How did you learn how to create these boards in KiCad? The KiCAD forums are a great resource, and there are lots of good tutorials online (I prefer the ones where you read rather than watch). This isn't my first board, but definitely the most complex in terms of the routing. I tried using auto-rout...

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Ok, cropped to 800x600, hopefully acceptable.

Updated 3D renders showing the current version of the board, front & back: https://i.imgur.com/T4NMI8H.png https://i.imgur.com/Z4VXTpk.png FORUM warning : picture(s) WAY too big, tags removed. Please read the Forum Rules , especially Section 5 : https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14339

To measure the required thickness of the PCB I would just try different bits of card in the on-board connector until I find the thickest combination that fits well, and measure that with a pair of calipers. Then choose the nearest PCB thickness at or below this. Should be alright as long as it fits ...

Just tested them myself in KiCAD's Gerber Viewer 6.0.11 - I went to "Open Gerber Plot File(s)" and selected all the files, and was presented with a preview of the board with all the different layers. The holes were not there though and had to be loaded separately with the "Open Excellon Drill File(s...

Sorry for the delay - I have now added Gerber and drill files in https://github.com/clickworkorange/tp770cf/tree/main/export/gbr002 You can preview these in KiCAD's Gerber Viewer. To the best of my knowledge these files should be compatible with the usual online PCB manufacturers, though I cannot ac...

I've got two 770s on the shelf I'm in the middle of restoring. Both do actually have their hard drives but I am interested in this little project. If anyone is prepared to share the raw files to use with PCBWAY, please let me know and I'll order one to test? Thanks! I'm sorry, only just saw your re...

You also need to determine the correct thickness of the PCB, so that it makes good contact in the slot. Try with a few different thicknesses of plastic card and once you've found something that fits well measure it with a pair of calipers.

I'm happy to hear that there's some interest in the PCB I designed! If you can give me the MPN of the CF connector you want to use I can help redesigning the board so that it fits - I expect it's mainly the mounting holes that differ, though some CF connectors are reversed, which may be a bit much t...

So be it. Now reassembled and much improved! It wasn't too bad actually, probably three hours in total, and that included washing the base shell in the sink (and drying it). Best part is there were no screws left over afterwards :D Pro tip: make sure to have another Thinkpad to hand, on which to vie...

Hi all, My X230 is running way hot, even under moderate load. I want to clean the HSF and refresh the thermal compound on the CPU to see if this will improve things (pretty sure it will), but I was dismayed to see this list in the HMM: For access, remove these FRUs in order: “1010 Battery pack” on p...

Hi all, I'd like to get a case/bag/sleeve for my X230 with 6-cell battery, and I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations? Ideally I'd want a soft padded case which opens fully, so that the laptop can be used without removing it from the bag, and it should be a snug fit with no extra pockets et...

Thanks guys! I tried uttpirds.exe as well and got the same error, then I spotted something in the BIOS revision history: <1.08 - IRET62WW> - (New) Support for Command Prompt Utility (PS2.EXE). My TP 240 was on IRET17WW, which is the second oldest BIOS version, so I proceeded to update to IRET77WW (t...

Hi all, I've recently become the owner of a delightful little TP 240 which I'd like to use to talk to some old equipment that doesn't like USB serial adapters and modern operating systems. But despite much fiddling I haven't been able to get the serial port to work in DOS 6.22 - programs that try to...

Lomax wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:01 pm

The big challenge is going to be soldering the CF socket; this has 50 pins with a 0.635mm pitch. I would use a professional service for this.

Saying that, this guy makes it look very easy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqBJUXM2CtE

You can grab the Kicad project files from my Github:

https://github.com/clickworkorange/tp770cf

Pull requests welcome!

The big challenge is going to be soldering the CF socket; this has 50 pins with a 0.635mm pitch. I would use a professional service for this.

The board was made with Kicad , a free and open source circuit design and PCB layout suite. I will tidy up the project and publish it on my Github - you can grab a copy from there and upload it to a PCB manufacturer to have the board made (e.g. PCBWay in China, ~$25 for five pieces). But it would be...

I whipped up a quick board layout for this adapter:



This should allow you to plug a CompactFlash card straight into the on-board HDD connector on the 770 series ThinkPads.

Further to this, I have added pin translations for a CompactFlash socket: CF Function Caddy IDE Caddy Function CF ---------------------------------------------- Slave 1 A B 4 Slave Master 3 C D 6 Master - - 41 Reset 5 1 2 8 GND 6 DD7 7 3 4 10 DD8 47 5 DD6 12 5 6 11 DD9 48 4 DD5 13 7 8 14 DD10 49 3 D...

I understand that Thinkpad batteries from the last couple of decades are a pain to rebuild due to the need to reprogram the controller, but what about Thinkpad 770 batteries - are these easier to work with? The case is easy enough to open, and it contains what looks like standard 18650 cells... Or m...

This thread might interest you:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=133435

Function Caddy IDE Caddy Function ------------------------------------------------ Slave 1 < A B > 4 Slave Master 3 < C D > 6 Master - - Reset 5 < 1 2 > 8 GND DD7 7 < 3 4 > 10 DD8 DD6 12 < 5 6 > 11 DD9 DD5 13 < 7 8 > 14 DD10 DD4 18 < 9 10 > 17 DD11 DD3 19 < 11 12 > 22 DD12 DD2 24 < 13 14 > 23 DD13 ...

On second thoughts, you could probably get away without the connector; if you make a double-sided 0.8-1.0mm thick PCB you can plug the board straight into the on-board connector, card-edge style. The connector has 2x30-pins with a 1mm pitch, and the layers are offset by 0.5mm. Someone needs to buzz ...

Having compared the number and placement of the PID/VID resistors to an image of a known module I'm pretty sure this is a PIII 650 with Speedstep. Am I correct in thinking this would work fine in a TP 770X, albeit at 500MHz, and with the usual L2 cache caveat?

I found this MMC-2 module in my box of bits, which I think came from a Thinkpad 600X, though it may also have come out of a 600E. I have tried searching for the codes printed on the label, including some variations (a couple of digits are a little unclear), but I get no results. I'm currently tinker...

How frustrating not to have the caddy! This caddy was a strange design decision, and AFAIK only 760/770 series Thinkpads used such a solution. I suspect at least part of the reason was a desire to mount the HDD at a right angle to the motherboard, to reduce the width of the internals. The cable insi...

I put an X220 keyboard in my X230 - and I'm super pleased with the result - but I noticed something odd: when the Thinklight is on it goes off when I click the Touchpad. It's only off as long as the touchpad is held down; when released it comes back on. This makes me worried it might actually be sho...

Success! I took everything apart again, and had a closer look at the tape under my microscope; I had missed a tiny sliver of one of the contacts, and the other side was unnecessarily close to the next uncovered contact (perhaps its thickness prevented the other half from making contact?). I carefull...

As per title - I performed this mod, isolating the leftmost three but one contacts on the underside of the keyboard ribbon connector. All keys work (well, those which work without the BIOS mod that is), except for left & right Ctrl. "sudo showkey -s" shows no output when either is pressed. Checked B...