171 replies to this topic

[Johnx]

Hello,

I have completed my first Eee PC modification, this modification adds Bluetooth functionality and 16GB of flash storage.

At first I intended to solder the two USB devices directly to the motherboard but after careful consideration I decided the ability to easily replace the modules should take priority.

Both ports are 5V and use the USB connections from the unused Mini PCI Express port and the USB connections from the Mini PCI Express port used by the wireless card.

Thanks to everyone on this board who guided me along the way on my first Eee PC mod!

Parts Used:

30 AWG Wire
Lots of patience
2 * Surface mount USB ports
Microsoft Bluetooth Adapter
Healthy fear of turning your Eee into steaming pile of burnt PCB
Corsair Flash Voyager 16GB

Pictures:

Edited by Johnx, 02 December 2007 - 12:35 PM.

[Neil]

Nice...

[joners]

@Johnx

Out of all the hacks that people have done to date this is by far the best that I have seen, fantastic work.

[Friko]

Good job!

[CTID]

That sir, is absolute quality!!

Any chance of some details, where to solder etc??

[seventh]

great work, i'm amazed!..

[pounce]

How do you have the usb connectors fixed to the board?

[digitalfreeze]

Props Johnny...that is very clean. pro

[psypher]

Wonderful mod! Just need some more info on it now :D How about a detailed guide?

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

Best hack EVER. That's SOOOO clean. Great job.

[maximusz]

This is fantastic!
Please post detailed instructions / photos / links so we can celebrate and duplicate your success.

[Crihz]

Have you hot-glued those on by any chance and used the metal bushing as a ground at the same time?

For people who are willing to try this. Tnkgrl figured out how to do this mod. Here's somew of tnkgrl's pics indicating where to solder to:

Edited by Crihz, 02 December 2007 - 07:24 PM.

[pscl227]

possible to get some close up pics so we can see exactly where to solder everything?

[saratat]

very nice
I have some question
Does the wireless still work??

[TexasGuy]

Maybe drop some plastic glue on the wires to fix them in place...

[Crihz]

Quote

very nice
I have some question
Does the wireless still work??

Yes, the wireless will continue to work even with this mod in place because the wireless card doesn't use the USB connections present at the connector.

[refl3x]

Very nice, looks very neat and tidy, i think i might make mine just like this. Good work.

[Johnx]

I've just completed my tests of the mod, happy to report that all works well. The runtime has been reduced to roughly 2 hours and 50 minutes at which point the battery is at 5% and XP commences automatic shutdown.

I spent a lot of time reviewing the information on these forums before performing this mod, primary threads consulted were:

Results of my research - by tnkgrl
http://forum.eeeuser...pic.php?id=2355

Internal USB gadgets on miniPCIe connector – by tristand
http://forum.eeeuser...pic.php?id=2334

[Johnx]

Quote

How do you have the usb connectors fixed to the board?

They are two surface mount USB ports which I stripped from a £1 USB hub, a piece of plastic is attached to the underside to prevent the possibility of a short. The two USB ports have been soldered together to keep them in the same general position. Hot melt glue has been used to secure the ports to the board. My main concern with this was heat generated by the EEE melting it, however after a burn in under full load the USB ports are still fully secure. They are so secure that even after a burn in, with the machine quite hot its still possible to remove the USB dongles without the ports breaking away.

[pounce]

Quote

Quote

How do you have the usb connectors fixed to the board?

They are two surface mount USB ports which I stripped from a £1 USB hub, a piece of plastic is attached to the underside to prevent the possibility of a short. The two USB ports have been soldered together to keep them in the same general position. Hot melt glue has been used to secure the ports to the board. My main concern with this was heat generated by the EEE melting it, however after a burn in under full load the USB ports are still fully secure. They are so secure that even after a burn in, with the machine quite hot its still possible to remove the USB dongles without the ports breaking away.

Cool. Nice work.

I've been working on creating a simple card that fits in the pcie slot to add the usb connectors since my black model has the connector. It will basically be a U or C shaped card with the usb connectors on the pcie slot site and will screw in to the existing mount holes. I'll still have to add the leads, but will do it with pins on the board and card so I can slip them off and remove the leads as needed later if there is a use for the 2nd on board slot. If I didn't have the slot I'd do like you did and stick it down with hot glue or silicone. Good to know the hot glue works. I get impatient waiting for silicone to harden.