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Warning . This DIY is not for the inexperienced. If you have never disassembled a laptop( and get it back together working) or worked with custom DC power applications you'll want to follow the "do not try this at home" rule. It will require some fabrication skills as well, drilling and making brackets. Once I have this perfected I'll be offering a send in MOD service.
First I need to get a Dock, I have to keep mine intact as I use it daily with my demos and android integration services. If you want yours modded for free let me know. I will guarantee you will get yours back either in the condition it was sent or working with the MOD.
For the modders following along, assumed steps.
1. Remove feet from bottom of dock. Guessing assembly screws are there.
2. Disassemble dock and look for space somewhere along the edge to add a small barrel adapter.
3. Find power leads to the battery and solder extension wires.
4. Test that extension takes charge and that factory connector still works to charge
5. Fabricate bracket for connector
6. Drill edge of case to expose connector.
Let's hope it is this simple. =]
DevCake said:
Warning . This DIY is not for the inexperienced. If you have never disassembled a laptop( and get it back together working) or worked with custom DC power applications you'll want to follow the "do not try this at home" rule. It will require some fabrication skills as well, drilling and making brackets. Once I have this perfected I'll be offering a send in MOD service.
First I need to get a Dock, I have to keep mine intact as I use it daily with my demos and android integration services. If you want yours modded for free let me know. I will guarantee you will get yours back either in the condition it was sent or working with the MOD.
For the modders following along, assumed steps.
1. Remove feet from bottom of dock. Guessing assembly screws are there.
2. Disassemble dock and look for space somewhere along the edge to add a small barrel adapter.
3. Find power leads to the battery and solder extension wires.
4. Test that extension takes charge and that factory connector still works to charge
5. Fabricate bracket for connector
6. Drill edge of case to expose connector.
Let's hope it is this simple. =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a dang good idea...I should have thought of this earlier! Looking at the dock, it looks like the bezel is clipped in as well. Also, the "clamp" part of the dock has some screws in it. Mechanism might be a little bit more complicated but hopefully not. You're going to need an awfully thing barrel connector to make this work. The Bezel is about the same thickness as the TF's bezel.
verkion
It is an excellent idea!
But I'm thinking. If you can do this on the dock, couldn't you also do it on the TF itself?
glg
glgehman said:
It is an excellent idea!
But I'm thinking. If you can do this on the dock, couldn't you also do it on the TF itself?
glg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there will be no room in the tab to do it, would be great if you could though!
Think I am going to try this mod. Ordered 2nd dock. If I go over-my-head I will contact DevCake for help.
The issue with barrel plug on TF tablet is what to do when dock is attached?
The advantage of barrel plug on dock is charging both dock and tablet, eliminating the need for any proprietary 40 pin cable (because doc has its own), and if you want to screw around the dock costs less (still $150USD is a lot, but less compared to a spare $40USD charger). Still need to consider what to do if barrel plug charging and something plugs into 40pin connector.
I also plan to put in a slide switch to disconnect the dock battery from the tablet entirely to save juice when shut down. E.g. reports of doc losing power when attached. This could extend the stand-by life of the dock for a week or more.
Once the thing is opened up, it might be a good time to discuss placements. Everyone has different and great ideas. I have a digital caliper to measure stuff.
Bob Smith42 said:
Think I am going to try this mod. Ordered 2nd dock. If I go over-my-head I will contact DevCake for help.
The issue with barrel plug on TF tablet is what to do when dock is attached?
The advantage of barrel plug on dock is charging both dock and tablet, eliminating the need for any proprietary 40 pin cable (because doc has its own), and if you want to screw around the dock costs less (still $150USD is a lot, but less compared to a spare $40USD charger). Still need to consider what to do if barrel plug charging and something plugs into 40pin connector.
I also plan to put in a slide switch to disconnect the dock battery from the tablet entirely to save juice when shut down. E.g. reports of doc losing power when attached. This could extend the stand-by life of the dock for a week or more.
Once the thing is opened up, it might be a good time to discuss placements. Everyone has different and great ideas. I have a digital caliper to measure stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for it Bob,
I don't think installing the barrel connector on the Tablet is a good idea either.
I wouldn't place the connector on the front so the sides IMO are the best location but that will become clear when we see the innards.
The addition of the 40 pin connector while the barrel connector is charging is a big part of the mod. Bridging the power over to the barrel puts both power sources in parallel and this can be bad. When you attach 2 power sources in parallel that are of different voltage the voltage actually will travel to the lower voltage supply source and overload it. Remember any PC USB is 5V, not the 12 or 15 you will supply to the barrel so if the barrel is connected to the charger and the 40 pin is connected to the charger you will send more voltage back to the PC and BOOM! The universe will implode upon itself =/.
So how do we address the possibility of multiple power sources? either with a switch or an additional circuit that shuts one off when it see voltage from the other. The 3rd option is to disconnect power from the 40 pin which IMO is not an option, you want to keep that intact.
Bob if you frequent any DIY forums that deal with these kind of power MODS ask around about a circuit that will do this for you. You might want to start with RC forums, those guys know DC like no other. I'll start looking around but whatever we find needs to be small for sure.
Have you sourced some barrel connectors?
I would vote switch, just in case the circuit failed somehow. With a switch, you simply cant use both at the same time no matter what.
Good news.
I received my 2nd dock, and opened it. There are only two screws, under the rubber feet in the back by the hinge. These screws help support and hold the hinge in place. Run a plastic separator tool around the edge to open. I started in one back corner. It is tight in a few places. Do not bend the metal by the socket positions, where the metal is very thin and flexible. The front edge separates last (most difficult) using leverage of flapping open and closed the top/bottom pieces, and starting separation on one side.
I will post pictures soon. I took some and in the process of uploading. I have my digital caliper at the other office so measurements later.
There is a great position for a female socket for a barrel plug charger, behind the current charger and pointing to the back. It is between the hinge and a circuit board, so there is no leeway in width. The width is narrow, just under 5mm, so a socket needs to be thin. If we find a 4mm wide barrel socket, maybe 7mm or less high it should fit. Of course that makes a slim barrel.
UPDATE: On further consideration, we might trim up to 3-4mm of the hinge plate, giving up to 7-8mm square barrel socket.
The area between the battery (centered under the keyboard) and the back hinge is wide open. Literally room to drop in x4 sd cards end to end, and stack another row of x4 on top, with space left over. The entire space is about 5-10mm height. A switch can go anywhere in this area, mounted on the bottom face, which is protected by the protruding hinge.
I was thinking with all the USB ports, it might be worth considering loading up some internal USB devices later.
Bob Smith42 said:
Good news.
I received my 2nd dock, and opened it. There are only two screws, under the rubber feet in the back by the hinge. These screws help support and hold the hinge in place. Run a plastic separator tool around the edge to open. I started in one back corner. It is tight in a few places. Do not bend the metal by the socket positions, where the metal is very thin and flexible. The front edge separates last (most difficult) using leverage of flapping open and closed the top/bottom pieces, and starting separation on one side.
I will post pictures soon. I took some and in the process of uploading. I have my digital caliper at the other office so measurements later.
There is a great position for a female socket for a barrel plug charger, behind the current charger and pointing to the back. It is between the hinge and a circuit board, so there is no leeway in width. The width is narrow, just under 5mm, so a socket needs to be thin. If we find a 4mm wide barrel socket, maybe 7mm or less high it should fit. Of course that makes a slim barrel.
UPDATE: On further consideration, we might trim up to 3-4mm of the hinge plate, giving up to 7-8mm square barrel socket.
The area between the battery (centered under the keyboard) and the back hinge is wide open. Literally room to drop in x4 sd cards end to end, and stack another row of x4 on top, with space left over. The entire space is about 5-10mm height. A switch can go anywhere in this area, mounted on the bottom face, which is protected by the protruding hinge.
I was thinking with all the USB ports, it might be worth considering loading up some internal USB devices later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice!
Get some pics up !
One thing I would do is install another USB port and connect it directly to the battery so you can use the battery to charge other 5V devices without having to connect the TF.
I removed the circuit board, now, and pulled back some of the covering tape.
I will post pics tomorrow. Sorry. I want good sunlight of circuit board stuff, because I think that is where we will need to attach the barrel plug charger wires.
The charging socket on the dock has 20 solder points and it looks like up to 3? power lines (visual inspection). With my sub-mm solder iron I can attach wires to charge via a plug. At some point we will need to know at least the power positions on the cable/plug, especially the grounds.
I think we can simply cut into the x2 red and 2x black battery lines for a switch, or aux power. There are total 8 lines on battery, exactly like the tablet, and about 4 inches of exposed wires.
Full list of photos:
Plug showing depth behind battery & rubber spacer (7mm depth; 5.0mm battery, 2.0mm rubber spacer):
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Circuit board removed showing full hinge (back left):
Full keyboard under side:
Full bottom of dock with keyboard removed (large space between battery and back hinge):
Closeup of back left hinge and charging port (4.75mm between circuit board and hinge metal, 8mm between circuit board and hex nut on hinge):
Opposite to left hinge on keyboard side:
Back left hinge and charging port:
Keyboard under side (right half keyboard):
Keyboard under side (middle keyboard):
Keyboard under side (left half keyboard, side with power plug):
Bottom of dock (middle):
Bottom of dock (left):
Bottom of dock (right):
Bottom of dock (middle):
Bottom of dock (left):
Full keyboard underside with touch pad:
Full bottom of dock with keyboard removed:
Bottom of dock (left side, with power plug):
Bottom of dock (right back side, with USB port, large space between battery and hinge):
Bottom of dock (left back side, with power plug):
Under side of keyboard:
Bottom of dock, with keyboard removed:
Can u try to see if u can follow the usb ports to the 40 pin connector to see what points are for usb connection? That way we can follow up to the tablet and install a usb port in the tablet. There is plenty of room for one inside it
since the keyboard dock is opened, whats the battery rating in mah inside?
mlbl said:
since the keyboard dock is opened, whats the battery rating in mah inside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery says:
ASUS LI-polymer Battery Pack C21-EP101
Rating: +7.4V =~ 3300mAh, 24Wh
It is 5.0mm thick, 137mm long, 104mm wide. It is wrapped in a black plastic bag-like cover, and the length at top seems empty when pressed - so about 20mm at the top is just a cover and not *battery*. The battery inside is closer to 5mm x 117mm x 104mm. There are two 2.0mm thick rubber spacers on top of the battery, running the full length and 29mm wide each.
Good to hear that. Thanks for the info
cowballz69 said:
Can u try to see if u can follow the usb ports to the 40 pin connector to see what points are for usb connection? That way we can follow up to the tablet and install a usb port in the tablet. There is plenty of room for one inside it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to use my fingers to easily slide out the battery plug on the circuit board. I will try to get some detailed photos of the circuit board today.
There are two groups of wires from the circuit board to the tablet plug. The silver colored is a shield and the black is unshielded. I was assuming the unshielded was USB, because USB lines do not *require* shielding - but, USB lines do require about 1 twist every 20mm or so. Also, I was assuming the shielded bits were keyboard & trackpad. But, I could be entirely wrong with these guesses.
One partial approach is to unplug both silver and black groups of wires and test continuity of each line from the tablet plug.
Tracing lines on the circuit board might be a good approach.
I was also going to test my cable, the USB end continuity against the 20 pin connector, and then plug in my cable to the port and test the matching solder points under the connector on the circuit board. Slightly safer now with battery removed.
Suggestions welcome as we go.
I am going to try something like this for the power jack: (See UPDATE below for correct component)
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1052051-conn-pwr-jack-0-65x2-6mm-smt-pj-038-smt.html
IMAGE REMOVED (I suggest you do NOT use the component seen in link above)
I ordered a variety of jacks to test. The "DX-UA Universal" has a 0.7mm ID, 2.35mm OD - Plug tip. I noticed the Motorola 10.1 tablet has a similar power plug, but unsure of their voltage.
==
UPDATE: I do *not* like the socket listed above, because it has an open bottom (hard to glue in place) and it is *not* tall enough. It is too short so if the charging plug is pushed up and down the socket can be pried loose, no matter how good it is glued in place.
Rather I prefer this other component:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=CP-031HPJCT-ND
I reviewed about 10 various component models. The new choice, CP-031HPJCT-ND is:
(1) cheaper, shielded costs more and no benefit.
(2) taller, it fills the space between top and bottom of dock. Therefore, the screws holding the dock top/bottom together also hold it in place in addition to glue, e.g. it cannot be pried loose by impact on the charging plug.
(3) the hole is centered in the component, giving max strength to each side (other similar have a hole off center, which some might prefer but I do not, e.g. this CP1-022PJCT-ND is not as good in my opinion).
I will attempt to mount the preferred CP-031HPJCT-ND in the next few days, and advise of results. There are some mounting details that are required to successfully use these components, e.g. hole placement, electrical connection, positioning, etc..
guys... if we're already this in depth then why not just wire the power leads from the existing usb port in the dock over to the power/charging leads on the proprietary connector?
it would be far eaiser than adding a new connector/modding the case of the dock and would be even more "universal" since you could still charge with any usb adapter out there...
dmc971989 said:
guys... if we're already this in depth then why not just wire the power leads from the existing usb port in the dock over to the power/charging leads on the proprietary connector?
it would be far eaiser than adding a new connector/modding the case of the dock and would be even more "universal" since you could still charge with any usb adapter out there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good point but with some cons.
1. You still need to make or buy a cable to use an off the shelf universal charger.
2. That port will no longer supply power to any USB device you connect to it.
The main purpose of this mod is to be able to use almost any universal charger that is available so the extra work adding the new connector is worth it IMO.
Bob Smith42 said:
Full list of photos:
Plug showing depth behind battery & rubber spacer (7mm depth; 5.0mm battery, 2.0mm rubber spacer):
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, looks like plenty of room in there.
So were you between flossing or is that flosser thing for something else =]
Does anyone know how to take a G-Tab apart and repair a broken power connector? My son pulled it off of the table where it was charging and it landed squarely on the adapter where it was plugged into the GTab. Everything else works, but charging, of course, does not.
stalnakerz said:
Does anyone know how to take a G-Tab apart and repair a broken power connector? My son pulled it off of the table where it was charging and it landed squarely on the adapter where it was plugged into the GTab. Everything else works, but charging, of course, does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy a dock, that's what I did
stalnakerz said:
Does anyone know how to take a G-Tab apart and repair a broken power connector? My son pulled it off of the table where it was charging and it landed squarely on the adapter where it was plugged into the GTab. Everything else works, but charging, of course, does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Choice 1: Buy a dock.
Choice 2: Open it up and solder it back in.
Choice 3: Sell your son to a slave labor camp and use the money to buy a new tablet.
Stolen from another forum about performing a hardware reset:
Disassemble the tablet. Remove the four rubber stoppers on the bottom of the tablet (put them aside). Next, unscrew the screws under them (keep those too). Next we need to get the back half of the tablet off. Put the tablet face down on a piece of paper or another protective material. Gently work one corner of the tablet until the two halves are slightly separated, then use something thin like a business card to keep them slightly parted. You can then use something thin and strong, like a plastic gift card to zip around the edges and break the seal. Prying will only damage your plastics.
snowzach said:
Stolen from another forum about performing a hardware reset:
Disassemble the tablet. Remove the four rubber stoppers on the bottom of the tablet (put them aside). Next, unscrew the screws under them (keep those too). Next we need to get the back half of the tablet off. Put the tablet face down on a piece of paper or another protective material. Gently work one corner of the tablet until the two halves are slightly separated, then use something thin like a business card to keep them slightly parted. You can then use something thin and strong, like a plastic gift card to zip around the edges and break the seal. Prying will only damage your plastics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pulling it apart is one thing, resoldering the connection is another. I've read that it's really tricky (and small) Mine started acting up, had to have the plug on a weird angle for the tablet ot start charging. I thought it was the chord, but it must be the hardware inside the tablet that caused it. I bought a dock, and a second charger...the dock works BEAUTIFULLY for charging, and for watching movies on the big screen via the HDMI port on the dock...
Viewsonic G connector input jack power jack
If you need to replace the jack, you can get it at Ebay.....just type in Viewsonic G jack or power jack and they have them there.
Wondering if anyone has seen or knows of a right angle 40 pin charging connector? Either that or im hacking up a keyboard if i can find one cheap enough. Im dead set on getting this tab in my dash =D
Sent from my Transformer
What do you mean right angle? Do you mean so the cable is lines to to right rather than at the bottom on the sync/charge cable?
In that case - no, never seen. But its not super-hard to do it yourself. It will still stick stick out around 1cm though, because theres a PCB inside.
Although the PCB can be removed as well, but that requires some very fine soldering (we're talking pins that are like 0.7mm, if not less, with like 0.5mm spacing)
I had a hell of a time to just resolder the data cables on the cable, and the points are located on the PCB so theres only 2 'pins' near there. Soldering those cables on the connector itself would be.. ugh... *nightmares*
Lol no, no micro soldering for me. Just wondering if there has been or is or what miss match parts could possible go together to go from the existing 40 pin port down and back. Like a right angle but coming down and away from you. The ipads have em. But we arent comparing that crap here. I want to make a dock of sorts, to have fiberglassed in. Tab slides down and plugs in to charge. Thats why i mentioned hacking up a keyboard if need be.
Sent from my Transformer
Yeah ok. No I dont think theres any such cable.
But if you just want to angle the cable its quite easy, and if youre careful wont require any soldering.
All you need to do is open the cable up, cut a new hole for the cable in the casing, align it and reassemble it (it will probably have to be glued together again, or plastic welded, simple stuff really).
And even if you would manage to rip off the cables, the + and - cables are (relatively) big. ground is just soldered directly onto the shielding, and + is soldered to 3 pins next to each other, and theres only 1 other pin nearby you have to look out for, but that pin is sortof protected by some plastic thing (which will probably melt from the heat of the soldering iron though lol).
The hardest part of all this is actually opening the damn casing without damaging it too much
First let me apologize about the quality of the photos. I did the mod at around 3am in the morning and the lighting was lousy. Anyway, after months of searching for a good but relatively cheap QI solution for the G2 F320L, I decided to go ahead and mod it instead. It works great so far so I'm posting basic instructions and some pics so others can do the same and also learn from my mistakes in the process. Essentially what I did was connect the middle 2 pins of the extra 4 pins to a QI receiver coil mounted on the outer side of the phone's back cover. I don't know the actual polarity of the pins since I just did some trial and error with the QI coil and the 4 pins to figure out the correct ones. Oh and yes, I did a sucky job with the mod. Fortunately, none of it is visible once everything is in place.
Here's what you need:
1. 3rd party internal QI receiver coil - I used one that was designed for the Samsung Galaxy S3. You may be able to get more flexibility in positioning the receiver by getting one with a relatively long ribbon cable leading to the contacts instead. Also if the contacts area are as thin as the ribbon cable, you may get a neater result.
2. A working QI charger that has charging indicator LEDs - duh. But seriously, there's a number of things you may want to test before you start doing the mod and you want the indicator LEDs to tell you whether you're charging or not.
3. An extra back cover - I actually used the original back cover that came with the phone as it had physical damage already, but I recommend you get a cheaper third party back cover instead, just in case.
4. A two layer case with a soft inner layer and a not-so-thick, non-transparent outer layer - I used a Spigen Slim Armor case and it works marvelously. I have a Ballistic Shell case somewhere but since I can't find it at the moment, I can't check if it will work, but I do expect it will work too. (EDIT: I found my Ballistic Shell case, the mod will work with it and I'm considering modding it soon) Also, your QI charger will also determine whether or not the case of your choice works. Particularly, the charger's plastic cover on the charging surface combined with your chosen case's outer layer should be thin enough to still let you charge wirelessly. If the distance between the actual charger coil and receiver coil is too far, you won't be able to charge properly.
5. A small, sharp knife that can cut through the extra back cover and your chosen case's inner soft layer cleanly - I used one, but I just suck at cutting stuff.
6. A roll of thin double sided tape, and preferrably, also a roll of thick double sided tape - My receiver coil already had a thin strip of double sided tape so I ended up not needing anymore, but you might, even if your receiver coil has a strip of double sided tape too.
Ok, first thing you do is test, test, test. As far as I know, the extra 4 pins also exist on other F320 variants and that the QI pins are also there. Since I only have an F320L, I can't be sure for certain. Also, it's very unlikely, but it's possible that there are different F320L revisions with actual changes in wiring those 4 extra pins. So test everything before you start the modding. Do test your case's outer layer by putting it on the charging surface and putting the coil on the case, the outer layer that is, while it's on the QI charger. Chargers will detect if your a receiver coil is present but they can't detect if your coil is actually connected to something so you don't have to actually connect it to your phone yet. Don't keep the coil on the charging surface for more than a few seconds when it isn't connected though. Once the charger detects the receiver coil, it will start sending charge to the receiver and if the receiver can't send that charge elsewhere, it will just accumulate on the receiver's electronics which will cause it to overheat and eventually burn out. Once you're confident that everything works, then you can start the mutila- err cutting.
First thing you want to do is to cut a hole on the extra back cover such that you can make the receivers contacts connect with the QI pins on the phone without having to put the rest of the receiver inside the back cover. The receiver will be taped to the outside the back cover. If your receiver has a thin ribbon cable and with exposed copper surfaces an the end to serve as contacts, you can cut a small slit into the case that will let you insert the ribbon cable through. If you have the ribbon cable but with thick contacts, you'll need a bigger hole. If, like me, you only have a stub sticking out from the side of the receiver coil containing thick contacts, you will need a hole that exposes the QI pins on the phone. Before you start making the hole, make sure you plan on the actual position you will tape the receiver in so you can make as small a hole as possible. As you'll see on the photos, I didn't exactly plan it right.
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Once you're done with the back cover and installed it along with the receiver coil onto your phone, get your QI charger again and test your handiwork. Make sure the phone actually detects that you're charging. I was being a retard and proceeded along without testing at this point. :silly: Don't make the same mistake. Also, take note that I put a rubber tape shim on top of the receiver's contacts. This is because I have to push it down for the contacts to connect with the QI pins. It might not be necessary in your case, or it might. Do whatever you need to to make sure that the connection is secure. You don't want your receiver coil to burn out because the connection went lose while you were charging your phone at night when you're asleep.
Now, it looks rather ugly doesn't it? Well, that's where the two layer case comes in. If you just put the case on your phone right now though, you'll probably have a bulge on it where the receiver is. For the Spigen Slim Armor, you won't even be able to fit the outer layer properly. So go ahead and cut a hole on the inner layer to make room for your receiver. You should already be sure of your QI coil's positioning at this point so you can should cut a hole in the inner layer as precisely as you can. Here's a photo of my lousy worksmanship:
If you want to know how it looks like with the case's inner layer installed with the outer layer, use your imagination. What? Do you expect me to do everything for you? (Actually, I'm sorry. I forgot to take a photo. This is what happens if you do things at 3am in the morning. )
When you're done cutting a hole on your case's inner layer, go ahead and put the case on and test it out again. If that works, then you're now a proud owner of an LG G2 F320* with QI charging. :victory:
If it doesn't work, it's very likely that your case's outer layer is just too thick and you didn't test it beforehand. Good job. :good: Well, that, or your case's inner layer is so thick. If that's the case, you can remedy the problem by putting additional layers of double sided tape underneath the receiver coil to bring it closer to the charger's coil when charging. Ideally, the receiver coil's surface should be flush with your case's inner layer when installed. See end results below:
(yeah, this is an old battered case, but the nice thing about this particular one is that I can buy a new one and use the outer layer with my modded inner layer)
NOTES:
Your ROM might not be able to detect wireless charging, in which case, it will say you're charging via USB instead. In fact, unless you're using a ROM based on the G3's ROM, your ROM will probably not be able to differentiate between USB and wireless charging. I don't know if Tasker will be able to differentiate either. I'll make sure to post results of whatever I test.
The mod is sort of non-permanent. You can install an unmodded back cover (you didn't use the original one for the mod did you?) and nobody will be the wiser.
Repairs are easy with this mod. If you choose a receiver coil that's readily available in your area, if your receiver breaks, you can just remove it and replace it with the exact same receiver with very little fuss.
If you do the mod correctly, you can remove the back cover at will without fear of things falling apart. If you didn't do it correctly, well, too bad.
If you do the mod correctly, you can transfer the mod onto any other F320* if the QI pins are also in the same location. If you're an enterprising individual and can do the mod very cleanly, you can even sell your work. But please send me some Guinness if you do.
If you didn't sell your work but find this useful, feel free to send me some Guinness anyway.
If you didn't find this useful, eh, I'll still accept free Guinness.
So... Why not trying to fit one of those chinese QI wireless receiver modules inside? They look thinner. And after dissasembly one of them, maybe you'll get the same functionality as the one in the pics. Do you think it could fit inside?
thiago_oliv said:
So... Why not trying to fit one of those chinese QI wireless receiver modules inside? They look thinner. And after dissasembly one of them, maybe you'll get the same functionality as the one in the pics. Do you think it could fit inside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thinnest ones I could find definitely do not fit inside without causing a very noticeable bulge on the back cover. Even a microSD card causes a noticeable bulge, so there's very little room between the back cover and the battery. An additional problem is that the NFC coil on the back cover will likely interfere with wireless charging. NFC works fine with the wireless charging coil on top of it.
Why didn't all g2's come with those pins...
Im thinking of trying this mod but keeping everything behind the cover, gonna get one of those chinese receiver pad's and run some thin wires to the 5v and ground on the usb connector... this should work right?
The other options is getting the verizon usb flex cable which seems identical to the d803 cable, even the connector near what i believe is the digitizer is the same size.
Has anyone tried this before?
peachpuff said:
Why didn't all g2's come with those pins...
Im thinking of trying this mod but keeping everything behind the cover, gonna get one of those chinese receiver pad's and run some thin wires to the 5v and ground on the usb connector... this should work right?
The other options is getting the verizon usb flex cable which seems identical to the d803 cable, even the connector near what i believe is the digitizer is the same size.
Has anyone tried this before?
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Click to collapse
I expect it will work. I've seen a similar mod done to a OnePlus One. There's a couple of caveats though. For obvious reasons, Android will not be able to detect that you're using wireless charging and will assume that you're using a wire to charge. The 2nd caveat is that you cannot charge while you have a USB OTG device plugged in. You may be able to power the USB OTG device via the QI coil. That's normally a good thing, however, if your coil delivers too much current, something (the coil's electronics or the USB OTG device) will likely overheat and burn out if used long enough.
EDIT: I forgot to add that the NFC coil on the back cover will make it harder for you to get this to work, but it is possible. I've found though that certain coils just don't work unless the NFC coil is not in between the QI coil and the charger. It may be a charger related problem as well. You will need to find a coil and charger that will work despite the NFC coil being in between. Or you can just remove the NFC coil.
@jaybz
Hey I tried the same thing you did with everything you provided but its not working... The wireless pad lights up as charging but nothing indicating on the phone that its charging. Is there something Im missing?
Thank you
kountry83 said:
@jaybz
Hey I tried the same thing you did with everything you provided but its not working... The wireless pad lights up as charging but nothing indicating on the phone that its charging. Is there something Im missing?
Thank you
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It likely means that either your wireless charging coil is connected to the wrong pins, or they're not connected at all. Also make sure you're using a coil for the Galaxy S3 as those for other phones may have their polarity reversed.
jaybz said:
It likely means that either your wireless charging coil is connected to the wrong pins, or they're not connected at all. Also make sure you're using a coil for the Galaxy S3 as those for other phones may have their polarity reversed.
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I tested the pins with the multimeter for 5volts and ground and its making contact...
Ugh lol
kountry83 said:
I tested the pins with the multimeter for 5volts and ground and its making contact...
Ugh lol
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You sure it's the correct pins then? The ones you want are the middle 2 pins on that group of 4.
jaybz said:
You sure it's the correct pins then? The ones you want are the middle 2 pins on that group of 4.
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Yes the middle 2. The top pin of the middle 2 is 5volts and the bottom of the middle two is ground.
kountry83 said:
Yes the middle 2. The top pin of the middle 2 is 5volts and the bottom of the middle two is ground.
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Aside from a broken charging coil, or shorts somewhere, the only thing I can think of is that those 2 pins are not actually connected to the charging circuit on your phone like it is on mine.
jaybz said:
Aside from a broken charging coil, or shorts somewhere, the only thing I can think of is that those 2 pins are not actually connected to the charging circuit on your phone like it is on mine.
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Well I did just flash the lollipop update 2 days before I did this. Could that be a issue. I heard that lollipop has a bug for some qi devices...
kountry83 said:
Well I did just flash the lollipop update 2 days before I did this. Could that be a issue. I heard that lollipop has a bug for some qi devices...
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I suppose that's possible but I'm afraid I can't verify that myself since my G2's screen is broken.
I've read many horror stories about magnetic chargers tearing off the port from Z3's. I don't want to go there so I thought I ask if anyone had some DIY tricks to prevent such issues.
I have a cheap noname cable which has a decent magnet. It keeps the thing in place, the phone charges, but I have no idea if its strength is considered too strong or not. The phone is standing in a home made "dock" (an opened 8mm cassette case so probably doesn't really need that much adhesion to keep things attached.
My best idea is to fix the charging cable to the case so the stiff-ish cable holds up the head at level with the port. Then I'd file the magnet on the head until it's just enough to snap the head the right place when the phone is pushed against it. What do you think?
I bought a weaker magnetic that still took a bit of pull or wiggle to remove. Funny enough the magnetic charger itself broke, I just avoid them now
I've just compared the noname z3 mag cable to the one from the DK31 dock for the Z1: While their physical dimensions are exactly the same the 3rd party cable sports a decidedly stronger magnet.
It charges my Z1 fine, even from a PC usb port. (The DK31 doesn't have a limiter apparently so through it the phone tries to suck as much power as it can which makes the mobo turn off that USB port.)
I've just finished filing the magnet, now it's like an up side down arch, so has a curved valley in the middle, deep down to the level of the plastic casing. ~2mm (0.08 in) left untouched on both ends. It's keeps things in place roughly as strongly as the cable from a DK31 dock. And that is rather weak as the cable pushing against the table can twist off the head. Interestingly since the magnet now has two "feet" at the ends and is not a continuous surface it comes off more "softly", more gradually, kind of rolls off as opposed to the DK31 cable which you pull pull and suddenly the whole thing fully pops off.
I tried and the 3rd party cable fits nicely in the DK31 box. The only thing preventing me from using it to charge the Z3 is that the holder insert is 2mm too wide. It shouldn't be too much of a problem gluing textile in there to secure the phone but for now I'll see how the weakened head works just lying on the table.