CF-28 Attempting internal wifi mod..

Hi,I have a cf-28stjg8km with a cdpd (or rim?) antenna on the lcd..it's a bit more than 16cm long.

I've read this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/215522-built-wireless-advanced-mods-2.html#post2986270 but the pad configuration is different..here some photos:




There are 2 0 ohm resistors,but I don't know about the other two..should I desolder them?


I want to connect the black cable to the engenius wifi card:

 

Yeah, your unit is not RIM, it came with the CISCO Aeronet WiFi card in the hidden PCMCIA slot. You don't need to do the hack at the antenna base; just trace the black wire down into the bottom of the ToughBook.

It either plugs into or is soldered to a connector board; from there you can either hacksolder a wire with a uFL connector on the other end in place of the blue wire that goes to the hidden PCMCIA slot, or you can do like I did and make an adapter to go between the blue wire and a pigtail with a uFL connector on it. Whichever way you go, just make sure you have the WiFi card in the right hand Mini-PCI slot, and that your uFL cable will reach to the MAIN or BLACK labeled connector on the WiFi card.

mnem
Easy-peasy.

 

Or just enable the internal Cisco 802.11B wifi card (Ctrl-Tab?) and use it at 11 Mbps -- still faster than many home Internet connections.

 

That is, if he STILL has it.

mnem
Moo!

 

Model Number: CF-28STJG8KM
Status: DISCONTINUED
MSRP: $5,283
Description: Intel Pentium III 1.0GHz, 13.3" Transmissive-Touch Screen, 30GB HDD, 256MB RAM, 56K Modem, 10/100 Ethernet LAN, Floppy Disk Drive, Cisco WLAN, Whip Antenna, Windows XP Professional

 

Only problem with the Cisco card is that it only supports WEP. I had the same thought until I realized I needed to downgrade my entire network security just to connect my Toughbook. Not a good plan since I have an apartment complex across the street......

 

Yeah... I had the same conversation with Springfield a year or so ago; while it's true that the old "B" cards can get better reach, especially through walls, that actually becomes a liability when you're in a heavy populated area because WEP is about as good as no encryption at all anymore. Every Wardriver and script-kiddie wannabe has warez scripts that'll crack it open like a walnut in under a minute and it's all legal, open-source code; WPA2-PSK takes several minutes and software that is illegal to own right now (Unless you're the FBI, RIAA thugs or some local law enforcement who doesn't even need a warrant).

I recommend NOT using WiFi for ANYTHING; it's too easy to get into your eMail account, and for at least half the people out there, those credentials are the same as their bank account. A little sifting through the eMail can usually tell a thief which bank; then they use variations on your eMail credentials until they get in.

As with most security hacking the wetware is the easiest path; and using WiFi is just like shouting all your personal ID through a megaphone.

mnem
*Wired*

 

So this whip antenna should be like a standard wifi antenna right? Is it adequate for an engenius 8602+S?

I think I'll have to open the upper case again,but I'm having great difficulties in removing the keyboard,I'm afraid to break it..it doesn't pull out easily,it's like blocked at the bottom.

Yes,I have the cisco card,but I removed it,because it lacks WPA2 support..I think I broke the connector at the end of the blue cable too..





WPA2 cracked in minutes?it looks difficult to do so if you use e.g. a 12 characters alphanumeric password CPU-Based Cracking: Like Watching Paint Dry : Wi-Fi Security: Cracking WPA With CPUs, GPUs, And The Cloud

 

Yup, you already have a good 2.4GHz antenna on your ToughBook.

If you've broken the connector at the end of the blue cable, then you're going to have to unsolder it at the PCB at the back of the laptop & solder in a replacement with a uFL connector on the other end. These can easily be scavenged from WiFi antennas removed from other consumer laptops; if you don't have a donor unit, they can be found sold in pairs or triples on eBay for $3-$7 delivered. Look for ones with at least 16"-18" leads, and unsolder the end at the antenna, don't cut it. They CAN be a bit hard to tin the leads on sometimes. If you get a pair, you can put the second antenna in the plastic housing where the MODEM/ETHERNET jacks are for additional signal.

Oh yeah, Google "FBI Cracks WPA2". You'll get a bazillion hits; this was all over the White Hats forums a couple years ago even. Sure, it's not as easy as WEP; but it's still possible and within easy reach of anyone determined to crack your connection. THAT is your limiting factor; whether you happen to be set up within easy reach of some script kiddie with nothing better to do than let his PC go to work on your connection. If you REALLY randomize your passphrase it'll be hard to crack; but nobody does.

A quote from a WiFi news article like 5 years ago:

"The offline PSK dictionary attack

A station that does not know a passphrase-based PSK can attack it with an offline attack. This is effective for an outsider where there is a single PSK in the ESS, or an insider where there are unique PSKs.

The 802.11i standard points out that:

A passphrase typically has about 2.5 bits of security per character, so the passphrase of n bytes equates to a key with about 2.5n + 12 bits of security. Hence, it provides a relatively low level of security, with keys generated from short passwords subject to dictionary attack. Use of the key hash is recommended only where it is impractical to make use of a stronger form of user authentication. A key generated from a passphrase of less than about 20 characters is unlikely to deter attacks.

The PTK is used in the 4-Way handshake to produce a hash of the frames. There is a long history of offline dictionary attacks against hashes. Any of these programs can be altered to use the information in the 4-Way Handshake as input to perform the offline attack. Just about any 8-character string a user may select will be in the dictionary. As the standard states, passphrases longer than 20 characters are needed to start deterring attacks. This is considerably longer than most people will be willing to use. This offline attack should be easier to execute than the WEP attacks."

mnem
SSHHH! It's not safe to say ANYTHING!!!

 

I soldered the blue wire with the slim grey one, I used to got decent signal but some time ago the signal has become much weaker...
I soldered only the + (central part of the wire) and not the - (ground),maybe is this the problem...

Why is the blue wire so "fat"? Is it shielded? maybe I need to use a shielded wire to get decent signal






thanks

 

Both wires are shielded, if you're using the wire that came with the flag antenna. This is probably the worst possible way to connect it all up; but to even start to work, you should have the core conductor connected to the core, preferably with heat shrink tubing, then a jumper wire connecting the two shield wires together.

Much preferable would be to either do an adapter like I did in my thread, or get a uFL cable long enough to go from your WiFi card to the PCBoard that the blue cable comes from.

mnem
Man, those radio waves are LOOSE.

 

I did a simple wifi mod in my CF-28, by installing a wificard in the pcmcia slot (under the hd), then rerouting the two cables to the battery compartment and using two small wifi-metalic plates from a Toshiba 4600 laptop as antennas, that i just put next to the right side (where the plastic rubbers are). I got decent signal inside my concrete appartment. I also used some duck tape to "glue" the cables and the small wifi plates to the cf-28s plastic.... Very easy to do.

 

Just found this post...Great information. The Government orders Toughbooks Non-wireless. This says it all. What about Google collecting WIFI information...in error....Right! I'm printing your recommendation and hanging it on the wall.

-Nick