I took a lot of inspiration for these projects from some of the stuff I saw posted around here. Like many others, I got tired of the lack of accessories available for the GN and built a few of my own. I was also too impatient to order and wait for the pogo pins that I should have been using for this project, so I used guitar string instead. :silly: Oh well....
The Wooden Desk Dock
This one was fun and It didn't take too long to build. Thanks to chopper the dog for his info in this thread which I used as I was building this. To put this together I used:
a couple pieces of scrap wood for the body,
a paint stirrer cut to size for the platform,
some 46 gauge guitar string for the contacts,
solder,
electrical tape,
a strip of 1/8 inch foam (on the left side. hard to see in the pic) to seat the phone snugly,
a few felt pads for feet,
and, an NFC tag to trigger landscape mode for the phone and it has been working nice.
Ideally, I need to get this thing sanded down a little more, get the tag hidden a little better, and maybe stain or paint it.
The Modified Verizon Car Dock
I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out, but I'm not finished yet. For this one I used:
an old Verizon car charger,
some 46 gauge guitar string for the contacts,
solder,
electrical tape,
two 1/4 inch pieces of spray tube from a can of WD-40 (I used these as guides for the guitar string to slide through),
some CA glue to hold the tube guides in place (We'll see long this lasts...)
a small bolt, nut, and teflon washer,
a short piece of black wire (I used this to secure the power cord to the dock. It was the smallest, nicest looking way of doing it short of using a twist tie, blegh.)
an NFC tag to trigger landscape mode for the phone,
and a Razer sticker to hide my mistake of shaving too much of the back of that Samsung plate away too fast and melting the front (dammit!)
As you can see, up close it's not the prettiest looking job, but with the phone snapped in it looks just fine. I was a huge pain getting those contacts just right, but eventually using those tubes made it much easier. I carved out a section of the soft rubber inside, because it left a mess when I initially drilled through it. It made it really hard to line the contacts up.
I'm going to work on this one a little more today. I want to add a connector to make it possible to break the cord away from the dock and possibly make another cord with a USB connection on the end.
Adding the Connector to the Modified Verizon Car Dock
This was easier than I expected. I started searching around for supplies and found a couple of old cordless handset bases with just what I wanted, some kind of 90 degree connector. I pulled the receptacle from the board inside the base. Since we had multiple bases, I was able to grab two nearly identical plugs.
Then I removed the fixed car charger from my dock and found a suitable place for the receptacle. I soldered the wires in place and fixed the receptacle in place with a zip tie.
I think the zip tie was the best way to go. It's a little tight under the samsung cover.
I used the plugs and spliced them onto to the verizon car charger and a regular usb cable. For anyone who's interested, the wires inside the verizon charger are red (5v) and green (ground).
After a little testing, I decided the receptacle needed another zip tie and a round of CA glue to hold it in place. Here's the finished product. I'm very happy with how it turned out.
I also have another problem I need to work out. I use my 12v socket in the car for my bluetooth receiver. I need to figure out a way to power both in a small compact way. I've seen those 12v socket splitters and I will not put something like that in my car. What do you guys think about trying to fit both of these into one package?
I had a lot of fun working on these over the couple days. Let me know what you guys think
Well done, I like the look of the chunky wood dock. Although like you said sanding it down would make it look better.
Thanks jonny. I'm thinking a dark stain on it would look nice. I want to replace the platform with something a little more durable as well.
Yea I dont blame you. It doesnt quite fit with the look of the rest of it. Perhaps if you have any more of the wood you used you can use that and just cut a really thin piece to use as the platform.
Related
I just purchased the Droid X desk stand removed the HDMI connector and the Magnet cover tower from the base.
The Incredible fits nicely (just a tad bit snug on the left side but not too bad.
I Downloaded an Alarm Clock that can run in the Horizontal position and now I have a cool to look at:
HTC -- Motorola Desk Stand for my Incredibly rooted phone, Sky Raider 2.5.2, UnRevoked-Forever, S-Off, 2.15 Radio.
To use the vernacular "Man this is Dope",, I hope that's right...
Now if I can figure out how to load Picture to this post you can see for yourselves.
i so want in on this!
TheWizKid95 said:
i so want in on this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Purchase the Desk Stand for the Droid X.
Carefully pull the bottom cover(s) (there is the rubber mat and the double sided tape) Be careful you will need this when putting it back together.
There are 8 Screws (Phillips) very tiny, they are screwed in at an angle, remove all screws, place in a cup to the side.
Now you will see the wiring and the mounting bracket, remove the 5 screws holding the bracket down.
Carefully pull the Bracket with the wires and magnet tower.
Remove the HDMI cable ( mine was white inside) it's the cable to the far right when looking at the front of the Desk Stand.
Remove the (silver) tower cover, you will not need it (be sure to leave the black plastic tower so the Phone can rest against when in the cradle).
Carefully return the bracket and the USB Micro jack back into the unit. Screw down the bracket.
Now try your phone, carefully, you will see the power connector fits but the left side (facing the front of the unit) is just a bit snug, no worries... It's all good
make sure when plugged in the Phone starts a charging cycle. If it all works remove the power cord and phone and replace the bottom, make sure all side fit inside the top cover..
Replace all screws, reattach the base pad to the unit...
You now have an
HTC -- Motorola Desk Stand for your Incredible.
1st Pic the completed Product
2nd Pic completed no phone
3rd removed parts.
Good Luck
seems kinda risky, but im down for it, now i just have to save up enough money to buy a droid x stand!
Awesome find guys! I still have the car mount from when I had the Droid X before i traded it back for my launch day Incredible.
Now we have a "semi" official dock for the Incredible!!
Maybe some developers can come up with some good desktop dock apps and car apps that utilize the incredible to its full extent?!
Hey oldman, is it possible to shift the usb to where the hdmi was to relieve the snugness on the left?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Tried using the HDMI but too close.to the right.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Ever since I got my EVO I've been wanting to get a dock, as I'm just a dock sort of guy. Nothing like getting home and not having to fiddle with a cable, just slam the phone down and be done with it. That and being able to see my screen from my chair or across the room is sooo nice. However, I use a case (the innocase surface II,) and have since launch day. I do not like having to take my phone out of my case ever if I can get away with it. Unfortunately, I've only seen one premade dock that works with a case, the innodock jr, and frankly- that thing sucks. It's expensive, ugly, and not even made for this phone in particular. So I've waited, and waited... and finally decided to make my own.
So I built this "thing" on top of some weird folding cradle I got from Bed Bath and Beyond for 10 bucks. Don't buy this thing unless you plan on modding it, it looks cool as it has a built in USB Hub and comes with a micro/mini USB cable, but frankly it kind of sucks as a cradle. It's supposed to have a nonslip surface the phone sticks to, but it doesn't work at all for the EVO with a case, probably because it's so heavy. But since it's not useful otherwise, I used it for my base. Nice thing is it does fold up and have a couple different angles you can set the phone at, which is kind of useful now that the phone actually stays on it at any other than fully folded up.
I then made a shim to hold the charging cable at the right spot out of some aluminum from an old hard drive casing. Nothing pretty here, just hacksaw'd it up and did a bit of filing. Goopy glued the charging cable to it, and epoxied the shim to the cradle. I didn't want to epoxy the cable itself to the cradle in case I want to remove it later, that and I wanted it to have some small amount of flexibility. I used the dock like this for a few days, but the phone didn't like to stay aligned all perfect like, so I epoxied the spacer bit on the other side on earlier today. It's just another piece of aluminum I cut and filed up to kinda fit the contour of the bottom of the case. Phone fits beautifully now, or at least as beautifully as something held together with epoxy can look.
Figured I'd throw out how I made my monstrosity to help anyone else do the same thing if they wanted to.
Good job. Makes me want to build something.
Lol, it is ghetto as advertised.
I'm sure it works great though, and you should be glad you made it!
You pulled off a mcgyver there my friend...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
apristel said:
Good job. Makes me want to build something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, its actually my second attempt at building a dock. My first time I tried to make it out of lego, but I had trouble getting the microusb connector at the right angle and getting it so the whole thing wouldn't just fall apart when I pulled the phone off.
If I had the equipment to make it, I though up a really sweet dock design made out of bent and folded 1/8" aluminum sheet, but alas I do not. You can find PCB mounted right angle microUSB connectors with a small amount of built in flex that are much better suited for docks than using an actual cable, but using one still requires something to build it into.
I finally have access to a 3D printer where I work and was asked to throw test uses out for it and try to pull it to it's limits. We typically use it to print out models of the 3D art our designers make. It's awesome for that.
I used it to print this dock that someone designed and posted over at thingiverse. I think it came out great in black ABS plastic. Haven't slotted a USB cable in to it yet but will when I get home (no cables that fit it here in the office. It has a hole and slot to route the cable out the back. It holds the phone in portrait mode. I use the Ringke Slim case (which I don't recomend since it scratches the phone but hell, i already own it) and it seems to sit nicely in the dock. :good:
Gallery of cradle from various angles: http://imgur.com/a/3XaMq
What do you think. How would you change it?
Nice! I would add short side walls to keep the phone from falling over and out of the dock and would make a second one wider with a lower back for landscape mode. I would also think about building in a space for a QI charger coil and board inside the back plate to have it double as a wireless charger.
Improvements?
Perhaps have the back hollow and wide enough to slip the 'official' Wireless charging pad in, and also ones like the pURL=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-DT-900-Wireless-Charging-Plate/dp/B009WKGNB4]DT-900[/URL], and between the charger and phone be slim enough to actually charge the phone (most have a 5mm range)
Could you make me one? Only thing i would suggest is added small walls to the sides so it doesn't slide right off. Maybe make a variant with a space for a wireless charging puck?
Once the charger is in place it won't slide side to side.
That being said, i can find a charger that fits. The creator used one made by Nokia... Seems it would be more helpful to the community if he used a cheaper, easily attainable Monoprice or Amazon Basics cable.
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-WCP-300-Wireless-Charging/dp/B00C6VP03I
This should fit
I would lose the flat bottom allowing it to sit on irregular surfaces and also saving more materials. Looks great already though.
Hey everyone,
This is my first modification guide thingy so I hope it is ok and useful to some of you. I purchased an N5 off of Swappa recently that came with the N4 Wireless Charging Orb and the newer glass-topped N5 wireless charger. I assume the original owner was sick of how the orb performed (Google failed with the design of it) and bought the other charger. I was about to throw it away but started doing some research. Some other people have modified the orb, but the results are extremely ugly. I'll show you what I've done and how I'm incorporating this into my 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport. I want the result to look like it was factory installed and without any external suction cup wireless charger with ugly ass arms that clamp around the phone. I want it to be completely invisible until I plop my phone on it.
After I took everything apart I was going to try and reuse the casing somehow, so that's why this image is covered with a different covering than the Nexus imprinted rubber on the top. I decided against reusing the casing because it looked ugly and I found a better way.
Step 1 - Remove the Nexus rubber to expose the screws
Peel back the Nexus rubber covering to reveal the screws. I ended up ripping the rubber so be careful if you plan to reuse it. Honestly, you probably won't be able to get it to sit right even if you do plan to reuse it. The screws will be at 12, 3, 6, and 9 oclock.
Step 2 - Remove the screws to take off the top and and get access to the PCB/Wireless Charging Coil
Some people say you can just unscrew the screws, but mine were glued in with locktite or something. I had to drill them out. I used an 1/8" bit. Be careful not to hit the board. I hit the board a little bit ( since you can't really see it with the top on still) but everything seems to work. From there just take off the top and remove the board. You'll have to remove the 2 other screws holding the L shaped metal thing to completely remove the unit.
Step 3 - Buy Neodymium magnets and add them to the coil
I purchased these magnets (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ANVAHI/). They were $7.79 for 100. Since this is going in a vehicle and there's going to be bumpiness, I ended up using 44 magnets around the outside of the coil (stacked 2 high, all the way around). They hold on to each other and the coil magnetically, but I'll probably throw some double sided sticky tape around the edges to make sure they don't go anywhere.
Step 4 - Find the area in your vehicle where you're going to mount it and make a vinyl template
In my Cherokee, there's an ashtray which I never use (I don't smoke). Some people take out the ashtray and put a switch panel there for external lighting and what not. I thought, that's the perfect spot for a wireless charger. I grabbed some green car vinyl my friend had laying around, and cut it to match the ash tray. In the image above I layed it over the top, but I will be removing the ash tray completely so it sits flush. I plastidipped the vinyl black to match the interior of my truck (as close as possible) and to add a little more grip.
Step 5 - Mount and wire the wireless charger/vinyl covering
This will be done this coming Tuesday, but the image above is a test. It charges perfectly and is a very strong hold. I do not see this going anywhere when I'm driving. I'll reply to this thread with pictures of the final product next week.
Nicely done! Love the added magnets
Not sure I'd destroy my $50 charger to do this...but now I'm thinking of picking one of those cheap $15 Qi China chargers to disect
sean222 said:
Nicely done! Love the added magnets
Not sure I'd destroy my $50 charger to do this...but now I'm thinking of picking one of those cheap $15 Qi China chargers to disect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have the Nexus orb? And yours actually works? My phone would slide right off of that thing and I'd wake up with a dead phone. You really wouldn't damage the thing if you were careful. You might be able to unscrew the screws without using a drill.
Poi25 said:
You have the Nexus orb? And yours actually works? My phone would slide right off of that thing and I'd wake up with a dead phone. You really wouldn't damage the thing if you were careful. You might be able to unscrew the screws without using a drill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works great because I don't use a case, so the back of the rubbery orb sticks nicely to the back of my rubbery Nexus 5! with my old nexus 4, it didn't stick naked, but did stick after I put a wet application protector. I can imagine most cases not sticking and it sliding off though
Here's my final setup and finished product! Head to 3:00 mark for the wireless charger.
geat! probably i`ll do the same on my car
charly_mad said:
geat! probably i`ll do the same on my car
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The wireless charger works great, such a strong hold and completely invisible.
Does anyone sell a USB cable that is as limp and relaxed as a piece of yarn or perhaps a cooked spaghetti noodle (just as an example). I'm tired of the cables that fight back, twist one way when I need them to twist another, refuse to stay where I put them, etc. They are all too stiff and have too much mechanical memory. Does anyone make one that is more like a piece of silk than a garden hose?
Man, if I knew one of those existed, I would've bought them a long time ago, because having to flip my phone counterclockwise and clockwise to get the cable to stand naturally is honestly a pain. However, with my lack of knowledge, the cable's purpose should be more for protection of what's inside than for restriction, so potentially be careful of stepping on the cable or something like that. Though, if you're charging it shouldn't be an issue, but if you're file transferring or something you could have some issues.
inb4 diy cable stripping and implementation of the covering on earphones or headphones so I don't have to deal with stiff and curly wires.
You can try and look for one of those retractable ones for a start, those ones are thinner but are more like string than an actual cable, though the whole process of stretch, lock, and retract could be a bit cumbersome. I think that would be your best bet for the moment, because there probably doesn't exist an actual limp cable because of how a short one would be too short for anyone's use, and a long one would flop all over the place and would be easy to trip over (and break).
tl;dr: go retractable.