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***If this does not belong here I appologize, and feel free to move this if necessary. I just figured the development community is most likely to take this "upgrade" on***
After seeing that someone used Palm's wireless charger on their non-palm phone; I decided to put one on my Droid Incredible.
***This was done to a completely stock Dinc. I did not use any special back, and the stock back gets to stay on (unlike in the other video that I saw)
Wireless Charging the Droid Incredible
**Disclaimer: This will void your warranty, and if you solder something wrong will probably break your phone. With that said I can in no way be held accountable for anything that occurs while performing this “upgrade” to your phone.
>>>>If anyone knows where I can buy that little void sticker that you will see in a picture below, please let me know! If we can get that sticker then our warranty is not voided by doing this.
Supplies:
1.Palm touchstone charger http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/handheld/categories/palm/4/accessories/FB300AA%23AC3
2.Palm touchstone phone back http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/FB306AA%23AC3?
3.Micro USB cable
4.Soldering Iron (the finer the tip on this the better)
5.Torx T6 screw driver
6.Safe pry tool (or a small flat head screwdriver)
7.Very tiny insulated wires (I just pulled mine out of a USB cable that I cut up)
8.Electrical Tape
9.[Optional] Multimeter to test that you actually made a good connection
How To (Images are of a higher quality (12mp) so I had to stick them in zip files to get them on here):
1.The palm touchstone phone back has a sticker inside of it that encases the wireless charging receiver, so you need to peel this off. Once it is peeled off it will look like this (without the wires soldered onto it):
(Images can be seen in: Palm Receiver.7z)
2.Remove the battery cover and the battery then unscrew the back from your phone (please view a tare down video for details, there are plenty of them on you tube that I used for a reference.)
1.All you need is a torx t6 screwdriver and a safe pry tool, I used a small flat head screwdriver and it worked just fine. Unscrew the 4 screws around the sides and then carefully pry off every place that the battery cover clips on, as they also hold on the red back.
(Images can be seen in: Dinc Inside.7z)
3.Solder on some wires to the USB connector as shown in the below image without soldering onto the pins next to them. This is difficult and takes some time and patience, since these connectors are very small and close (note the polarity in the image, notated in red).
A.Also it is necessary to place a piece of electrical tape over the components right next to the connector (Green box in the image) as they will short out the power and make it impossible to charge your phone if you do not (I found that out the hard way and went back and fixed it).
B.One final note here is that I had to melt down the red phone backing inside to allow the cables to get past the case. See the green rectangle in the image above for where I had to do that. I just used my soldering iron and melted it down, it makes a pretty nice indention for the wires to fit through.
(Images can be seen in: Dinc USB.7z)
4.Now push out the rubber plug in the red phone backing next to the USB cover (this is encircled in Green in the image from step 2).
A.Run the cables that you just solder on through that so that they are sticking through to the battery compartment on your phone.
B.You can also stick on the palm receiver to the inside of your phone cover (note the direction and placement, as this is necessary to close your cover).
3.Note that I placed electrical tape over the wires. This was necessary to keep them from breaking off of the USB connector since the solder points are so small.
(Images can be seen in: Almost Done.7z)
5.Solder on the wires to the palm charger receiver and you are done. Now you just need to carefully place the wires towards the middle of the phone so that you can close the back of your phone entirely (this is another reason why the wires need to be small).
A.Note the polarity of the connection.
B.Also I put a piece of electrical tape over the connections on the palm charger receiver to protect them (not shown in the image).
(Images can be seen in: Wireless Charger.7z)
Here is a video of the end product and how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOMVJ-vmWpg
Also I just verified that my compass is working without any problems.
This could be truly amazing. I can't wait to see more.
ThugEsquire said:
This could be truly amazing. I can't wait to see more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its been done with the Evo, but don't know anyone who did it with the Inc.
http://www.goodandevo.net/2010/06/h...rk-with-palm-touchstone-wireless-charger.html
Sounds really nice. Not gonna try it with mine because I'm too scared
Though shouldn't this be in accessories or general?
What are you doing to align the coils? My biggest concern that's kept me from this is the magnets also would mess up the compass sensors readings which I for one actually value.
Wow, you managed to bring me out of my months of silence in posting...
I feel honored that I can get you out of your months of silence
The coil alignment is handled by the magnets inside of the palm touchstone charger itself (the base unit that plugs into the wall). The metal objects that you can see in the "Palm Receiver.7z" file are actually not magnets, but small circular pieces of metal that get pulled towards the charger base when you get them close to each other. So when you have the phone off of the charger, there are no magnets to mess with anything
Also you will notice that there is a piece of metal behind the coil, and that seems to block the inductive signal all together (because I tried to put it on backwards to no avail). Therefore your phone is mostly protected from the inductive transmission.
The only thing that I noticed, is that the touchscreen on the phone is a little weird when it is on the charger, but I see the same side effects when plugging the phone into a "non-htc" charger (before performing this "upgrade"). **I also saw this on my Moto Droid when connecting it to a 1 amp charger, and I have seen this with multiple other touchscreen devices so I think it just has something to do with the frequency of the charger.
Also in case of any concerns: MY PHONE HAS IN NO WAY BEEN DAMAGED BY THIS "UPGRADE"
pianoplayer said:
Sounds really nice. Not gonna try it with mine because I'm too scared
Though shouldn't this be in accessories or general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah, it probably should be, and may get moved (which is perfectly fine by me). I put it in here because I am a developer and much more likely to do this, so I figured the development community would be more interested.
ThugEsquire said:
This could be truly amazing. I can't wait to see more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mentioned that you can't wait to see more....?
What more would you like to see? I am happy to add to the posts, but just not sure what further details you would like to see.
nevetsvsx said:
Also in case of any concerns: MY PHONE HAS IN NO WAY BEEN DAMAGED BY THIS "UPGRADE"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I trust your method, I just don't trust my shaky hands
BTW there is a multi quote button so you dont have to do a separate post for each reply
I have a rubber case on my Dinc... would I need to remove it for charging?
___________________________________
Yup.... The ones yoe momma told ya about.... Bad Seed Customs!!
I think you will be ok if it is one of those thin (about 1mm thick) rubber cases. Anything thicker than that and you would probably have to install the wireless receiver on the case itself and remove your battery cover all together.
I tested a thin rubber case that I have (no more than 1mm thick I think) that fits a Droid Eris and it charges as long as its flush to the back of my phone.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Wow, this is amazing, very well done. I think this is the first hard mod I've heard of for an Android. I guess gold cards were a sorta gray area.
I've had my Incredible modded to work with a Touchstone since around June of last year. It works great, but I must caution anyone thinking of doing this to be VERY careful. Experience with soldering and a steady hand is a must. One could fairly easily mess up their phone attempting to do this.
Could you do this with a powermat if you wanted to? I have a few laying around I could use.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Paul600k5 said:
Could you do this with a powermat if you wanted to? I have a few laying around I could use.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, if you wanna take apart one of those generic receivers and try to fit it inside your phone!
nevetsvsx said:
You mentioned that you can't wait to see more....?
What more would you like to see? I am happy to add to the posts, but just not sure what further details you would like to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I originally meant was pictures. But now that you've added them and I've seen the glory, this mod is really quite impressive and I'm thrilled you shared it with us. But now that I think about it, could this also do USB wirelessly? That would be pretty amazing.
ThugEsquire said:
What I originally meant was pictures. But now that you've added them and I've seen the glory, this mod is really quite impressive and I'm thrilled you shared it with us. But now that I think about it, could this also do USB wirelessly? That would be pretty amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the transmission of data wirelessly is achieved through modulated EM waves. This is simple inductance: a changing electric field creates a magnetic field, a changing magnetic field generates an electric field, so a current carrying loop placed near another loop of wire will induce current in the other loop. The receiver in the phone is engineered to "create" the "proper" amount current to charge your battery when combined with the base. In theory yes, but not with this equipment.
How does the phone treat a USB cable being plugged in - will it charge ok, and have your data transfer rates been adversely effected? I wouldn't think so, since you're only touching the power...
Mr. Spontaneous said:
How does the phone treat a USB cable being plugged in - will it charge ok, and have your data transfer rates been adversely effected? I wouldn't think so, since you're only touching the power...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used the USB charger and data transfer cables without any problems at all. Also I have copied some files off of my phone to my PC since the "upgrade" and did not notice any extended times or anything that would remotely make me think something was wrong.
I did not run a speed test before and after to see if anything slowed down, but as you said we are only touching the power pins, so I highly doubt anything has changed.
I picked up this color changing USB hub from Radio Shack for $5 and it has a storage area that fits an HD2 perfectly.
I can't post a link so just google "Radio shack color changing 4 port hub" and you'll find it.
After looking at the nice fit I thought it would be easy to put a usb cable in the bottom of the compartment, so I could use it as a docking/charging station.
It's only held together by one screw in the storage compartment and then a couple pieces of double stick tape, so it was easy to open up. After taking it apart I held the phone next to it and marked where the USB port on the phone was using the dry marker that came with it. It had to be placed in the front corner of the storage compartment because of the circuit board directly underneath that storage compartment.
After marking it out I used a dremel rotary tool to put a hole in it, but I think a drill bit would have worked just as well. Then I put the USB jack in the hole so that it stood about a half inch off the bottom of the storage compartment. I took a sharp knife and trimmed those ring like pieces of plastic on the back of the usb jack off so that it was possible to put a 90 degree bend in the cable to fit it in the hub. Then I also put a small hole in the back edge and ran the cable out and plugged it into the hub.
It fits well with the stock rubber cover on the phone, or no cover on your phone, but I don't think it would fit very well if your case was much bigger than the stock case.
The dry marker that comes with the hub doesn't fit in the hole any longer, and you can't reach the buttons on your phone, but the button problem could be fixed by having the jack stand 1" off the bottom instead of the 1/2" I used.
Great job!!
Cool! Could you please measure the opening dimensions? I'm wondering if my HD2 in Otterbox Defender might fit inside?
Nice, if only we could get them in Australia.
Thx outstanding mod/hack. On my way to rat shack today thanks to your brilliant idea
Sent from tin can with string.
I know this post is quite useless. I just wanted to vent out my frustration.
I just got off the phone with a B&N rep after 20 minutes of talking--because the rep kept beating around the bush and kept placing me on hold--and was told that I needed to callback on Monday to get the tracking no. for my 2nd--yup, this happened twice before--USB cable replacement. Yup, it broke again like the first one I got included with the NC--SIMPLY BECAUSE OF IT'S POOR QUALITY.
In generic micro USB cables, you would notice that most of them are made of rubber material, especially the one covering the tiny metal tip that you insert on the device's USB port, which makes them quite durable. Even if you bend it intentionally multiple times, the metal tip will not be affected that much. Only downside is, it doesn't fast charge the NC. In my experience, it takes a day and a half (about 36 hours) to be able to charge the NC fully. And yup, my NC is now turned off for a week (and counting).
The NC's stock USB cable however is made out of a gloss plastic material, probably to give way to the LED? light indicator? Downside is, it gets cracked/chipped off easily whether it was done unintentionally or not, because of the plastic material not being 'hard' enough, and that's where most NC owners like me are getting pissed off.
You have to be very careful whenever you charge the NC--you need to make sure that it's on a flat surface, not on a surface where it can sink itself say for example, a foam bed, so that the cable will not 'sink' with it in and put pressure on the metal tip, finally chipping off the plastic coating.
Do you guys know of any alternative that can fast-charge the NC like it's stock USB cable? Does anyone have the ability to modify the NC's stock USB cable to coat it with rubber or something to make it more durable?
I'm sure there are others who are experiencing these things. Hope we can gather around and start a discussion about getting a permanent fix. Maybe rally at a local B&N store or something, I dunno.
Well, a cheap and quick bit would be to wrap it with electrical tape. If you have an electronics store or Radio shack carrying it, there is also something called shrink tubing. this is a rubberish tube that when carefully heated with a heat gun (not a blow dryer) or a lighter, will shrink down around wires, or plastic.
But, I am rather annoyed with this serious design flaw as well. Would be nice if B&N either recalled these cables with a properly designed one, or get a 3rd party available to handle that.
I was thinking of reinforcing the plug end of the cable by encasing it in a big wad of epoxy putty.
epoxy putty usually cures to something a bit too brittle for what this really needs. As the OP said, the plastic on the plugs are really way too brittle for what it's meant for. other than those things, the other option I can think of is some of that latex dip sold in some hardware stores, or sex shops. wrap the metal bit in tape, then give it a few dips, let it cure, then carefully cut the tape off. instant rubberized plug. could even carefully cut an indicator window for the charge light.
heat shrink tubing sounds best. will try that. you can get it from home depot or lowes. get the multiple size package. it is really best to use a heat gun. if you dont know what your doing and use a lighter you will burn right through the heat shrink.
It sounds like you might be looking for Sugru. It hardens to a rubbery flexible consistency. There's also a how to floating around the web on making your own using caulk and ...baking soda? I think?
For that matter, a flexible clear caulk might do the trick.
I was thinking that RTV silicone (downside is long cure time) or maybe hot melt glue would be worth a try. Either one would be translucent enough to see the LED color. The Sugru looks interesting, although opaque like heat shrink tubing.
You could probably use something like Scotch Coat (more or less liquid electrical tape..) or plasti-dip perhaps?
*I'm still waiting on my NC to arrive. So, I'm not sure exactly which portion of the connector you're talking about. If it's the entire outside portion that is typically metal... this is normally a chasis ground which equalizes the chasis potential between the NC and whatever it's plugged into..., and really shouldn't be coated with anything
I ordered this off Amazon with the intent of fixing several things in my house. I was going to use the clear for the tip of the charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027JIEPU
I think the shame of it is that all they had to do was use a strain relief sleeve like one of there:
Using the shrink tubing-
1. make sure you get a size large enough to get around the connection end.
2. Measure out a length. you want at least from the bottom of the N light to about 1/2 inch past the nub where the cord goes into the connector.
3. Slip the tube into place
4. Using a heat gun or lighter, carefully shrink the tube into place (NOTE: with a lighter, keep the flame moving, don't let it linger too long or you'll melt something)
5. If the resulting reinforcement doesn't seem enough, feel free to add another layer or 2.
WHAT DOES THIS ACCOMPLISH?
Well, most of the failure pictures I have seen, as well as the failed cord of my own, it seems the plastic is too friable (meaning it cracks really easy) to handle the stresses put on it at that end. Most of the cracks and fractures take place below the N, towards the cable side of the connection.
By adding this, it not only adds a semi flexible reinforcement around where it likes to crack up, it also stiffens and immobilizes a stretch of the cable, relieving a little of the stress that can happen in that part.
While other things might do the trick, and even electrical tape could do, this tubing is about the best option I've seen so far.
Srilania said:
While other things might do the trick, and even electrical tape could do, this tubing is about the best option I've seen so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heat shrink tubing isn't a bad idea. I don't know how readily available it is in consumer stores and stuff... but I know I've used the Heat shrink tubing with the glue inside on quite a few connectors (higher end coaxial/heliax connectors tend to come with it). It's a bit thicker and more durable than typical heat shrink tubing, and the glue holds it solidly in place.
I used scotch tape. ugly, but it works.
Heat Shrink tubing shouldn't be too hard to find, most any electrical / hardware store should carry it, even Wal-mart will have it from time to time in the automotive section.
A better option may be plastidip. It gives a thick rubnery coating.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
After having a Nook Color for less than 6 months, mine just broke this morning! I would do without the LED indicator for a durable rubber casing.
Imbroglio said:
I was thinking of reinforcing the plug end of the cable by encasing it in a big wad of epoxy putty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Epoxy works very well actually, but you need to put it on the inside, not the outside. Split open the plastic cover. Clean it up so it fits back together cleanly. Mix up a batch of translucent 5 Minute epoxy and completely fill the cavity with epoxy. Fit it back around the cable and secure it with a clip or clamp of your choice. A small binder clip works perfectly. After about 5 or ten minutes you can remove the clip and use an exacto knife to clean up the excess. Clamp it up again and
let it cure for 12 hours or so. Works well for me.
Triple wall heat shrink is just what you need. A heat gun (not a lighter, it won't work well) is the way to go. A hair dryer most likely won't have the heat needed.
I use the stuff in my home business and have tons of it...if you need some let me know!
I bent the male end that plugs into the nook unit... I Pressed the male end against a counter in my kitchen so it was bent back into place, put a few spots of super glue (the kind you get at the dollar store) and waited overnight for it to dry. good as new, no more wiggle or bend in my usb end.
So I bought THIS DOCK off eBay, and if you're looking for one, this is the one to get since it's a US seller who is only charging $1 more for it than the one you have to wait 2+ weeks for coming out of China:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160860164735?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
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Images above borrowed from the eBay auction page, they are not my own images
If you can't find this one months or years after it disappears from eBay, you're looking for something similar to a Charging & Syncing Docking Station Dock Cradle for ASUS Google Nexus 7. All in all, it's a good dock, I felt it leaned a little forward prior to installing a case on the N7, but some people may want that for their uses - I personally have it mounted on my charging valet in my bedroom, so it is a little above my waist when looking at it on the dock, in which case I'd like it to lean a little further back compared to the intended usage of placing it on your desk at work so that it's nearly at eye level.
When I got the Cruzerlite case for the N7, the dock wasn't going to work at ALL. The MicroUSB charging port wouldn't even come close to mating up to the connector on the stand, and would put the N7 at a horrible viewing angle even if it did, leaning like 20+ degrees forward instead of 10 degrees backwards! So time to get to work on this lovely Labor Day, here's what you'll need to modify the dock:
Eyeglass Phillips Screwdriver
Small Flathead Screwdriver
Needle-Nose Pliers
Electrical Tape
X-Acto Knife
Crazy Glue / CA Glue (for hobbies and crafts) / Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Protective Eyewear
Sanding Apparatus (I used a belt sander, but if you don't have one, use a Dremel or good old fashioned hand sand paper)
Finishing Sand Paper (400 grit and up)
USB charging plug out in the garage or wherever you'll be doing this so you can test the connections
Time and Patience
I'm going to apologize in advance for not taking pics of the modifications. I'm awful at this, but since I do custom stuff like this for a living, it really isn't in my nature to take pics all the way through doing custom work, so I'm sorry but the descriptions will have to hold up for now! This is what it will look like when you're done though, I'll show that first:
Before you ask, the wallpaper was something custom I worked up, and isn't available for download, sorry.... using trademarked logos is something I don't mind doing for my personal device because no one can complain about it, providing it for others isn't cool though!
And here's what you need to do to get it to look like that:
Start by pealing off the little rubber pads adhered to the bottom of the dock, they conceal the small Phillips head screws to disassemble it.
Remove the screws and don't lose them!
Make sure you have the cable disconnected from the wall outlet and start picking at the hot glue stuck to the inside of the dock, but BE CAREFUL not to damage any wires in the process! Once you get it started on the very outside with the Flathead screwdriver, just peal the rest of it up by hand, slowly. You'll want to remove the glue from around the LED and the MicroUSB connector.
Once the glue is off, the MicroUSB connector will pop out with some force to the top of it - just push down with your thumb and it should break through the melted plastic that was tacking it in place from underneath.
Completely remove the USB cable from the docking station and set aside, now the seat back of the dock is clear to sand without the MicroUSB connector in the way!
START SANDING, however you have planned. Do this evenly and make sure you are starting with knocking down the high spot on the top of the seat back of the dock. Yes, read that again, and then continue with this description. The "seat" of the dock is "L" shaped, if you will. The bottom of the L needs no sanding, just the top of it, on the face of the L. You want it to lean like an italicized L would look, or maybe a J for you visual learners. Again, sorry for no pics of the progress.
Do a little at a time and check your progress - clean your hands, pick up the tablet that should have been far enough away from the sanding process, and while looking from underneath the dock, see if you can visually line up the charging port on the N7 with the slit that the MicroUSB connector used to protrude from. Not yet? Keep sanding! Man, I feel bad if you're doing this by hand, I ground the crap out of the dock to get it where I wanted it....
One thing that you may encounter if you're using a belt sander or even a Dremel is that you'll start to sand through the material on the very top corners, or at least get to an outline of the molded plastic from the inside. That's okay, it actually turned out interesting for me when I finished, and you'll see why. Just be careful not to sand right through it and leave a gaping hole, it isn't easy to do, but it's not hard if you're not paying attention to what you're sanding, and stopping every few seconds to see the progress.
After you've got it perfect, whatever that means to you, hit it with the high numbered sand paper to smooth it all down and finish it up, I used 400 because that gives plastic a really nice feel, in my opinion.
Wash the dock down and your hands as well, and rub it all over to get off all the loose sanded plastic. Dry with a paper towel and blow dry before continuing.
Now line up the charging port to where the MicroUSB connector once resided, and while holding the N7 with the case on it in place, see if that's the right angle you want it in, mine has a nice gangsta lean to it, and that's what I was going for.
If you sanded too much, you may want to use some heavy duty glue to repair it from the inside. I did just to strengthen it and since I sanded it down a little too much on one side (the belt sander will do that, quickly!), I actually created a second window from the front for the blue LED to shine through by using glue on the inside! You'll see what I mean below in pics.
Now that you've visually got the port lined up with where the connector will go, we need to mate the two together. Start by cutting the MicroUSB connector slit open even more than it once was. You need to widen that opening because the MicroUSB plug will need to sit higher than it did previously, as the case will raise the N7 off the base of the dock about 1/8th of an inch.
Where the plug used to sit, you'll see from the inside that it looks thinner at the very base of the opening. Using the X-Acto Knife, cut perpendicularly to the hole on the very left and right of it, making an "H" on from the outside, where the horizontal bar on the letter H is the exisiting MicroUSB plug slit. Once you cut deep enough, you can use the Needle-Nose Pliers to break off the thin tabs. You will now have enough room for the entire base of the MicroUSB plug to feed through (see macro pictures of the plug below for reference to see how much the hole is widened and how high the plug sits in comparison to before).
Before you even TOUCH the MicroUSB cable after removing it in step 5, let's tape it up so you avoid any accidents. Grab the electrical tape and carefully wrap all the bare wires and the base of the MicroUSB plug. Be very gentle with the wires, they are VERY fragile and will break if you use force in tearing the electrical tape - trust me, I know.... I had to repair a loose wire because of it! Don't use too much on the base of the plug though, the more you use, the more you'll have to shave down with the X-Acto Knife to widen the opening for the plug to fit through. Don't use too much on the cables because it won't bend easily later.
Now, if you're handy enough, you can hold the N7 and the dock with one hand and feed the plug up through the dock with the other, if not, get some help holding it up. Be careful not to break the plug or bend it too much while test fitting it!!! Once fitted, plug in the cable and see if your N7 is charging - if not, you need to feed the plug up higher and most likely shave down the sides of the hole to feed more of it up to reach the dock. Now's a good time to check the viewing angle as well, making sure you're okay with it!
Optionally, you can stop here before hard mounting the MicroUSB plug and prep and paint your dock, I recommend using texture black spray paint if you want to, but I didn't care that much to do it.... Think about what you want to do with it now, once you continue, you can't paint it effectively.
Holding the N7 to the dock and the charging port securely fixed to it and verifying once more it charges the device, tack some glue to the inside to hold the port in place. The reason I use CA Glue is because with the accelerator, it takes 10 seconds for it to go from a liquid to ROCK SOLID, speeding up the time I need to hold something firmly together for it to stay glued together.
Carefully remove the N7 from the dock, making sure it didn't break the tacked glue (if it did, repeat the process clearing out the glue you just tacked), and smother the inside of the dock with glue to seal that sucker in there for good.
Depending on what glue you used, you may even want to apply some glue to the top, by where the MicroUSB plug sits on the base to strengthen it even further - if you're only using hot glue with this, don't even think about it!
Optionally, you'll want to glue back the blue LED, but before you do, you can put some electrical tape over the hole to dampen the brightness of that damn beacon of a light! Why the Chinese think we need such a bright light to tell us that these docks have power, I'll never know....
Keeping the cable connected to the power supply to ensure the blue LED stays lit, carefully bend the wires and reinstall the base with screws.
Put the rubber feet back on the dock once the screws are all snug, and your dock has been modified!
Optionally, cover the bottom with industrial strength Velcro and mount it to the place you're going to keep the dock positioned. I do that to all my docking stations, the one for my Harmony 1000 remote, my cell phone, everything. There's just something so appealing about being able to grab the device with one and and pulling straight up without having to hold the dock or base with the other hand to keep it from coming with the device! Trust me, you'll thank me later....
Oh, yeah, one more thing, and this isn't really optional.... You want to throw out the 1.0A wall plug that came with this and find yourself a 2.0 - 2.1A wall plug to charge your tablet. Newer devices require more power to charge them faster, some, charge at ALL, so ditch that 1.0A one because it isn't designed for your tablet. You can find the right one by using the one that came with the device, just not using the USB cable since this one is attached to the dock, but don't use the cheap 1.0A one that comes with this dock!
Here are more images as I promised:
If this has helped you in any way, please don't forget to say thanks! I wasn't planning on doing this write up but after seeing some of the ones done on here for other simple little things (that DIY DVD Case / Tablet Stand is awesome!), I figured I'd try and help if possible. I'm not looking to boost my ego or anything here, but as you can see, it took me a white writing up these 25 steps!
Enjoy and let me know if I need to be more clear on any of the steps! I'm always open to criticism of my write ups, just be kind and don't get crazy, I'm here to help but need to know what you need help with first.... Also, PLEASE don't click reply to this post and quote this whole thing, it wastes a lot of space and reproduces this whole post for no reason - if you need to quote something from what I said, quote just what you need! Also, we will laugh at you for quoting the whole post.... Thanks!
Hi!
First, I'm sorry for English, I'm not professional.
A few days ago I made a working wireless charger for Motorola Droid 4.
What are the benefits?
People says, the original inductive charging cover is not compatible with most of cases.
Who live away from USA, can't use a wireless charger, becouse it is only available (officially) in the US. It is very hard to find on eBay or any other site. Almost impossible.
Very cheap. The original charging cover at US, Verzion is $29.99. (+ shipping, and need a person who ship it to me) It is only a cover, and we still need a charger as well.
So, I found a charging pad with and without receivers. There was a small problem. The receivers are only for Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and Note. Their connectors aren't compatible with Droid 4, but the charging voltage is OK.
We need to take it to compatible with Droid 4. I looking for a long time, which one can I choose. Fortunately I made the right decision.
I bought that: Qi Inductive Wireless Charging Upgrade Kit for Samsung Galaxy S3
Link here
That is only for $30.10 with EU plug. The package include charging pad, usb cable, 1500mAh charger and S3 compatible receiver, and worldwide free shipping.
The size of receiver unit is compatible with free space of phone. We need some cutting but it isn't horrible.
First, I recommend you try, how fits the module in your phone.
Then mark with a felt.
The electrical connector pins are big, (and incompatible) we need to remove it carefully. I used a rework station with hot air (360°C) but you can use a medium sized soldering iron. I think, about 50-60W of power is enough. It took for about 30 secs per pin.
It is important, you need to place the receiver in such a manner, if you remove the back cover, the S3 and some other text need to be visible! Otherwise it will not work!
You see backside of the phone, and the camera is on top. Removed cover. In the right side, you can see four copper pins. The top row is irrelevant. We need tha bottom row. In the bottom row, on the left tere is the +5 V pin. On the right, there is a Ground pin.
We need to make contact between +5V pin of the phone and the +5V charging pin of the receiver unit.
Place the receiver unit to the phone, and see what size of copper wire you need. The lower pin of receiver unit is the +5V. We need to connect it.
I used a wire,1 mm in diameter. It is lacquered, I cycled down it from an electrical part (coil).
I think, that half millimeter in diameter is enough, but a found that, and it is recommended due to the relative high current (about 1A).
When you use thinner wire, you can easier take the cover to the phone.
So you need to solder wire to receiver's +5V pin. Please use the minimum quantity of soldering wire, becouse if you make a big knot there, you will have not enough place to take cover back.
When it is done, you can see how can you bend (or cut) the wire for best connectivity with phone's 5V pin.
Now you need to solder a wire to ground, like the previovus one, but not sure, that the two wore have enough space, and we can make easily short corcuit.
For this reason, we will use the iron cover of the SD card slot. This is a very good ground point.
So, one cable will go down, other is go up. They can fit and the soldering is more easy.
PLEASE BE CAREFUL! I recommend, before you make any electrical or hot operating you need to put an aluminium foil or an iron plate to top of the battery. I think to taking out battery and then in, is not easily possible, becouse after soldering there are the receiver. The battery can damage and explosive! The plastic parts of pohone can tolerate the heat for sort time! If you can not solder succesfuly, you need to wait while the parts cooling down! I recommend, use flux and/or high quality of soldering tin. Take out the SD Card! Please don't make short circuit!
It is not too difficult, but you need to be careful and attentive.
When the soldering done, you can try the charger.
Before you can take cover to phone, you need to cut the lower center of receiver. (you can see on the cover, exactly where. There are a claw and on the phone there ara a hole) Important! We need all of holes on phone, so the wires must not hang in to holes.
I cut the piece of receiver unit from lower left side, at the speaker.
Thats all. We are done. I think it longer to read than make :cyclops:
I made some pictures, I will mark these and upload in short time.
I'm going to measure the charging time with:
1,5A USB charger (direct cable)
1,5A USB charger with wireless charging pad
1,5A USB charger with wireless charging pad (phone in a 1 mm thickness of Trident case)
0,5A standard laptop USB (direct cable)
0,5A standard laptop USB with wireless charging pad
0,5A standard laptop USB with wireless charging pad (phone in a 1 mm thickness of Trident case)
I use that from 3 days ago. It works correctly. By the factory, the charging current is 1000mA with the 1,5A charger. About 66% of efficiency.
The USB charger's stand by consumption is 0,4W.
When the charging pad is connected and it is in stand by mode, the consumption is 0,98W
I'm going to bring images, and refresh the post, but here (Hungary, GMT +1) the time is am 2:31.
Good luck guys!
---------------------------------
Uploaded images,
here are the original, better quality images. (11.5MB zip)
That great way to charge the phone. i know that my usb plugin is getting a little wore out.......glad to know that there another way to charge up the phone in case of emergency. Congrats.
Hi,
thanks, it works for me
My IQ receiver was a bit higher, or the battery, so I had troubles to fit it in. My solution was to cut every superfluous piece and pull the uper layer of slide away. Additionally, I put it a bit nearer to the camera, The last thing was to horizontally cut the gold contacts and solder the wire directly on them.
During charging, the usb charger+pad+droid 4 use 7W, without the droid 4 the pad+charger draw 0,4W, both measured at the primary side ot the charger.
Best regards,
mifritscher
Thanks for the info, looks promising I love your using Micro SD casing as GND
BTW the pad + receiver can be found at eBay for as low as US $12 Gonna try out for myself soon.
Did you get to measure the charge times?
LuH said:
Thanks for the info, looks promising I love your using Micro SD casing as GND
BTW the pad + receiver can be found at eBay for as low as US $12 Gonna try out for myself soon.
Did you get to measure the charge times?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Charging times are about equivalent
Different approach, same result
Hi, thanx 4 the great idea.
I took a different approach to install the charging pad. I felt not comfortable to solder directly to the phone, so I used copper-tape, capton-tape and some short wires I took from old headphones to mod the pad directly into the back cover of my phone. it got a little bit bumpier (half a mm), but it charges perfectly.
I applied some solder to the ends which connect to the pins, so the copper wont oxidize and the connection has more pressure.
The pictures in better quality:
View attachment goodquality.zip
zuloo.de said:
Hi, thanx 4 the great idea.
I took a different approach to install the charging pad. I felt not comfortable to solder directly to the phone, so I used copper-tape, capton-tape and some short wires I took from old headphones to mod the pad directly into the back cover of my phone. it got a little bit bumpier (half a mm), but it charges perfectly.
I applied some solder to the ends which connect to the pins, so the copper wont oxidize and the connection has more pressure.
View attachment 2842634
View attachment 2842635
View attachment 2842636
The pictures in better quality:
View attachment 2842637
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a nice solution, and pretty much how the "real thing" was probably set up. I noticed that the back has an internal indentation where the pins are to accommodate the connector, and I had experimented with how I might fit a charging pad in there (actually, it was the connectors that I saw as the biggest challenge), but didn't manage to get anything that I thought was robust enough (I was using cut down parts of a SIM card for the pins to make contact with - you look to have done a better job with the copper tape.
I'm really surprised that we can't buy a new back with all of this gubbins already installed - perhaps you should manufacture a few?
mugen 3800mAh inductive charging cover required!!!
i'm tempted to try this myself. the droid4 keeps getting better.
i just experimented with cardboard, seems to have plenty of room between the cover and the battery. i definitely need inductive charging.
Update 2016
@zuloo.de
Hi! I copied your method for wireless charging but I was too lazy for soldering. That is why I used only copper tape. I ordered under 5$ charging pad and receiver for Galaxy S3 (cheap from China) and it is working good. My receiver says that it can output only 0.8A so I guess it is little bit slow. Can you tell your feelings about the heat? I think that my Droid 4 is pretty hot but I never used wireless charging on other phones so I don't know if it is normal. But thanks anyway posting your method :good:
Here is pictures. I tried to take picture about the bump. It is not bad but you can feel it.