I searched and didn't see this asked, so if it has been I am terribly sorry, I know how annoying it is. On with the question.
Does anyone have the specs (measurements) on the Otterbox Commuter case??
I'm looking for thickness of the silicone layer on the sides (specifically the portion directly over the pogo pin contacts) as well as the thickness of the plastic outer layer at the same spot?
If no one knows these measurements, could someone that has this case get access to a pair of digital calipers and take those measurements for me and get back to me??
Reason for asking is I am thinking of modding a case to have pogo pins built into it and have wires/conductive tape running to the inside back of the case where I can hopefully place the inductive charging circuit from a Palm phone and viola! have an inductive charging case that utilizes the pogo pins on the phone. Found a set of pogo pins that measure 3.48mm tall with a stroke of .99mm so fully compressed they would measure 2.49mm.
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Guess no one has the answer or cares. Ordered one anyway, if I have any success with the mod I'll post pictures.
Related
I know I'm not the first, so credit where credit is due to all those that came before me with the Nexus and those that came before those with other phones. Major props to Palm for being innovative, having owned a Palm Pre before, it's really ashame that phone never really caught on.
Having said that, I present to you the Inductive Charging Otterbox Commuter Case. Really very much like all the other mods out there. Do some measuring, drill some holes, solder some wire, bam, you're done. This is obviously just another variant on a lot of other mods out there, so this really isn't anything new. I won't go into the nitty gritty details, just tips and tricks I found worked along the way.
To start, obviously you'll need an Otterbox Commuter series case. I thought this one would work best because it has the hard outer shell with a silicone inner lining.
Next you'll need at least 2 of these spring-loaded contacts made by Mill-max. They are 0.137" in height uncompressed and 0.098" in height fully compressed. That's 3.48mm and 2.49mm for you metric folks. These things are tiny, so a nice pair of tweezers will aide you in this process.
http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/811-22-001-30-000101/ED8110-01-ND/682269
The next thing I bought was 24 awg pre-tinned copper wire. Doesn't have to be this exactly, but I found it worked nicely.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102500
I also used some PermaPoxy 5-minute plastic weld to epoxy the pogos into the side of the case. Found it at my local hardware.
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-8411...ZC6U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330051726&sr=8-3
The most crucial part of this is accurately measuring (and maybe a little lucky guessing) on where to drill the holes in the side of the case. The method I used was not precise and involved more guess-work than I care to admit. In the end, I had to do a little fine-tuning by scraping some material away in the direction I needed one of the pogos to be. I started off with a 1/32 drill bit and stepped my way up until I could fit the pogo in with a minute amount of play.
For each of the two pogo contacts, I made a small curve in the wire that would wrap around the radius on the back of each pogo. You'll notice there is a solid copper surface contact area on the back of these. I placed the wire around its circumference and soldered it in place nice and smooth. A small set of locking pliers or some sort of small vice will help you free up a hand and hold the pogo while you position the wire and solder it.
Once all of this was done, I took a thick paperclip (toothpick works fine), and mixed up the epoxy and used the toothpick to apply a layer to the inner part of the holes in the commuter case and on the outer part of the plastic-like portion of the pogos. Then slide them in place and use the wire that they are soldered to to position them and hold them in place for a few minutes until the epoxy starts to set. Do this one pogo at a time to make sure you get them in correctly and make sure they are flush on the back with the outer part of the case.
After that, you position the inductive charging circuit from the Palm Pre battery door and then trim and solder the wires to it. The top contact (contact nearest the coil) is ground and the bottom is +5V. Same goes for the pogo contacts on the phone. You will then need to trim some silicone material away from the side where the pogos will need to make contact with the phone.
What you have to do after this is all in how well you positioned things at the start. I had to take my extended battery and back off and go back to the normal battery and back. I also had to trim some silicone material away that was over the regulator circuit of the inductive charging cell, that's the thickest part of the entire piece and it was pushing my phone up too high in the case.
A side benefit of this method is the outer contacts are still maintained and you could potentially design a desk dock, car dock, whatever that would make use of the pogo charging in case the touchstone isn't the most ideal for that situation. Things you could do to improve on this would be:
-Add stronger magnets so the phone would hold to the touchstone better
-Texture the back of the Commuter case somehow to make it not so slick. This also would help the phone stay on the touchstone better
-Sand a little of the material away where the charging circuit will be on the case, would make for a better fit in the case (still bulges at the bottom a bit like it does with the extended battery in)
Feel free to point out other things I could have done better and post up your own versions if you attempt this mod
This looks awesome -- might have to give it a try during a lazy weekend or something!
Thanks for the description and pictures MSU!
Please see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1502812
Different case, but same concept.
I'd like my new CaseMate Pop! case to have pogo pin functionality. After looking at the case, I don't think it'd be wise to cut a big chunk out to accommodate the pins. Does anyone know of any pass-through pins that I could "poke" through the rubbery part of the case?
Feel free to look around the DIY workshop. By my records, the material used for pogo contact so for include:
Actual pogo pins
Guitar strings
Thumbtacks
Battery terminal prongs
Copper tape
Card reader prongs
Bare wires
Nails
Paperclips
So, If it conducts it should work. Just gotta be careful about scratching the phone. Some guys have actually made indents on each pin contact from using sharp stuff.
In your case, I think you should think about the heads of tiny screws from glasses hinges, poked through from the inside of the case....
subvertz said:
Feel free to look around the DIY workshop. By my records, the material used for pogo contact so for include:
Actual pogo pins
Guitar strings
Thumbtacks
Battery terminal prongs
Copper tape
Card reader prongs
Bare wires
Nails
Paperclips
So, If it conducts it should work. Just gotta be careful about scratching the phone. Some guys have actually made indents on each pin contact from using sharp stuff.
In your case, I think you should think about the heads of tiny screws from glasses hinges, poked through from the inside of the case....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like me
The battery terminal pogo pins i took from my old phone have kinda strong springs.
Can't focus properly since i'm using a point and shoot camera....
But i'm sure the indent is visible.
subvertz said:
Feel free to look around the DIY workshop. By my records, the material used for pogo contact so for include:
Actual pogo pins
Guitar strings
Thumbtacks
Battery terminal prongs
Copper tape
Card reader prongs
Bare wires
Nails
Paperclips
So, If it conducts it should work. Just gotta be careful about scratching the phone. Some guys have actually made indents on each pin contact from using sharp stuff.
In your case, I think you should think about the heads of tiny screws from glasses hinges, poked through from the inside of the case....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tiny screws are a fantastic idea! However, I just realized that I got the 1st version of the Pop! Case from Case Mate. I will have to return it to Amazon. Don't buy from Case123USA. It's bad news bears!
CNLiberal said:
Tiny screws are a fantastic idea! However, I just realized that I got the 1st version of the Pop! Case from Case Mate. I will have to return it to Amazon. Don't buy from Case123USA. It's bad news bears!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your be careful remark. I am considering using some heads of ballheadpens and see where it leads me.
It may be a race to nowhere but did anyone succeed with the wireless charging solution through any kind of protective case for Note 2?
I have a Palm reworked charger which does its job. When my Note 2 isn't covered with Otterbox Defender...
OK, the Defender is too tick and out of question. But do we have a choice of more or less suitable cases for wireless charging?
Well thr official flap cover should but it isn't a case.
Any type of case should make wireless charging difficult.
Sent from my GT-N7100
I came across this the other day. Might help with some info for you.
2DemonLoader
No, the video and the whole article explain how to do the Wireless Charger mode yourself. I already have all the parts inside. The charging is OK with no protective case at all.
I thought Otter or others may create a special version of Defender with a steel disk of a kind to work as a high frequency magnetic coil iron.
sms2000 said:
2DemonLoader
No, the video and the whole article explain how to do the Wireless Charger mode yourself. I already have all the parts inside. The charging is OK with no protective case at all.
I thought Otter or others may create a special version of Defender with a steel disk of a kind to work as a high frequency magnetic coil iron.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know its a guide, but he had said that his method worked with different cases, so I figured that info would be useful in finding your solution.
I currently have the satatchi tablet cd slot mount in my car:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00II8JDRM/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also got two nokia dt-900 chargers for $5 each on that att sale.
I am on a tight budget so buying theairdock is out of the question.
The thickness of the dt-900 combined with the space available on the mount make using it in current form impossible, the tablet won't fit at all.
Is it possible to take parts off the dt-900 to make it thinner yet still work correctly?
If not, is there a DIY way to make your own qi wireless charger by taking apart a normal one or building your own from parts?
Or is there an extremely thin qi wireless charger on the market (like 5mm or less in thickness)?
sfetaz said:
I currently have the satatchi tablet cd slot mount in my car:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00II8JDRM/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also got two nokia dt-900 chargers for $5 each on that att sale.
I am on a tight budget so buying theairdock is out of the question.
The thickness of the dt-900 combined with the space available on the mount make using it in current form impossible, the tablet won't fit at all.
Is it possible to take parts off the dt-900 to make it thinner yet still work correctly?
If not, is there a DIY way to make your own qi wireless charger by taking apart a normal one or building your own from parts?
Or is there an extremely thin qi wireless charger on the market (like 5mm or less in thickness)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I purchased one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271329239542?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
and even though it looked thin enough between the Tx coil and the phone it's self.. I had to open the charger up and use my Dremel tool to remove as much plastic inside as I could to make it as thin and with less space as possible between the phone and the Qi Charging coil. It worked out pretty well. Depending on the Qi Charging coil, like this one here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Qi-Wire...S_Cell_Phone_PDA_Chargers&hash=item43c9a660a3
You can use a rotary tool and Dremel from underneath to fit the PCB and Coil, leaving just enough plastic on the outside, like a thin layer, but strong enough not to break... Place the Coil in first and mount it with a Hotglue gun, then mount the PCB over it, using a smudge of hot glue to hold that in with out making it permanent like if you were using Super Glue so you can make modifications if necessary . You basically have about 5mm of space to work with, anything more than 5mm and your going to have problems... It has to be super thin, but strong enough not to break under pressure. Where you place the coil has EVERYTHING to do with the best type of charge you are going to get. MAKE SURE you have the phone's Rx Coil, and the Qi Tx Charging coil align PERFECTLY.. Experiment a little. Once you find that "Sweet spot", then hot glue everything together, and it should work like a charm.. I wish I had pictures to show you. Good luck!
YouTube is your friend here.. Look at a few DIY videos...
Edit, I have not yet to find a Qi Charger that fits EXACTLY at 5mm, I had to modify mine so that it could get as close to 5mm as possible if not closer.. You will not though be able to charge it with a case on it.. Thats the bad part about all this..
Buy a bare Qi coil very CHEAP, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/181445605298?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
One of the few things that I miss about ZF2 is that there is no hole to tie a lanyard / wrist strap.
Does anyone know of any case that would allow this (and be a tight enough fit to be safe)?
Overandout said:
One of the few things that I miss about ZF2 is that there is no hole to tie a lanyard / wrist strap.
Does anyone know of any case that would allow this (and be a tight enough fit to be safe)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This probably isn't what you are looking for, but just in case, I mentioned my use-case here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61607471&postcount=15
The actual item:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/400900339275
Having one, I think it's too slim to fit with a bumper case as well, but it does protect the phone when sheathed - which to me is 98% of the battle (I don't really drop phones, but they have a tendency of wiggling out of my pocket). Lanyard was home-made with some fabric ribbon, thread, and a tiny carabiner (that MEC used to sell) to attach to a belt loop.
Ya gotta take priorities.
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenFone-...11442&sr=1-1&keywords=zenfone+2+ringke+fusion
Has a lanyard hole on the bottom left corner
That looks great. Thanks.
Ordered already. Will put feedback in the appropriate thread when received.