CF-27 silly questions?

Hello everybody,

I've had my 27 for a while now and while it performs admirably I'm getting the urge to attack it with sharp and hot things! I'm keeping my eye out for another (maybe dead already - see what turns up) to play with but before I ruin either of them completely I'd like to see if anybody else has tried the same things with or without success...

Will the bios recognise a faster processor if I swap it out? It's currently a PII 333 but I have a few PIII's doing nothing... Oh, and I know it's not ZIF!

Does the mini-pci slot conform to standard or is it dedicated to the aztech modem?

What is the daughterboard with the sim-card slot for???

I would also like to make a dock for it but I need the connector pinout. If anyone has the service manual and/or schematics (or links for them) they might come in handy too!

Thanks to all in advance...

 

Welcome to the forums. Please take a look at some of the various FAQs abut the CF-28 & CF29... Some of the info is the same or similar... Especially the CF-28.

1. The processor cannot be swapped.
2. You can put anything that will fit into the mini-pci slot. The modding to get it to work is up to you. (Running antennas, etc.)
3. SIM card slot? Gravitar is the expert on 27s... Ask him if he doesn't show up soon.
4. If you read a few posts... JB007Rules has a link in his siggy that has a lot of the manuals available for downloading.

Hope this helps....

 

Ratchild,
If you keep an eye on eBay you should find a CF-27 dock for less than $30. If you haven't seen a Panasonic dock, forget what you know about docks, they are truly rugged and easily modified into vehicle mounts.
SIM card slot? Where is it, and do you have the folding external antenna on the left side of the display? Welcome to the jungle!
CAP

 

Thanks for the responses and the welcomes!

Is the processor change issue *only* because it's soldered? Like do you know if the other hardware and bios revisions are the same for the models with faster CPU's, I know the chipset will support alot faster but are things like the FSB multiplier hardwired or controlled by CPU detection?

Good news on the mini-pci, I thought I'd read somewhere that it only likes the aztech modem it came with... Gonna have to dig through my junk box.

The 'sim-card slot' is under the trackpad (takes a fair bit of stripping to get to it) and there is no external antenna (folding or otherwise) or cabling that I've found so far. I'll have a bit of an experiment soon if no-one can tell me.

I've been through quite a few of the posts here (and searched alot) but wasn't aware of the 27/28/29 similarities. I've already got most of the downloadable manuals from modly's site but have found very little of relevance - Handy for stripping layout... JB007's links seem to have alot for the cf-30 but not the 27.

As for a dock, I have a few issues with the standard ones. For a start, all the ports come out the back which I would like to avoid and S&H would more than triple the price! I've already got just about all the parts I would need to make what I want, just looking for a shortcut for where to point the wires...

 

Let me add my $0.02.

1. The miniPCI slot seems *ONLY* to work with the aztech modem card. Nobody's yet done any serious investigation into WHY..

2. The SIM card socket is related to the cellular phone modem modules that some CF27s were equipped with. Probably just a useless appendage unless you have some inside knowledge about how to use it.

3. About the processor speed.. Let me turn the question around, do you think you could desolder and replace the CPU that's in there? I don't know anyone else that could!

4. As far as the docking station.. I have fit one is a US post office flat-rate box for shipment overseas.. saved quite a bit on shipping cost.

 

Ratchild,
If you've got all the CF-27 stuff you can use from Modly's site, that's all I had and I haven't added any since I sent it to him.
CAP

 

More info is always good - if nothing else it's given me a little more excuse to get the 'scope and meters out...

To gravitar - I thought I'd seen that about the mini-pci.
Cell modem - hmmm, that was my thought - don't know if I'd have a use for that anyway even if I could get it to work.
Processor, as a short answer to your question - yes, I believe I could change it. I have done it in the past but that was like-for-like not upgrade.

If I go ahead and either figure all this out or make a doorstop, anyone interested in the results?

 

If you could change the CPU which I doubt you could unless you have access to wave soldering equipment, it would have to be a PII series which I believe is max 400MHZ. The CPU is a BGA which means all the pins are soldered between the CPU and the motherboard so it would require the expensive equipmemt. I don't see the point given that you could get a PIII500 CF-27 for about $50.00 now.

 

Prices like that are dreamland here...

I think I'm going to do what I usually do in these situations - go and sit quietly in a corner with my friends Mr. Weller, Mr. AVO and Mr. Crate-of-beer!