T21 Dock Connector Pinout / External Start

[lullus]

Hi, i want to start a T21 through an external, , "analog" signal like 12V voltage without pressing the power button (CarPC). is there a way to use the dock connector pins to do it? do anybody has the pinout description for the T21? I tried WOM in Suspend under XP without success.

-lullus

[rggrgg]

Hi - I want to do exactly the same. Did you have any luck doing this? I've found someone somewhere who claimed they'd done a simple circuit which would do this (not on a thinkpad). I think I could handle the circuit, but it's hard to figure out where to apply the relevant signal on the motherboard without any info. Thus far, the only way I can turn the £"$"£ thing on is using the power button. I assume there muts be some external method via the docking port as well, since docking ports have power buttons don't they? I realise this is more questions than answers, but any help would be appreciated

[rggrgg]

Hi - just for completeness, I did solve this in the end. Simple RC circuit with transistor to drive a solenoid. Switched 12v pulses transistor on briefly (RC turns it off), drives solenoid, solenoid mounted so that it presses the power button. Stupid and mechanical, maybe; but it does work, and no amount of web research has got me an alternative for the thinkpad. Someone suggested that you could get a cheap dock from ebay, and this has a switch which is easier to hack, but my cheap solution works for me.

[jdhurst]

Might one ask Why? If you can use your laptop in the car (I do, with someone else driving, or parked and stopped), then you need the lid open to see what you are doing. So just push the power button. I am missing something, I know, I just can't see what. ... JD Hurst

[rggrgg]

It's in the boot/trunk of a BMW running as an mp3 server, linked to the entertainment bus so it can be controlled from the front console. It needs to power up without any intervention, and only consume power when the ignition is on.

[rggrgg]

I realise this is a conversation with myself, but again in the interests of completeness, I have found that momentarily grounding pin 201 of the dock connector does what the power button does. This pin is connected via a resistor to the power button on the dock, fairly easy to trace.