Database Develop

Custom steel and plexi desktop dock - $5 easy DIY!

Just something I played around with, feel free to make your own and improvise...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Features:
-substantial, industrial materials
-access to all controls (yes, even volume)
-integrated charging cord
Required tools:
-utility knife/olfa
-screwdriver
-drill
-some kind of superglue
Materials:
-4.5" heavy-duty steel hinge ($1.50 like-new at Urban Ore)
-4.5" x 3" x 1/4" piece of Lexan or Plexiglass ($2 or less, TAP Plastics)
-2 rubber feet (~1in deep, ~1/2"diameter) ($1.50, OSH)
-2 small wood screws with finishing washers, a few tacks (cost negligible)
-(optional) 90-degree MicroUSB cord (Prices vary - I have one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AR4NC8/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title)
Loose DIY Guidelines (no guarantees, do your own measuring!)
1) Slice a 1/4" disk off the bottom of each rubber foot with the knife.
2) In one of the foot pieces, carve out a slot for the usb cable so the metal prong sits flush with the surface, secure with tacks and glue.
3) Drill holes in plexiglass and rubber disks slightly smaller than wood screws.
4) Line up and screw together as shown in picture, putting glue between the rubber pieces and the plexiglass. (Screw > Washer > Hinge > Rubber Disk > Plexiglass > Rubber foot) and you're done.

Nice, functional, industrial and easy to make

care to sell me 2 of these? thanks.

I'll PP you 15 bucks if I Can buy one..
I'm lazy...

Knether said:
I'll PP you 15 bucks if I Can buy one..
I'm lazy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aw c'mon, you guys can't be *that* lazy ... I'm not selling them, just sharing what I did in the hope I'd inspire some other people to do the same (or one-up me...)

That is awesome... and it's collapsible!

Yes, yes I am *that* lazy.. I'm not good with my hands in building things, nor finding parts like that. I rather just pay somebody to do it.
Now, it was a computer, and programing a program in C# or in Java, then I'd do it.. lol

Very impressive! I'm going to have to try this out.

DR Fankenstein would be proud!! I think it may need some knockers though.

Very nice. Now I have a project. Gonna try to find all the parts at home depot. Thanks
Sent from my HTC Incredible

Spray paint the metal base black and it'd be pretty sexy

WhosToBlame said:
Very nice. Now I have a project. Gonna try to find all the parts at home depot. Thanks
Sent from my HTC Incredible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know if you find the parts at home depot - the sources in the OP are too expensive if ordered through the mail, and I live in the middle of nowhere.
Especially let me know if they cut plexiglass!

Finally got around to making a couple of these for me and my wife. Each one cost about $15 (purchased all supplies except micro USB at local giant home store), with the plexiglass driving the price by far. If you have access to cheap plexiglass then you can make them for much cheaper. Or if you make a bunch of them the price goes down quickly (had to buy a large sheet of plexi).
The only modification that I made from the OP instructions is that the rubber foot without the USB cable mounted has a larger woodscrew in it and is not glued.
See attachment.
Keep in mind it helps to have a ROM that will rotate the screen, i.e. non-stock. Didn't realize this when I built my wife's, so hers mounts sideways. Oh well.

I am not trying to sell anything, but I have purchased another guys cradle via:
androidforums. com/incredible-accessories/ 132210-custom-made-incredible-dock-15 .html
Still cannot post links yet so sorry, but I added spaces to the link above to get it posted here.. Sorry..
Its actually very nice. My only gripe with it is that it is very very light... So light then when I pull my phone out, the whole cradle wants to lift up.. So, I milled four holes (one into each foot) and added magnets... Now it stays put on my metal shelf.
What you have done though is fantastic. Its nice and simple but still has a great look about it. Nice job!

i luvit...

Very simple and effective. I like it!
Thanks for sharing

I finally made one too
It took me some time to get all the parts (micro-usb cable was on backorder) but i think it came out pretty decent.

Awesome job man. Very creative.

Beautiful job! I'd buy one of those if you were selling.

Kudos, sweet idea and excellent execution. A rare combination for do-it-youselfers, I luvit too.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Dock (quick) Teardown notes

This is my first post and already I see that this has been posted to the forums. But the deed is done so I'd like to share my thoughts anyway. -Unfortunately I just found out that I'm not allowed to link to the pics until post #8 so maybe I'll come back and post them later. Anyway...
I'm in the process of integrating a galaxy tab into my car's dash and needed a way to power it, have usb access, and get audio off simultaneously. The stock RCA adapter doesn't have a charging mechanism or USB. But the dock seems to cover all the bases with charging capability, 30 pin connector, and audio line out (I won't be using the HDMI). I ordered one and promptly cracked it open.
This picture (would) show the top case (if I could post the pic), the guts and the rubber mat that I peeled off the bottom. Much to my surprise it was screwed together with actual screws and just popped right open.
At first I thought the big metal thing was a shield but I think its mainly there as a weight. The weight helps to make the device feel more solid but really its the same plastic you find anywhere.
As for my project, I need to extend the section that connects to the tab. That section is attached with a standard 12 pin ribbon cable that I can easily solder on wires or make an FPC-FPC cable extender if I'm feeling fancy

TunaCanyon said:
-Unfortunately I just found out that I'm not allowed to link to the pics until post #8 so maybe I'll come back and post them later. Anyway....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very interested in seeing this. I think I can post photos if you would like to PM or e-mail a link or the photos to me.
.

I think I'm good now. Here are the pics
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
If anyone needs this, disassembly is very easy. Just peel off the rubber bottom and expose the 4 small phillips screws. Use a knife or very thin flat blade to separate the bottom plate from the cover. There are 2 tabs on each side holding it together. If you force the top outwards on the long side you can disconnect them and start to wiggle it out. Be careful not to damage the connectors since they portrude through the top housing. After that its just some tape on the shield/weight, 3 more screws and you're done!

TunaCanyon said:
This is my first post and already I see that this has been posted to the forums. But the deed is done so I'd like to share my thoughts anyway. -Unfortunately I just found out that I'm not allowed to link to the pics until post #8 so maybe I'll come back and post them later. Anyway...
I'm in the process of integrating a galaxy tab into my car's dash and needed a way to power it, have usb access, and get audio off simultaneously. The stock RCA adapter doesn't have a charging mechanism or USB. But the dock seems to cover all the bases with charging capability, 30 pin connector, and audio line out (I won't be using the HDMI). I ordered one and promptly cracked it open.
This picture (would) show the top case (if I could post the pic), the guts and the rubber mat that I peeled off the bottom. Much to my surprise it was screwed together with actual screws and just popped right open.
At first I thought the big metal thing was a shield but I think its mainly there as a weight. The weight helps to make the device feel more solid but really its the same plastic you find anywhere.
As for my project, I need to extend the section that connects to the tab. That section is attached with a standard 12 pin ribbon cable that I can easily solder on wires or make an FPC-FPC cable extender if I'm feeling fancy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious to see how this comes out. Please post pics when you can. I personally don't want to dock it because it means I have to take it out of my case each time and have though about just taking the dock apart so that all I would have to do is plug in the connector and be able to leave it in the case at the same time.

i have a galaxy tab in my car.
The solution for it was the standard samsung car dock, which has input for the included car charger.
The audio is provided via bluetooth to the car through Blackberry Stereo Audio Gateway, meaning that to my AUX in jack in my car i have hooked up this device which is also powerd up via USB and the music from samsung plays through bluetooth to my AUX in.
This was by far the cleanest setup i could do. there are no hanging wires or visible wires involved.

My plan is to take it up a notch. I want to tap in to my car's instrument bus and be able to reset the trip counter/mileage/etc and control the tab with the steering wheel buttons. It'll be a couple months before that happens...
Anyway, I ordered a bunch of stuff from digikey to extend the ribbon cable without having to cut anything.

very interested in this. any progress ?

Another thread resurrection
I note that the PCB has some solder pads on it saying Gnd, Tx and Rx, I don't suppose you (or anyone else) has had a look to see what these are connected to?
I'm just wondering if these are connected to the serial lines as it would be a lot easier to solder to these than the innards of a chopped up cable.
Anyone tried this?

Amazing project!! Great info
Sent from my EVO 4G Supersonic

Xperia Play Car Dock, impatience and a spare Droid Car Dock

So it worked out for me.
My previous phone was a Droid and I would always mount it on my windshield with the Motorola brand mount. So I grew tired of having my Play just sitting in the cup holder or on the seat and did some work.
I cut up the piece that my Droid phone docked on to
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
front piece that came from the ebay case for the XP on the left
rear pic of the phone dock part already stuck to the rear piece of the ebay case
a front shot of the Rear ebay piece and the arm of the Motorola Car Mount
Mitch alltogether
I used "Contact Stik" Heavy Duty adhesive strips from Home Depot to mount the dock that I cut up to the rear case. Feels really sturdy already, I'm sure once it sets more it will only come off with excessive force. I shook the phone around with it mounted to the arm and it didn't fall out, so everything's good so far.
About the case not being easily removable from the phone: I sanded the small tabs that clip on to the phone so it's easier to remove, if you do this make sure you don't sand too much or the case will no longer clip on to the phone causing the case to come off easily, or if you mount it like I did the phone to fall out of the case.
So to summerize, I used
Ebay Case
Motorola Car Mount for Droid
a small hacksaw
and some heavy duty adhesive
Now to see how the adhesive holds up against 100 degree Texas heat tomorrow. Will post results.
PS: the droid mount has a tiny magnet in it that you may want to remove if you do this, it's behind the loose door of the dock. The magnet activates the car mode in the droid, I took it out because I don't want to run the risk of the magnet messing up my XP.

Nice work,
I found this http://www.sonyxperiaplayaccessories.com/sony-ericsson-xperia-play-vent-mount-oem-14013.html
but it is for air vents not windscreens.

Nice mod!
I've never had the need to mount my phone to the car. May I ask what benefit this is to you?
I think it would be good for GPS and calling.

bigsky2 said:
Nice mod!
I've never had the need to mount my phone to the car. May I ask what benefit this is to you?
I think it would be good for GPS and calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like not having my phone rolling around while driving, great for when I'm using navigation because it's in my view while driving, also I listen to music and podcast apps A LOT and it's easier to reach out in front of me than fumbling with my phone in the cup holder. Just basic convenience
On a "doh!" note, I sanded a little too much of the clip and the phone fell off while I was driving on a rough road, lol. I ordered another $5 case and will try not to sand so much of the clipping part this time around, or maybe not sand it at all. I checked in on it during lunch and the adhesive has held up to the heat. So I'll just have to replace the case and use another strip of adhesive. Oh well.

typikal82 said:
I like not having my phone rolling around while driving, great for when I'm using navigation because it's in my view while driving, also I listen to music and podcast apps A LOT and it's easier to reach out in front of me than fumbling with my phone in the cup holder. Just basic convenience
On a "doh!" note, I sanded a little too much of the clip and the phone fell off while I was driving on a rough road, lol. I ordered another $5 case and will try not to sand so much of the clipping part this time around, or maybe not sand it at all. I checked in on it during lunch and the adhesive has held up to the heat. So I'll just have to replace the case and use another strip of adhesive. Oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very nice car dock!
I m just using the DK300 media dock as the car dock
the only down side is the screen lock itself after a phone call, and unlock during portrait is hard. cos there's no landscape lockscreen unless I slide open the joypad.

Nicely Done
You should mass produce this.

not to dig up an old thread but something like this:
http://www.cellphoneshop.net/playholster.html might have a little more gentle release to it. Just cut the swivel clip off and away you go. I think I'm gonna try it!

I attached a lot of Blue Tack to the bottom of the dock, Works perfect, Does not fall out either.

Disable magnetic switch?

I have a case with magnet to launch/suspend my Nexus. It also has the nice possibility to flip the front to the back. But unfortunately the magnet seems to be sufficiently strong enough to switch even in this position (from the back side). Any idea on how to prevent this? Some "magnetic isolation" from the backside?
Thanks!

I'd need to see a pic of the case really.
However with my old case I snapped the pointy bits off of some drawing pins by treading them in to the kitchen floor & lined them up in a square two across, two down. Then I wrapped it in aluminium foil and put sticky tape around it. Then I stuck the little square between my Nexus 7 case & the back of my Nexus 7. It worked perfectly & I still had the sleep function.

You might just want to replace the magnet with a weaker one if you can get to it easily
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

It is this case:
http://www.amazon.de/Schutzhülle-Fu...UTF8&colid=D0Y9AZ5AA2ME&coliid=I14S1WK45KAPCD
@Rock-&-Roll-Hedgehog: I didn't fully understand your instructions. But basically you suggest, that aluminium foil at the back of the nexus will reduce the magnetic field?
Thanks for your answers!

Guntram said:
It is this case:
http://www.amazon.de/Schutzhülle-Fu...UTF8&colid=D0Y9AZ5AA2ME&coliid=I14S1WK45KAPCD
@Rock-&-Roll-Hedgehog: I didn't fully understand your instructions. But basically you suggest, that aluminium foil at the back of the nexus will reduce the magnetic field?
Thanks for your answers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I got some drawing pins like these
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
bash off the pointy bits you only want the heads. Lay them in a two by two configuration and wrap them in aluminium foil. I think the drawing pins are made from copper but don't quote me. You buy them at any stationers for a pound or so (couple of dollars for a big box). They then seem to shield the back from the magnetic field.
PS Guntram are you German? You need Reißzwecke, metal ones no plastic.

Thanks for the advice!
I've used the botton of a tea candle now. Still not sure thought, wether its the material or just the "size" of the object - but it works!

Any sort of "thick enough, big enough" piece of metal will diffuse the magnetic field. So your bit of metal from the bottom of the candle was enough. Aluminum foil would most likely work if you fold it enough times.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

bsoplinger said:
Aluminum foil would most likely work if you fold it enough times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't there need to be some iron in there?
Hedgehog's drawing pin solution is pretty clever. Could you tell me whereabouts in the case 'tray' you placed them? Save me a bunch of trial and error by giving me a starting point.

formicae said:
Doesn't there need to be some iron in there?
Hedgehog's drawing pin solution is pretty clever. Could you tell me whereabouts in the case 'tray' you placed them? Save me a bunch of trial and error by giving me a starting point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Iron no, metal yes. Actually any conductive material would work.
As far as location goes, try about 3/4 inch up and 1.5 in from the bottom right corner when held in landscape orientation with the USB port to the right and power switch and volume up.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

bsoplinger said:
Iron no, metal yes. Actually any conductive material would work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Conductors that are neither ferromagnetic nor paramagnetic have no effect on static magnetic fields... other than changing the distance involved which will reduce the field stregth; otoh a thick hunk of paper or plastic would do the same thing. Excellent conductors (gold, silver, platinum) can effect rapidly changing magnetic fields due to induced eddy currents, but that doesn't apply here.
But don't take my word for it - take two small permanent magnets and some aluminum foil, and see if the Al foil changes how they attract each other any differently than paper of the same thickness.
The poster that used thumbtack heads succeeded either because the additional thickness decreased the mag field below the switch latch threshold, or more likely the tack heads had some iron in them. (Probably not nickel, manganese or other exotics)
A thin shim of Mu-Metal would work, or something ferrous would work too - possibly a shim of anything sufficiently thick would also do the trick.
cheers

[MOD][Q] Maximum protection from physical impact

I spend a lot of time imaging the best possible protection for my Note 2.
Those tasks are listed:
1. Best possible case.
2. Get rid of hardware keys usage.
3. No USB cable.
4. Wireless charge.
Solutions are those, but anyone are welcome to suggest anything better.
1. Genuine Otterbox Defender case.
Most of us know that hard case with built-in screen protector. Well done, Otterbox! You already saved my phones few times, Note 2 included.
2. No hardware keys at all. Possible or not?
In Note 2 we can activate the sleeping phone with GlanceView. This built-in feature makes me jump!
Other buttons are well virtualized with Button Savior or similar software.
OK, we cannot turn on the phone when it fully off. Let it that way for now.
3. No USB cable. We want to preserve the microUSB connector as long as possible.
Three sub-tasks:
3.1. Charging. See p.p. 4.
3.2. ADB. You can use wireless ADB, works pretty well.
3.3. File transfer. I recently discovered WiFi Transfer software and $2 is nothing too much.
4. Wireless charge.
This is definitely the most difficult task.
Let sub-task it also this way:
4.1. Wireless charging without the Otterbox Defender.
Easily done in many ways, usually with Palm Wireless charger, about $20 on eBay, and ready to use or self-made charging back cover/antenna. There are many topics on XDA and other forums, don;t want to bother you reading another one.
4.2. Making Otterbox Defender 'compatible' with wireless charging.
I decided to cut a circular hole in the back of the Defender Otterbox. The most difficult here is to correctly position the hole when we cannot be sure about as soon as no charging obtained through the thick plastic and rubber.
Now the tricky part. I could not make photos during the whole process, so going to try to explain the steps as detailed as possible.
-------------------
Step 1.
Obtain some cheap thin semi-hard case like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130793094841?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
Put it on, position the phone on the wireless charger and make it operational.
Mark the plastic around the charger antenna.
Remove the case.
Step 2.
Use small scissors or knife to cut the hole in the plastic case. Put the case on the phone again and verify the position of antenna.
I wasn't sure in myself so had to buy two cases but succeeded with the first one.
Step 3.
Put the plastic case into the back half of the Otterbox Defender with the rubber on. So the plastic case with the hole is like a back cover of the Note.
Mark the circle around on the internal surface of the back half of the Defender.
Step 4.
Measure the diameter of the antenna. Mine was 55.4mm. I considered the radius about 28mm.
Use a kind of compass-caliper (if you finished your high school in XX century like me, you should know what is it) to draw a perfect 28mm radius circle on paper. Mark the center and cut.
Step 5
Put the paper disk into the hole so you can mark the center of the hole on the back half of the Defender.
Step 6
Cutting the Defender back half and rubber with 55mm head (I used this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/150957856573?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)
Watch you eyes, hands and other valuable part of your body. Keep kids and noncombatants off.
Step 7
Use a sharp knife to clean the hole from the plastic and rubber residue, also clean what left from the cutting. We will need the plastic disk and the rubber one also later.
Step 8.
Verify the charging is OK., I succeeded in the very first attempt.
Step 9. Unfinished.
Sorry, but this step is 'under construction'. The idea was to use the plastic and rubber disks as s cover for the hole when not charging.
Still in development stage.
Very chaotic yeah? And no photos.
Well, I was temporary disabled with one working hand (right) and one working leg (left). To much free time made me extremely constructive.
So I didn't risk to hold DSLR in my hand.
Now I'm more or less recovered even allowed to drive. So photos will be added ASAP.
Also I'm more than happy to listen any critics and suggestions how to do it better/simpler or why not to do it at all.

Plastic case (original and with the hole cut)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
1982 year old caliper made in the USSR for military R&D
Otterbox Defender with the hole cut
Charging...
Plastic and rubber disks (glued) to form a cover. 'Under construction'.