Handtops, UMPC - Need parts for HSDPA install

Need parts for HSDPA install
handtops.com forums : FlipStart PC : talk about the FlipStart PC

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thread starter

06/12/08 + Joshua

Ny FlipStart didn't have EVDO, and having bought a 5520 card for it, I went to install it only to find it's lacking a couple of things!

It doesn't have the wires going from the PCB header to the card
I don't have screws to hold the MiniPCI-E card in (for the purposes of testing card operation, I nicked a case screw from my Eee).

The wires for the antennas are the most important things. Either specification, source or actual wires would help me a huge amount!

I'm also having trouble getting working drivers. I believe the 5520 is a Novatel card, but the Dell drivers will not install on the FlipStart. The card is recognised, but the driver installer refuses to work as it's not a Dell computer.

Also got my Dynamism stuff - one of my Snap! cameras has a misaligned lens

Replies

06/13/08 + tnkgrl

@Joshua any small U.FL to U.FL pigtail should do... Just look on eBay! As for the screws, any good hardware shop should be able to accommodate you.

Recent Blog: Bluetooth hack for the Asus 701 (Eee)

06/13/08 + GadgetFreak

Hi tnkgrl, your HSDPA hack worked great. The long anttena lead works better on UK bands.

06/14/08 + Joshua

tnkgrl, got some 50mm ones ordered from Farnell - I'll have spares since they had a minimum order quantity. Thanks for that - it was the term "pigtail" that eluded me when I tried to find the leads!

Good hardware shop... slightly harder. This is the UK., and Hardware shops don't sell tiny screws IME, at least not in rural Scotland!

I wonder if all FlipStarts without EVDO will need these screws and leads; mine's an engineering prototype and also lacks the little sticker showing SIM orientation that is visible in your video. Once this is working I'm cloning the HD and fitting an 80GB MacBook Air drive to it.

06/17/08 + RichardK

Okay, I've reached a new barrier.

So far, I got the pigtails, they worked. I got the 5520 software to install after the Novatel drivers refused to work, by editing the MSI using ORCA, and I have the Dell Broadband Connection Manager (a distinctly bad looking version of the Novatel, I presume). MobiLink won't see the Dell card. I really despise the way OEMs do that sort of thing.

Anyway, my new problem is... the Dell utility says "radio is off - slide the radio on/off switch to enable"

This is, I presume, a function of the Dino board and would normally be covered by the FlipStart control panel - but my FlipStart control panel has no WWAN on/off option, only bluetooth and wifi.

I am beginning to get really frustrated with this. I also lost my password so created a new account.

And I still can't find any screws. I pinched one from inside the machine to hold the card down for testing.

06/17/08 + RichardK

Okay, found the solution to that - regedit, find "WANOn", change from 0 to 1. Doesn't fix the ControlCenter offering the option (or, not), but it does enable the radio. Then I found my T-Mobile SIM had been disconnected (lack of use, one assumes!), and it's important to power the system down when changing SIMs, it won't recognise them either.

BUT, I got the 5520 to work!

Steps: Install in the MiniPCI-E slot in the lid. Download Dell drivers R16something520 (Generic 5520 Phase 2). Download ORCA and UniExtract. Extract the MSI installer, edit in ORCA removing the three entires found under "not dell" search. Install (you can, if you want, install the drivers manually from the extracted archive to verify card operation). Edit the registry to enable WAN (regedit, find "WANOn", change from 0 to 1 - would prefer the steps to enable this option in control center, mind). Find a SIM with a good data plan - I'm going to get a new T-Mobile PayG data-only one for this application.

Now. All I need are those blasted screws!

I even have a good signal. Sadly the only spare SIMs I had were O2, notoriously bad for data provision

06/18/08 + Joshua

I found the screws. M2 x 3mm. Maplin had them sold as "Laptop slimline DVD drive screws". Along with U.FL to U.FL pigtails, I now have spares if anyone needs them to install in their own FlipStart in the UK.

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