw and sliding the bottom panel away, you’ll see the main circuit board waiting for you.
– Main Components
– Barrel-plug power connection / CAT5 / Reset button
– Power Control
– Line-drivers (these help CAT5 cables carry data up to 100m)
– RAM (2Mb) (Stores MAC tables, and other useful data)
– KS8695 ARM922 (ARM Core, 5 switchboards, tcp/ip/udp packet interface)
– RAM (1Mb)
Step 6
– Take a look at the underside of the circuit board in this step. Carefully examine and prepare for the next move to keep things running smoothly. If you need a hand, you can always schedule a repair.