Vostro 1400 DIY Internal USB Hub

Yes, I'm going to make one. Why?? because I can
I've been a fan of wireless stuff and wanting to use my wireless mouse without dongle sticking out, even the tiniest bit
no, I dont want a bluetooth one, had enough of sleep-freeze experience and now I'm back in good old nano receiver wireless.

So I cracked open the notebook, and found out that the two left usb ports are in a form of a tiny pcb board, separated from the mainboard.



well isnt it Great! It'll make the job easier huh
looking at the back side



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now my plan is to:



- cut the usb line at the back of one of usb female head
- connect 1,2,3,4 to one of the hub's output, making the external port still usable
- connect A,B,C,D to hub's input. This way I dont have to search for 5V source and Ground.

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I havent got the usb hub yet to complete this project,
but I've done the testing part with some unused usb extension cable :



And the result? I'm typing on it with dongle-free great performance, non-bluetooth mouse right now

This thread will be updated when I complete the internal hub. meanwhile, just wanna share some pics


UPDATE 1
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The latest setup on page 2.. here's a preview


UPDATE 2
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This is the Final Setup.
The usb hub is stripped to pcb, 2 usb ports (with cable), 1 port soldered to internal usb port, and 1 unused usb line
I placed the usb hub behind the original usb ports, and 2 cables run to between memory slot and battery bay.
I have a mouse receiver in 1 port, and another port is still unused.. will see if I can find a cool gadget to put there.



~ my journey for DIY internal usb hub is over.. This is it, DIY Internal usb hub ala chef crayonyes ~

 

PertamaX already kept..

wow its great Gan.. ...but if you had a usb hub is it gonna be decrease batery life time..?

thx Gan

 

haha Thanks Gan..

I'm plugged-in most of the time, so battery life wont be a problem..
and my battery also still has a good 2.5 - 3 hours of use

 

Nice mod... clever.

 

Where, internally, did you put it? I had one of these but never really cracked it open since it was under warranty

 

For testing with nano receiver above, I just put it like that,
behind the usb ports/ under the expresscard, there's enough room for it.

I'm planning to put usb hub between memory slots and battery bay,
there's enough room and height for a usb hub pcb there.. just need to get the right usb hub

 

hmm nice
the xps 1530 also has one one of those thingies. i was thinking of a reason to try this myself, but i dont really have one
how did you solder A,B,C,D? it looks kinda like they are hidden under the others

 

yeah,, my only reason atm is the mouse receiver
if only I haven't had a bluetooth, I'd put a usb bluetooth too.

After the usb lines are cut, they are bent outside so it'd be easier to solder them to wires.
I cut them using whatever tools I have at home (small scissor and a cutter),, so it's a little messy LOL
Just need to understand the pinout here: http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/USB_-_Universal_Serial_Bus

 

Hey,

Really like this mod, piggy backing off the external USB. Question though, does performing this mod render the external USB port unusable or any less reliable?

- Josh

 

Hi Josh,

I'm planning to get the external usb port still usable, by connecting it to the hub's output :

- connect A,B,C,D (usb line source from motherboard) to point X,
- connect 1,2,3,4 (external port) to point Y below.

usb hub that I'm planning to use (I'll crack open the body)

 

I'm having trouble soldering the wires to point 1,2,3,4 since the cuts are too close to the usb head's body

Now I'm thinking of getting a new usb female head and bend the pins and solder the wires there (it should be easier, no ?)

anyone has experience in replacing the usb head? is it doable ?

 

Don't you think it is too big to fit properly.

And props to the creativity and effort

 

with the usb hub's body removed I think I can fit it inside.

This is the pic of Testing phase revision.



And this is my Testing 2, connecting 1,2,3,4 with A,B,C,D through usb cables.



It didn't work though, because one of the solder in 1,2,3,4 got disconnected
I cant make solid soldered wires there, I'm going to try it again.

The area mark in Red can be used to store the pcb and usb cables/head.. enough room there

 

Contact K-tron... he's the one who can really help you when it comes to mods like these... anyways good luck! Extra USB ports are always useful!

 

Thanks Sean.
I've tried removing the usb head with no luck. The solder is very tiny and precise.
An amateur like me will have a hard time removing it.

Now I'm thinking of skip it and planned to replace all the pins with new and longer ones. I've managed to take off pins from a dead old hub.

Lots of troubles, but challenging, yes.
well at least after through with this I'll have my Level-up LOL

 

Why not just use the usb connection off the express card slot instead of using a usb hub. It's less hassel plus you can turn the adapter off to save power when you don't need it.

If yoiu're good enough, you can design your own pcb which is many times smaller than the hub that you posted.
e.g.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Four-port-USB-hub/step13/The-final-board-so-far/

 

wow I'm not that good to make my own pcb lol ... but Thanks for the link

Like I said, I want to hide the mouse receiver inside and maybe I'll put another gadget next time.. just for fun haha

 

Um.. since you're putting the receiver near the express card slot, you can just use the usb connection on the express card connector. I believe it's the last 4 pins on the express card connection is usb.

 

Oh I didn't know about that..
my expresscard slot is on the other side of the board, but I'll see if I can use it

edit: hmmm,, I'm not sure where to look for usb pins on expresscard ?? http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_Connector_ExpressCard_Bus.html#b
there's no 5V source and Data-/+

Edit2: are we talking about expresscard slot, or mini-pcie ??
my mini-pcie already taken by WWAN module..

 

Pin 2 and 3 are usb data for expresscard
2 usb d- I/O USB Data
3 usb d+ I/O USB Data

as for 5v power source, you can get it off usb other usb ports. A lot of simple usb devices will also work with 3.3v if you want to make a simpler design.

 

Great, Thanks! now I know what to do if I failed to solder again.
If only I have good skill in soldering, I would have get the job done instantly haha

 

so there were no negative effect right..? good..

 

well I haven't finish the internal hub yet.. I'll let you know when I'm done.
But there are lots of eee users that have done this mod, and I think they have no problem

 

Finally I made it the solder job is done .

I changed the solder to point A,B,C,D to the backside of the pcb:


Testing with a flashdisk to point 1,2,3,4 confirms it's working now


The back view of the notebook:


The final setting minus the usb hub:
I put a pull-tab using tape for easy access and setup.


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With this setting I'm hoping it would be an easy put / remove of the hub from the memory panel,
no need to disassemble the whole notebook just to put/remove the hub

now waiting for my usb hub to come..

 

The pic for the final setup of my DIY Internal usb hub on Vostro 1400.. enjoy!



~ the end ~

 

so does it work perfectly?

 

yup! of course it's working flawlessly
both the left usb port that I used and the internal usb hub.
No external port sacrificed, added 2 (and maybe 3 in future) internal usb ports

 

Nice! Congrats!

 

Thanks! now that I "have" a bluetooth-wannabe AnywhereMX (without the sleep-freeze bluetooth problem of course), I'm planning to add a keyboard to the invisible logitech unifying receiver

 

... hmm good thing my laptop has internal bluetooth... don't want to do mods... gives me the shakes but i do have to salute you! I could nver do it!

 

I have internal bluetooth
but as stated in OP, I don't want to use bluetooth mouse for now
at least until the common problem of sleep-freeze is gone.

 

what's the sleep and freeze problem?

 

when the mouse idles for some time it usually goes to sleep mode (to preserve battery life),
and on bluetooth mice, it's common that they will have a delay response before they wake up when we move them
(it's more like the process of sync-ing between the mouse and OS when wake-up takes time)

That's the story with bluetooth mice.

 

good idea but not practical. too much risk to have loose circuit board inside laptop. Can burn out MB if anything thing touch the MB circuit. It will cost more than a usb hub if you fried the MB.

 

yeah but precaution will do good I know that and I don't have any solder joints touching the motherboard. but Thanks for the warning