Empty Mini PCI-e on D250

I bought a AAO D250-1042 in the US. This model does not come with WWAN or Bluetooth. I flipped the netbook to upgrade the RAM and take a look to the other two upgradeable areas (HDD and WWAN). I note that there is an empty Mini PCI-e slot and I would like to put it in better use. I have been researching of what type of modules I can install. My options are:

1. TV Tuner- I found a Avermedia A312 TV Tuner.
2. Broadcom BCM-970012 HD Enhanced Video Accelerator
3. Azurewave has a GPS module (I haven't done in-depth research for this option)

Are there other alternatives in the Mini PCI-e format? I know that there is the option of installing a 3G modem, but I'm not interested in adding additional monthly costs to my life right now. Any suggestions are greatly appreaciated.

 

i just got my d250 today and was wondering the same....

1st i'm trying to find a mini pci card at work just to see if it's active! (nothing yet, but there's bound to be something)

a tv tuner sounds great, but after playing around a bit with video, the hd decoder sounds better...

 

I was able to get the avermedia A312 to work in the 3G slot of an AAO150, but the card to too tall to re-install the cover.

I could NOT get the HD decoder to work at all, tried different software and different drivers but got NO reduction in CPU's usage.

As far as GPS, the Sierra Wireless MC8781 has a great GPS built in and also is a 3G network adapter.

 

just tried a sierra wireless 881.... no luck.

something else may have to be done to get it to work, but i have no idea what.

a pic of the area on a d250 with the 3g option may be helpful to see as there is a jumper that is not connected there on mine (towards the front of the case).

granted, it could also be that a sim holder must be in place as well.

 

I bought the Broadcom HD video decoder and installed it, but the machine did not recognize the hardware. I have a question, can a Mini PCI-e slot be solely dedicated to work with one type of module (e.g. 3G modem)? If so, is there a way to convert it in a general slot to accept other type of modules?

 

could be somewhat possible.... on the older aao's it seems as if only usb based mini pci-e cards could be used. (could be wrong, but that's what it sounded like based on what i read)

i can care less about using it for 3g as i can tether my cell phone, but would like the option of adding something there.

 

someone in anothe post mentioned covering pin 20.... that did it for me and my 881. you can attempt to do that to see if it detects it then. if so, then great!

 

How can I identify pin 20 and to cover the pin do I need a 2.0 jumper cap?

 

well, a jumper seems not to be necessary, but taping pin 20 (there's a few pics on the board) or popping the wifi button off and chopping some of the left side of it so it will slide to the left will work!

all i need now is a sim card holder.... or do i... not sure yet.

 

I sawa couple of those picts, but am still trying to figure out which pin is pin 20. Anyway, just saw this on eBay, wonder if it would work on the D250.
[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/CF-SD-to...i.ebay.com/CF-SD-to-Mini-PCI-E ... 2ea9021bc9[/url]