The Drill!
(so my SMA adapter fits in!)
Today was a bit of fun and again I wanted to make sure you were all a part of it. If there is one device I have a lot of experience with that is the Samsung Q1U; and if there are three things I really like upgrading on this machine they are as follows:
- Upgrade the RAM to 2GB (its DDR2 SO-Dimm, 667MHz)
- Install a mini PCI-express 3G modem (for HSDPA and GPS function)
- Replace the spinning IDE drive with a SSD drive instead!
Given I was uprgading all three in one machine I thought Id share a photo or two. I know one of the most popular videos I did was "How to upgrade your Samsung Q1U to 2GB RAM" so I imagine this blog post will entice many DIY geeks out there.
Installing the RAM is easy and the SSD a piece of cake too (just watch the orientation of the pins on the ribbon cable and be very gentle with the latches holding the ribbon cables in place). The SSD I used is GMonster 1.8" ZIF drive with built-in 64MB SDRAM by PhotoFast! It is super fast and one I recommend highly. The Modem I am using lately is the Huawei EM770W (but often I use the Sierra Wireless MC8790 too). The Huawei is the same one found in most Viliv S5 and X70 and has voice support (!!!), quad band 3G and GPS.
One important and still relatively unknown step is how to get best connectivity out of a newly installed modem (especially a hacked up version like this). I had to go through many antenna, and many setups to get this right but I can report that this way works well! All you need is a U.FL to SMA adapter (U.FL = little dicky bit which connects to modem main) and (SMA = the gold threaded part which the antenna screws onto). Youll soon learn however that the SMA part does not fit into most holes on a computer...thats where the Power Drill comes into play!!!
The external antenna I choose is a high band passive antenna which supports Quad Band and is absolutely the trick! Sticks out a little but man is it worth it when you get full strength most anywhere a phone does!
U.FL to SMA adapter and external 3G antenna
RAM upgraded, 128GB SSD drive and Huawei EM770W modem
Doing this stuff makes me realise how "un-fun" the iPad will be. With all its finished bits there is nothing left for us to explore or expand on! Well done Apple.
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