Related
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...cm_ite=**Slick Deals**&cm_ite=**Slick Deals**
Just bought one for my mod and another for my mom's Pixi. Thank you Verizon!
source: http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/117754-touchstones.html
yeah, got one too but I'm kinda of afraid to mess with my EVO like that and do the hack...
hack posted here: http://www.goodandevo.net/2010/06/h...rk-with-palm-touchstone-wireless-charger.html
I'm an electrical engineer and I have the $7 insuarance. Worst that can happen is I fry my phone, say I lost it, and pay the deductible for a new phone.
This may be worth the $50 risk to be able to charge without plugging in a cable every night.
gx1400 said:
I'm an electrical engineer and I have the $7 insuarance. Worst that can happen is I fry my phone, say I lost it, and pay the deductible for a new phone.
This may be worth the $50 risk to be able to charge without plugging in a cable every night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, sounds tempting but I'm not an electrical engineer nor do I have the TEP insurance yet, nor would I be willing to pay the $100 deductible if I had the insurance.
still tempting though. is it that risky to do it?
I thought the TEP was a $50 deductible?
If you're ok with soldering, it should be a really easy job. If you've never soldered electronics... probably not.
$50 deductible for flip phones, $100 for smartphones/featurephones. also, the ones with the $50 deductible are $4/month i think.
I am actually doing this right now with a Palm PIXI touchstone back ($6 at Radio Shack BTW)
I have added pressure joints (taking apart an old SIM card for the sturdy golden pads) so that you never need to solder to the inducting circuit. This makes it so that you can FULLY take off the back over. Just some thin double sided tape and electrical tape does the job. Used 28AWG teflon coated SPC for my internal wiring.
I am waiting for my Touchstone docks to come in for testing, but I have high hopes.
I have insurance and its not my first time at modding the internals of a portable (iPods, iPod Touch, iPhone). Plus this just makes it soo much cooler. Have a solar panel I plan on adding too, just haven't figured out a way to make it look good yet which is a big requirement IMO.
Childofthehorn said:
I am actually doing this right now with a Palm PIXI touchstone back ($6 at Radio Shack BTW)
I have added pressure joints (taking apart an old SIM card for the sturdy golden pads) so that you never need to solder to the inducting circuit. This makes it so that you can FULLY take off the back over. Just some thin double sided tape and electrical tape does the job. Used 28AWG teflon coated SPC for my internal wiring.
I am waiting for my Touchstone docks to come in for testing, but I have high hopes.
I have insurance and its not my first time at modding the internals of a portable (iPods, iPod Touch, iPhone). Plus this just makes it soo much cooler. Have a solar panel I plan on adding too, just haven't figured out a way to make it look good yet which is a big requirement IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you post some pics please? thanks
Ordered! I'm so doing this.
PLESTIUC said:
can you post some pics please? thanks
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Click to collapse
Yeah! Absolutely, once I make sure that it actually works like it is supposed to!
I am moving this weekend, so at the earliest it will be a week.
LOL, more more use for old cellphone crap (SIM CARD from old ATT phone)....
got my order today. wasn't this thing supposed to come with a usb cable included? there is only the dock in the box and the cover in a separate box.
O guess it uses one of those very small mini usb plugs and I don't have a cable for it laying around
I wonder what kind of efficiency the set up has compared to the stock covers for the palm devices. As the coil moves away from the touchstone it will lose power exponentially as the distance increases.
I have Ghost Armor on my Evo, so I can go without a case, but I imagine any case (even as thin as a Seidio Innocase II would be too thick for it to be efficient.
Once I get back to school where I have my soldering iron and dremel, I'm going to try to modify a silicone or ebay-cheapo case and try to inset it with the coil, wires, and try to make my own 90-degree flush mounted micro-usb plug in the bottom. This way you could charge it through the USB using the touchstone, but you wouldn't have to worry at all about opening up the phone.
so anyone have a go at this hack yet?
Just finished mine last night....
I didn't actually solder mine to the board. I put my wire on the positive contact on the board and my negative on the negative screw contact. Put the case back together and taped the positive and negative to the contacts on the pixi charger. Its working like a charm!
Well guys, the ebay seller i bought a couple of docks from has obviously dropped the ball. Time for Amazon....
jmstansell said:
Just finished mine last night....
I didn't actually solder mine to the board. I put my wire on the positive contact on the board and my negative on the negative screw contact. Put the case back together and taped the positive and negative to the contacts on the pixi charger. Its working like a charm!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did the exact same thing and it turned out fine.. I had the solder gun ready to go but for some reason i couldnt get the solder to stick to the phone.. i guess im a semi newbie when it comes to soldering either way..
Anyway , I think this way is very stable and is completely reversible with no signs of anything having been done.. I feel stupid for only having ordered one touchstone when it was $10!
Guys, This is FANTASTIC and definitely makes for the best car mount EVER! You just stick your phone on he touchstone and go. The touchstone seems to be able to be mounted near anywhere with that semi sticky pad on the bottom and yo can use command adhesive strips anywhere else. It also looks really slick on a black console (mins is and its soft touch too). I have it placed at a 45 degree angle area in the top middle of my main console and it sticks great. The Evo with the palm Pixi back holds on tight and does not come off even with my driving.
I found out that this still works and bought two more touchstones for the house.
Vehicle Charger + Palm Touchstone for $10 shipped!
I'd probably do this (as my previous phone was a Pre so I already have the back and touchstone) but I just don't care to have my compass not work because of the magnets.
The compass while off of the charger still works, just not quite a fast. There ARE NO MAGNETS in the inductive charging back. They are just pieces of steel. They become like magnets when placed on the Touchstone charger. When not charging, it is the same as it always was.
Besides how often do you need a compass in your car or home where a GPS would not be better?
The magnets in the base also do not affect the GPS at all. I have the phone on the Touchstone in my car while running the GPS and have no issues.
So, there is no need to solder correct? Seems people say electrical tape will do the trick, really want to try it but i missed the deal. Anyone confirming this besides one or two guys?
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.
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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.
Just read this- I can't find it anywhere online yet, but it might be available in store at T-mo.
Link:
http://www.tmonews.com/2010/12/the-mytouch4g-dock-has-arrived/
EDIT: Changed title so as not to get anybodies hopes up.
(OPINION- UNDERWHELMING)
Its does NOT use the dock pins. It uses the microusb port thus does not launch the dock app. Just FYI before we get 10,000 "does it use the pins?" questions. Source.
FYI, there are links in the tmo forum that I linked where you can purchase it but EVERYWHERE is sold out already.
EDIT: Fixed source.
Awesome, thanks for the info...and the save! Lol
Sent from mytouch 4G using Tapatalk
I guess if they did have the pins, it wouldn't be able to rotate the device into the upright position. This would be more secure. When I had the N1 dock, one little nudge and the device would fall to the floor
@Kid Poker, man that's crap,o don't know if it would be practical, buy it would be nice if they make the mt4g dock in a way that it would use the micro usb and the pins, so it would stay in place better than just sitting on a few contacts.
Sent from mytouch 4G using Tapatalk
Sorry I don't have pics, but had some hands on time with the dock. It does use the usb connector and swivels, and has bluetooth. $50 in a T-Mobile store, but buy 2 $3.99 straps with it and you get 30% off. It is a snug fit. I imagine a body skin will still fit, but no case will work with it.
kitsunisan said:
Sorry I don't have pics, but had some hands on time with the dock. It does use the usb connector and swivels, and has bluetooth. $50 in a T-Mobile store, but buy 2 $3.99 straps with it and you get 30% off. It is a snug fit. I imagine a body skin will still fit, but no case will work with it.
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lol Oh tmobile, I will never understand your pricing structure- but it's awesome! As far as a snug fit- thats what I kinda figured, I bought a Zagg full skin and a SS realook for the display (a little excessive I know- but hey that 50% off black friday deal from Zagg was awesome) instead of a case, so I could use the docks when they come out. Appreciate the info... but, do you work for t-mo, how did you manage to get access to the dock already???
Why would the dock not use the pins? Can we assume other docks will come out in the future that do use them?
mountainboy said:
Appreciate the info... but, do you work for t-mo, how did you manage to get access to the dock already???
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Just walked in the store, the downtown Minneapolis store has two of them. If I had been able to split it up on my bill I would have gotten it, but my credit is burned up with the MT4G. I'll have cash on me tomorrow, I'll pick one up and play with it for a while if they're still in stock. I'll post some pics tomorrow night.
wow $50 for a dock that uses the micro usb port, i wonder if you could do better with ebay knock offs. I'm sure you can probably not as nice but it'll cost 1/5th of the price.
What is the point of having a dock like this that DOESN'T utilize the pins on the phone? That doesn't make much sense at all to me.
You missed the "bluetooth" part, I see. Still, should be at least $10 cheaper imo.
kitsunisan said:
Just walked in the store, the downtown Minneapolis store has two of them. If I had been able to split it up on my bill I would have gotten it, but my credit is burned up with the MT4G. I'll have cash on me tomorrow, I'll pick one up and play with it for a while if they're still in stock. I'll post some pics tomorrow night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I'll keep an eye out. The pics make it look a little top heavy with the phone in it- I wonder how it balances out- wonder if the base is weighted...
greenstuffs said:
wow $50 for a dock that uses the micro usb port, i wonder if you could do better with ebay knock offs. I'm sure you can probably not as nice but it'll cost 1/5th of the price.
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Click to collapse
Yeah $50 is steep- the other links are showing $38 though- that seems more of a fair price if it's a legit product. I'm thinking I would buy this for use in my office, and wait for the one that makes use of the contacts to use at home.
I'm using it right now. Got it at T-Mo retail. It looks like every store only got two in-stock for some reason? I guess I could take pics, but it would be with my crappy old iPhone 2G camera, which would be really low-res and pointless. :/
So, the quick-n-dirty 'review', for those of you who are as nerdy as me:
Synapsis: Don't bother!
myTouch 4G Swivel Dock
Pros:
Nice, weighted base (where the BT antenna is housed, along with micro USB intput and 3.5mm audio out). It is definitely weighted and nice feeling.
Looks fairly sleek, despite the cheesy 'my' logo on the front of the dock.
Bottom of the 'weight' is rubberized, so it doesn't slide around.
The back of the swivel stand has the same, soft, rubberized material so the back of the phone does not scratch on the plastic.
It serves the purpose of securely (emphasis on this) docking your device. That thing isn't coming out without some force.
No Bluetooth PIN is required to pair (simply pair in BT settings).
Allows you to charge and sync over USB (think 'iPod / iPhone dock')
Streams audio from the phone to the dock, via BT.
Cons:
Does not come with an extra USB cable.
No solution to use the FM Radio without just dangling your headset off of the side (in fact, the 3.5mm from the phone is blocked by the cradle). So, so, so, very lame. I realize I could just buy a cheap FM Alarm Clock, but what's the point of having all of this cool tech in my phone if there's no practical way to use it? Wasted opportunity, if you ask me.
Getting the phone in there at first, you feel like it might be really easy to damage the USB port.
A small amount of 'rattle' to the swivel mechanism, but otherwise, sturdy.
It is somewhat difficult and awkward to seat the device into the dock; this is a really snug fit.
BT audio kind of sucks biggity balls. Highs crack and there is a general layer of compression running through everything. Basically, there's no point in playing files that are encoded at anything above 64KBPS. Listening to music on high-end speakers kind of sounds like ass. So, yeah. Not sure why they didn't just route the audio through the USB port, iPhone-style? It's not terrible, but if you're an audiophile, you will cringe a little bit. Directly inputting to the phone sounds 200x better.
There doesn't appear to be a way to pair the dock with your computer, to try and re-route the audio stream (super nerdy stuff on my part).
T-Mo, in all their wisdom, left out support for landscape viewing throughout most of the OS. Really bone-headed and stupid (same complaint I have with using the phone as a GPS device -- sideways contacts / phone = stupid).
The docking pins are not used in any way, shape, or form (no automatic 'desk mode' / no automatic alarm clock). Lame. So lame. I'm so disappointed by this, because the docking pins were one of the main reasons I went with this phone (assuming super-fancy docks would be coming out).
The 3.5mm audio cables you plug in can very easily be unseated / pulled out from a bump. I don't know if this is because I'm using super-professional-grade cables that have a hefty weight / insulation to them? But if the cable applies any pressure to the dock's input, I get the infamous analog 'BUZZZZZZ!' sound. It's not cheap, I just think the cables are too heavy-duty.
The Dock wraps over the volume and lockscreen keys. Kinda dumb, but I understand why this has to be. I imagine the BT audio normalizes anyway.
They really should've thought out how to integrate their docks with the OS a bit more.
It's not terrible, but it's not mind-blowing. I got it for 20% off, and was able to use credit from a returned accessory. I got it for about $30, and I think that's probably a more reasonable price for what amounts to nothing more than a fancy USB port with lousy Audio Out capabilities. It's a solid and safe way to charge your phone at night, basically. I'll probably keep it, but it is a bit of a letdown, if you were expecting to drop your phone into it and have it automatically launch some kind of cool interface. I think they should've routed the 3.5mm stream from the USB input, and that they should've found a way to include an FM antenna into the device to make use of the super nice FM radio app. The fact that it doesn't automatically go into Desk Dock Mode is infinitely disappointing to me.
Basically, if your only other solution was to have it nervously balance on the edge of your table, sitting on your laptop, with your cat / dog or a child running around the house? This is a much better and safer solution.
If they just built landscape support into Sense, this would be pretty sweet. But I guess that's why they have it 'swivel', right? Lame.
Feel free to ask me any more questions, if you've got 'em.
@Jon C Wow, I'm impressed! Kudos man, I have a hard time typing out a whole paragraph. Excellent review! So, is the bluetooh in the cradle just for you to be able to plug in headphones at the base of the unit, or is there a built in speaker? I like their attention to detail with the rubberized parts you mentioned. So, with the phone being such a snug fit in the cradle via the micro usb- do you think that could cause any issues with the phone potentially being docked and undocked several times daily? I was pretty bummed when I noticed that the volume rocker is covered as while I'm @ work sitting at my desk, I like to put on Pandora with the ability to adjust the volume when I have to make phone calls. I'm thinking I will just continue using my business card holder for my phone stand- it seems to have more of the functionality I'm looking for lol.
@Jon C. Thanks for the write up! I really only want the dock to prolong the live of my micro usb port and for the auto clock function (I use it on my night stand) so I will NOT be purchasing this one. I really hope they come up with something else, total waiste to have the dock pins and not use them.
Man I miss my Nexus dock!
I updated the review a little bit. Not only does the dock block the volume keys, but it blocks the lock button and the 3.5mm out.
To answer your question: No, there is no speaker on the dock, simply a 3.5mm out.
Also, I need to stress how annoyingly difficult it is to actually seat the phone. The dock feels like it was engineered back when the phone was called the 'myTouch HD', and probably had slightly different dimensions (much like the gel cases, which do not fit exactly).
I really have to jam the phone hard against the back of the dock, to line up the USB port. I could easily see the USB port getting damaged from repeated 'misses'. The stupid little USB connector actually put a nice little dent into the side of my soft-touch paint.
Man, how the **** do you mess this up? What a letdown.
Sadly, guys, I don't think we're going to get anything better. That said, I'm really thinking about taking this thing back, based on how impossibly hard it is to even get the phone in there to begin with.
Jeez! Yeah I would take that thing back for sure. That really sucks that the stupid thing dented the side of your phone! They should give you something cool for free ;p...I'm just sayin...
Sent from mytouch 4G using Tapatalk
Normally, my OCD would require that I swap out my current phone for another one. However, with all of the bull**** with the variances in screen quality and so forth, I'd rather not push my luck. Plus, the reps at all of the T-Mo stores around here are kind of pushy / annoying and get angry when you want to swap out phones.
Still, I am pissed. Super lame, T-Mo and HTC. What the hell were you idiots thinking?
I hope a third-party makes a dock with pin support. Odds of that happening? Slim-to-none.
Yeah, I can understand the ocd thing lol! You do have a very sad but true point about a new hit or miss phone. Just to clarify though, who is the manufacturer of the dock- HTC or tmo? You would think that they would come out with some kind of dock to utilize those contacts on the side of the phone.
Sent from myTouch 4G using XDA app
There have been a lot of complaints about the flimsy connector for the Xoom charger. I also think that it is a very poor design at most. The metal pin is too long, the plastic part is poking out too much etc.
I am no engineer and also bad at drawing but I attached something that I think might work. If anyone feels like they could produce a prototype that would be awesome!
The small magnet might or might not work. If you look at the area where all the connectors are you will see a small metal plate that could probably be used to anchor the connector magnetically.
Any feedback is appreciated (even just to say that I am full of sh!t!)
UPDATE: I added an alternative design using the two metal connectors for charging and a silicone plug to keep the connectors in place. A magnet will give additional stability.
funnycreature said:
There have been a lot of complaints about the flimsy connector for the Xoom charger. I also think that it is a very poor design at most. The metal pin is too long, the plastic part is poking out too much etc.
I am no engineer and also bad at drawing but I attached something that I think might work. If anyone feels like they could produce a prototype that would be awesome!
The small magnet might or might not work. If you look at the area where all the connectors are you will see a small metal plate that could probably be used to anchor the connector magnetically.
Any feedback is appreciated (even just to say that I am full of sh!t!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It charges my Xoom very fast. It is still working and has not caused me any issues. If it breaks, I will come back here to *****.
I was just referring to the connector but thanks for the warning
funnycreature said:
I was just referring to the connector but thanks for the warning
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So was I. The stock one works fine however, alternatives are great as well. I just do not see a need for one personally. Others may.
Yeah, the stock connecter scares me. I like your design though I'm not sure anyone here has the means to develop and sell it. I'm hoping maybe someone may find a softwear solution to charge via the USB micro port. What do you guys think, possible or no?
funnycreature said:
There have been a lot of complaints about the flimsy connector for the Xoom charger. I also think that it is a very poor design at most. The metal pin is too long, the plastic part is poking out too much etc.
I am no engineer and also bad at drawing but I attached something that I think might work. If anyone feels like they could produce a prototype that would be awesome!
The small magnet might or might not work. If you look at the area where all the connectors are you will see a small metal plate that could probably be used to anchor the connector magnetically.
Any feedback is appreciated (even just to say that I am full of sh!t!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like it! i think its a pretty good idea. Wish i knew someone who could create one. I would buy it. stock one scares me
how the F do magnets work?
anyhow, yeah really good design. I would buy that too.
i just turn it upside down while charging it.
I would buy one of those
I have to ask, why you would use that connector at all if you want to redesign a magnetic charger? Why not use the same priciple to connect it to the two plates on the bottom next to the hole for power?
As someone who repairs laptops for a living, this was the single most troubling design aspect of our new toy. It looks like it will be far to easy to damage the internals of this device with the default power cable.
It would make more sense to use a breakaway magnetic connection that makes contact with the two metal plates. I have not looked in to it too far but it would seem that the docs use this and the USB in them is strictly for audio out.
I was actually wondering if the metal plates would be used for dock charging. Since I don't own a dock I can't check. But if it is then yes, the charger should be attached magnetically! Thanks for the clarification. I'll try to design more options
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
keitht said:
So was I. The stock one works fine however, alternatives are great as well. I just do not see a need for one personally. Others may.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My only complaint with the xoom, honestly is the charging system.
For starters, I don't see a reason to not allow charging over USB. Sure the voltage would only be 5v, and it would take considerably longer, but the option would be nice. This isn't to say I want to do away with the 12v charger, because the speed at which it charges is lovely, just the option for the other.
Secondly, the needle-like connector screams, "I want to be broken quickly!" Was there really a need to make the connector in that type and size?
Thirdly, the placement of the charger port is hideous and impractical. It's dead center at the bottom. I rarely use my xoom flat against a surface. I purchased the display portfolio that motorola made. The charger port is not only a hinderance to the utilization of my portfolio case, but is also covered at all times when using the case in any manner that motorola designed it. I'm sure this is simply a brain-fart on motorola's part, which happens to everyone and is understandable, but is there a reason the charger port couldn't have been placed on one of the sides of the device? I would say preferably the left hand side, as people are less likely to turn the device to sit on that side.
I'm not simply posting this to complain, just express my thoughts on the only true fault that I feel the xoom has. On that note, a 90 degree *honestly 180 degree by the design sketch* connector would be lovely, IMO. It still wouldn't be usable with the portfolio case, but it would allow someone to angle the xoom without fear of breaking the charger off inside it.
The two metal plates are indeed for charging on the dock. It takes away the need to use the stock charger on the needle tip. Just plug the charger into the dock and set the Xoom on it. I charge this way every time.
markbo2000 said:
The two metal plates are indeed for charging on the dock. It takes away the need to use the stock charger on the needle tip. Just plug the charger into the dock and set the Xoom on it. I charge this way every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only problem is that's a $70-$120 solution
Why even have the plug then and just use the metal plates?
xlGmanlx said:
Why even have the plug then and just use the metal plates?
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Click to collapse
The plug would add additional stability so that it doesn't come off so easily. Not sure how strong you could make the magnets. As I said, I'm no engineer
Makes sense, maybe a smaler nub though haha, otherwise I like the idea
funnycreature said:
The plug would add additional stability so that it doesn't come off so easily. Not sure how strong you could make the magnets. As I said, I'm no engineer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apple has a patent on the magnetically attached charger. Perhaps this is why motorola went the direction that it did.
http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...XT&s1=7311526.PN.&OS=PN/7311526&RS=PN/7311526
im gonna make this. I will let you guys know how it works. my first android by the way!
Sweet! I was also thinking about getting some latex and a second charger that I can strip and modify. This will be so cool!
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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.