AOD 150 Hardware Mods (Add 3G, Bluetooth)

List of Modifications to Stock AOD 150 15?? from Amazon

Basics:
2 GB RAM ($16 on Newegg, duh...)
320 GB 7200 RPM WD HD ($80 on Newegg, allows me to triple-boot [Win7, MacLeo, UbuJaunty] and have a storage partition)
Atheros AR5008X 802.11n WIFI (from eBay, 2/3 antennas used)

The Good Stuff:
Bluetooth ($30 from China on eBay...I know I overpaid, but I'm not making my own cable...too small)
Internal 3G Modem [Option GTM378] (originally I paid $50, but then got it for free since it was only for European 3G frequencies)
|--Upgrading to a Sierra Wireless 8781, which has GPS and a second antenna

The Part You Must Read:
Bluetooth:
Installing the module was easy, but I put the machine all the way back together and wondered why device manager/lspci wouldn't see it. Turns out there is a button next to the hard drive/caps lock indicators on the motherboard that turns the Bluetooth unit on. For the long term, this requires hacking together a button that sits next to these indicators. That grey bit is acutally just a sticker. (budget!!!)

WIFI Antennae:
This one is a bit of a doozy. Most WIFI antennas available are very long, designed for laptops with 14-15" screens. I don't know how to crimp and shorten them, although maybe I should learn. Luckily I had one shorter antenna designed for a TV tuner, although it does say 2.4 GHz on it. However, my two longer Tyco antennas are curled up inside the WIFI bay. NOT ideal. I should probably back down to 4 antennas from 5, since I have switched to a Broadcom 802.11n WIFI module (BCM(9)4321) that only requires two antennas. Still, I need two more for 3G and GPS. I also had a bit of fun getting them unjammed from the hinge. Luckily the sheathing was not punctured on any of them. (like on the laptop I'm using now, although I haven't seen a performance hit)

The 3G Mod:
This is a complex one. First you need the SIM card reader from Major League Electronics. It's the push-push type one with 6 pins. I have an 8 pin extra one I can sell to someone. Otherwise you'll be paying $50 (ML has a $50 minimum order policy) for two, like I did. Eek. I had a friend solder that one in, and he used a loupe to check that there were no shorts. I still don't know whether to trust him. Note that you will need to remove a hard-to-see piece of electrical tape covering the SIM card hole on the chassis. It took a little while for me to see that.

Anyway, step 2 involves removing the left-most segment of the WIFI switch so that the switch can also move to the left as well as to the right. You can do this with an Xacto blade. I heated mine, but I don't know if that helped. It wasn't actually too messy since the ridges on the switch provide a nice guide as to where to cut. I tried removing the plastic portion of the switch from the chassis, but that proved quite difficult: it looked as though I would break/deform the plastic in the process, so I hacked away with the switch still in the chassis.

At first I was disappointed, because I tested with a WIFI card in the slot. The switch did nothing. (note that in order to see the 3G indicator lamp, you will have to remove the grey bit over the WIFI indicator; again it's just a sticker) However, when I put in my GTM378, switching the slider left made the light flicker! From other Option cards I have, I know that they flicker quite vigorously, so I think that's a signal coming from a powered card. However, Device Manager still wouldn't see the card. I verified that I hadn't fried it by using a USB adapter I bought a while back. The card and drivers were fine, but device manager wouldn't see the card. Strange.

Based on Tnkgrl's (Myriam) guide on how to mod the 9" Aspire One with an HSDPA module (search for her blog on Wordpress if you can't find it...) I figured that I might have to "solder a bridge". I couldn't really translate her guide to the 10" model since the board layout is quite different. It was getting late and I had to leave the workspace, so I soldered the bridge closest to the secondary MiniPCI-E slot. Now hitting the power button just makes the power indicator come on for a split-second and then die out. I obviously shorted something; that bridge was a little large; I think it may have been designed for a resistor or test points or something. I will use a de-soldering wick today to remove the bridge to see if everything still works properly. I hope so.

Another option is "taping pin 20", which supposedly powers up the card. However, it seems that taping pin 20 and enabling the switch did the same thing on the 9" model. Maybe I just need to wait and try the new 8781 card. I hope I can revive my machine by de-soldering that bridge. I was probably too ballsy. I may have also burnt the PCB a little bit, but I'm hoping that's just flux/rosin.

If anyone wants to give me some guidance on how to use a multimeter to test all the connections, I'd be most grateful. Ditto for any guidance on how to make a good-looking Bluetooth button.

 

VERY detailed!
can i call dibs on the extra sim reader? how much do you want for it??

on my d250, the 3g card ran fine once i shaved the button, but still need the sim reader.

 

I can't guarantee compatibility with the D250 since my model is the D150...however I do have a bunch of the SIM readers lying around. If you send me a very hi-res photo, I should be able to find a SIM reader that will work very well.

 

sam.hackintosh has some pics on his hax0rpedia site..

here's the sim slot specifically
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38175080@N ... 808621423/

 

It looks like it should use the same SIM reader from ML Electronics. I paid 50 for two, so I'll have to sell you it for $25, but I'll throw in an extra SIM reader from Mouser for free. How should we do the transaction, PayPal? Check your Personal Message.

 

More information on the 8.9 inch 3G mod and checking for solder bridges etc...

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=13518&p=85018#p85018

 

was just about to reply to your pm.... but i just got into work and my sample from molex was in!!!

 

OK, I lied, I got it working. I have thus successfully added Bluetooth, 3G Modem, and SIM card slot to an Acer ApireOne 10" AOD150-157x...I don't remember the digit for the x, but it's the black model.

Bluetooth requires a special cable, but the whole assembly is available on eBay. Turning it on requires pressing a button only accessible on the motherboard, but a sticker can be removed for "toothpick access".

3G requires buying a SIM slot from Major League electronics; the push-push 6-pin model works fine.

Then I cut off the left side of the wireless switch, thanks to tnkgrl's blog.

This allowed me to get the WWAN lamp working...given its flickery nature, I knew the Option card was driving the LED. That was a 1-antenna Option GTM378 that I got a full refund for because that particular model didn't support US 3G frequencies.

I was using Windows 7, and for some reason Windows 7 didn't see the card. (it may have seen the USB-installer software, but I forgot to look!) Thinking I was still missing something, I soldered a bridge near the slot. That made the laptop not turn on.

I desoldered the slot and tried the Pin-20 tape trick, but that just made the card not turn on.

Finally I tried with a Sierra Wireless 8781 card, and everything works great! Windows 7 definitely recognized this USB-auto-install.

(for a while the USB ports on the right side of the netbook were de-activated, but now they work fine again...don't know what happened there.)


BRW


Notes:
This hack is no longer exactly unique because there are now 3G netbooks available on Amazon in the US. However, the HP 1151 to my knowledge has a slow 1.8" hard drive, and the Acer has an alleged maximum of 1.5GB RAM. The Dell Mini 10 has Intel Poulsbo GN50 graphics, which aren't compatible with OS X like GMA 950. Still wishing I could get a screen resolution upgrade, but I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with Pixel Qi !

As for SIM card slots, I think I'll keep my other ML electronics SIM reader on hand in case I need to have the motherboard replaced at some point. I am happy to put the other ~10 SIM card readers I have in a bag and send 'em around. I think $20 would be a good fee. We can just keep sending them until they all get used.

If someone finds out that a Molex part works perfectly, let us know the part number.

Additionally, if someone knows how to crimp and shorten WIFI cables, please let me know!

 

BIOS Black List Against Sierra Wireless

I just upgraded the BIOS from 1.07 to 1.09 and the card no longer functions. Switching back to the Option card worked just fine. I will test BIOS 1.08 tomorrow. In addition to the auto-dim behavior, BIOS 1.09 also made the Option card on by default, whereas previously the switch had to be slid to enable the WWAN card. I'm relieved I won't have to buy a $100 GTM 380 on eBay. I know the D250 has a GTM 382; I wonder if there is a way to remove that check from the BIOS.

 

similar issue here on my d250, upgrading to 1.06 and now my sierra 881 doesn't detect unless i tape pin 20. downgrading back to 1.02 or 1.03 fix it either.