Adding Aftermarket Internal GPS to the CF-18

Hi,

Can do it.... just need the time. Am currently building a house so no spare time to play with new software etc. I used to use EasyPc when I worked in the electronics industry back in the UK. Happened to work for a company that made analogue/digital radio system switches.... this was way before 'real' digital came out. So, making PCB's & soldering is no problems.... just don't have the time to do it at the moment

Andy

 

Well, its a good news. But where can you get the solution(fer...oxide) I am having a hard time of getting those chemical. I have to cancel all my project before.

Anyway, If you could do that will you please include the internal USB2.0 on the expansion slot. We could use that for cheap WWAN mod...(using the usb to mini pcie adapter).


ohlip

 

I am willing to buy a few
It would be great if this mod was easy
And less cluttered

Alex

 

Alex..If Andy can provide us his idea of mod..pcb with gps pin header and the USB 2.0 I say it is the best option for wireless wan & gps installation for cf-18 or even to cf-29. As I remember The CDMA was phase out in Asia and europe and turn to gsm tech. due to its high cost of maintenance if I am not mistaken. Only north american countries right now are using this technology and as you can see most wireless telecom companies here now are switching also to GSM.

As I also remember one of our member here posted an adapter fron USB 2.0 to mini pcie card and that is perfect for this mod... I have seen now on ebay a GSM WWAN module less than a hundred buck.




ohlip

 

Hi,

Have been looking at PCB design software and found an easier to use package from Sunstone. So, have downloaded it and will have a play. Apart from the FCC & GPS connectors what else woud be useful on the board ? Do we have pin outs for them ?

For the board I'd suggest double sided, solder mask and no screen printing. This would keep the cost sensible.

Thanks
Andy

 

Well! after forgetting the lunch due a delicate operation, patience and pulling hair but finally paid off. I installed the geohelix S active antena at the top of the lcd eventhough it is almost imposible to accomplish on cf-18 toughbook. As I mentioned it need a bet of a patience and study. Here it is! I present you the panasonic toughbook CF-18 with EM408 gps engine coupled with geohelix antena Lcd mounted.

 

Hi,

Have spent the last few days working with my new PCB software, man these SMT connectors are small, you don't realise how small until you view the pads at normal size

Anyway, I think that making a board that mounts in the same position as the OEM EVDO card would be a good idea and the EM408 can then be bonded to it using 3M vehicle trim tape.

Have also found a company that will assemble small batches of boards to OEM standards.

Cheers,
Andy

 

Hi! If anybody here wants to see the final setup of CF-18 toughbook with 20 channel gps EM408 coupled with Geohelix antena mounted at the top of LCD, here is the link; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330276812964&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=014


any Q? are welcome, free of charge


ohlip

 

It seems to me that the mod... CF-18 is more easy to sell than the cf-29 in a reasonable price.


ohlip

 

Andy.... Do you have any progress on your project yet?


ohlip

 

Ok! for update here is the Geohelix antena installed on cf-18. The gps function of the tablet can be use as an ordinary laptop or in a tablet mode. See the photo:

 

Hey! Andy...any development of your project. I am interested on installing the WWAn at the same time the aftermarket gps.


teo

 

Any chance that the pinout for the CF-18 is the same as the CN18 connector on the CF-29? If it is, I already have the board drawn up and manufactured from a prototype house. Let me know if I can help.

Robert

 

Sorry to bring up this old thread but I plan to add the em408 GPS to my (soon to arrive) CF-18.

I've been reading up on the subject here and even acquired the schematics of the CF-18 connectors thanks to a fellow forum member.

I have come to the conclusion that I'd rather not try to solder wires onto the CN16 contacts on the mainboard. Insanity lies that way!

I've found a Chinese guy on ebay offering custom flat flexible cables (I need a 50-pin / 0.5mm pitch for the CN16 port AFAICT, please correct me if I'm wrong) and am now looking for a supplier of ffc-to-round-wire adapters that sells low quantities.

Thanks!

All the manufacturers I could find will only ship in quantities of 50 to 100 pieces. I'd appreciate any links or hints to shops where I can buy these adapters. From what I gather they are commonly used with LCD panels.

 

As far as I am concern I never did solder an interface cable to the Mbo.. I used flex cable ribbon as you mentioned but not necessarily 50c ribbon. You can use a minimum 40c ribbon cable and follow the schematic where the pin out of the GPS are located.

What I accomplished by soldering the oem interface cable of EM408 to a flex cable ribbon but a need a bet of a patience to indentify which conductor to be solder. Hope it help your quest and your welcome to any question.


ohlip

 

Hello ohlip,
thank you for your reply. Using an ffc to round-cable adapter would simplify things a lot as one does not have to solder these tiny ffc or mobo contacts.
The perfect solution would of course be a custom PCB as mentioned above but these can be pricey.

 

Hi! can you give us a link to see what kind of adapter you are talking about. Just to give it review. You know! maybe your right to solve this problem and also it is more simplier for those who doesn't have an skill enough to perform those complicated work.


ohlip

 

This is what I was talking about: http://www.quadrangleproducts.com/products.cfm?Category_ID=7

Would make installation pretty straightforward.

 

cored...Its perfect! as you said, they are only selling with minimum quantities. Well! if you could find another forum member who are interested. I haven't check the price coz I'm lazy. How much is that? if it is reasonable enough I will buy 25set. let me know


ohlip

 

I've requested a quote for 10 pieces. No idea if they will even respond to private customers and these low quantities but I guess it is worth a try

I have yet to find another manufacturer of these adapters =(

 

Coredump... Rep to you... Great find. I would be interested to hear their response, if any. I have found some cool stuff too on other sites but you must be a company (easy to get around) and have minimum orders in the 100s or 1000s. (Not so easy to get around.) You would think these days they would sell to anyone unless they make these as they go.

Waiting to hear back...

 

Coredump,
Me too and I do have a corporation if you need cover.
CAP

 

If you have a corporation, you could probably request a small number as "Engineering Samples", possibly for no cost.

nine

 

Thanks guys, I'll keep you posted. Sadly, an order of 50, or even 100 adapters is a complete no-go for me as well. It doesn't make any sense to spend hundreds of dollars on adapters for a 300€ used toughbook. You could probably get the Panasonic CF-18 GPS factory kit for the price of that order =)

Let's hope they sell in small quantities.

 

Coredump,
That's what the forum is for. You would be amazed at how many people will come out of the woodwork if you've got something like these connectors. Call them up and ask, they are in the business of selling them and you are a buyer.
CAP

 

My two EM-408's are here. One is going into my CF-28, and I'm curious to see some pictures of where/how to connect one to a CF-18. I've got access to all my electronics tools here (I'm in Sydney for a few weeks leave - taking all the tools back with me to Adelaide this time!) so wiring up a special harness is not a problem unless special connectors are required that are hard to find.

Looks like I was usurped on the subject of hard to find parts in regard to the special cable needed... I'm certainly interested in the cables.

Craig.

 

Hello CAP,

I doubt that there would be >90 buyers here but I could of course be wrong . Point is, I do not want to spend the kind of money of a 100+ piece order (these things are probably around 10 to 20 USD a piece!) even if there is the remote chance that I could get my investment back by selling them to forum members or on the bay. I've requested a quote. Maybe they will put me in contact with a reseller if they themselves do not deal in such low quantities.

@Craig:
The red TB from your gallery looks awsome!

 

Coredump,
Why so expensive? I haven't really looked at which assembly would be needed but if you are looking for a standard unit they shouldn't be that costly.
CAP

 

Just a feeling. I've dealt with - let's say - uncommon parts before and they usually come with a hefty price tag. I won't get a reply to my quote before tomorrow or the day after (darn holidays!) so there is plenty of time to speculate

Meanwhile my inbound CF-18 is stuck at customs in Frankfurt/M =(

 

Thats the pain, most manufacturer of a very simple hardware/materials don't want to sell piece by piece to an individual like us it always come with middleman, the retailer and always come up with a mark up almost double its cost. But as a mod..er, we also come up with our own solution to complete and finished the project.


ohlip

 

I'm an electronics engineer by trade (tho I'm not doing anything as crazy as some people here hehe). I'm responsible for the maintenance of about 400 machines (large hydraulic presses, CNC milling, turning and drilling machines etc) so I know quite a bit about special parts. Did you know that some manufacturers charge as much as 5000USD for new HDDs with pre-installed software? Some charge well over 1500USD for blank drives that are hard to get these days (like ancient SCSI drives, drives not larger than 3Gb for really old PCs).

If the part is mostly used for industrial purposes the price is usually really insane.

 

Hello all,
I've gotten a reply. The cables are sold for 35 USD in quantities of 1 to 49, which is a little bit too much for my taste (especially so since it is entirely optional for modding purposes). I'm happy to forward the quote (which includes contact and order information) to anyone who has money to burn.

 

I'll keep microsoldering for that price!

 

It was worth a shot

 

Absolutely it was... Great find... Too bad they cost too much!

 

so did anyone get anywhere with making an intergrated pcb with the gps / bluetooth mods on the one board?

 

Hello

what is the exact CN16 Pin Assignment of there so that I can connect a GPS as well as in the picture?





thanks

 

Send a message to Teo (forum name Ohlip). You will be able to PM him when you have 10 posts or more I believe.

 

hello

Thank you, that will I do when I can send Pn.

 

I did notice that those plastic covers (which I found to be very poorly designed in terms of how they secure to the metal casting of the LCD housing itself) have plenty of room inside and there looks to be provision for mounting various small PCB's to fulfil some additional functions.

The cover at the top of the LCD housing certainly has potential to house a small active antenna or even a sarantel antenna internally (since there would be no metal preventing signal reception through the thin plastic), and there looks to be plenty of room to route cables into the main system housing from the LCD housing.

What I haven't worked out yet is where to actually put an EM-408. It would be good to use the antenna already on that module but it would require a 'clear' view of the 'sky' uninhibited by metal computer casing or other metal parts.

Craig.

 

One of our forum members is working on a kit for the CF-29 but doesn't have all the pieces together yet to offer it as a complete set. He has spent a great deal of time (and money) getting all the stuff together. I'm sure he will post when the time is right.

As an aside... Most places that make PC boards want to do long manufacturing runs, in the thousands or tens of thousands instead of hundreds or just a few. For the CF-18 this would most likely cost even more as there would be a need to purchase stock parts unless the installer is talented enough to modify the laptop to accept something that is not even close to stock.

 

Craig,

The covers offer plenty of room to run cables but any PCB small enough to fit inside would be useless.

I am playing around with the new Sarantel that is about the size of a pencil eraser but it needs a ground plane to work well... So that pretty much kills that... Unless I can try another position. The regular Sarantel is a little too big... You can make it fit... But then you can also cram 20 people into a VW... It just doesn't mean that you should or that it would work too well or even look good.

The regular patch antenna on the EM-408 is terrible... Even if removed and placed elsewhere. It very easy to find a spot for the EM-408 in the CF-18... It goes right where the bluetooth module would plug in. You just need to fab up the cable and run that to the connector.

 

Well yes I see what you mean. My idea is to figure out a way to get a small GPS antenna inside the plastic covers around the sides of the LCD housing, especially at the top of the LCD housing. So far I have not found a use for tablet mode with my CF18 so when it's used as a conventional system having a small antenna concealed inside the plastic cover would be the best way to go IMHO.

Ok sounds good and I see how this ties into the discussion on micro-pitch flat ribbon cables now.

How does the CF18 casing come apart to give access to where the bluetooth module would install? I noticed there is what looks like square-ish plastic blanking panel on the side of the casing between a small audio socket (not headphone - 3.5 mm plug doesn't fit) and the door to access the HDD caddy but it seems that the whole bottom of the system casing needs to come off.

Craig.

 

Ok, So the CF18 that I am getting apparently comes with an external GPS, not an internal. SO...... I started going through ALL of the cf-18 posts that I set aside and ran across this. PLEASE don't shoot me if there is a 'better' thread for this. So here is what I am looking to do, first here is my computer:

CF-18DHAMBKM = Pentium M ULV 1.1GHz(Centrino), 10.4" Touch Screen Hi-bright Transmissive XGA, 40GB HDD, 256MB RAM, Intel 802.11b+g WLAN, Verizon 1xRTT with NO voice, Dual pass through antenna, Bluetooth, WIN XP.
Since Manufacture the HDD is now 160GB & 1280MB Ram. With USB GPS.

I want to keep the current set-up (Emergency Managemet will add my WWAN to thier account for now) and add internal GPS. As this has the factory Bluetooth Module, I understand that I will be a little pressed to find space, but not impossible. I need a little direction on adding the antenna for this (Keeping the passthrough) with the best location to mount it (Maybe in plastic piece on lid?

I couldn't quite ascertain if the plug between the CF-18 (CN-16) and CF-29 (CN-18) are the same, just differently numbered. I was raised by an Electrial Engineer, so I'm usually not too shy doing eletronics work, but my hands are WAAAAAYYYY shaky now that I live on Narcotic pain meds for my back, so if someone is willing to help with the cable/EM408 I could compenate you a little for the help. I wish it could be a LOT, but disability doesn't pay well, I barely scrape by.

I still don't have PM permissions, so please contact me here or at my e-mail NKrebs AT StrathamFire DOT org

Any other help/suggestions/advice will be Gladly accepted and GREATLY appriciated.

Incidentally, I got a refurb yellow tab battery for the CF-18 for $70 + S&H from Fleabay #320397615257

Thank you all for your expertise and your willingness to share!

Norman 'Beau' Krebs K1SFD

 

Hi! for those who need to mod their unit using EM408 or holux gps module here is the pin out base on cf-18(IF schematic). Be advice that this mod is only for those individual who has enough skilled and understanding how it works and how it can be done. You may used 0 ohm resistor series to individual line for extra protection of the circuit.



EM408 GPS engine ============== CN(16) on CF-18 Mbo.
pin 1 enable/ disable--------------------pin 35 RFD
pin 2 ground--------------------------- pin 1 or any ground pin
pin 3(Rx)-------------------------------pin 14(Tx)
pin 4(Tx)-------------------------------pin 13(Rx)
pin 5(VCC)------------------------------pin 2(VC5)
----------------------------------------pin 12 Gps in:this pin must be connected to ground, series with 0 ohm resistor in order to show up the gps on the bios. Then the rest will be a history. Lol

Holux engine board===============CN(16)
1 Vcc-------------------------------pin 2
2 Tx--------------------------------pin 13
3 Rx--------------------------------pin 14
4 Rxb----------nc-------------------
5 Ground----------------------------pin 1
6 Reset--------nc--------------------
-------------------------------------pin 12 same as above.

GOOD LUCK and Happy Modding.

ohlip

 

On the custom-toughbooks.com site there is a GPS setup for CF-18's listed which could be an interesting alternative. I know there's already a thread about that supplier but figured a CF-18 specific subject should go into this thread instead.

My CF-18 is the system I take when I go away anywhere so I wonder how practical the Ublox-based solution is when compared to fitting an EM408 or equivalent?

Craig.