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    GPS on M11x R1 Succes

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by Daskalos, Apr 4, 2012.

  1. Daskalos

    Daskalos Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello, a new M11x user here :)

    Bought a used M11x r1 with no WWAN and no bluetooth
    Luckily I have a mini pcie 3G/GPS modem Sierra MC8781 that I use in my old Lenovo S10-3T and an Atheros Wifi/bluetooth mini pcie modem from an old pc tablet...

    Opened up the back of R1 and place the Sierra modem. Then I use some old wifi antennas, one with a metal receiver (main) and one with sticker antenna (for the auxiliary).

    But I'm lazy to open up the LCD part of R1 (where the antennas should be), so what I did was strip a part the main antenna wire to expose the part and did it again with the extra antenna...after that I stick them so they touch each other...

    After installing the drivers and software for the modem and tested it outside...
    Got 7 satellites and locks in less than a minute...the wifi/bluetooth modem works too :)

    Now my r1 has
    -wifi-3g-gps-bluetooth ;)

    This is my Antenna Setup (Though it's more recommended to mount the antennas on the top back part of the LCD)

    [​IMG]

    GPS STATS
    [​IMG]



    this is a picture of the working modem
    [​IMG]
     
    Daskalos, Apr 4, 2012
    #1
  2. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Sweet! I was just thinking last night on my drive home about putting gps into my r1 and get rid of the wwan.

    Question, do you need to use the 3g to get gps? or does it pretty much just work with out it?

    *buying card right now.
     
    ejohnson, Apr 4, 2012
    #2
  3. Daskalos

    Daskalos Notebook Enthusiast

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    nope you don't need 3G to get locks :) it's an actual GPS receiver
     
    Daskalos, Apr 4, 2012
    #3
  4. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Perfect. This will go well in my motorhome then.
     
    ejohnson, Apr 4, 2012
    #4
  5. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Good job, Daskalos, +1
     
    katalin_2003, Apr 4, 2012
    #5
  6. manny951

    manny951 Notebook Geek

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    one question what if you open the bottom of ur laptop and only see the wifi card but hook up that card its not there? what can u do i think its the wwan port on the motherboard
     
    manny951, Apr 4, 2012
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  7. Voodooi

    Voodooi AFK for a while...

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    That's awesome! I never envisioned an M11X as a portable GPS :D
     
    Voodooi, Apr 4, 2012
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  8. Daskalos

    Daskalos Notebook Enthusiast

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    Sorry but I can't to understand your question :confused:
     
    Daskalos, Apr 4, 2012
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  9. manny951

    manny951 Notebook Geek

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    umm how can i say this last time i open my m11x to apply as5 i looked for the wwan spot and it seems i cannot put there one did some motherboards came this way?
     
    manny951, Apr 4, 2012
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  10. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    All motherboards have the wwan slot open, even if you didnt order one.

    But, not all of them came with the antenna for the wwan.

    So, you can install this GPS, but you need to put your own antenna in unless your computer came with antenna.
     
    ejohnson, Apr 4, 2012
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  11. manny951

    manny951 Notebook Geek

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    it does! hey johnson where are u gonna order that card from?
     
    manny951, Apr 4, 2012
    #11
  12. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    ejohnson, Apr 4, 2012
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  13. manny951

    manny951 Notebook Geek

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    manny951, Apr 4, 2012
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  14. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Daskalo made a typo in his post, he states he used "Sierra M8781" but it seems to be the Sierra M C8781

    Missed the "c" in there.
     
    ejohnson, Apr 4, 2012
    #14
  15. Daskalos

    Daskalos Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yup... corrected

    I added some wiring details on the first post :)
     
    Daskalos, Apr 4, 2012
    #15
  16. manny951

    manny951 Notebook Geek

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    what antennas can u buy to put in the display? when dell changed my screen it seems there is a little dust coming on the bottom right once im there i can clean it out and redo it
     
    manny951, Apr 4, 2012
    #16
  17. Daskalos

    Daskalos Notebook Enthusiast

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    You could buy any kind of mini pcie wifi antenna as long as you could fit it in :)
     
    Daskalos, Apr 4, 2012
    #17
  18. manny951

    manny951 Notebook Geek

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    awesome :] i know johnson knows witch one to get he has showed me before but im kinda nervous i dont want to crack the plastic
     
    manny951, Apr 4, 2012
    #18
  19. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    ejohnson, Apr 5, 2012
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  20. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

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    Thanks, I had been looking into this myself. I was looking at doing one of the dedicated GPS mpcie cards only though. Wasn't sure if it would recognize it. If not I have options now.
     
    ADOR, Apr 6, 2012
    #20
  21. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    Got my lcd cover plate last night, ran into a problem.

    The new one has the old style hinge mounts. So, the new hinge will NOT bolt up to it right. I got it to fit, but now the screen cover bezel doesnt fit right.

    So, if you ordered the 4 wire lcd cover, your going to need to order a set of old style hinges too.

    I got those ordered, and got some epoxy ready to mod them befor they break.

    So on another note, while searching for some drivers, It seems that the stock dell 5620 card can do GPS also.

    You just need to adjust the registry a bit.
    I dont have my m11x with me at work today, but word on the street is that if you go into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Novatel Wireless\NextGenCommon and chang GPSHWStatus from 0 to a 1, reboot, and it should have gps.

    Going to give it a shot tonight if I can get my drivers to actually install. (keeps popping up "incompatable platform")
     
    ejohnson, Apr 13, 2012
    #21
  22. Hades i7

    Hades i7 Newbie

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    Dask where did you get the software for this card? mine recently came in i popped it in and windows detected it installed the drivers but i cannot find the sotware to run this card can you help me with that?

    nvm found it thanx

    arghhhhhh gps wont lock on! :[
     
    Hades i7, May 6, 2012
    #22