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Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
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- Senior Member
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- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:37 pm
- Location: Downtown Toronto, Canada
Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Photos at https://imgur.com/a/LyP07Rt
Special thanks to other forum members and reddit posts:
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... ing_i_did/
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... g_another/
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... _charging/
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... _c_mod_on/
AFIAK this is the oldest model ThinkPad that has had USB C charging modded in - but it's by no means the limit. Technically anything model could benefit
In version 1.0 I've cut the barrel plug off, soldered the wires to the ZYPDS USB C PD board (after bridging the contacts so it outputs 20V), removed the RJ11 modem port (didn't need it anyway), and used Sugru/Kintsuglue moldable glue to stick it down in place. A bit jank as is but it works! Tested with slice/dock battery and 4-cell battery. Lenovo Vantage misreports it as 120W charger - I used a 285Ohm resistor as others have, but some posts suggest 1kOhm is better so I might try that.
The next version I'll solder in the ZYPDS board to run in parallel with the barrel connector, so you can use either barrel or USB-C. Also going to buy black coloured Sugru/Kintsuglue moldable glue to completely cover the modem port and make it look a bit more... engineered. IMHO it's a better option than 3D printed holder as it would take too much doing to fit it into modem port.
And yes, there's an even simpler option for those who don't want to mess with it, but it is a dongle and I hate dongles: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Type-C-P ... 3598638621
Anyway just thought I'd share! This is part of my "X61 2020" project where I modernise the X61 as much as possible for today's use. This includes the 2.4GHz CPU OC by pinmod, 8GB DDR2, SXGA+ X61T screen (also working on alternative higher res modern display - stay tuned), 250GB SSD at SATA300 speed, Wifi 6 using Intel AX200 + mPCIe to M.2 adapter, USB 3.0, integrated USB webcam from T450s, and re-celling 4-cell battery to have actual runtime (since all aftermarket batteries I've tried suck and all original batteries hold so little charge since they're from 2007-2009)
Is it WORTH it? Probably not in a financial sense no... but it's modding, so it's for fun - and for me it's massive nostalgia! It was the only one of my 11 or so ThinkPads I didn't sell when I moved to the model up, and was with me through uni & some hard times after.
Special thanks to other forum members and reddit posts:
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... ing_i_did/
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... g_another/
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... _charging/
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... _c_mod_on/
AFIAK this is the oldest model ThinkPad that has had USB C charging modded in - but it's by no means the limit. Technically anything model could benefit
In version 1.0 I've cut the barrel plug off, soldered the wires to the ZYPDS USB C PD board (after bridging the contacts so it outputs 20V), removed the RJ11 modem port (didn't need it anyway), and used Sugru/Kintsuglue moldable glue to stick it down in place. A bit jank as is but it works! Tested with slice/dock battery and 4-cell battery. Lenovo Vantage misreports it as 120W charger - I used a 285Ohm resistor as others have, but some posts suggest 1kOhm is better so I might try that.
The next version I'll solder in the ZYPDS board to run in parallel with the barrel connector, so you can use either barrel or USB-C. Also going to buy black coloured Sugru/Kintsuglue moldable glue to completely cover the modem port and make it look a bit more... engineered. IMHO it's a better option than 3D printed holder as it would take too much doing to fit it into modem port.
And yes, there's an even simpler option for those who don't want to mess with it, but it is a dongle and I hate dongles: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Type-C-P ... 3598638621
Anyway just thought I'd share! This is part of my "X61 2020" project where I modernise the X61 as much as possible for today's use. This includes the 2.4GHz CPU OC by pinmod, 8GB DDR2, SXGA+ X61T screen (also working on alternative higher res modern display - stay tuned), 250GB SSD at SATA300 speed, Wifi 6 using Intel AX200 + mPCIe to M.2 adapter, USB 3.0, integrated USB webcam from T450s, and re-celling 4-cell battery to have actual runtime (since all aftermarket batteries I've tried suck and all original batteries hold so little charge since they're from 2007-2009)
Is it WORTH it? Probably not in a financial sense no... but it's modding, so it's for fun - and for me it's massive nostalgia! It was the only one of my 11 or so ThinkPads I didn't sell when I moved to the model up, and was with me through uni & some hard times after.
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
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- Senior ThinkPadder
- Posts: 3831
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
That's a good idea. Maximum flexibility.
Now these get my attention.
XGA is quite limiting these days.
Lack USB 3.0 was one of the reasons I moved on from the X61.
I've already installed USB webcam on an X61 Tablet; the narrow display bezel on a regular X61 is gonna be a challenge. I wanna see how you pull it off.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 745
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:37 pm
- Location: Downtown Toronto, Canada
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
XGA was bad enough... but the TN panel is TERRIBLE. Already did SXGA+ mod with one X61, now trying a few workarounds (driver boards, 3:2 12" screens, adapters) that might get me thereaxur-delmeria wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:45 amThat's a good idea. Maximum flexibility.
Now these get my attention.
XGA is quite limiting these days.
Lack USB 3.0 was one of the reasons I moved on from the X61.
I've already installed USB webcam on an X61 Tablet; the narrow display bezel on a regular X61 is gonna be a challenge. I wanna see how you pull it off.
As for USB 3.0 that's still a tough one, but have been ordering a few different mPCIe to USB3.0 controller cards and hoping at least one of them will work (and fit into the casing lol)
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
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- Senior ThinkPadder
- Posts: 3831
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Another forum member installed an mPCIe USB 3.0 card. It worked, but the main issue was heat, even when the USB 3.0 wasn't being used. He tried installing a power switch for it, but wrecked the card in the process.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 745
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:37 pm
- Location: Downtown Toronto, Canada
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Hmmm
Do you know if the pinmod works only in the left mPCIe slot?
If it works in the right one, maybe one could install the USB 3.0 card in the left one and control it with the wifi switch
Or you could just disable it through software when not in use
Do you know if the pinmod works only in the left mPCIe slot?
If it works in the right one, maybe one could install the USB 3.0 card in the left one and control it with the wifi switch
Or you could just disable it through software when not in use
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
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- Senior ThinkPadder
- Posts: 3831
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
No idea. I suppose you have to consult the schematics in order to make sure.
Sounds reasonable, though how to do it on Linux?Or you could just disable it through software when not in use
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Congratulations on this build/project! This really tics lots of boxes, for me. I've been thinking how to charge a Thinkpad's battery in the field without lugging heavy/huge solar panels and inverters around. I'll have to look into this more closely and see if it's something that I might be able to handle. I like the idea of running the 2x connectors in parallel, if there's enough room for that.
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 745
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:37 pm
- Location: Downtown Toronto, Canada
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
I'm in talks with mikepdiy to try to make a drop in replacement kit for the X61/X60 that could retain both barrel and USB-C charging. Will post if we manage to get it working!
USB C PD power bank will definitely charge the battery, and it remains to be seen if the 'fakeslice' software mod can make it so the X61 will run off the USB C PD power bank directly (again - stay tuned )
USB C PD power bank will definitely charge the battery, and it remains to be seen if the 'fakeslice' software mod can make it so the X61 will run off the USB C PD power bank directly (again - stay tuned )
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
I opted for a couple dongles: USB C to Lenovo "slim", and Lenovo "slim" to classic barrel connector.
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- ThinkPadder
- Posts: 1724
- Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:26 pm
- Location: TX, USA & Bombay, India
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Holy wow! following this.. is this something one could do on other TPs? What other such mods out there?
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
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- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:51 pm
- Location: Surabaya, Indonesia
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
I really want to know if I need to put resistor if I still use the original barrel Jack receptacle on my T400 chassis and made USB type-C dongle instead, since I gonna use the OG charger when I'm home and use the type-C charger when I travelling. Any answer will be appreciated!
T530 AKA The BonkPad Enchanced: i7-3720QM, 8GB dual Channel RAM, 512GB SSD (Windows 10) + 256GB SSD (Linux Mint XFCE) via UltraBay, Nvidia Quadro NVS 5400M.[/color][/b]
Past device: X61T | X230 | | L530 | T420 | W520 | RIP my lovely T400 AKA The original BonkPad
Past device: X61T | X230 | | L530 | T420 | W520 | RIP my lovely T400 AKA The original BonkPad
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 745
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:37 pm
- Location: Downtown Toronto, Canada
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
You're better off buying a usb c pd to barrel adapter nowadays. I made my mod when zypds boards were still fairly new. No good reason to do the mod now unless you have multiple sites you will take your laptop to where there are already usb c chargersDLinks1292 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:57 pmI really want to know if I need to put resistor if I still use the original barrel Jack receptacle on my T400 chassis and made USB type-C dongle instead, since I gonna use the OG charger when I'm home and use the type-C charger when I travelling. Any answer will be appreciated!
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
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- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:51 pm
- Location: Surabaya, Indonesia
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
I want to do that in the first place, but those $12 adapter will cost me 3x the money in my country, the import taxes is too darn highiamdmc wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:48 pmYou're better off buying a usb c pd to barrel adapter nowadays. I made my mod when zypds boards were still fairly new. No good reason to do the mod now unless you have multiple sites you will take your laptop to where there are already usb c chargersDLinks1292 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:57 pmI really want to know if I need to put resistor if I still use the original barrel Jack receptacle on my T400 chassis and made USB type-C dongle instead, since I gonna use the OG charger when I'm home and use the type-C charger when I travelling. Any answer will be appreciated!
T530 AKA The BonkPad Enchanced: i7-3720QM, 8GB dual Channel RAM, 512GB SSD (Windows 10) + 256GB SSD (Linux Mint XFCE) via UltraBay, Nvidia Quadro NVS 5400M.[/color][/b]
Past device: X61T | X230 | | L530 | T420 | W520 | RIP my lovely T400 AKA The original BonkPad
Past device: X61T | X230 | | L530 | T420 | W520 | RIP my lovely T400 AKA The original BonkPad
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Any suggestions as to where to snag one of these?iamdmc wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:48 pmYou're better off buying a usb c pd to barrel adapter nowadays. I made my mod when zypds boards were still fairly new. No good reason to do the mod now unless you have multiple sites you will take your laptop to where there are already usb c chargersDLinks1292 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:57 pmI really want to know if I need to put resistor if I still use the original barrel Jack receptacle on my T400 chassis and made USB type-C dongle instead, since I gonna use the OG charger when I'm home and use the type-C charger when I travelling. Any answer will be appreciated!
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 745
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:37 pm
- Location: Downtown Toronto, Canada
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
EBay, aliexpress, anywhere
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210
The X61 is dead... long live the X61
Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m
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- ThinkPadder
- Posts: 1724
- Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:26 pm
- Location: TX, USA & Bombay, India
Re: Now the X61 has USB C Charging too
Got AliEx but too late. Any other links?
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
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