Hidden connector question

Just wondering if anyone knew what the hidden connector under the keyboard is for? I noticed it a while back and never gave it any thought, but its on the lower left side of the mainboard, under the keyboard. little white critter....kinda hoping maybe its a way to add a bluetooth module.....if not, it would be nice to at least know what it is for.....

thanks to all the forum ppl here....you guys rock....saved my hide on a bad bios flash....stupid CMOS Checksum Bad ......

h

 

your post didn't indicate what model you have?

 

oops....duh...now i feel dumb....Averatec 2370....

 

Hmmm, before I dig further into the topic (and tear my 2370 apart), can you better describe the connector (number of pins, how configured, etc) and the rough demensions of the space available in that location?

You have me curious too. Bluetooth is a good guess. Another possibilty might be a different video output (DVI or analog) or a line-in audio jack (stereo, versus the microphone's mono input).

 

If you could take a digital picture of the connector and post it as an attachment, that might help, too.

 

Ok...took it apart for fun....attached are pics....its labeled CON8, and i bet a mainboard diagram would tell exactly what it is for.....there are 8 connector pins in it...

whaddya all think?

h

secondary question: what is the slot called that the wifi card is in? is there a combo bluetooth/wifi card that would work in there that anyone knows of....i'd really like to get some kind of internal bluetooth going....

 

After a little Google looking, I'm pretty well convinced it's a place for an internal Bluetooth module.

Take a look at this module and note the 8-pin connector:
http://cgi.ebay.com/376652-001-Inte...0Q3aRECOQ3aBINQQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

And if you read this forum post, you'll notice that the HP DV6000 uses nearly the same components as our 2370 (the post is on installing an internal BT module):
http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=29266

 

Most intriguing.....thanks for the research bit Jim....i dont know if i'm ready to jump the gun and buy a $50 part and have it fry my laptop though....someone wanna try it first?

i was wondering if anyone had seen a wifi/bluetooth card that fit in the wifi cardslot on this laptop? that would make sense to me....someone comes up with an aftermarket upgrade - could sell pretty big i bet....

thanks

h

 

Saw one when poking around that would likely work [laptopparts.com ?]. But for the life of me I couldn't see me paying $50 plus shipping to throw away a working part (well okay, try to sell) and put one in it's place that added BT. I recently paid $20 for a BT USB dongle.

 

Call me strange...it drives me nuts that there is a connector that i dont know 100% what it does....another wishlist thing would be how to add an IR port to it so i could stop lugging around this IR reciever for my media center.....oh wishes wishes.....

i could consider dropping 50 bucks into a card to get bluetooth without a dongle.........it would be nice to be able to sync my blackberry w/o cables is all...

what is that slot called the card is in - i dont think its a mPCI because that is the older wifi type....is this a mini PCIe?

h

 

the internal wi-fi wireless card is plugged into a mini-PCI slot.... however, the 2370 interprets the device sitting in this slot as a USB device. So while the slot is not USB, the circuitry on the card must be acting as though it is the equivalent of a USB wireless device. Go figure.

In theory at least, you should be able to plug any mini-PCI card into this slot so long as the card fits within the available space for the card, and of course, you have the appropriate device driver.

 

i saw this thread linked by serenity over at averatec-forums and thought i'll talk out loud

this discovery of the hidden connector is great and gives us hope for BT

a long time ago, i found only ONE wifi/bt mini-whatever card, but (according other forums) it only worked properly in that manufacturer's notebooks.

when reading the hp thread, they talk about bt options appearing in the bios.
this might or might not be a problem. edit: nvm, seems like it doesnt matter

 

ok, this is a follow-up to my post above.

i read through the planetamd64 thread a couple times.
that thread mentions a couple different bt modules.
when i went searching for those part numbers, i found additional part numbers which are bt modules which fit in hp notebooks.

so although the ebay bt module might work, so could a whole bunch of others.

one last thing... where is this bt module suppose to be placed when installed.

 

While I watching the lights blink and listen to the drive churn on another PC this past weekend, I did some more poking around the web.

I found out a few things of some small value:
Apparently there is a difference in the motherboards between the 2370 and 2371 - if nothing else, in the mounting points. However, such difference must be very minor as virtually all daughter cards, processor, etc. are interchangable.

The Twinhead equivalent of the 2371 is the H12F. (Twinhead is the source for both the 2370 & 2371) Advertised specs for the H12F mention optional integrated Bluetooth capabilities. In fact, Twinhead has a Vista driver download for this critter.

What I have not been able to readily determine are the physical dimensions of A- the space available under the 237x keyboard (I don't have time to open mine up just now), nor the physical dimensions of the various 8-pin internal Bluetooth modules I've seen. Although intuition tells me that the Actiontec BTM200 module, also used by HP/Compaq, would work just fine.

 

serenity, check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260163542256

hope the pictures help someone.

depending on the location in this this bt module will live, we have to route the wire there and that will determine the length of the wire.

plus the auction says that they installed it in an acer before so it hopefully would work in an averatec

 

sorry for the links but these might or might not be helpful

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=17907&page=54

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=33715

 

Yeah, unfortunately the same problem exists. Without the physical dimensions of the hole in the PC and size of the module we have no idea if the BTM200 will fit inside the Averatec 2300 series.

The required module may not the BTM200, but something different. I've seen at least a couple 8-pin variations, and another half-dozen that use a different pin count.

 

Well, physical dimensions of the hole are:

2.5mm wide
3.0mm long (opening in the plastic, not from connector to back of hole)
0.5mm deep

AKA - aint no BT card i know of that will fit in there.....tho opposite of the connector, the plastic is "notched" out so a cable could pass through it....didn't remove the whole top cover to find out where it could go, but space is pretty slim on here.....i also didnt see any reasonable place under the ram access door for a card to fit.....nothing in the cd bay either, but possibly in the space between?

on a side note - anyone know what SW2 is for? i saw it when I had the HDD out to poke around....2 micro switches....not like i'll go flipping them for fun or anything.....

anyone know where you can order a twinhead bluetooth card for this thing - i might actually try it....if its cheap enough....

thanks for all the good thoughts!

h

 

hdufour-

I think I'm burned out on tracking this one down It's time to turn the next phase of this search over to you.

2.5mm, and not 2.5cm? I concur that NONE of the modules I've seen pictures of are as small as you describe. So you are correct, unless there is another spot, it ain't going there!

 

Jim

Yup, cm, not mm...what was i thinking!?!!

thanks for all the help and direction....next time you're in the Midland MI area, i owe you a beer....

i will check w/ my vendors to see if anyone carries twinhead parts.....hope this gives someone hope too....

h

 

HA!
I pass through Midland, MI probably more often than you thought! Unfortunately it is just that, passing through. My daughter & son-in-law attend the University in Ann Arbor, and I have family in Oakland County.

Of course I do have friends in Midland, and a customer in Saginaw... Never know, I may just take you up on that beer someday.

I'm located in the western U.P. - Keweenaw Peninsula.

 

so i guess the thread has died...

 

Yes, may this thread rest in peace....I have given up on the idea of bluetooth for now, mainly because my job requires a bit more attention than my lappy does....it was such a nice thought though.....

h

 

been trying to find this info for ages, we sell twinhead laptops at work and I have contacted the technical centre in Germany but still got no information