16 replies to this topic

[GEOFRANCIS]

i have been reading about the small portable eee pc for a while now and when i seen how moddable it was i had to have a shot. so i got my self to ebay and £147 inc delivery i had a black 701 4gb.

the first things i got for it were:

16gb sd card
2gb ddr2 667
10400mah battery
bluetooth
usb hsdpa modem

now i had a pretty decent laptop but it was still basicly standard and i didnt like all the bits sticking out of it so i had to start modding.

my main source of info was http://beta.ivancove...ternal_Upgrades it is by far the best and most usable set of mods i have seen so far so i used it as a template for my mods.

this is my layout for my mods it consists of

2x usb sd card readers
2x 8gb usb flash drives (for operating systems)
mini-pci-e 4965 AGN WIFI
usb 54g wifi
usb bluetooth
touch screen (still waiting for delivery)
e220 hsdpa modem



all the pcb's have had the connections solered off and chopped down with a dremel (apart from hsdpa as i still need it just now) to use the minimum amout of space i can. the usb hubs are getting soldered to the mini pci-e usb ports and the power will controlled by 2 switches in the modem port like http://www.metacompo...00.CIMG1810.JPG
one for both hubs and one just for the hsdpa modem because it draws the most amount of power idle everything else draws minimal power when disable from windows. if iadd more stuff i will probibly put another in the pci-e bay.

the antennas for the wifi will atach to the 2 stock antennas and another antenna i bought from ebay mounted in the screen.

your probibly wondering why would i want a second wifi adapter? well when i seen this mod http://wiki.porterte...900-ext-antenna for hooking up a 1watt signal booster and hi gain antenna

the bluetooth will also be getting an antenna upgrade with the second wifi antenna i got from ebay the antenna on the bluetooth pcb has been cut off and the wifi antenna will be soldered to it and routed to the screen.

the hsdpa will be in the pci-e bay use an externa data card antenna from ebay and mounted like here http://forum.eeeuser....php?pid=448709

fm transmitter antenna will be mounted in the screen and buttons will be accessable in the pci-e bay

i thought i would post just now before i actualy start cutting and soldering to see if anyone has any more sugestions before the laptop gets taken apart.

and finaly since this is just my second post here thank you i dont know what i would so without this forum as a guide :D

Edited by GEOFRANCIS, 06 February 2009 - 10:22 PM.

[rgarjr]

Looks like you got quite a project in your hands... Have fun.

[gtisingh]

Good luck getting the modem in !
Ill keep an eye on this thread, it looks like its going to be an interesting outcome !

[GEOFRANCIS]

the modem will be getting stripped down including the usb removed. i might have to remove some of the inside of the case to get it to fit.

anyone got any other ideas of stuff that will go inside it? i have got one of little 1.5" lcd photo keyrings that would fit but i couuldnt find any instructions on how to mod it to get it to display other info like a little usb screen on the outside of the case that or one of those parralell port lcd screens that just displays txt but trying to get that in the case along with a parralell to usb converter was a bit much to fit in the case along with everything else.

[gtisingh]

For True Inspiration an Truely GREAT idea, take a look here - http://forum.eeeuser...ic.php?id=20545

[cmmike1]

Quote

For True Inspiration an Truely GREAT idea, take a look here - http://forum.eeeuser...ic.php?id=20545

i agree with this post. excellent mods in that thread.

[GEOFRANCIS]

im liking the keyboard led mod. i might try and stick a small white led somewhere at the top of the screen. i do miss the thinklight i had on my old thinkpad it is such a simple thing you would think all laptops would have one.

i have a usb dvb-t tuner i was gonna use but i would have to use an external antenna which would defy thr point of putting everything inside it.

Edited by GEOFRANCIS, 26 January 2009 - 01:51 AM.

[GEOFRANCIS]

thats the two SD card readers and flash drives installed! theres no where near as much space in there as i thought there would be. some more pics soon

i now have the problem of all my function fn keys have shifted one key to the right :S so instead of fn + f2 for wifi its now fn + f1 and wifi controlls the brightness and so on any ideas why?

Edited by GEOFRANCIS, 27 January 2009 - 10:56 PM.

[gtisingh]

Quote

thats the two SD card readers and flash drives installed! theres no where near as much space in there as i thought there would be. some more pics soon

i now have the problem of all my function fn keys have shifted one key to the right :S so instead of fn + f2 for wifi its now fn + f1 and wifi controlls the brightness and so on any ideas why?

Its a common problem after opening up the eeepc.
Do the following : -

Switch of the eeepc,
remove the battery and the AC power,
Hold the power button for 10 - 15 seconds,
Reinsert the battery or AC power,
power up .... and it should work fine.

[m.klinge]

Quote

im liking the keyboard led mod. i might try and stick a small white led somewhere at the top of the screen. i do miss the thinklight i had on my old thinkpad it is such a simple thing you would think all laptops would have one.

i have a usb dvb-t tuner i was gonna use but i would have to use an external antenna which would defy thr point of putting everything inside it.

Looking forward to see the outcome of this project :)

Ive made a different keyboard light as you can see here - perhaps you can use that for some inspiration or something :)

//M

[GEOFRANCIS]

my touchscreen arrived cracked so im waiting for another one. i was in the pound shop the other day and i seen a in car light with a fiberoptic in it that would alllow you to mount an led anywhere in the case and only have a small hole for the light to come through.

i am having trouble with my phone so thats why the lack of photos at the moment i will try to get some soon

Edited by GEOFRANCIS, 30 January 2009 - 06:43 PM.

[GEOFRANCIS]

i can boot from any of the usb drives.
have got some photos il upload some more soon.

[DEADBEEF]

By the way. Those USB drives on the right can be popped out of their plastic casing making them slightly thinner and around 1/4" shorter.

[GEOFRANCIS]

got some more photos



the bluetooth and second wifi adapter are in and workin ok (il get a pic of it soon) but the hsdpa modem is not showing up. i think its a bad connection somewhere.

still to go:

hsdpa antenna
wifi antenna
touchscreen
fm transmitter
possibly another power switch

Edited by GEOFRANCIS, 04 February 2009 - 11:16 PM.

[AYE-SUS THIS]

with all these plugged in i expect the battery life is gonna drain quicker than a bath tub?

[GEOFRANCIS]

i aint done any testing yet but thats why i have a power switch for the internal devices

[GEOFRANCIS]

the rp-sma connector connected to the usb 54g wifi adapter