Blank Spots On MB

First off, Id like to thank everyone whos put together threads detailing their hacks and whatnot - they have been a wealth of information ever since I first bought my AAO.

I am a student, and Im in school to become an Electrical Engineering Technologist, so it should go without saying that I love taking things apart, figuring out how they work, and improving on them as I see fit. Needless to say, the AAO has become a fun toy to play with. 30 minutes after I purchased it I had it in pieces on my living room table. After playing around and installing Windows on it, I decided Id like to swap out the (garbage) SSD for an 80gb iPod hard drive. Ive got a new ZIF cable on the way as mine is too thick to mate with the hard drive. Next up, Ive got an MMCX -> RP-SMA adapter on the way, so I can add a slightly larger antenna to the (already great, chipset wise) built-in wireless.

However, having closely inspected the motherboard, Ive noticed some blank spots, and for me, this means things to play around with and add. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, as all I have at the moment is a camera phone. I have highlighted four things, most of which I have figured out, but it never hurts to have more info about the board, and who knows, maybe this thread will turn into a sticky detailing all the blank spots where things can be added .




1 - Mini PCIe connector - Suitable adaptor - Requires L24 to be jumpered for power - Not a complete PCIe connector (doesnt have PCI bus wires connected)
2 - RAM Slot (512mb onboard - Max 1GB in the slot) - SO-DIMM Connector
3 - SATA Connector (Anyone have a good shot of the pinout?) - Requires R364 to be jumpered for power
4 - SIM Holder - Pinout - Suitable adaptor - Requres pin 2 or 5 of the IC footprint to be jumpered to pin 2 (counting from the left) of the SIM holder for power
5 - USB Connector - Pinout - Pins 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are not used.

My guide to installing the SIM holder and mPCI-e connector

Anyone have any info that may be helpful to me, or some ideas on what I can do with #'s 1, 3, and 4? Thanks in advance!

EDIT 1 - Thanks to tnkgirl for the pinout for #4 - changed my description a bit
EDIT 2 - Is it possible to jumper C43 for power instead of jumpering from the IC? The trace from pin 2 follows along to C43, which is blank (but I dont have a multimeter to check atm)
EDIT 5 - I havent tested other than with a multimeter, but it seems as though jumpering C43 would work, as the live side is connected to pins 2 and 5, and the cold side is connected to pin 2 of the SIM slot
EDIT 3 - Thanks to m1ke420 on flickr for the SIM holder
EDIT 4 - Thanks to jerryt for the usb pinout and the PCIe connector info

Kind of unfortunate - this forum seems to be a wealth of information, and Ive had 70+ views and not a single reply - do the helpful people just not say anything?

 

Well, I completed my first couple of mods, an extra gig of RAM and an 80GB 6th gen iPod hard drive:


I couldnt get the stock ZIF cable to plug into the drive so I ordered this and it worked great. Stay tuned, there's more on the way as things arrive.

 

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=13518&p=85007#p85018

Google "SATA pin out", the order of connections on the motherboard is the same as the pins on the hard drive.

Again, viewtopic.php?f=43&t=13518&p=85007#p85018

2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are not used. They don't connect to anything.

 

Thanks for the reply! Ill add a note about the unused usb connections. What are you linking to? Just ideas as to what to put in them?

 

How To install mPCIe and Sim connectors, wiring pin outs, and source of parts.

 

Is the mPCI-e connector ONLY for a 3G modem? I tried plugging the wireless card into it but it didn't show up in the device manager. I tested all the pins with a multimeter and made sure L24 was jumpered.

 

On the AOA110 / 150 the 3G connector only has provisions for USB devices like the Sierra Wireless MC8781.

The PCI bus wires are not connected to the 3G connector on the AOA110 / 150, so it is not a fully functioning mPCIe slot. Since a WiFi card is a PCI bus device you will not be able to get it to work.

Currently all the available PCI bus connections are in use on the AOA110 / 150, so making a fully functioning mPCIe slot would be difficult.

 

Ahh okay that makes perfect sense then. Thanks!

Also, does the modem NEED an antenna, or does that just help in low-signal conditions?

 

The factory 3G models have dual HSDPA antennas, and yes at least one antenna is required.