A little newbie help installing WiFi on CF-29 please

Hi Guys,

Firstly I would like to say I have found this to be a great site for information - thanks guys. I'm sure I will be on here a bit as plan a few upgrades- more memory, swapping CDRW for DVD/CDRW and internal WiFi to start with.

I have just got hold of a CF-29 which has come wireless ready with a PCMICA wifi card which works fine, but I want to go internal. Less risk of damage to the sticking out bit as this TB is destined for use by our son (although I will get to play with it as well lol) for his first laptop and I expect it to get knocked onto the floor, drinks spilled on it etc.

I have been having a good read of all the posts and have most things sussed. I plan on using the Engenius EMP-8602 Plus S from here - http://www.solwise.co.uk/wireless-mini-pci-nmp-8602.htm
I've also downloaded the drivers ready from Panasonic.

The one thing I need a little help with is the antennae wiring.

I have had a look at the service manual and removed the bottom cover to get to the mini PCI slot. I can see the one connector for the antenna(the white wire at the top of the photo below), but the diagram in the manual shows 2 wires connected to the card. Next to the wire is a small piece of circuit board with a connector on it that looks the same as the wire would connect to. Do I need some sort of short lead to connect between the card and this socket in addition to connecting the lead onto the card

 

ccrusader... for you to understand, I attached here the basic diagram to guide you how to install the wiring for wi-fi. Good luck and if you have more Q? don't hesitate to ask here on the forum.

ohlip

 

Yah, what Teo said. The existing white wire you have connected to that circuit board is going to your LCD lid and connects most likely to the CDMA modem antenna. Do you have a pull-out antenna on top? That circuit board is for the "pass-thru" connection. Looking at the back of your 29, do you see one or two small brass brads (small gold circles) on the other side? My guess is that you have just one. That would indicate that your 29 is CDMA ready, but may not set up for Wireless. What you need to do is remove the LCD lid and see if all the wires Teo refers to are there. There should be 3 if you have the pull-out antenna, and 2 if you do not. You will be looking for 2 that go to the skinny black rectangular pieces that you see on either side of your latch. Those would be the wireless antennas. Hopefully, those are there and installed. If they are, then following Teo's shematic, those wires should connect to the PCB that you can access when the keyboard is removed and the plate under the keyboard is removed. They will then jump from there, to your wireless card slot.

I hope this helps you a little.

 

Thanks for replies and the diagrams.

Sorry the picture didn't really show that the white wire was just tucked in, the connector on the end still has what looks like it's factory insulation fitted.

There's no pull out antenna. Not sure what you mean about the brass brads - the only brass thing I can recall seeing is behind the sliding door for the docking port. Can't check at moment as it's in the bedroom where SWMBO is sleeping

I have had a look under the 2 black covers and there is a small pcb under each one with a wire disappearing behind the lcd.

If it helps the full code for the TB is CF-29ETKGZKE

As I don't have the pull out antenna - looking at the 1st diagram would the white wire in the photo be the white jumper from the key board pcb?

So if I am understanding correctly - it is as simple as plugging in WiFi card, connecting the white wire to card and a jumper from the pass through pcb to the card, install drivers and away I go? Or am I off the mark here lol

 

First of all... Welcome to the forum... Consider the red carpet rolled out for your arrival! You came to the right place.

First... Remove the battery (ALWAYS!!!), hard drive and anything in the media bay (Floppy or DVD)

Here is reality in a nutshell... There are two GREAT antennas on the top of the LCD.... (The little black rectangles on the top lid) One of them has a black wire and one has a white wire... Both end in U.Fl connections that snap, or CAN snap, in various locations. Most CF-29s have what is called a "passthrough" connector on the back of the laptop. If you slide open the door... You'll see a little brass dot surrounded plastic circle surrounded by a diamond shaped piece of brass. This is used when docking into car dock... Like the police use... (Or port replicator I suppose) Then the dock has a wire that goes to an external antenna.

~ NOW ~

If you NEVER have plans to use this in a car dock or replicator... Then screw all that.... Run your black and white cables straight down through the bottom and connect then straight to the wifi card. Less loss of signal, less mess, less stress, (Though more disassembly, may be!) required.

I've always bought CF-29s with the wireless cards installed. I like the extra wiring intact so that I can wire them as I see fit or as a customer needs.

It all comes down to this.... You will have to remove all the screws from the bottom plate and feed the wires down to the new wifi card. If you can/need/want to have more power... The Engenius 600mW wifi card is popular. You may need to remove the keyboard and the cable plate beneath it. Personally... Before attempting this... I would have a good set if Wiha screwdrivers. You can buy them on ebay (a small kit of 8 or so) of under $20USD. You DO NOT want to strip out these small screws. You never know when you may need to access it again and it will look like holy dog crap if you do. Even with "jewelers screwdrivers"... (And I STILL want to see a jeweler that would use ANY set of "jeweler's screwdrivers" that I have ever seen for sale!)

The gist is that you may need to get under the keyboard and cable cover to open the space to feed the wifi wires through... As these spaces are pretty much water and dust tight... So you can just stick them through... You must disassemble, do your thang, then reassemble. The diagrams that have been given are great.

If you want further confusion... Usually the white wire will pass down though the body and hook up to the keyboard connector PC board... From there it will have another wire that will hook up to the wifi card. The black wire will lead to the top of the passthrough connector (visible from both sides if you have the bottom of and the cable cover off) and then from the bottom of the passthrough connector... there will be another black wire that leads to the wifi card. So... You have two cables that eventually lead to the wifi card AND allow an external hookup via the passthrough.

Perhaps I should have started this all of with.... "In a novel..."

Please keep us posted!

EDIT: Of course if you need any schematic or service manual... Just sing out...