make a mpcie to usb adapter (internal USB)

Hi guys,

I am very interested in hardware mods and saw that there was very few activity lately, for those who want a good read of has been already done, you can read this post from ejohnson.

the wwan mpcie connector is basically a USB in a mpcie shape, now would it be possible to just make a partical adapter so that I could hook a small USB device in there?
this guy did something that could easily be done on the m11x I think.

anyone tried to do something similar?

 

I cant seem to find it anymore but there was a debugging tool some company made that had a interface of a mpcie slot to usb plug. It was the right size to fit out wwan cards, and had a large space open to plug in a usb device.

Otherwise there are cards that they sell on ebay that go mpcie to usb, but its just bare wire usb.

Another thing you can do is to order a cable that goes from the mini pin connection for the webcam to USB. You will loose your webcam, but gain a internal USB plug for anything.

 

Here it is


EDIT, sorry, not the right card, but it looks jsut like this one.

The one I pictured uses not a usb plug for data, its like a hdmi cable or something.

 

Something like this would be great, but not sure if it will work due to the full mpci slot we have is a USB powered mpci.

It gives you a half height slot, usb slot, and a sim card slot (on the back of the card)

MM2U ( Half to Full minicard adapter ver1.2)




Looking more, I think it might actually work with the USB port that is our mpci slot.

This pictures shows it in a wwan slot (I think)

 

This place is a great resource for finding random crap you never thought you needed
www.HWtools.net ??????????

 

thanks, that's a lot of great imputs!
it seems this board also has a integrated circuit to provide the 5v required, actually it's quite amazing that it packs so many features.
It seems that you can still plug a half-mpcie card in parallel, for those who might want to keep their microSD mod

The USB port will need to be rerouted but it looks very promising, MM2U Ver 1.0a is just what I need, I might not resist buying this one!

the site you recommeneded is full of cool stuff for those who are courageous enough to search their way.

 

Well, its only 25 bucks, if it doesnt work, then no big loss.

 

Ok, so I couldn't wait more than 5 minutes before deciding to buy a bunch of stuff I wanted to test
- intel wifi 6300 card (will install a 3rd antenna, wifi 1000 is CRAP!)
- MM2U adapter
- MR15 sdhc card reader (to test if I can activate both MM2U and MR15 on the same port)

I have no self control.

will let you know when this is installed and if it works!

 

Keep us posted.

 

Ok so I just received my parts, did some testing yesterday and:
- intel 6300 works great (no surprise)
- MM2U adapter runs USB seamlessly
- MR15 microSD card reader works perfect

BUT

plugging MR15 and MM2U together disactivates USB and pcie altogether, taking each part individually works fine but combining the cards on the same slot disactivates both (what a shame).
Also, I think it will be a tad too thick for the cover lid to close correctly when both cards are stacked together, it will need some trimming.

I will concentrate on relocating the USB connector of the MM2U card I wonder why they mounted it like this, you can clearly see from the picture above that there is no way you can close your laptop after installing the card, will probably mount the microSD adapter in an other laptop if possible.

 

Try covering pin 20 on the mr15 card and installing it into the mm2u

 

I took a look at the pinout table on this site but couldn't figure out the functionnality of this pin "reserved".

I will try your trick tonight if I have the time. Can you explain what you have in mind regarding this trick?

 

Pin 20 is some sort of ID pin, covering it up auto turns on what ever is in that spot.

 

ok then, I will try this and see what it does!
If this works it will give me some work to fit everything inside and this means I might need to modify the bottom plate to cram everything inside (because I always want best of both worlds ).

 

Idea..

Cut a hole in the bottom of the case to fit the USB plug threw, then make a cooling pad with a single usb plug sticking out. Now you can have a cooling pad with a usb hub on it, that just simply drops under the computer.

 

interesting idea but making a hole to let the USB plug stick out will not do for everyday use, the USB connector protudes well over 6mm out of the case.
I won't be able to use my laptop on a flat surface anymore as the connector is higher than the feets.
will try to fiddle with this to see what can be done.

 

just looking at the picture might give a hint that this card was maybe not made for simultaneous use of the features, Cf. the word "OR" between the possible connections. Will try none the less

 

Hmmm, good point, but a USB controller should be able to run multiple USB items at once.

I guess you could always just remove the USB plug, solder on a small pig tail and then have a internal usb wire.... but you wont have much space in there.

I am trying to figure out how to integrate a USB tv tuner dongle using the webcam outlet, if I can get it to work then it might be another option for us to get a internal usb plug.

 

unfortunately I don't have the time to complete my tests until next weekend, will have to wait a bit!

 

Finished installing the internal USB card and the 3rd wifi antenna, I had to remove quite a lot of stuff from the adapter to fit it in the laptop but after some sweat and thinking, here are the pics:
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg62/scaled.php?server=62&filename=homephoto18nov11008.jpg&res=medium
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg17...1&filename=homephoto18nov11009.jpg&res=medium
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg44...4&filename=homephoto18nov11006.jpg&res=medium

3rd Wifi antenna is not in an optimal place but I didn't have the motivation to dismantle the whole laptop and the reception boost is there.
unifying receiver works fine.

I would call this a success

PS: I tested the microSD adapter with pin 20 insulated, no success and the bottom cover would not fit without a heavy modification so I just dropped the idea of fitting both cards.