Adding Aftermarket Internal GPS to the CF-30

Hello Dave. Can I have your full model number as I have a couple of options for you.

Thanks...sorry to be vague but dinner is ready.

Jeff....not a salesman...

 

Hey, Rick! are those breakout board can cut in a half and still usable? I ask coz I'm thinking the other side will not be use and if doing two pcs. You can save a bit.

ohlip

 

Teo,

They certainly were not made to do that... I'd have to check the pinouts to see if it is even possible. But at only $5 for the breakout board and the ribbon cable... That's a deal!

Breakout board for $5 + $15 for GPS antenna + $25 for the Ublox GPS engine and you are set. I think that is as cheap as it gets for a still quality product!

What do you think?

 

I checked those ublox gps. Different sales have either the 25mm antenna or the smaller one included. I'm sure it's not as good as a real Taoglas, but it is included.
I'm going to buy a ublox and give it a try.
Like you said, Rick, you can't really go wrong for the amount invested. I'm ordering it from China to save the $..I'm in no hurry.

None of them include the backup battery. I imagine the gps will function without it. Or it would be easy to add one using a cmos battery for extended save time.

 

I am assuming that THIS will work... It says it is the 6M... I won't use that antenna though...

 

I hope so. It's the same one I bought. Except mine is coming from China.

It has the standard USB connections.It doesn't have ENABLE/DISABLE though. I wonder if it will drain the battery when off? Maybe the original gps port is switched? I am sure Teo knows. I bet he posted it here somewhere already.

 

Tough book, which antenna part numberdid you order from Digikey?

Jon

 

Jon.... I ordered this one... AP.10F.07.0039B

 

Looks like it comes setup for 9600 baud -- is there a utility to change settings to 4800 baud, as needed for Streets & trips?

 

Ken,

Yes... They are suppose to be adjustable.

 

Teo,

Looks like the answer is NO... The pinouts span both sides. You would lose 1-2 needed pinouts depending on the side used.

 

Thanks!

Jon

 

Yo Sadlmkr--- thanks~! And hope you enjoyed your dinner too~!

CF-30FCDALAM
Ser. 8iKY890531

1.6ghz Touch screen w/80GB - 2GB - WIFI - BT - DVD - and the unit has a short pullup antenna located on the left side screen/cover. Setup shows no trace of installed GPS, obviously been removed.

WinXP Pro SP3 and Garmin 100K U.S. TOPO w/BaseCamp

Have owned it for a year now and it operates perfectly only looking to make a few upgrades, which most I can handle myself. Mainly the GPS option is an unknown to me so any tips will be greatly appreciated. Wonder if stock GPS unit is worthwhile--- assuming ease of install--- or will aftermarket engine give better performance.

Regards, ciao~!

 

Complete stock GPS is available on fleabay. I bought and installed this one in my personal cf30. Easy to retrofit and works good.
I am going to setup an aftermarket one. Just because I like to tinker. I have no complaints about the stock GPS. Complete install was less than one hour.

Genuine Panasonic CF 30 Toughbook GPS Antenna GXB5005 Chicago Proton Computers | eBay

 

Custom GPS will blow away the stock GPS no matter what. It just takes a little doing... But easy enough...

 

I have read enough here to believe that custom gps is better.:thumbsup: I am eager to find out for myself..
I figure it's safer to recommend the easy install of the OEM. Especially to newcomers that I am not sure even own a soldering iron. Easy for you and me isn't always easy for others..

 

Jeff, I downloaded this on the CF-30 MK2 stock/oem Panasonic GPSr and it works well, including Google Earth using COM3/Baud4800. I'm interested in what settings people are using for this with an aftermarket gpsr in above post(s).
BTW, I got this program working in Winehq under Linux 13 lts MATE on the CF-30, however very weird, will only lock into the Satellites on COM 4 Baud 4800 using the program referenced by Jeff...Google Earth did NOT load but the Sats locked in quickly...best regards...Cleve

 

I'm kinda with Shawn but also agree with toughbook...he should know.

FYI I have several OEM GPS pull-off packages here if you are buying one.

Did you find your Gobi card yet? Configurator says it has/had one. As configured I would avoid using WWAN antenna location for GPS antenna....which brings us back to OEM. You could always change to an aftermarket antenna in the GPS corner after you install it.

Ease of installation equals OEM. For now. :hi2:

 

I got the breakout boards a couple days ago and the Ublox 6M gps today in the mail. Hopefully I will get it installed this weekend. I have to figure where I want to mount the gps. I will take photos and post updates.

 

Shawn,

You can check behind me but this is what I found the pinout to be on those boards...

Breakout Board
Serial Side
1 – SCK
2 – MOSI
3 – MISO
4 – A5
5 – V
6 – GND
7 – G
8 – 3V3
9 – SCL
10 – SDA
11 – RX
12 – TX

I2C Side
12 - SCK
11 – MOSI
10– MISO
9 – A5
8 – V (Field)
7 – GND
6 – GND
5 – 3V3
4 – SCL (Field)
3 – SDA
2 – RXI
1 – TXO


Here's the other thing... When I hooked up my new UBlox GPS via the breakout board... It would hang on boot most of the time. Also... The wifi switch light (front lower right) would stay on after shutting down. I tried wiring from both sides but the result was the same. I think some of the pinouts cross over to others. In the end, I just went back to what I always did... Micro solder to the end of the ribbon cable just as Teo posted a while back.

You will also need to download U-Center from Ublox so you can change the baud rate to 4800 so most other software applications can use it.

EDIT: You will also need the lead from a wifi antenna so that you can lengthen it enough to make it from the top of the LCD down though the laptop and under the keyboard. I think Teo takes apart his GPS engines to do that. I was in a hurry to see results first so I just spliced mine and used some very tiny shrink wrap to cover. That micro shrink wrap is awesome!

My results were amazing... 9 out of 12 satellites pegged all the way. I can even get a signal in my shop with two floors of house overhead and surrounded by concrete and a steel door.

 

Rick,,
thanks....

 

Well I rung out the serial side and it appears that 5 (V) and 8 (3V3) are connected on the breakout board.

I just found a diagram of the seeedstudio breakout.

 

Here is a photo of the connection. It's the 2 circled spots. I will have to cut the individual traces. Once I cut 5 and 8, I will need to use 9 as the vc5 connection. I don't think 5 is needed for anything.

 

Holy cow! Did you sand that off to get to it? I didn't check the traces to see if they were connected but I knew they must have been.

 

Yes, I sanded it off. I figured I could sacrifice one of the three I bought.

 

Let me know if you want mine. I have several left. I like my old way better I think...

 

I am not able to solder to a FFC. Frustration would cause me to lose whats left of my mind. So I continue my breakout board quest.

I made a couple of cuts with a new xacto knife blade and everything rings out good. No shorts. I miscounted and cut trace 8 instead of 5, but it will work either way. The ability to still use trace 8 would have just given me 8 & 9 to carry VC5, but 9 will work fine. Now I am going to solder wires to connect the Ublox and breakout. Apparently they make a fiberglass pencil that works great to remove the solder mask on PCB's. I am going to get one. Sandpaper is a bit crude.

 

Check this out..
It's expensive....I need to find a cheaper source...

A U FL male to U FL female extension cable. 12 inches long.

Pigtail U FL Male to U FL Female Extension 12 inches for WiFi Bluetooth | eBay

 

Somewhere in my shop is a male/male U FL connector that I bought for a few bucks... I never tried it though...

 

ublox is in and communicating in winfast.. Com3 at 9600 baud...I can't get it to change to 4800 baud.. I tried the ublox software. It shows 4800 but winfast wont connect unless winfast is at 9600.

help!

 

Success....I still can't get the baud rate changed to 4800, but I guess I don't need to. Currently it's set to autobaud. Winfast finds it at com3 9600.
Garmin Mobile PC finds the Ublox 6M on com3. Does not list the baud. That's what I use so I won't worry about the baud. It would be nice to know how to adjust the baud though. I even RTFM and met with FAIL on the baud rate change.
I am waiting for the male U FL ends to arrive. When they get here, I will fabricate a U FL extension cable to install the Taoglas. Now to saw the cf30 gps bracket to make room for the Ublox.

 

You have PM...

 

Shawn! Did you get it on how to change the baudrate of the engine? Let me know. I will advice to those who are planning to buy this type of engine that to make sure you've got the module with Eprom installed. That way the configuration stay saved for as long as the cmos battery has a charge.


ohlip

 

ohlip,
I've been busy and have not got back to the cf30. I hope to this weekend. I did get the info.

Thanks
Shawn

 

I got the Taoglas installed today. I had to dremel about a 1/2 millimeter off each side of the inside of the wifi antenna cover. This was needed to fit over the new gps antenna.

I got a smd UFL male and soldered it to the end of a UFL cable to create an extension for the Taoglas. I am now waiting for the electronic grade silicone to cure and protect the wires I soldered to the circuit boards. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish this up.

 

Shawn,

You need to buy Kapton Tape...

It is what Panasonic uses and is invaluable! Once my soldering is done nice and neat I will wrap Kapton tape once around it. Then I will connect the antenna and wrap it over the end to make sure the antenna could never accidentally pop off. Plus it keeps all connections from touching anything else.

 

Rick, I have Kapton tape. I wanted a way to secure the wires from possibly breaking off. Hot melt glue or epoxy is very permanent. I did not trust tape to secure the wires good enough. I will give the boards one quick wrap with tape before I button it all up. I use tape to secure all antenna connections.

 

Here we go..

One odd thing. I noticed this with the OEM GPS also. When I have the metal cap screwed on my external GPS antenna port, the GPS has a hard time getting a signal. As soon as I took the cap off, it found 12 birds. I have not tried the external antenna yet.

 

Shawn... Nice work! I get similar results. Also... For some reason WinSAT doesn't like the Ublox GPS... It will work for a few minutes and then just lock up. It did it on two separate CF-30 builds. Just curious if anyone else has this happen too. Though I like U-Center much better.

 

I think my Ublox 6m failed...It wont lock on to any satellites. They flash for a second or two and then go out.
I tried a cheap antenna and it was worse. That tells me that my antenna, cables and connections are good.
I did order anther 6m.
I tried the Ublox control center and Winfast Navigator with the same results. Varied the baud rate with no help.

 

The Ublox worked great when I first installed it.

I'll attach photos and wiring..



This is version 1..That's what failed..



This is version 2...the replacement that I ordered.

 

My metal antenna cap for the external antenna port shorted the terminals.
It toasted the Ublox module.....I replaced the module and removed the metal cap.

Everything works great again...

 

I read through this thread multiple times before attempting to do this mod to my CF-30. I purchased the recommended parts and did my own take on the mod. I just could not bring myself to pay $20 for an extension cable for the antenna so I mounted the GPS module behind the screen. Now I just need to run a 4 conductor cable to the breakout board mounted where the factory GPS is supposed to go.

A Dremel with a small end mill helps make room for the antenna.



A small hole through the lid. I'll patch the extra with silicone when the wiring is finished.



The antenna in place.



Trimmed the excess board off the wifi secondary antenna.



UBLOX mounted to the back side of the lid. Plenty of clearance and the opposite side (back of the screen) is covered with thick plastic. The painters tape was just for fitment; the final assembly will use 3M double sided tape for mounting then covered with Koptan tape.




The breakout board should be here this week and I still need to buy the 4 conductor cable. When it is all finished I'll post again with the final pics.

Let me know if you think I am overlooking something.

 

I am curious if the high frequency "radiated" energy from the high voltage ccfl backlight and inverter will interfere with the GPS signal.

 

Double post cause I screwed up..

 

My final assembly is going to look like this: Lid, double sided sticky tape, Koptan tape. I can try covering the whole assembly in aluminum tape to shield it if that seems like an issue. I'll let you know.

 

I think you will need to cover it. Keep us posted..

 

Took every bit of an hour to break the 5-8 connection on the breakout board WITHOUT destroying it. I rang out all the terminals to make sure I didn't have any other breaks or shorts. I should have time this week to complete the install.

 

Yes, it can be time consuming detailed work.
I clean some of the paint off to make it easier to cut I then use a NEW knife blade. I always have an extra breakout board just in case.
I just think about the trouble I would have soldering a FFC cable...498 cables later, I might have one that I did not melt trying to solder it.
I probably would not make it past cable number 5 before I killed myself with the soldering iron...
You'd hear about it on the news..
"Man commits suicide by stabbing himself in the heart with a Weller model 60".....


I know you love soldering those things Toughbook, I just know better than for ME to try it.

 

Don't you just love the acrid smell of singed finger tips?