CF29 connectors pinout

Hello, i'm trying some mods on the 29 gps. Anyone here have a service anuals with schematich diagrams and with connectors pinout like the older one for the 28 ?

My model is MK3. Otherwise i've to follow line per line to get out a schematic and the thing will become a very big amout of work.

And if some one have a gps unit, expeccially the adapter board with the blue dongle, and want to catch some shots of the upper and lower sides, this may be very useful.

Anyway thank you.

 

This may help.

Future proof » Tim’s laptop service manuals

 

Thank you Shawn but these are not very useful, i already have one of them, but they don't say which pin is used for what, i mean, on the old cf28 manual (service manual) there was the description of each connectors with the pinout of the single pin usage.

In addition, i'm planning to use the sled of the WWAN radio because it won't work, i don't know why (pheraps it's intended for use with american companies...well) so i'm thinking of use the front panel switch (i mean the radio on off switch), but do you know if it is a simple switch or a "touch" switch ?
I ask this because it feel very flat, and i can't feel any "click" when turning the radio switch on or off...

I'm planning to use a pic to sense for the switch pressure and power on the gps module, and well... i've about 3 led to use for various functions, open for any ideas...

 

^^^^ Look at Mr Money Bags with an Avatar of his NEW car.

EDIT: I've just noticed....the steering wheel is on the wrong side....must be the cheaper version from China.

 

Ha fooled ya..It's my 2003 Ranger pickup..I modded 1 or 2 items in the interior.

 

As I get older, I begin to think that I am the cheaper version from China.:confused2:

 

Thank to Shawn i found the schematic, but what's the voltage on CN18 ? I mean the VA5 that is the Vcc (positive power supply) on the flat cable ? Is it 5v ? 3.3 ? 12 ?

 

Doesn't the 5 in VA5 mean 5 volts?

 

I guess yes, it should i just asked to be sure.

But now i have a new problem, i installed a gps module, but i can't recognize ANY com port in the device manager, it just display a lot of BTcom due to toshiba stack bluetooth com ports, and also see a plt1 (the parallel port).

So why ? I can't see neither the gps com nor the back com1 port, i mean the physical com port installed on the back of the cf29.

 

I think u have to set pin40 on cn18 to ground

 

Already done, it is recognised from bios, but no com port on device manager.

 

had u seen the com1 before?

 

Can't say, i have this computer by not much time, so i only looked there when i was interested in (now), so i can't say if before there was com1 or not.

Why are you asking that ?

Can someone please, go to dos and asl for a report on your coms so i can do a comparation ?

You only have to digit: mode comX where X is the number of the com port to test, i only see com4 and com6 (that is not reported by device manager, only under dos).

com4 is a 1200baud port and com6 a 19200baud port, at least on my cf29.

 

If u had one com-port before, I would think u had probably killed the CMOS Logic IC (which is only powered by 3V), if u had connected an higher (serial)logic level from ur GPS-modul.
But the other question is: had u used an serial-port GPS or a USB-port GPS?

 

Ever consider picking up something like this?

4 Bit Laptop USB Mini PCI LPT Analyzer Tester Post Card | eBay

 

No i used a 3.3v module the same as used for the 28. Is it possibile that the port was already fried when i bougjt the laptop ? I dont know If it matter but the originale gprs modem was not working... Maybe that it uses the serial port to comunicate and it was not working due to com failure ? Howto test com ? Even the com1 didn t work ! The 9 pin on the back od the laptop...

 

Had u tried
http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/573828-toughbook-hardware-diagnostics.html

or a Linux (Ubuntu Live CD i.e.)? There is also a systemcheck integrated. And if u build an socket with an crossover of RX and TX u can really check the functionality of Com1.

 

Mmmhhh go ahead, what od you mean to build ? Something that echoes the signals on com1's TX and echoes it on the RX of the same port ? Do you know anythin that already exist that i can make ?

Now i'll try your link to self diagnostic for toughbook...

 

something like this RS232 serial cable pinout information

 

Ehi, F7 or Ctrl+F7 at startup won't work on my machine, don't know why, but i tried to reset bios to its default and now it WORK, i see the Com1 on device manager, what can be the cause for you ?

Is it possible that a low CMOS battery can cause a leackage of data ? It's only a teory.

PS Which software can i use to test the com1 with those adapters you showed me.

 

funny! But good to know
The SuperIO can disable the ComPorts, but I don't know why this happened to u if u had enabled the ports in the BIOS.

 

What "SuperIO" is ? And why should it disable my com ports ?

And about those tests under linux... what should i do ? I use linux (ubuntu & debian) by 4 o 5 years but i doesn't know how to use this functions.

 

simple: Super I/O - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

especially ur cf29: SIO10N268-NU | Datasheet Archive

I don't know why. It's ur computer

ubuntu systemcheck gui: Test And Diagnose Computer Hardware Components In Ubuntu

 

The super IO is the "chip" that controls all the Input Output ports on your computer. When you turn the ports on or off in the BIOS, you are controlling the super IO. The super IO is on your motherboard.
The devices onirakriss is talking about are loopback plugs. Very easy to make. I have some (that I made)here that I haven't used in years. What they do is connect the output(TX) to the input(RX) of whatever port it is plugged in to. Then you use some sort of software diagnostic package to test the port. I actually may have one or two that I got in school that have LED's to indicate TX and RX.

These Toughbooks are odd. This case where you reset the bios to get the ports back. Sadlmkr had a cf29 a while back that the sound was dead. He reinstalled win and tried ubuntu, Reset the bios multiple times. Reinstalled drivers. Nothing would work, checked all the hardware, and replaced the speaker. He bought a factory restore disk and tried that. It fixed the problem. We still can't figure that out. My only guess is maybe the restore disk also reimages the bios and somehow the bios was corrupt. The cf29's seem to have odd quirks like this more than other models.

If you don't have the factory restore disk, I suggest you pick one up. If nothing else you can pop in a spare drive and restore it in 15 minutes. That eliminates a LOT of hours of troubleshooting. At least it tells you if it is software or hardware related.

 

Yes it can be very usefull. Now i installed a gps module on com1. It work but the data are all wrong i think that is a voltage problem. Tomorrow i ll try another computer.

 

Mostly it is the wrong baudrate. Checked?

 

Today i tried it out on a cf28 com1, same wrong data stream, i was becoming crazy, but suddenly i tought... hey what's about voltages ? The module i have, put out a TTL serial signal that means 0-3 volt signals, where 0 is High and 3 is Low (inverted logic), but standard serial use -12 for High and +12 for Low, or at least 0-12 signals, so i tought that the inner com (com4 on 28) can have an adapter to amplify the signals, and in fact it is.

I connected the module to com4 on my 28 and it started to put out normal nmea data stream.
So the outer com1 is buffered with normal voltage levels, so a 0-3 volt levels is miunderstood from the computer and probably bad interpreted some Highs al Lows, making the data unreadable.

So, if one want to use gps, then must use the inner com port that is 3.3v (5v tolerant), if you want to use a gps on the outer com port (tipically Com1) you have to make a simple voltage amplifier, a bare two transistors circuit will do the job (one transistor amplify and invert the signals, the other one reinvert the signals). The 12v to drive this amplifier can be taken on the com1 Vcc pin, because of it's very low current consumption.

Tomorrow if i have some spare time, i'll try to put it on the 29.

 

Ah ah ! It's working now, it was a real problem of voltages. The Com3 on my cf29 is now receiving gps data, and it's very very faster than my old 28.
Thank you to each one that helped !

Now i'm working on an interesting thing that i want to share with the forum, i don't want to spoiler myself, but it's a useful things to switch on and off... I'm working on it, give me time, give me time...

 

Hello, i was wondering to use the front panel switch to light up the gps unit, but unfortunately my pic progrmmer died recently, i bought a pickit3 but until it arrive me, i can't make software to program microcontrollers, so i ended up with a bare switch, i putted it on the left plastic piece, with a gps engine and a preamplified patch antenna, and also a additional USB port.

It works great, i can catch some sats inside home near windows, an lots of satelites outside obviously.As you can see there is a lot of work to do, i should make a cover with resin, i think epoxy or fiberglass-polyester mixed up with black powdered pigment, like i did some month ago on the 28's right corner, to house the sarantell geohelix. Here are a couple of shots.