Can I have built-in Bluetooth in my T40?

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msafi · #1 Post by **msafi** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:46 am

Can I have built-in Bluetooth in my T40?

my machine model is 237275U.

Thanks,

msafi,

jongordo8 · #2 Post by **jongordo8** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:23 pm

yes...it is quite simple. Purchase a bluetooth daughter card, an antenna, and replace with the current daughter card.

I have bluetooth in my T40.

brentpresley · #3 Post by **brentpresley** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:42 pm

What about internal bluetooth?

Can we just yank out the modem and toss in the bluetooth modem from say a T43? Of course we would need to get the bluetooth antenna as well and route it up behind the LCD.

christopher_wolf · #4 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:51 pm

I don't think taking the CDC Bluetooth from a T43 and putting it into a T40 will work; there are some differences if I remember correctly. There are some differences in the Bluetooth hardware in the T43.

brentpresley · #5 Post by **brentpresley** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:59 pm

What specifically are the differences? Is there a space or design issue?

msafi · #6 Post by **msafi** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 5:20 pm

jongordo8, could you please elaborate on the BDC thing.

how will the antenna look like? will be sticking out? i don't like that. i want something that's seamless.

how is replacing the current daughter card? where is it located?
how much does a BDC cost?

thank you very much for the information,

tim S · #7 Post by **tim S** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:13 pm

I just finished installing the full internal bluetooth equipment in my T40 (2373-72U).
You'll need to get the parts from eBay, or at least I did. I purchased the LCD antenna and the 2 LED covers on eBay from a company in China (no problem and quick). The CORRECT bluetooth/modem card was also purchased on ebay, but from the US this time. The eBay listings gave the correct info for each of the items so it was a no brainer. The biggest worry I had was whether the bluetooth LED was present on laptops that didn't come with it. Turns out the LEDS are there both on the lid top and along the inside front with all the others.
Installing the antenna was a bit of a pain, requiring the removal of the screen bezel. Delicate flexing required! A single sided razor blade lifted the screw covers real easy. No screws came with the antenna from China and 2 are required, so make sure you have a selection of small/tiny short screws on hand, or maybe they'll send you a couple if you ask.
The modem is under the ESC key and requires the keyboard be removed to get at it. But threading the antenna wire down from the LCD requires the removal of both top bezels. That means the wrist rest in front and the thin side/rear bezel have to come off. Once again the blade makes short work of the screw covers along the underside front.
The old modem is held in place by 2 screws and is easily removed. Pull out the white connector and connect it to the new bluetooth/modem. Attach the white bluetooth antenna to the modem and it's done. Peel off the two LED panels on the lid and replace them with the bluetooth ones.
If you're handy, figure about an hour, which includes finding the tools and screws that just walked away on their own!
Last of all (maybe should be first!) make sure you are running the latest BIOS from IBM (3.19). Without that, your bluetooth won't work at all. Download and install the bluetooth drivers form IBM's Device Driver page.
Hit FN+F5 to turn the bluetooth on and off. It's not exactly plug and play but with a little fiddling around I'm sure you'll be up and running pretty quickly. I use mine with a bluetooth mouse, no worries about potential interference with my wireless internet from a simple wireless mouse.
Good Luck
Tim S

leegaard · #8 Post by **leegaard** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:44 am

tim S wrote:I just finished installing the full internal bluetooth equipment in my T40 (2373-72U).

What did it cost you everything included?

brentpresley · #9 Post by **brentpresley** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:58 am

leegaard wrote:
tim S wrote:I just finished installing the full internal bluetooth equipment in my T40 (2373-72U).

What did it cost you everything included?

Could you please post the IBM part numbers for the antenna and bluetooth modem that used?

jongordo8 · #10 Post by **jongordo8** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:03 pm

Here is what I bought:

This is the daughter card I got:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

It says buy it now was 25.00, however honestly I only paid 10.00. This seller had an option "submit best offer." I submitted 10.00, and he accepted it.

Than I bought this antenna:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1
It is only about 4" long, so what I did was attach it to the top of the bluetooth card. No need to run an antenna to the LCD housing.

To install all you need to do is to remove the keyboard (4screws, very simple). So you can do it for under 25.00 like me, and it works great.

brentpresley · #11 Post by **brentpresley** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 2:14 pm

jongordo8 wrote:Here is what I bought:

This is the daughter card I got:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

It says buy it now was 25.00, however honestly I only paid 10.00. This seller had an option "submit best offer." I submitted 10.00, and he accepted it.

Than I bought this antenna:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1
It is only about 4" long, so what I did was attach it to the top of the bluetooth card. No need to run an antenna to the LCD housing.

To install all you need to do is to remove the keyboard (4screws, very simple). So you can do it for under 25.00 like me, and it works great.

Thanks man. This is PERFECT. We appreciate you blazing the trail for us.

tim S · #12 Post by **tim S** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 2:01 pm

Sorry for the late reply but I was away for the weekend. The eBay parts I ordered from China were IBM spacific. The antenna and LED card were a 100% fit just as if they were installed during manufacture. I had considered the "generic" antennas but decided they must be in the top for a reason.
The US procured modem/bluetooth card was the correct one for my T40, which has a different number than later machines.
These items are/were available simply by inputting "Thinkpad T40 bluetooth antenna" in eBay's search, which got me the antenna and LED card. and "Thinkpad T40 Bluetooth PCI card" for the modem.
That's all there was to it. As I wrote earlier my main concern was with the bluetooth LED's, which thankfully were present.
Tim S

crashnburn · #13 Post by **crashnburn** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:14 am

hey jon gordo did the clear plates come with the BT daugther card?

I guess you paid 10$. How much did he charge you for shipping?

Can I have built-in Bluetooth in my T40?

Can I have built-in Bluetooth in my T40?

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