CF-30CTSAFBF stuff

Hi guys,

As my TB addiction continues, I recently acquired a fully rugged one.
It was part of a larger batch of identical models, supposedly from some big .FR company originally...
anyways, it's a mk1, L2400, 2GB (1+1 OEM modules), BT, original battery (only 10% capacity loss, ~600 cycles), new original charger,
screen looks very good, protective film installed, WWAN OEM HSDPA.
The seller put Win7 on it, it had an older BIOS (L19). After two updates (to latest XP one, and the Vista one), and correct drivers, I got the TS
calibrated, and no devices with issues, Fn combo's work, w/ OSD also.
The not so good part, is that it may have had a harsh life, scratches, some peeled paint, some dents on the base/doors, more on that later.
The WWAN sled contains a Novatel Expedite EU740 HSDPA modem, old stuff, max 1.8Mbps. I managed 130KB/s with it.

Of course I wanted to replace it with a Gobi2000 one (lenovo branded), but to my surprise, the sled has only one antenna cable, which I connected to the MAIN u.FL connector.
I searched the net, and found cf-30 sleds that had both wires (i.e. TBT thread, but interestingly, from the pictures, they still got only one golden connector at the end of the sled (encased in white plastic).

Anyone have an idea how I can use both connectors on the card ? where would I connect the 2nd wire to ?
i'll remove the antenna cover on the left corner of the lid, to see how many wires go to it.

thanks,

 

The dents are an easy fix, its just the stickers on the doors that are messed up.

 

You probably will not get a Lenovo card to work in a CF-30.

The auxiliary antenna, if you have one, is located on the sled. It is under the external black cover of the sled. The main antenna goes thru the gold connector to the extendable antenna. Only one cable.

 

maybe not in Windows, although I tried almost all combinations of lenovo drivers installed, but no modem device - firmware not loaded, panasonic gobi software didn't recognize it). It does show up in BIOS, and like on the C1, I had no problem configuring it in Linux, this time with a live CD, and manually using gobi_loader to load the 3 firmware files from the lenovo windows driver installation.
got well over 200KB/s with only the main antenna connected; curiously, when extending the lid antenna, it wouldn't receive data; it worked with it down.
the signal it's not so good here, though.

thanks, i checked the underside, there was no 2nd wire, but I found the second u.FL connector: it should be a pcb antenna.
now I just need to find/buy a pigtail cable.

 

not quite, they were bent, and even some sort of cut on the metal base:
i switched the bent door with this one, from another cf-30. how could someone manage to do that ?
Do you think that hole compromised the water protection significantly ? the rubber rim on the door still seems to seal the compartment.
this is the rear door, but from the label on the inside, it came from another model (CTSAFZZ).

sorry for the pics quality (mobile).

I ordered some covers on ebay from (DC, USB) which were, of course, missing.

I found a used rear door only on ebay.AU, but shipping costs the same as the item. maybe i'll get lucky on the BST section here, later on.

It's a tough beast, takes abuse, and keeps going. i think it deserves a ssd.

future plans: ublox6/sirf4 gps, maybe an emissive backlit KB (it came with std. french version), or an OEM FP reader.

 

Mind me asking how much you paid for your port covers....you live in USA.

 

it was $6.45 per cover, free s&h (but no tracking no), from here. I know these are not original (probably knockoffs ), but as you recently wrote, last ones from Heartland were more rigid than before; other used OEM ones were 3 times the price.
I might as well get them cheaper and keep them as backup, if they're rather bad. I live in the EU, but visit the US sometimes.
Ah, the serial cover was there, but worn, and barely holding on to the bracket. so I included one of that in the order as well.

 

Ok its not a OEM Panasonic one...incoming PM

Mine are $10.99 ($8.79) and $11.99 ($9.59) and TBT and NBR members get 20% off the total price (non ebay sales) . I wanted to put this on my ebay page but when I did they ended my auction on me.

 

damn, that's a really good price. unfortunately I have already paid for those on ebay.
how much is the Serial port one ?
of course they ended your auction, any other marketplace link is cutting from their potential sales. :|

 

They are on back order now...5 weeks

 

i can't seem to find anywhere a pigtail u.fl to u.fl cable, to connect the AUX antenna.
only u.FL to some other connector (SMA, N, etc).

 

Oh! man, You are on the other side of the pond. I have a few.



ohlip

 

I got hold of a small PCB traced wifi antenna, from some Dull laptop, with a 15cm wire, with u.FL connector, and connected it to the AUX on Gobi2k card.
It doesn't seem to make any difference, connected or not; it could be the fact that I tucked it in the plastic part of the wwan sled (near the SIM port), but as the sled is connected, it sits bellow the sled PCB, facing the battery compartment.
It could be shielded in there.
Monday I'll talk to someone at some laptop service shop, to see If he can get me some jumper u.FL cable, in order to use the integrated antenna on the sled.

If not, maybe I'll buy one or two from you, ohlip.
I found one in China, but it would take ~1month to get here, and I may be coming to the US this fall.


On the drivers front, I found a way to use the Lenovo Gobi2k adapter in Win7:
1) Load Linux, wait for the firmware to be loaded, and the modem device to show up.
2) reboot
3) after Windows is loaded, the modem (Qualcomm 9205) shows up with all three COM ports (Modem, Diagnostic, and GPS)
4) connect to 3G network, use gps, etc.

If it's a cold boot (power on) to Windows, only the Qualcomm QDLoader 9204 device shows up, as before.

 

If it's a Wifi antenna, it will not work with WWAN. The frequencies are different.

 

db0...He is talking about the jumper wire that connect the modem card to the antnena within the sled. The WWAN has two antena onboard if your model has WWAN. One is at the top of the LCD and the other one is on the sled.


ohlip

 

What I found so far wasn't a jumper to connect AUX port to the antenna under the plastic end of the sled, but a small WiFi antenna from some laptop (2.5x0.8cm pcb), similar to this one in the pic:
The 3G/UMTS/HS*PA frequencies here are 2100Mhz, with old 2G/GPRS/EDGE on 900/1800Mhz. WiFI is ~2400Mhz or 5Ghz.
A WWAN antenna (like the one in the lid) should support everything from 850 to 2100 Mhz (like a Gobi2000 module needs to).
I thought that since it was designed for 2400Mhz, it wouldn't be that bad at lower frequencies.
Probably it wasn't any good for this, but I tried it anyway.

This is what I need:

If my CF30 came with Gobi2000 instead of Novatel EU740, that cable would be there in the first place.

 

Does anyone know where the OEM fingerprint reader connects to ?

I want to buy this reader assembly, and I'm not sure I have the corresponding connector free.
My unit has OEM WWAN, BT, and I'm in the process of installing the Sirf 4 GPS Kit from Techtuff.
BT seems to be connected to one of the internal usb ports under the KB (the left one, cn25), and gps will be connected to the right one (cn29 ?).

The seller told me the FPR connects somewhere inside the bottom cover. I could not find something useful on the service manual (I don't have the one exactly for my unit, just a mk1).

 

I still haven't removed the entire bottom assembly, so I still don't know whether I can have OEM WWAN and OEM FPR at the same time, so for now, I'll put a hold on purchasing this part.
If anyone has a hint, please share it.

Meanwhile, I installed the Sirf 4 GPS kit from Techtuff, works ok outside (9-10 sats locked), and keeps 3-4 sat's if moving indoors, next to a window; but it can't get a cold fix if started indoors. Also, it seems I have to re-do the wire management, as the right wifi antenna cable is now a bit under tension under a certain angle of the lid.

I also tried upgrading the stock 3945 card in the process, first with a Panasonic 6205 miniPCIe (from my C1) and then with a intel 5100 one; with extension bracket of course.
Unfortunately, neither showed up in BIOS (no more Wireless LAN option), and the OSes (W7/Linux) only see them as a wifi card with the hardware switch set to OFF, regardless of the actual switch position.
It appears there is actually a white-listing in BIOS, not only by manuf. id (the stock one from C1 is original Panasonic), but also by model.

after removing the KB (standard one, french version - soon to be replaced with a US version Backlit Emissive) I found a lot of dust and dirt under it. But the 2 metal covers did their job, and the components inside were clean.

 

I'm Doug (KE4GQE) and am kind of new here on the forum and not really familiar with navigating the CF-30 Threads, but I'm kind of looking for an OEM AC Charger for a CF-30 Mk1. I fear the aftermarket one that I have and was hoping to obtain a "real" Panasonic one closer to 90 watts (They should run cooler). Unfortunatley I've missed a couple on ebay in the recent past. Actually I'd like to trade with some folks here on the various toughbook threads because it has already been real helpful on many challanges.

On a note of humour,the other day I finally got the SiRF 4 installed and going ...after I discovered the antenna was upside down and that I was attempting the wrong com ports.

CF-30CWQEZBM/Touchscreen/4gb RAM/1TB-SSHD/SIRF4/Vista Ultimate

 

i use an ac adapter from an ibm thinkpad. 16volt version

 

Hi Doug, Welcome to the Toughbook forum! :hi2:

I can offer you a newbie deal on a real Panasonic charger. How about a brand new 7 amp model CF-AA5713A for $25 shipped? Also have a few other sizes if you want to get in touch at: Springfield98 (at) gmail (dot) com. Let me know what would work best for you.