G73 DC Jack Relocation to unused Ant location Mod. Pics

Hey All!

I've been lurking the forums for laptop repair info for a few years. This is my first post. So thought I would say hey first.

Anyway I know I'm a bit late to the G73 party, but their used price vs performance I just couldn't resist getting one to play with. My first impressions of them is very good, with a few minor annoyances, but nothing that I can't handle with a few mods.

This one drives me nuts on all laptops with the DC Jack on the side, WHY? They take way more abuse when on the side of the machine, and it seems the G73's are prone to DC Jack issues. So during my normal rebuild, repaste, and clean up of any used laptop that I get, I went ahead with this mod. So here is a few pictures kinda to lead you through what I did. We'll start with the money shot first.

Completed:




So here is how I did it. First I took a replacement DC Jack that is for a Toshiba which uses the same plug type at the G73.



I soldered it to the existing DC Jack on the motherboard



Next I routed the wire under the heatsink and wedged the new jack into place. It was a nice tight fit using the standoffs that were already there. I then put a dab of hot glue in to make sure it didn't shift.



Now with the fan installed. The plug you see in the picture is just a tip from a universal AC Adapter set, which was great for holding the plug in the correct position.



And a couple more completed shots. I also re-used the rubber plug that was in the antenna hole to plug the original DC jack hole. The antenna hold did require a bit of enlarging, nothing a drill and bit couldn't handle.



and notice it charging just like normal.



Well that's it for now. This is the first of many planned mods to my G73SW-BST6. If you have any questions post-a-way, or just let me know what you think.

 

The only problem i see with it is that it's a toshiba jack, which is really cheap. Looks like it's from a c655 series or similar, from experience those dc jacks can't take any abuse. They only have one ground connection inside and it can easily be bent and pushed so it will no longer make a circuit. It looks clean as far as the mods go though, I hope it lasts longer than the stock dc jack usually does.

 

Good eyes C4RN1, it is a plug from a C675 that I used, though I believe the one pictured is from a C655. I forgot to take a picture of the one I used first, so just grabbed another similar one out of the Toshiba plug box. The C675 plug has a bit longer wires. I do agree that they are very cheap plugs, but it will take way less abuse on the back of the laptop then on the side. If it does break it will be much easier to replace then the original. I can just solder a new one at the end of the wires and not have to solder on the motherboard. Next time I have it apart I'm going to make a actual bracket that holds the plug and screws in to the unused standoffs, which will clean up that part of the mod a lot more.

 

With my G53SX i just bought the right angle adapter which is like a dc jack with a right angle bend to a male adapter end and it works great.

Here's a link to it
Right Angle Converter for 5 5 x 2 5mm Power Connector | eBay

I was thinking since i already replaced a couple of these for customers that mine would be loose in a couple months, and so far i haven't had any problems with it because of that right angle adapter.

I wouldn't spend too much time trying to make that part serviceable or replaceable, just use hot glue and if you have any problems you can heat it up on low heat with a heatgun. I had to do the same with the switch for my led array on my g53 several times till i got the right amount of movement for the switch. If i would have used epoxy like i usually do i would have committed suicide trying to remove he epoxy countless times.

Here's a picture of it


I think if it looks clean on the outside that's all that really matters. Anyway keep up the good work, i like to see stuff like this.