Add PCMCIA to USB 2.0 CARDBUS + Bluetooth to T23 *PICS*

[mib404]

IBM T23

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PCMCIA to USB 2.0 CardBus adapter 2 Port Inside hide

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PCMCIA to USB & Bluetooth COMBO Cardbus Adapter Laptop


IBM T23 comes with 2 usb 1.1 ports and no internall Bluetooth module. I decided to install 2 pcmcia cards, 1 with 2 usb 2.0 ports, and the other with 1 usb 2.0 port and bluetooth module, both AKE, fully inserted (inside hide).

This is the story, and review:

I bought from ebay for a few dollars the 2 cards, the package came from China in about 19 days, here are some pictures:
From left to right: old PCMCIA to 4 usb 2.0 Cardbus, New PCMCIA to USB 2.0 & Bluetooth Cardbus and PCMCIA to 2 USB 2.0 Cardbus.


Inside look:


PCMCIA to USB 2.0 Cardbus


PCMCIA to USB & Bluetooth Cardbus
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PCMCIA to 4 USB 2.0 Cardbus


All the cards provide 100mA per port without the power cable, my devices are hungry, but I don't like that cable sticking out of the laptop... I took a red wire and soldered one end on the PCMCIA board, and the other end on the motherboard, on pin 1 of the USB 1.1 socket(+5Vcc).

Here are some pictures:



I had to block the blue leaver of the pcmcia cage so if I accidentally touch the leaver I would not eject the card, I used some piece of polyester thread.


The cards inserted in the pcmcia cage:


I soldered the wire on pin 1 of the USB 1.1 socket(+5Vcc).


Job done.



Review:
All the cards are using the same chip NEC 0720101, the only differences are the number of ports, size of the cards and construction type. AKE cards are almost identical, one has 2 ports, the other has 1 USB 2.0 and instead of another USB port is has a tiny USB dongle soldered on the board.
The USB transfer speed is close to the speed I got with my other laptop which has USB 2.0.
Test taken with an external hard drive:
IBM T23 read: 18,98 MB/s, write: 17,01 MB/s

Bluetooth test: antenna extended only one element(the longer the antenna the lower the speed):
-max. speed up/dw. 200KB/s.
-max. distance 180 feet(55 meters) in open space, with a Nokia 2100, at that distance I got 40KB/s.

The bluetooth is recognized by Windows as a generic bluetooth radio, the card comes with a cd, that contains a IVT Bluesoleil Trial version. You can also use Toshiba Bluetooth Stack or Widcomm bluetooth software. For basic upload/download to/from PC, Windows software does the job.

If you want 2 ports you use the 2 ports card, and if you need only one port you might use the combo card. I decided to use the 2 ports card all time, and Install a bluetooth dongle inside via UltraPort, the decision was made afther some testing; when using both cards they heat up a little because of the tiny space betwen them, heat is not good for electronic components that are incased in the metal case.

Install bluetooth dongle inside a T23 via UltraPort *PICS*

[Harryc]

Please fix this post. We don't allow inline pictures without a warning in the subject line, and even then only (1) small picture is allowed. Thank-you.

[automobus]

Good job. I have wondered what the inside of those cards looks like.

[automobus]

All the cards are using the same chip NEC 0720101,
…
Test taken with a USB 2.0 flash drive:
HP 6720s read: 13.37 MB/s, write: 4.218 MB/s

I use a card with the same chip (NEC µPD720101). The top speeds I see are:
14 Mo/s read, and 7 Mo/s write

2015-03 edit add: I tested storage transfer performance of a few USB devices and hosts. I gathered my data and posted it on a CardBus USB report by dr_st, in 'General HARDWARE/SOFTWARE' forum.
observed real-world performance of CardBus and High Speed USB

[ac12]

Good idea for a couple of my old laptops w only USB 1.0. This might keep them running for a couple more years. The USB adapter that sticks out is a hassle to use. I have to always remove the adapter, so I don't break it. The trick will be to find a 5v source on the motherboard w/o damaging the motherboard.

How do you open the dual USB card?

[saidiadude]

Will these handle 1080p video streaming from a USB 2.0 drive?

[mib404]

Good idea for a couple of my old laptops w only USB 1.0. This might keep them running for a couple more years. The USB adapter that sticks out is a hassle to use. I have to always remove the adapter, so I don't break it. The trick will be to find a 5v source on the motherboard w/o damaging the motherboard.

How do you open the dual USB card?

With a lot of patience and a small needle from back to front, from PCMCIA socket to USB ports.

Will these handle 1080p video streaming from a USB 2.0 drive?

IBM T23 has only 16MB of video ram, so playing at that quality is with a lot of lag, like slowmotion playback(video played from hard drive).

The USB transfer speed is close to the speed I got with my other laptop which has USB 2.0.
Test taken with an external hard drive:
IBM T23 read: 18,98 MB/s, write: 17,01 MB/s

[automobus]

The USB transfer speed is close to the speed I got with my other laptop which has USB 2.0.
Test taken with an external hard drive:
IBM T23 read: 18,98 MB/s, write: 17,01 MB/s

Now you report faster numbers than your initial review! I see you changed your source of 5 Volt. Did you also change cards? I would like to get more information about your cards, and maybe we can demystify why we see different performance. We all have the NEC 720101. But the second number is different on each chip. Maybe the first four digits are YYWW year/week date codes. Do you think so? Do you observe a speed difference between your cards?

Code: Select all

0517PPA49 (on my card)
0722PPA05 (your 2-port)
1022HP405 (your USB Bluetooth combo)

[mib404]

Now you report faster numbers than your initial review! I see you changed your source of 5 Volt. Did you also change cards? I would like to get more information about your cards, and maybe we can demystify why we see different performance. We all have the NEC 720101GJ. But the second number is different on each chip. Maybe the first four numbers are YYWW year/week date codes. Do you think so? Do you observe a speed difference between your cards?

Code: Select all

0517PPA49 (on my card)
0722PPA05 (your 2-port)
1022HP405 (your USB Bluetooth combo)

On my first review I didn't had an external hard drive. just my old USB flash drive.
As I said, the cards use the same chip, I don't know what represents the second number printed on the chips.
I used the 4 ports USB card for 2-3 years, no problems whatsoever with it, except it was bulky and it gave me problems during transportation.

I'm using the 2 ports USB card since February. I changed the 5Vcc source because of the external hard drive. When I pluged it in the card, the external hard drive will not start.
I investigated the problem and found why the external drive will not start with both cables(data and power) plugged in the 2 USB ports card. I used the power cable that came with the card(I first desoldered the power wire that I had soldered back in february on the motherboard) and the problem disappeared and the external hard drive turned on; that told me the location on the motherboard where I soldered the power wire was not giving me enough mA and that I had to look for an alternative. Until the day I tested the external drive I didn't experienced any problem because all my gadgets are not that hungry on mA.

The speed is the same, all cards have similar components, just a different design. When I first wrote the review, back in February, I didn't had an external hard drive, so those where the speeds I got with an old USB 2.0 flash drive.

Initially I wanted to use 2 cards inside my T23, 2 ports USB 2.0 card and Bluetooth + USB 2.0 card, during using I noticed that bluetooth module will stop working because of heat; at that moment I was using both of them. When I used just the Bluetooth + USB 2.0 card I had no problem, the bluetooth module worked perfectly. I had to choose, 2 USB ports or just one USB port + bluetooth, I choosed the 2 ports USB 2.0 card and searched for a bluetooth solution. I choosed that card because that suits me, and I needed more USB 2.0 ports, bluetooth I use rarely. The Bluetooth + USB 2.0 card works perfectly alone, when I had both inserted, they were very close one to another, so they heated a lot, bluetooth module had problems then.

In the end I sold the Bluetooth + USB 2.0 card and Installed bluetooth dongle inside a T23 via UltraPort