My "new" CF-29 progress

Well, got my CF-29 (former SBC unit) a couple of weeks ago and I started "playing" (after much reading in this group). First was 1GB RAM; not much performance increase. Next was out with the 40GB drive and in with the Sammy HM160HC hard drive; very noticeable performance increase. Today, my AD-5540A DVD/RW arrived so I started that. Old unit came out real slick but when I looked at the PC board that I am supposed to solder on............. no R2 contacts (I won't repeat the words that I uttered). Once the air cleared, I thought, I'll hook it up and try it anyway; it worked slick as snot (just had to file a corner of the tray a tiny bit for clearance. In 5 minutes, I have the CDROM to DVD/RW swap done. Makes no sense to me but....oh well
Now....... what next??????
Thanks much for all the stickies and FAQ's

 

try out the engenius wifi card upgrade, done it on 2 so far and make sure to check the stickies for this, you get into the guts of the cf-29 and get a close look on the inside, look for website ifixit for cf-29 motherboard replacement , some good pictures, just realize that I think they got the battery side and the hard disk drive-caddy side backwards. anyway, make you feel like da man when you get there. the cpu thermal pad is the one thing you either have to smoosh back(maybe even add artic silver small amt) or replace pad(get from heartlandsi.com run 8 bucks a pop plus high shipping charges real fast delivery( buy several sets) cause you're gonna buy more toughbooks, trust me on this one!, good luck.... Driller

 

What does the engenius card give you over the built-in wireless?

 

As Tim the tool man Taylor says...More power.. huh.. huh.. huh...

 

Since we both live in the same town let me put it this way....If I am sitting in the Library parking lot with my MK1(intel card) it connects but "weak" (1bar) but my MK5 connects "very good" (4 bars) which has the Engenius card installed which I got here. ENGENIUS WIRELESS MINIPCI EMP-8602 PLUS-S Free S&H NEW - eBay (item 230488517343 end time Sep-14-10 08:15:12 PDT) He only ships to USA but my guess you have a PO Box or maybe "C&E Feeds" like I do

 

Hey bro I swapped my cd to a light scribe dvd in my SBC unit the other day too and noticed the same thing...you can read my post. From what the more experienced tinkerers say it's a different caddy and it's all good the way it is.

 

I posted your link so he could read it ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/510644-dvd-swap.html ), hopefully you guys have good luck with them. Never heard anything bad about them and its the easy way to get around the R2

 

Thanks Bigtrey: Like you, I don't care why it works, it just works. Thanks for the answer.
Thanks, Blair, I was hoping that you would reply: I'm going to take a trip to the Library and see what I get now then I'll make the decision on whether to swap or not. Also, tried registering to that other site you mentioned but for some reason they aren't validating my username??????

 

I will let Rob ( JB007Rules ) know you are having a problem registering.

Done....hopefully he can track you down

 

Thanks, Blair.
BTW, where were you sitting in the Library parking lot to do your comparisons on the wifi signal?
Thanks

Frank

 

If you only use it in the home and your router is close by then I would leave the card you have in it. At my house on the blvd. the router is at one end up stairs and I am in the basement at the other end and it works great but the intel card did not.

In back of it but not the first parking spaces but the next row over...like where the cars drive threw to the stop sign...... they might turn it off when they are not open. I will give it a try on friday , my first day off and see what happens

 

Okay. You are good to go. The reason you were having issues is because I have to MANUALLY activate EVERYONE. It's a damn shame that the spam is SO BAD that I can't trust anything any more.

Anyways, you are activated and good to go! ENJOY!

 

Thanks, Rob. Works like a charm.

 

I am at the library now and I am only getting 2 bars but no problems getting anywhere at all and downloads speeds are good. Must remember this is a steel and brick building that I am getting it from . This is my MK5 with the upgraded card in it. My MK3 is loading the pages much slower and when I tried to download I lost my signal.This has the old intel card. Below is what you get when you connect at the library. Click english and then agree to the terms. Then I just click on my short cut to NBR or Toughbooktalk

 

Tried the library the other day and got decent enough signal that I don't think I'm going to try the Engenis card. Also, I'm able to access this site with Internet Exploder but not Firefox; more investigating cause I dislike IE.

 

So how does your new one work and is the battery any better in this one.

 

New one works well. The touchscreen is VERY cool. The case is in much better shape. The battery seems to work quite a bit longer, only has 26 cycles. My "old" one is on it's way to Alberta to my son so I am back down to one machine.

 

That's great, BTW....you have 15 posts now so you should be able to PM any member now.