PLEASE HELP!!! Switching 56k for lan...cf-28

Hey everyone! i got my new toughbook in today and the model number is: CF-28PTJA1QM. it came with 56k modem but no LAN port! its kool though, i figured it didnt have one by the pictures. the main reason i got it was cause of the wireless antenna mounted on top of the screen (retractable). i thought it was wifi like on a normal laptop but come to find out when i took it apart it had a metal box under the battery saying: CDPD SB300 (it was a decent size metal box!). Again i though thats a powerful wifi card but its not wifi, its: http://toughbook.wikispaces.com/file/view/sierrawireless-sb300-2110049.pdf
Anyways, i got it for the wireless, battery, keyboard, and power supply. i had another CF-28 at home from downrange and i figured id just use it for parts and i ordered an 80gig HD w/ Caddy. I noticed the old parts one had a 56k modem and LAN next to each other but on two separate Mini PCMCIA slots. I took the chip out that had the two connections mounted to em, then removed the Mini PCMCIA card that connected to the LAN port to put it on the new one TB. Well there is an empty slot for the card (where the lan card was on the old TB) but i to replace the 56k and put the lan in its place. NO BIG DEAL THOUGH, i never use 56k but the problem is is the grey cord comming from the 56k wraps around to the back of the cdrom drive, WIERD! please, please can someone help me or give me advice on what to remove?? if you say i should remove the 56k from the back of the cd drive and burn it, okay, lol. I want to use its spot for a wireless card (my plan) and put the LAN Chip closest to the port (its original location on the old TB) and hope the LAN fitting, fits the hole for the 56k. if the hold is a little too small i can carefully bore it out and rtv the inside to keep a seal. I mainly have an idea of what i want to do but i just dont know what the wires (one but splits into two) (grey) comming from the 56k (going to the port and the back of the CD rom drive) are for and if its kool to diconnect and leave disconnected forever!!! Please help!

 

You don't have to disconnect that. The best way is to contact "Gravitar" id forum name and order a combo card for Lan and 56 modem. That way you can have an empty slot of mini pci for wireless(wi-fi). You can use tha retractable antena as long as you know how to tune it for wi-fi. Search on the forum, there are discussion withregards to that or contact "mnementh" he knows how to tune that antena.

Note: Holy cow! look at my no. of post and rep.

ohlip

 

is it hard to tune the antenna? and also, my version of the cf-28 doesnt have a premade slot for LAN, it just has a 56k in the middle ... but like i said its okay if i have to chuck out the 56k to fit the LAN i just didnt know about the cords going to the cdrom drive from the 56k... it made no sense.. but i did order a wifi card: ENGENIUS EMP-8602+S - NMP8602PLUSS its already ordered and paid for total plus shipping $54. i hope it has antenna slots to connect my built in antenna. if not i guess i could use that wierd card for the antenna and the antenna itself for something.

 

GrimReaper,
Please slow down before you break something! Read the CF-28 FAQ which is stickied at the top of the forum first page, all of it! Then do a search for modem nic combo cards. Then re-read the FAQ about wifi cards. Then come back with questions if you don't understand something.
CAP

 

btw, you dont happen to know why the 56k line is running to the back of the cdrom drive do you?

 

You better make another post



Alex

 

okay i read it. i know what i want but i was unfortunate to find out that what looked like wireless, said wireless, and was wireless, WASNT the wireless i had in mind and the person i bought it from didnt know either. its okay though, no biggie. its not going to impair the usage of the laptop. However, not have a LAN port does suck! i want to get rid of the 56k modem and put the LAN in its place. ive taken a few cf-28's apart already and have a general idea of where things go but i DONT understand why the 56k modem branched off the the back of the cdrom drive... if you can tell me it makes no difference removing the cord and 56k chip then excellent! problem solved and ill bring up the wifi situation when parts come in.

 

Ok! its gone now.

ohlip

 

btw, i went threw threads 1-69 looking for instructions or help, none found..

 

You've mentioned on your firt post that you have another unit with LAN and 56k, am I right? just switch the side cover and your set.


ohlip

 

the side cover would not come off, heavily glued or sumthing, tried and broke. i really dont mind installing just the ethernet as a standalone port. i just want to know if completely removing the 56k modem will cause problems. if not okay

 

Holly molly! just what the Capt.. said ask before you broke something and its happened.


ohlip

 

that was before i even knew about this site! i came here for advice after the fact! if its that much of a burden or its too hard then say so! i figured this was a great site for info on toughbooks. drop the ego a couple knotches and either give me advice or tell me i need to look elsewhere. i am in the military, ive taken apart comms equipment before and got most toughbook supplies downrange free. im not an idiot but i also am not an electronics specialist.

 

nvm forget ill just google it

 

Ok! lets go back to the topic, You can just leave it on one side and who knows on the future. There are a lot space to snake its end connector so that not to coz any problem to any component. May be you know what I mean. You can pull it out the min pci modem and replace it with lan mdem alone. Or you can take it all out even the cable with no effect to the system. It will be fine. You are also asking why the 56k modem cable run at the front side connector of CD rom. It runs there becoz there a coil system for 56k modem that will be the best location for it.

In addition, few member here made a mistake the first time, sometimes magic smoke come out and on that mistake we learned.
even myself blown a fuse of a mbo. a few years ago but with help of a member. We fixed it.


ohlip

 

Okay, now were gettin somewhere just remove 56k modem altogether,like disconnect it from mobo and the back of cdrom and set aside. Put LAN min PCI in it's place right?

 

Why would you ever get rid of a 56k modem? I use mine every day!! don't u?!?!?!:rolleyes2:

 

grim.....5656, You've got it and I also edited my post above for more information. Either way.

ohlip

 

Cause I never send faxes

 

BTw, the discussion is almost done, Welcome to the forum.

ohlip

 

Wow there is something under the motherboard! Looks like a PCMCIA card with a blue cord, much like the antena cord hooked to the cdpd sb300 card! I think I just found a wireless card!

 

Yes take the dial-up modem out as it will save you a bit of weight
I have run into issues on the cf-28’s 2 mini-pci slots favouring card placement of a 802.11 card and a standard network card
I had to change the positions of the cards as I remember, it was quite a few years ago

Alex

 

To be more precise, the cable that runs from the modem jack to the back near the CD-ROM is to provide power for the MP serial port that is used for the Telco cable tester units that plug in to the media bay. You can just leave the cabling in place no need to remove it.

 

You already have a wi-fi in your system you just need a driver for it to work. Try to see if the blue cable run thru the passthruogh connector all the way to the retractable antena


ohlip

 

Oh you lucked out and got one with dual wireless. The end cap is actually the WIFI antenna and that is why you only have a modem jack there. You can get a WIFI end cap that just has the LAN connector with the built in WIFI antenna but good luck finding one.

 

Oh! Thats another point that i didn't consider. Ok! tough..2..go & Tom...take it over now. I have to do something.



ohlip

 

But it does need to be plugged into the jack right? Can I break the 56k modem plug off the chip and replace it with the LAN to make it more stable? Remember, I have two chips that hold a 56k plug

 

You just need to unplug the two wire cable from the mini pci modem and leave everything else in place. BUt since you have a PCMCIA WIFI card maybe you don't need to discard the modem? The plastic endcap has the WIFI antenna integrated into it so leave it in place. Your other end cap may not have the antenna on it.

 

Well then I guess I could just leave the 56k connected and buy a 10/100/1000 PCMCIA modem and put In one of the free slots.

 

Now your talking

 

Looks like there is no ram.... Do you know what I may need and cheapest place to find?

 

But I should find one that fits flush so I don't have to remove everytime I finish with it. It would be nice to just close the cover of the PCMCIA slots and leave it plugged in!

 

Your cf-28 specs
PIII 800, 256, 30GB, 13.3"XGA/TOUCH, FDD, CISCO Wireless LAN, CDPD, 3P ADAP, LCD FILM, XP/2000

Wow that unit came with a lot of options



Alex

 

There is 256MB on the motherboard so the empty slot will take up to a 512MB for a total of 768MB there are only a couple of 512MB sodimms that are compatible. Others will chime in on what will work and where to get it.

 

I got it with no HD or caddy for 225! I bought the caddy and 80gig for 125. The retractable antenna is LONG like 8 inches, and it's got the wireless on and off button to the left of the handle and three status lights

 

Btw what do you prefer? Xp pro or win 2000? Can I run xp pro if I wanted?

 

Your TB is insane!

 

You can get a LAN card with an X-JACK the jack clicks in and out of the card so it will be flush when not in use. Face it when using a LAN you are probably in a protected environment and it woudn't matter if the door is open. But you can always try and mod the jack at a later time.

 

My Cf28 also had only a modem and no ethernet port. I bought a wi-fi kit new off ebay for it (arrived today - see a thread I posted about it) and that has included a 3com 3CN3AC1556B combo card which provides ethernet and analog modem support to replace the original analog modem card. I don't care much for dial-up and don't really think I'd use it, however it could be handy to have the analog modem available as an emergency backup. The more forms of comms available the better.

The wi-fi card is an intel one (new) with a manufacturing date in 2007 on the label. I'm not sure which number is the model number of the card, but it'll occupy one of the compact PCI slots and the ethernet combo card will take up the other one.

It has two antenna ports, so I'll use one with the supplied patch cable and antenna, and the other one I might run to an antenna mounted in the LCD casing when I figure out how to do that. I'm tossing up whether to replace the LCD with a touchscreen LCD (since my system doesn't have a touchscreen) or get another CF28 with a touchscreen and 1 ghz cpu (this system is an 800 mhz cpu).

Craig.

 

The plastic covers at the left and right of the main unit next to the 'wrist rests' are secured with two screws and one has to be accessed from the bottom, while the other screw is accessed from the side with the adjacent port cover opened.

I found that the plastic cover holding the rj11 socket for the modem was very well sealed in place but the cover came away cleaning leaving the seal behing.

Craig.

 

Grim-

WOW... a LOT to digest.

Okies... first, I have to suggest... not trying to be mean here... but from most of your posts, it seems you're VERY EXCITED about your new TB. (That's great - welcome to the addiction... errr, welcome to the fold

So... Pen!sonic doesn't really like to give parts away for these very cheaply. In fact, they tend to cost (even used on eBay) somewhere between EXPENSIVE and OMFG!!!

This is why we were asking you to slow down... there's just OODLES of information in this forum, and in fact much of the really exciting modding revolves around the CF-28 family as a cost-effective means of making a good useful TANK of a machine on a budget.

So... just take a step back, and take a look at the big picture. You have some interesting goodies ALREADY in your laptop - but you may not have what you WANT.

First off, I'd do a Google search on the part #s of the short PCMCIA WiFi card you have; I wouldn't be surprised if it was in fact Wireless-B ONLY. If so, you'll DEF want to look into the Mini-PCI WiFi upgrade as is well covered in the CF-28 FAQ.

As far as the Engenius Card you've mentioned, it is a VERY nice A/B/G model - it will serve you well, but your built-in antenna may not work so well on the A-band. This would require some trial and error on your part, unless someone else on the forum (prolly Ohlip or Rick) have already experimented and can give some pointers.

Next -

What is your primary intended use for the laptop?

If you want to do Wardriving, then GPS and external high-gain WiFi antennas are going to be a must. This means you'll probably want to save the original CDPD antenna location for an external Sarantel antenna for GPS.

If you just want a good everyday laptop that doubles as a personal protection instrument and don't have want or need for the expense of GPS as we've been modding here, you may want to mod that CDPD antenna for WiFi use as I've outlined here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=215522&page=2

These Cf-28 Mk2 & Mk3 machines can do a LOT; as they have 3 PCMCIA slots & 2 Mini-PCI, as well as modular bays & add-ons for everything from Automotive to TELCO work - the only limitation is that you can only upgrade as far as Windows XP.

I hope this gives you something to start with;

Good luck & Welcome.

mnem
Where is that @$#! ANY key?

 

How did this turn into a 5 page thread!?!?!?:tongue: lol

 

Any time you do a search for anything toughbook related this is the only site that comes up.

 

Rob

I’ll explain

It looks like the guys here are in the process of an ambitious rebuilding and modding project on a cf-28

The difference on this project is that they are trying to get it done in a day and so there is a lot of questions being asked and lots of free advice given

I trust that answers your question


Alex

 

No. I think it's because people like Mnem keep jumping in with off-topic comments and senseless babble and.....

what? He's here?! You meAN SOMEONE WOKE HIM UP!!!

*runs and hides*

 

LOL, awesome!!!

 

When the Dwagon speaks you fail to listen at your own peril. There are pearls of wisdom hidden in that apparently mindless babble! Good to see you've come out of the lair mnem.
CAP

 

*tempts Doobi out of his hiding place with a ball of wires & blinking LEDS*

Here Kitty...Good Kitty...

ooooh... blinky...

Now what was that about MOI being off-topic? HMMMMRUMMMBLE-UMMMMMBLE-UMMMMMBLE?

And did I hear someone actually say BABBLE!?!?

mnem
Heh. What geek can resist blinky LEDs?

 

Don't blame me, Paul used the word first. Now I have to get back to brushing up W's legacy.
CAP