Thinkpads Forum

I have a 2645 3AU that I have modded with a 750 PIII and a 32g hard drive. I have noted that the modem takes up a good bit of space that could be valuable. It would be valuable if the modem could be replaced with something more useful. I use it wireless and with a Xircom wired pcmcia adapter. I have never ever used the modem. I have searched for any mods that could be used to replace it with something else but have not found any. Does anyone in this group know of any? Or have any ideas?

David

You can remove the modem on a 600 series laptop but there is nothing that can go in it's place.

While there is no specific part to go in it's place, connection wise, as AlphaKilo470 stated, I believe that I read something in the past about someone using part of that empty space to run a homemade cooling device for keeping a higher end processor like yours cool.

Well, actually, you "might" find something. You might be able to put a wireless card in there. I tried to put a WIRED Lan card in mine, and got it to appear, and install in windows. However, I've still yet to device a fiendish way to hook up the LAN connector, nor am I sure, now, that there isn't a necessary "daughter" card from the original machine.

You have to be careful--there's a lot of "ifs" with miniPCI cards.

440roadrunner that is exactly the kind of project I am hoping to find. I would be interested in any specifics you might be able to share. I know about being careful. I hosed three mainboards already. I would really like to be able to get and internal wireless working in place of the modem. I have been looking at many forums and emailed or pm'd folks and have heard of one hack putting a wireless usb adapter in place of the modem, but no specifics. Wouldn't it be nice if there was and adapter or diagrams to convert the modem plug into a traditional mini-pci.

D

I didn't fiddle with wireless, what I was working with was a WIRED LAN card, lessee.....


What I was fiddlin' with doesn't quite fit. I had to trim a small part of the case where the cover plate meets. No external evidence. It is a Xircom, IBM FRU 08K3125 Xircom MPC13A56GSP-100PA, or MPC13A56G-100


THIS

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-T20-T21-T22-T23 ... dZViewItem

is just like it. The orginal modem port connector fits, and then there's a big connector for the LAN. It is not clear to me whether I can break that out (soldering?) to a homebrew LAN connector, or whether I'll need a daughter card, such as was in the T14 series.

Look on ebay, search for wireless, "miniPCI" and such. There was a seller on there with a WHOLE raft of info on this stuff.


Some interesting reading about the specs for these cards:


http://www.freetech.com/technology%20co ... %20PCI.pdf


I can't find the seller right now, but there was someone on ebay with detailed instructions/links for wireless conversion on laptops.

Here's a couple of issues I was concerned with:

All miniPCI cards are "not" the same, such as they sorta are for desktops. Size is one issue, but seems to me, that since there is some kind of power switching and activity LED circuitry associated with laptops which were designed for these cards, that an older laptop might not be "wired" the same at the slot.

Size, of course. Not all miniPCI cards are the same size

Antennas--these cards ARE RF transmitters and receivers, and seems to me that placing the antenna(s) in the wrong area could radiate RF INTO circuits in the laptop that at the very least could cause crashes, or worse. Additionally, having an antenna(s) close to other mainboard circuits, or even the display, which radiates some RF noise, could cause the RECEIVER in the wireless card to be overloaded with noise, and therefore seem insensitive.

Seems to me that only testing with a good spectrum analyzer ..........how much time do ya have?

I think if the basic rf proceedure is used there won't be any problem with internals. I would just follow the policy used by most manufacturers. Use sheilded cable, probably get a set of antennas with coax cable. These generally attach somewhere around the hinges. I have seen a lot for sale on EBay. The trick would be finding a card that will be compatible. You are right on with that observation. I am just looking for suggestions and appreciate your reply. I may be able to remove the case from a pcmcia card and hardwire it taking up one of the slots. The only thing I would gain there is removing the bump from the card sticking out on the right side. May not be worth it.

Anyway Thank's for the input
David

Pardon me for jumping in, but it looks like I just joined this board at exactly the right moment....

I am in the middle of a project that will add a Mini PCI wireless card into one of my 600X systems, along with an external antenna jack. I have started to document the procedure on my web site but it is not entirely finished at the moment. For the "alpha" version, visit:

http://www.rkawakami.net/ibm_600x/mini_pci_wireless/

I have just completed the installation of the RP-SMA jack on my test case (a spare motherboard and case bottom) and will perform the same surgery on one of my working systems tomorrow.

rkawakami wrote:Pardon me for jumping in, but it looks like I just joined this board at exactly the right moment....

Oooppss... I was a little too early. Seems like there's going to be a few more issues with this upgrade after I opened up one of my working 600X systems.

rkawakami wrote:I have just completed the installation of the RP-SMA jack on my test case (a spare motherboard and case bottom) and will perform the same surgery on one of my working systems tomorrow.

Now that I see what's normally in the location I've chosen for the external antenna jack, there will be a couple of changes to my site. Stay tuned...