How are you guys recharging your HD2's? I've been relying on the USB connector at the bottom of the phone, but my concern is that after 'x' number of connects/disconnects that the socket will wear out as it started doing with my Kaiser.
Do you guys know of any pin-based adapter or battery hatch modification with external contacts that would enable us to lay the phone on a stand or platform without having to use the internal USB port on the phone which will eventually wear out? The 'powermat' would be great, but it's not available for the HD2. Does the new HTC car mount recharge the phone too, or is it just a bracket?
I'm thinking of something along the lines of how bluetooth headsets recharge, where the pins are external. It just worries me that the micro USB connector will eventually fail, which on a $700+ phone is not an attractive option.
Your thoughts?
The connector will not fail. At least unless you force/damage it yourself. It has been adopted as a connection/charge connector on ALL new phones now, of any brand, so you can bet they tested it thoroughly before.
If it fails.. well that's what the warranty's there for.
To answer the original question, I charge using USB, and also an external charger for my spares.
kilrah said:
The connector will not fail.
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I understand your point, but to my way of thinking it's still a physical connector made of metal and plastic. It will fail eventually, trust me. These connectors are tested to withstand a reasonable number of connect/disconnect cycles for the average user. But cell phones tend to get used more, and this phone among other cell phones because of the cpu and screen will need to be recharged even more so.
Also, I'm not talking about the point of failure, but the limit of usability. The connector on my Kaiser got to the point where the cable wouldn't stay lodged in the housing and would drop out of its own weight. Although it still worked, it made for awkward handling while in the car trying to use a coiled charging cable that would drop out on its own.
So what I was looking for was a replacement battery hatch which would connect with the internal contacts, and a corresponding mount/dock of some sort so that it would minimize the physical stress of multiple connections and disconnections.
BillTheCat said:
How are you guys recharging your HD2's? I've been relying on the USB connector at the bottom of the phone, but my concern is that after 'x' number of connects/disconnects that the socket will wear out as it started doing with my Kaiser.
Do you guys know of any pin-based adapter or battery hatch modification with external contacts that would enable us to lay the phone on a stand or platform without having to use the internal USB port on the phone which will eventually wear out? The 'powermat' would be great, but it's not available for the HD2. Does the new HTC car mount recharge the phone too, or is it just a bracket?
I'm thinking of something along the lines of how bluetooth headsets recharge, where the pins are external. It just worries me that the micro USB connector will eventually fail, which on a $700+ phone is not an attractive option.
Your thoughts?
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Click to collapse
I just got the car mount today. It Does recharge the phone - there's a mini usb plug built into the bracket, and a lead plugs into the base of the bracket, and then into your 12v socket. A nice touch, the lead is actually long enough to be able to route it nicely.
ebeam said:
I just got the car mount today. It Does recharge the phone - there's a mini usb plug built into the bracket, and a lead plugs into the base of the bracket, and then into your 12v socket. A nice touch, the lead is actually long enough to be able to route it nicely.
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Thanks, but what I was really after is a solution that does NOT involve the USB port on the phone.
I've seen battery chargers on Ebay. That's probably the only sensible solution if you're really that worried about the USB connector...
I think I remember reading something about some sort of wireless recharging pad that you can put phones and mp3 players on that would recharge them without any cables but I've got no idea if it would work on the HD2 or if they are even on sale yet.
There was old HTC CU S400 car Update Kit. It has direct conection to the battery throug back cover http://www.slashgear.com/htc-hd2-cu-s400-car-kit-gets-priced-detailed-coming-december-1360143/#entrycontent. New mount have MicroUSB connection http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=53E28901-63DD-4E93-99F6-BF3D0B88BD04
lachutm said:
There was old HTC CU S400 car Update Kit. It has direct conection to the battery throug back cover http://www.slashgear.com/htc-hd2-cu-s400-car-kit-gets-priced-detailed-coming-december-1360143/#entrycontent. New mount have MicroUSB connection http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=53E28901-63DD-4E93-99F6-BF3D0B88BD04
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Yes, the former is along the lines of what I had in mind. Just surprised that no aftermarket solutions have been developed for the phone to make it easier to charge without wearing out that micro-usb connector.
As the mini USB port is a standard size, (not just used by HTC) if you should ever 'break it', most phone repair shops will be able to replace it quite easily.
A lot less hassle than opening up your phone to plug things in the back.
OK, so please help me I'm going mad here!
I took my nexus one apart to replace the microusb port, which was totally crapped out. After putting the device back together i get very low WIFI signal although everything else is working. I took the phone apart and one of the mini pigtail connectors was unplugged and possibly a bit squished. I put it back on and it seemed fine. When i turned the device on the result was the same... Wifi works, but only short range.
This leads me to think the Coax w.fl connector is broken or possibly i damaged the WIFI antenna foil (it is somewhat deformed).
The w.fl connector is like the connector that connects the wifi aerial in your laptop, only smaller, if that helps.
I'd love it if someone could point me to a cheap antenna assembly or just the coax cable.
Even better if someone know of a device where this is sold as a complete part (antenna and coax) i could mount it behind the battery cover and possibly increase my signal!
This lack of wifi is such a pain as i live in a low signal area and rely on wifi for data/sync.
Thanks!
You can buy a 100cm coax cable terminated with W.FL connectors from RadioSpares in the UK stock number 619-6387
So, last night I wanted to try a passive antenna on my cappy because I get no signal at work. I was at home where I get 2 to 3 bars average. I popped the rubber plug out and carefully inserted the connector. I noticed no difference at all. I unplugged it and tried a second passive antenna that had no connector just bare wires so I inserted the center wire into the external antenna hole and again saw no noticeable difference so I pulled it out and set the phone down to take care of my mess. When I came back to it I noticed that I had no service at all. Now I have to be right next to a tower to even get 1 or 2 bars.
How could I have messed up the internal antenna just by using the external to test a passive antenna? Is there anything close to the internal antenna or the external connector that I could have touched with the bare wire that could have ruined my internal antenna?
Short answer yes and no. However without the correct adapter you can damage it and basically disconnect the internal antenna. Read this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1011223
So like an idiot I dropped my phone in the sink, the top side (where the audio jack and USB charging port are located) got the brunt of the water on it. I took the battery out immediately, let it dry out, tried starting it and it would boot and get a signal (while making a loud screeching noise), then lose signal and start getting really hot. It also wouldn't charge via USB. I took it completely apart and cleaned the circuit boards with PCB cleaner, there were a couple of spots where the corrosion had started that was barely visible with the naked eye, but very evident through a 60x magnifier.
Once that was cleaned up I let it dry out again, booted it up and it's working perfectly now with the exception of the Wifi and Bluetooth. When I try to turn either one on it just says "Turning wifi/bluetooth on" but it never starts up. I'm assuming that the circuit and/or antenna that controls both of those functions is either corroded or fried. My question is, does anyone know whether the antenna or circuit board for wifi/bluetooth is replaceable, and/or does anyone have a map of the circuit boards that would direct me on where to look for corrosion?
jdgilbert said:
So like an idiot I dropped my phone in the sink, the top side (where the audio jack and USB charging port are located) got the brunt of the water on it. I took the battery out immediately, let it dry out, tried starting it and it would boot and get a signal (while making a loud screeching noise), then lose signal and start getting really hot. It also wouldn't charge via USB. I took it completely apart and cleaned the circuit boards with PCB cleaner, there were a couple of spots where the corrosion had started that was barely visible with the naked eye, but very evident through a 60x magnifier.
Once that was cleaned up I let it dry out again, booted it up and it's working perfectly now with the exception of the Wifi and Bluetooth. When I try to turn either one on it just says "Turning wifi/bluetooth on" but it never starts up. I'm assuming that the circuit and/or antenna that controls both of those functions is either corroded or fried. My question is, does anyone know whether the antenna or circuit board for wifi/bluetooth is replaceable, and/or does anyone have a map of the circuit boards that would direct me on where to look for corrosion?
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I believe they are on the main board, which is a significantly trickier replacement. If not, you could always get a used captivate for cheap (one with screen broken or something like that) and switch out the boards
Hi all,
I got fed up with waiting for something like this to be released, so I've decided to make my own, and thought I might as well share the process.
My requirements are:
- One handed operation
- Windscreen mount dock
- Works with my case
- Dock is always 'plugged in' and is left mounted in my car
- Car mode on the phone is triggered when using with the dock (I use Tasker to trigger a load of actions when my car dock is used, such as turning on Bluetooth, saving the current location when I remove the phone from the dock as a basic 'car finder' etc)
I started off with this dock, which I got ages ago as I just wanted something (even though it wasn't what I thought I would end up with). I got this phone almost the day it was launched, and so there wasn't a lot of choice at the time.
Samsung ECS-K200BE - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Gal...4CPO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360155480&sr=8-1
I then had to look for a short micro USB extension cable with a right-angled plug, which turned out to be extremely difficult to find for some reason! eBay delivered in the end (although it took over a month to arrive): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Micro-USB..._USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item41642d957a
You can also get one that goes to a USB socket instead of a micro USB one, but you'll then lose the ability to trigger car mode later on, as USB has 4 pins only, and phone manufacturers tend to use the 5th pin in micro USB for this purpose.
I'm afraid I didn't take photos of the first couple of steps, but they are fairly simple.
The Micro USB plug has a couple of raised parts on the longer side of the D shape, which provide the 'click' as you plug the cables in, and ensure that cables don't just fall out easily by providing some resistance. You can see them on this image for example: http://www.cablewholesale.com/hires/10u2-03xxx.jpg I filed these off on my micro USB extension, as I want the phone to slide in and out the dock really easily, and the dock itself will hold the phone in position on the plug, so it's not a problem. I filed them down until the plug slid in and out the phone really easily with no resistance at all. Careful where the filings go, you don't want them shorting anything out!
I then put tape across the bottom of my phone (masking tape would do, but I used PVC electrical insulation tape since it's what I had to hand), cut a slot for the micro USB plug, put the whole thing in the dock, position it all to be as central as you can, and plug the micro USB plug into the phone through the cut in the tape.
I also removed the rubber protective piece from the bottom of the dock (it's a separate piece to the back) during this step to prevent glue getting all over it, but remember to leave a small gap for it if you do the same! I also used a penknife to cut some grooves into the sides of the gap that the plug pokes through, to help the glue have something to grip on to.
It's then just a case of using some 5 minute epoxy to hold everything in place - it will stop being runny after 5 minutes, but it will be a bit jelly like for a while after that. I did this bit in 2 stages - an initial glue to get the position fairly fixed, then while the glue was still a bit flexible I put a larger amount on around the sides and also between the outgoing cable and the dock to fix everything. I left the phone in for a few hours (I took it out after the first stage and put it back in again though to make sure I wasn't gluing the phone to the dock!), and had some pressure pushing the plug into the phone/dock assembly (with the phone held in tightly by the dock). You'll have to experiment with the best way to do this but I used tape initially, then when the glue had gone hard but flexible still, i rested the whole lot upright and balancing on the plug to push it in (keep glue away from the phone and only on the dock).
After a couple of hours (or maybe a few more) the glue should harden and go solid, holding everything in place.
And that's pretty much where I'm up to at the moment. The phone slides in and out very easily (I'm pretty happy with it, it's better than I expected), and connecting a charging cable to the extension proves that it works - the phone starts charging when I slide it into the dock, so not broken anything so far!
I'll attach a picture in the next post, as I can do that from my phone a lot easier than transferring it to this PC.
Re: Car Dock with integrated Micro USB Charging plug (ongoing project)
(Apologies for the side-view being blurry)
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk 2
Next steps: I plan to put araldite epoxy over the whole plug to secure it and really make sure it isn't going anywhere. This takes a lot longer to set than the glue I've used so far, but the advantage of using the 5 minute epoxy first is that my phone doesn't have to be in the dock for this stage. Then I'll sand it smooth and spray it black, and work on the car mode triggering bit, which I'm going to make as a separate unit. The advantage of using the extension lead is that you can attach whatever accessory you want into the micro USB, audio splitter, charging, car mode or whatever. Or I'm sure you can find similar MHL extensions if you wanted to do that as well.
This is an interesting project. Thanks for sharing the idea. But do you really want to recharge your phone every time you use the dock? Would unnecessary recharging shorten the life of the battery?
Spare batteries are cheap. I'd rather have a phone that is charged more than one with a battery that will last longer. If I have to get a new battery for £10 or whatever I'm not too bothered! I already have 3 batteries for this phone. In addition, as part of a previous project, I have a switch in my car that controls the power output of the micro USB cable coming out of my dashboard so I could turn it off if necessary, and the dock would still trigger car mode when plugged in.
Been a while since I updated this - sorry!
Right, so at the end of the last post, I had basically filed the USB plug down so it didn't 'click' into place, and glued it in place using some fast epoxy. Next, I cut back quite a lot of the fast epoxy (it's not as good as the araldite that I'm going to put all over it, and it's only there to hold the plug in position while the araldite dries). I also cut some gouges into the surfaces around where I'm gluing to help the araldite adhere to the surfaces - it's worth sanding them with some fairly coarse paper too, though probably not that necessary, it'll be plenty strong enough.
After that I masked off the bottom of the cradle, but leaving the usb plug sticking through
Once this was done, I mixed up some Araldite epoxy resin. It has a resin and a hardener that you mix in a 2:1 ratio. I also added quite a lot of finely ground up wood fibres to the mix - if you have access to some, it improves the strength of the material, and also helps you mould it into a shape when you apply it, rather than have the glue run everywhere. You can always hold it in place with tape if not.
After it has dried (first photo), it sands quite well to the desired shape. I didn't want anything too fancy so just made some flats on it and left it at that (2nd and 3rd photos).
Finally I masked it off again, sprayed it matt black and re-fitted the rubber piece that goes at the bottom either side. Voila!
It's possible to spend a lot longer making this neat than I did, but my solution works perfectly for me. If I ever decide I want to make it neater I can easily sand the paint off, sand more glue (or add more on top), and repaint.
Some action photos:
None with the phone in yet as I was using the phone to take the pics - will have to remember my actual camera at some point if anyone is interested!
I used a 'rapstrap' to hold the cable to the stem of the cradle, keeping it hidden and out the way, and plugged in the cable from my car (emerges from a hole in the A pillar where it meets the dashboard - that's a separate mod to the car!). For the cable to switch things into smart dock / car mode / whatever mode I want, I'm going to making the cable described in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1321491
I have all the parts necessary, will have to see how up-to-scratch my precision soldering skills are! This way, I can swap out the cable for a different one that triggers a different mode if I want, or re-use the cable on another car dock in the future (either one I modified or not!)
Apologies for the rotation of the photos, it's the right way up on the originals... strange.
I should say as well - I've been using this for a couple of weeks now, and I'm glad I spent the effort. It works so much better than I expected! It's effortless to get the phone in and out. I thought there would be a lot more 'misses' when I tried to get the phone in, but it's gone in straight away almost every time - obviously there has been the odd 'miss'! The sides of the cradle do a good job guiding the phone in, as the phone is almost as wide as them, so it gets roughly centred anyway, then you just squeeze the sides of the dock in and the phone is gripped tightly - no chance of falling out. To release, it's just a button at the back of the dock then lift straight out with the same hand - pretty convenient.
I'd love to see other people's pics if they make one, or improve mine (probably not too hard to do!), or any other mods that do the same thing!
Car Dock with integrated Micro USB Charging plug (ongoing project)
Nice work mate
:good:
Re: Car Dock with integrated Micro USB Charging plug (ongoing project)
I think it looks great. Obviously a labor of love and I'm down with that. This holder could suffice for your next couple Sammy phones as long as the USB depth doesn't change much with different cases/devices. Overall I dig it
This looks like what I did for my S3 in August of last year, except I molded Sugru to keep everything together and for the base, I used a holster w/ the "wings" bent apart so I could just slide in from the top and pull it up and out when undocking. It works w/ a thin case (i usually just have a bumper around my phone).
I actually trimmed it a bit more after this picture was taken to make it cleaner and even cut the top half of the holster off to make it easier to grip the phone when pulling it out. Best thing is, it's so fast to pop it in or pull it off to undock it - I actually had the phone in the holster with the cable plugged in while the Sugru was setting so it lined up the cable perfectly.
Re: Car Dock with integrated Micro USB Charging plug (ongoing project)
Very nice! I cant seem to find one anywhere that fits the note 2 with microusb. Keep us updated
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Thanks all for you kind comments! I'm just happy I have a good setup now. Once the cable disappears behind the dock, it disappears from the drivers point of view - it goes behind the dashboard where it's connected to a USB charging unit and a 3 way switch (can choose between charging on, off and on with ignition), all wired directly into the fuse box. Last step is the cable to put it into car mode or smart dock mode (not decided which to use yet), also with audio out - though I would likely not use that, since I use Bluetooth to the car anyway. Thought I might as well make the whole cable with that option since I was making one anyway! I may have a stab at that this weekend
how about using NFC for changing profile? You could attache NFC tag to your holder
Yep, that's also an option and would be very easy to do - but I have Tasker installed and use the car mode to trigger a load of actions, so probably won't be needing NFC for that.