Adding Aftermarket Internal GPS to the CF-29

The center driven element on some GPS antennas should not touch anything... Which is why you see the OEM GPS antenna (And others) with a special thick ring around the center driven element. Others may not need that.

As far as the "ground plane".... In my setup, it is more of a reflector dish. It helps (in my setup at least) but may not be necessary in all cases.

 

@ Green X5,
From what I have been able to gather, there have been a lot of problems with the mstar chipset. When you first posted I did some research and found that there is a quite active US GlobalSat forum. They have apparently been through a long string of firmware updates trying to get the ND-100 to work. I probably didn't retain as much information as I should have, but there seem to have been European and US versions of the unit. If any one here is thinking of trying this hack I would strongly recommend doing some reading and am guessing that the ND-100s, with the Sirf III chipset would be the one to start with, they are the same price. More rep to you Green, this is a slick hack and might be very useful if the ND-100s performs as well as other Sirf III units.
CAP

 

It works! This works very well. Without the copper sheet and nothing else to improve performance. Quick start and a great reception in every room of my house.
I would recommend to use the ND-100 now. But it does require special installations. Please wait for my photo report. Notebook need some thing for the exterior...
And now I want to sleep. I did hug my laptop last two nights ... )))

 

Congratulation for job well done and I hope that module is powerful than on this module. It has a sirfIII chipset but I am still not convince how powerful it is. There is no way the best the one with an antena installed at the top of LCD. This module was manufac.. by San Nav. I've tried it before but I can not offer this mod to my buyer coz as I said I am not fully convince of its perofrmance.

ohlip

 

Well I can not compare these two chipsets because I do not have the usb receiver SiRFIII inside. But I have the retail PCMCIA with receiver SiRFIII inside. This is very bad working inside the building, although the unit antenna is located outside the laptop. So I can assume that the power of the same chipset. Or nearby.
If you do install my nd-100 as I have laid out in the this thread - it does not work indoors. And do not even always work well on the street. So I went on.
I tested the reduction of power supply to the usb power connector. This 5,04 V and 0,5-0,6 A. This means that the power reduction on the cable is not. But the receiver does not work indoors unless it is inside the lid.
I saw a strange thing - if there is a small gap between the lid and the body of the laptop, then the signal is increased by 2 times! It was always and I do not know how to win or to use it ...

I was sure before, that the important thing here is the top plane of the antenna. And I made a hole in the lid. But the result was no ...

Then I was going to raise the antenna up of the lid. I made a full size hole in the lid and the dog stuck her nose out of the booth. ) The result was magnificent! It's like "yes" or "no."

The top point of the receiver on 0,1 inch above the lid.
I understand that this decision is not elegant. But I have an idea of how it is sealed and improve the exterior, as well as to protect the antenna from damage.

 

Looks like you are on the right track to better performance
You are recieving good advice by two of the most experianced on the forum

My view of antenna placement is that it is always better on the lid
The problem is the time required to mod, and providing protection so the antenna is not damaged under normal use


I prefer the sirflll chipset module with an external active antenna
The benifit of the external antenna is in the overall size

Your combination unit might be hard to build in


Alex

 

I agree with you, trial to install the receiver nd-100 just inside the lid failed ...

 

Toughbook, I do not understand about this thick ring. Can you give an example of a photo? Thank you!

Edit: I can delete the question. I see a recommendation not to approach any objects closer to 0.5 to 1 cm close to the antenna ...

 

What of the antennas (model) can be the most powerful performance in your opinion? If you do not look at the size ...

 

I wanted to post this here as well as the main forum. I found these while searching the net. They would make an internal USB mod a lot easier. Mouser also sells them. $10 plus shipping.

FFC board 40 pin .50mm pitch

 

I was originally looking at these, but figured that with the antenna in the palmrest, it wouldn't work too well.

How can you tell if your CF-29 was wireless ready or if I'll have to order new coax?

Does anyone know if these boards are still being produced?

Can we still get cables Antenna covers for the upper corners of the screen ordered from Heartland or are the parts discontinued? I know the CF-29 is kinda old.

Also, are the internal USB ports USB 2.0 or 1.1 like the externally accessible one?

 

Filling in a few details.
I have two CF-29 Marks with SIRF III (em-408) installed. They are recognized by either XPPro and Ubuntu. The problem is they won't talk to the program of my choice.
I have a CF-29 E model with the sled and factory GPS and that works fine with my program.
Bull-headed as I am I like what I like and I like USAPhotomaps. Particularly the 7 1/2 min USGS topos.
What am I missing in the set-up of the em-408?
Any help/ideas would be appreciated.

Jeff

 

You need to know what com port the em-408 is using
When you know the com port , go to the GPS tab in the software
Select the com port number , then select the baud rate (4800) , all the other settings should be fine

 

Thank you. I did this over and over for months. Then the solution appeared.
1. Put pride aside.
2..Post question.
3. BINGO It works. Some magical electrically actuated feline thing.

Actually I think this is the first time I tried it since I did a Pana restore. This was on a Mark 4. When my Mark 3 disks get here I will confirm.

Thanks TC.

Jeff

 

Would there be info available as to how you got that Sarantel GeoHelix in there? Oh and hi I'm new to the fourm, but have been reading up for a few weeks now and just baught a CF-29ENKGRKM Just starting to load to XP up now.

 

Thats an active patch GPS antenna , not a sarantel
The Sarantel needs to stick out to work

 

JDGA Ceramic Patch SMT GPS Antennas Frequencies from 1575Mhz - 1598MHz

One of Jim Grey's from the bottom of the list? 10x10?

I plan using an ET-312 Sirf III Reciever, I've checked over the specs of each
and other than its smaller and surface mount , I can't seem to find any differences from the EM-408, Correct me if I'm failing so far please

I'd like to get as much info as i can in before I place an order, and I'd rather not tear her apart untill I have the hardware to work with.

Joe-

 

Hi here, also Beaverton Oregon, small world.

I just got my first Toughbook last week, a CF-29. I've installed a new 7200 100Gb drive, given it XP and Partition Magic'd it to two partitions, one is for XP and the other will be for Ubuntu.

The question is, how do I install a boot manager that will work with NTFS? Nothing seems to work with NTFS. So I'm stumped and would appreciate some direction.

Cheers Nigel

 

Welcome to the NBR panasonic forum . Try this search install a boot manager that will work with NTFS - Google Search Jeff is the Ubuntu guy on this forum

http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/241106-cf-29-f-q-read-me-before-posting.html

 

Different File Systems on the same disk
If you are migrating from Windows and have more than one NTFS partition on the same disk, you might be tempted to convert one of the partitions to ext3 or 4 and install there the Linux files while leaving the NTFS partition as /home (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Partitioning/Home/Moving).
Avoid this! It's ok to have two partitions on for Linux system files and another for home files in the same disk, but they should be both the same file system.

 

Ummm, I install XP with factory restore. Run it a while until SP-2 or 3 is up. Then I use Ubuntu from a usb stick and let it install. Ubuntu takes care of the partitioning itself. Ubuntu handles the partitioning and the only thing that may gripe you is Ubuntu is the first OS in the boot menu.

Jeff

 

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Laptop Forums and Notebook Computer Discussion - Announcements in Forum : Panasonic

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can some one help me with pinout on cn18 and maybe pinout on port rep. cable .iam new to forum and in the prosecc of installing gps on 2 cf-29's 1 mk1 1 mk2, the only #'s i have is on the mk1 cf-29drkgzkm, the mk3 has 1.4 cpu and 1.5 gb ram got all cables will show pic's if i get this installed, also on the gps engine do i need ttl not 232 data ,they are different arent they my 1st sled is 232 but i bought a small 232 to ttl converter chip any real schematic's with good pinout's would be wonderfull , mt second engine will be ttl for sure seller's lied. thanks for any help ohlip and t.b., onrikkiss are the master's of this site thak's tony my email is [email protected] any pfd or jpeg

 

How about a little help here. I have a CF-29 H/J(mk3). After market (I think) internal SiRFStarIII. Everything was working fine until I contracted a vicious "ransonware." My tech had to reformat computer to and now I cannot find my GPS. Nothing in device mgr. Any thoughts?

 

did you get all the proper diver's installed !, the driver's on the panasonic site are not that good, i had the same problem, hard drive crashed reloaded opp sys. and touch screen never worked again. there are some drivers listed on ebay for about $7.00 they worked great but i seem to have misplaced them, that cd got all my programs working.

 

The GPS is not listed in Device Manager... Who was the seller of the laptop? What ebayer sold it to you? If it isn't OEM it could be any number of things. If it is installed correctly it should work even without the other regular drivers installed!

Let me correct that... You should go into setup (F2 at boot) and turn off the GPS. Then download the GPS Patch from Panasonic's site. Install it, reboot and go back into setups and turn your GPS on, save and let it continue rebooting.

If your GPS is installed correctly it should be found on COM 3 and should work. If it doesn't... whomever sold it didn't (or may not have) installed it correctly.

ALWAYS download your drivers straight from Panasonic's website. There are several around and some can only be found on certain sites. (Canadian, USA, Japanese, etc.) If I catch you PAYING for drivers on ebay or anywhere else I will drive by your house and shoot out your porch light with a slingshot! DO NOT BUY YOUR DRIVERS! That is for people who admit to the world they haven't a clue about Toughbooks. If they don't have the time to read how to do it or ask the right questions... I don't have the time to help them

Spend some time reading here about how Toughbooks work as well as how to mod them and ask intelligent questions and you will find a whole host of people who are more than willing to bend over backwards to help you out! We are a close-knit community that will send free parts to each other just to help out a fellow fanatic. Just be willing to respond in kind.

If you have other questions about your Toughbook... Post them in a new thread in the general Toughbook forum. If you read certain posts and they intrigue you or you need clarification... Just PM the person that posted them... I think you'll find your answer in a few hours.

 

I'm thinking of removing my sled and selling it and installing one of these. what would be the VCC and this gps and what would be the enable/disable on this gps? the gps is easy label but i'm a little stupid lol

 

Keep it simple.
Get a Ublox gps from ebay. They come with an antenna, cost $15.00, and only need a usb port. (4 wires)
Do some research on the forum here to find out how to use an internal usb port.

Ublox Neo 6M GPS Module Aircraft Flight Controller for Arduino MWC IMU APM2 TR | eBay

OR...if you are not really skilled with electronics, buy the plug and play kit for a cf29. It's easier to spend the money rather than replace the laptop after the soldering disasters....

 

Very well put Rick, also found a good place to put it :thumbsup: http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/356620-toughbook-drivers-manuals-sources.html#post9352741

 

i might just have to get lazy someday and just send my sled to someone and have them mod my sled lol