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[SOLVED] X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

Old(er) Thinkpads with New(er) Intestines: X62/T50/T70/X210/X330 etc.
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flyingfishfinger
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[SOLVED] X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#1 Post by flyingfishfinger » Sun Jul 28, 2019 12:35 am

Hi all-
Just received my full X210 - yay!

One thing confuses me so far though: ALL 4 WiFi / WWAN cables coming out of the screen assembly end in black. Since they don't have the usual grey / white shrouds on mine, is there any way to tell which cable goes to which antennas?

Cheers,
R
Last edited by flyingfishfinger on Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

RealBlackStuff
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#2 Post by RealBlackStuff » Sun Jul 28, 2019 12:53 am

1) Open up the LCD, or
2) keep trying which pair of cables gives you the best wifi signal
Do you really need WWAN in USA?
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
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flyingfishfinger
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#3 Post by flyingfishfinger » Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:02 am

No, don't need WWAN. But there are 4 cables, two go to the right hinge and two go to the left. They're utterly indistinguishable from each other.

My WiFi card has three two ports (misremembered, it's been a while since I popped the hood). That's a lot of combinations.

I don't really want to open up the bezel assembly on day 1; it's 51nb's 3:2k screen and I'd rather not break immediately it if they've done anything weird to mount it.

Hence the question, if there's any other way of telling them apart. For example, do any of them have different resistances or other measurable & known quantities?

R
Last edited by flyingfishfinger on Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

RealBlackStuff
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#4 Post by RealBlackStuff » Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:29 am

On the wifi card you only need to use the 2 outer connectors.
The middle one is for Wimax (rarely used, if ever).
Pick one wire from each hinge to make a pair.
Page 157 of the HMM shows many cable options, but 51nb does not necessarily stick to them.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

flyingfishfinger
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#5 Post by flyingfishfinger » Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:48 am

It's a WiFi / BT combo card.

I think I'll have to open up the bezel anyway; 51nb did a pretty bad job of trimming it to fit the new screen. Some sandpaper will help that and I might as well check for the antennas at the same time.

Thanks for the advice so far though,
R

RealBlackStuff
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#6 Post by RealBlackStuff » Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:13 am

Which exact wifi card?
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
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xytech
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#7 Post by xytech » Sun Jul 28, 2019 5:27 am

flyingfishfinger wrote:It's a WiFi / BT combo card.

I think I'll have to open up the bezel anyway; 51nb did a pretty bad job of trimming it to fit the new screen. Some sandpaper will help that and I might as well check for the antennas at the same time.

Thanks for the advice so far though,
R
It's a custom job by Jacky, not 51nb. 51nb only provides motherboard. You'll need to open up the display like what RBS said to check the cabling by him.

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flyingfishfinger
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Re: X210 WiFi / WWAN antenna cables

#8 Post by flyingfishfinger » Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:39 am

Jacky said all 4 antennas are identical...(?). While I sort of doubt that, I followed RBS & his advice, picked one from each side and everything seems to work.

I'll check the actual signal strength later, but so far so good.

Also my card only has two ports, misremembered. It's an Azurewave AW-CE123H.

Thanks for the tips.
R

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