Database Users

[Q] front camera?

Hey guys I'm hearing a lot about the new HTC evo slide 4g phone that's gonna come out in January. All the specs are in but supposedly there is no front facing camera which sucks. I wanted to know if you have an android phone that's doesn't have a front facing camera could you install one yourself?

I guess back to taking pictures in the bathroom mirror.

It's a safe bet that if there is truly no front facing camera on this model then no, you could not install one.
Several reasons, coming from someone who has seen the inside of all HTC phones on Sprint.
No already ready circuit board connection for it to be added. It's not exactly even easy to resolder charging ports on these boards but soldering in a connection and then harvesting even say an EVO 1.3 mp camera would not be easy/wise specially since the board would have to already have circuitry and chips already onboard to support it in order to solder a connection for the ribbon to slide into. Even my mad scientist self of a repair tech wouldn't alter my circuit board in this fashion.
No drivers to load the camera(although someone smarter than myself could say that something could be built into a rom or kernel for this) but assuming you printed or had access to print the camera circuitry and solder points onto the board to solder the ribbon connector for the Evo front camera just like a circuit board manufacturer does when designing a board there's no gaurantee that it will 100% work properly not to even mention if the original board design does not have room or a large enough area to put all the supporting circuitry.
3rdly, the front bezel/faceplate would need modifications to let the camera view outside the housing. It would more than likely damage the digitizer creating a hole to support the camera infrastructure.
There are many variables here that really don't make sense in trying to add this modification yourself.
Best to wait for the full specs to see if they will be supporting one from the get go. Our 4g phones kind of demand this sort of thing anyway so I'm sure that whatever early schematics we see that HTC designs Sprint Execs who work with the vendors to create a product can easily ask that it be added to the manufacturing process beforehand so its highly probable it will already come with one.
It seems to be on designers minds these days going forward as something the 4G phones easily can support since the network can easily support the function of video conferencing.
Sorry if I got long winded or too technical, I tend to get that way with my customers too.

It's possible
http://phandroid.com/2010/10/01/do-...cing-camera-on-your-samsung-galaxy-s-vibrant/
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Only because the Galaxy S boards are pretty much the same in each version for each different carrier minus the addition of the slider on the Epic.
There's no telling whether or not the EVO shift is going to have the same circuit board as the EVO 4G.
And if it does, Sprint and HTC would more than likely make the decision to go ahead and put that camera in there.
So, it's only possible if they decided to use the same board, and not go with ffc and leave the connector on the board open.

[Q] Hardware CPU

Possiblу is replacement of procesor QUALCOMM QSD8250 on HTC HD2 with dual core 1.5GHz procesor similar with mainboard and other components?I mean CPU of another smartphone.Thanks in adviance

I don't even know if its possible, but there would be so many problems caused by doing that that it really wouldn't be worth it.
Sent from my NexusHD2 using xda app-developers app

It's probably not possible.

Too long a response: what I've seen inside the Leo.
I have the remains of 3 disassembled HTC HD2 units in the fight lab (aka storage).
I will warn that these units are never able to be put back together exactly perfect as they were initially. This is because they are assembled like thin layers of stickers stuck on top of each other you need to peel apart. There are layers of copper shielding, plastic, thin metal, etc. all sandwiched together with adhesive. I've taken apart damn near everything I can, (a personality trait and/or symptom of a disorder, a gift and a curse) and I can say that disassembling an iPhone is cake compared to peeling apart HD2s which are a curse.
So, upon peeling it apart, I encountered different CPU cooling techniques on the different units: yellow thermal compound on one, a thick red/orange thermal pad on the second, and a plastic piece stuck with a mystery compound (possibly even glue) on the 3rd. A faster chip will likely be even hotter.
Look into "reballing" when it comes to soldered cpu replacement. The complexities of the physical replacement are significant but the routing of correct functionality from the alien processor are what makes it a much more difficult project, but nothing is impossible.
One would have to have manufacturer schematics of the board, insider details of chips/other components if functionality is to be had even IF the physical removal and replacement of the processor was achieved. The physical install of a faster clocked chip I think we will see done successfully by someone, but the function of the hardware may be forever impossible unless what I believe is closed/unreleased code/info becomes public. If any device were to have it's complete wealth of detailed info released from company insiders/Dark Force Teams/Chinese anons/crafty work, et al, I'd bet it very well would be the Leo. (We can dream).
To be clear, I'm no chip alchemist at all, I'm just sharing what I've seen and been told by some professionals who know at least a little on what I generalize as computer hardware engineering. Having extensively researched (aka wasted too much of my life on) and even managed to discuss with some HP technicians about a tablet CPU upgrade of a soldered Dothan board, I learned that even if the CPU is successfully replaced (& it doesn't explode) it's more than likely the timings of the board may wind up very effed up. Being uncharted territory, there is no way to find out but to try. I appreciate it if I helped or something interesting came from my ramblings, I think clicking thanks helps me or something. Keep fighting and don't take apart your HD2 if you don't have another one handy!

If i change motherboard(cpu,ram and others) and replace them with another motherboard(with cpu,ram and others) but but outside HD2 is unchanged,with same display and buttons!This is a posable?Please tell me?

Drake Sanderson said:
If i change motherboard(cpu,ram and others) and replace them with another motherboard(with cpu,ram and others) but but outside HD2 is unchanged,with same display and buttons!This is a posable?Please tell me?
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er, replace them with what? a quad core and 4gb from your pc? and why? are you skilled in microsoldering and chip reprogramming?
how much space is inside your phone and what do you really think the chances are of replacing anything?
did you not read the post above yours by ComputerFight. he has seen the inside of an HD2 and lived to tell the tale
i would usually answer 'anything is possible' but i think this one has to be a no

Even if it was possible, i don't understand what would you acomplish with it?
HD2 is legend because of it's wide variety of OSs, roms etc, not because of its hardware.. at least not anymore.
I would rather buy an new phone or used HD2 if i feel like playing around with flashing different operating systems.

If you do even manage to successfully solder and re-wire new hardware onto the HD2, it wouldn't be usable because there are no drivers for them. Someone who have to build hardware drivers from scratch or port them from other phones then every HD2 Rom would have to be re-done to work with the new hardware. I'm no tech expert but I hardware isn't the main problem, it's software. It would be cool if we got tegra 3 and more ram on the HD2 though, that would give the HD2 2-3 more years in a chance to run future roms.

Still another smartphone to make the appearance as being an HTC HD2?Do you think it possible?

Would you recommend a dual core cpu to pull out another smartphone and puts htc hd2 (as htc sensation xl)?

Drake Sanderson said:
Would you recommend a dual core cpu to pull out another smartphone and puts htc hd2 (as htc sensation xl)?
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Oh my god....

Need a broken Nexus 7 donated or cheap to explore hardware mods feasibility

Hi.
I have access to professional BGA rework equipment, so i can remove the Tegra3 and eMMC chip and explore the possibilities of modding in a MicroSD, SPDIF out etc.
I am not willing to do this to my own Nexus 7, so I am seeking a person that would donate his broken one to the project. It will be documented with lots of good pics, and i can check various connections/draw schematics for people that wants this.
It's not important if it's a 8, 16 or 32GB version. Preferable a non-3G since i don't have the baseline schematic for the 3G version.
I can remove BGA chips, figure out what mods are possible, then reball the BGA chips and reattach them.
If i remove the Tegra 3 i can trace where the "Strapping" resistors is located, telling the Tegra 3 to boot from MicroSD instead, and soldering connections from the now removed eMMC footprint to a MicroSD socket. This will bring us the possibility of getting 128GB+ of internal storage.
If it's possible to access the pins that are responsible the SPDIF out, there may be a possibility of enabling this, rending crystal-clear digital sound out of the Nexus 7.
I will look into replacing the internal DAC too, but as i have no datasheets on the DAC, i will need to remove the Tegra3 and trace out the connections.
If you have a Nexus7 with broken screen you are willing to donate to this cause, or know someone who is, please chime in.
Preferably one in Europe, since I am located in Denmark. I hate messing with import taxes ;-/
// Per.

hey
zapro said:
Hi.
I have access to professional BGA rework equipment, so i can remove the Tegra3 and eMMC chip and explore the possibilities of modding in a MicroSD, SPDIF out etc.
I am not willing to do this to my own Nexus 7, so I am seeking a person that would donate his broken one to the project. It will be documented with lots of good pics, and i can check various connections/draw schematics for people that wants this.
It's not important if it's a 8, 16 or 32GB version. Preferable a non-3G since i don't have the baseline schematic for the 3G version.
I can remove BGA chips, figure out what mods are possible, then reball the BGA chips and reattach them.
If i remove the Tegra 3 i can trace where the "Strapping" resistors is located, telling the Tegra 3 to boot from MicroSD instead, and soldering connections from the now removed eMMC footprint to a MicroSD socket. This will bring us the possibility of getting 128GB+ of internal storage.
If it's possible to access the pins that are responsible the SPDIF out, there may be a possibility of enabling this, rending crystal-clear digital sound out of the Nexus 7.
I will look into replacing the internal DAC too, but as i have no datasheets on the DAC, i will need to remove the Tegra3 and trace out the connections.
If you have a Nexus7 with broken screen you are willing to donate to this cause, or know someone who is, please chime in.
Preferably one in Europe, since I am located in Denmark. I hate messing with import taxes ;-/
// Per.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you gotten around to anything yet? All the things you mentioned sound quite interesting. Too bad i don't have a broken Nexus 7, I would happily donate it to you

ruraj said:
Have you gotten around to anything yet? All the things you mentioned sound quite interesting. Too bad i don't have a broken Nexus 7, I would happily donate it to you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no one has come up with the offer of a dirt cheap or free Nex7 for Dismantling.
In the meantime i managed to crack the glass on my own just by having it my bag - Asus won't do anything to help me, although there is clearly a construction defect in the mounting of the glass front. Fortunately mine is only cracked at the very end, rendering only a small corner of the touch "dead" - So if anyone has a Nex7 with good glass and otherwise dead electronics, i could be interested in that too.
// Per.

Unpopulated Micro SD slot!?

I am not really sure if this is a SD card slot, because I did not measure 3.3volts at the terminals, also not in recovery (not sure if micro sd card is powered up as soon as the phone is).
Really strange because why have they left it out of the phone?
My Z1 is dead. SoC is dead.. I ordered a "brand new never used before" mainboard with discount so my parts get a second round.. I will try to root that one unlock bootloader and dump sdcard and run photorec to see how truly true that statement of the seller was about being "new". Anyways that's it for now..
Here are some pictures

Most manufacturers design their pcb's for multi purposes. I know it from Nokia, Siemens and also nowadays. You design one pcb for 3 devices and not 3 for each of the them to save design and production costs.

strongst said:
Most manufacturers design their pcb's for multi purposes. I know it from Nokia, Siemens and also nowadays. You design one pcb for 3 devices and not 3 for each of the them to save design and production costs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense, but why did they not just add sd card support to the phone? Is this to safe cost or to keep the design the way they wanted it?
I think the cost of adding it is so small. Why bother, just mill the frame and solder the socket on. But in this case, pads where not connected so maybe it's sth else.

NiTrOwow said:
Makes sense, but why did they not just add sd card support to the phone? Is this to safe cost or to keep the design they way they wanted it?
I think the cost of adding it is so small. Why bother, just mill the frame and solder the socket on. But in this case, pads where not connected so maybe it's sth else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pads are not connected cause of my mentioned reasons maybe and yes, Design is one of the possible reasons too!
From design a board to release of the final design for the smartphone there's a huge time that can go past. So they don't design a new pcb if pr says: we don't want a sd card.
They just disable them, cause the smartphone must be released.

Priv-like Android device building

Hi everyone,
I own a Priv and can't do without a keyboard. Seeing that (as of today) no new portrait slider has been announced, and modding the motherboard itself is unrealisitic, I've decided to find a motherboard and screen off a newer phone and sort-of slap them on a spare chassis I've got lying around.
Feel free to add suggestions and comments below, I need all the expertise I can get. Hit the like button if you're interested, so i can get a head-count. If you guys and gals are interested, I'll post pics as I go along.

Keyboard & Interface:
In an ideal world, I'd be using the priv's existing (and exquisite) PKB which also has touch capabilities for scrolling and moving the cursor. Unfortunately I've not yet found the pinouts for that (and is more complex to interface). I have however found a website where a good soul published info and diagrams for a Q10's Keyboard and then connected those to an IC using a board with a Hirose connector (which he then connected to a raspberry pi project). My plan is similar. Since I don't know at which point in the motherboard I can make an input for a keyboard, the best strategy is to wire the keyboard's interface chip into the USB connections, as Android natively supports USB keyboards and mice. I can then use a microswitch (mechanical or magnetic) to disconnect the keyboard's signal when the slider closes.
If someone does know the pinouts of the Priv's connector, do let me know, it would be great to be able to use it!

Motherboard & Screen:
First thing that springs to mind, is that since the screen will be sliding a couple of inches, the phone off which I'll take the screen and motherboard needs to have a long flex-ribbon, usually found when a motherboard is on the top, and the screen connects on the bottom (such as the oneplus 5). This also means the charging port would also be nice to be a separate unit. I'm not too worried about cooling as there's a nice big metal slider frame to which all this will stick on, but failing that, i could also make a metal back with shallow fins to dissipate heat. The less features there are directly on the screen, the less things are likely to fail.

Requirements:
So the basic point of all this is to have the keyboard hooked up to the motherboard of a rootable system which can be easily modified. Phones like Xiaomi, Oneplus ... fit this bill well. First thing that springs to mind is a Snapdragon 8xx as performance is of course, vital. The camera also needs to work although the resolution is not critical. NFC, Fingerprint sensor, SD card slot, GPS with Galileo, Wireless charging and other niceities are highly desireable, but I might give some of them up to accomodate other things depending on how critical they are. Unfortunately not many flagships have 5.4" screens or less, so the metal slider will be modified to accomodate this.
I'll choose a nice, big battery and place it in the bottom, right below the keyboard as the CoG needs to be really low to make the phone comfy to type on without letting it tip over.
Finally, a plastic or metal cover can be modelled to fit all this, and will probably be cheap to make. If the screen is bigger than the frame, i'll also have to make a second cover around the border, secured to the main slider frame.

The Q10's keyboard has arrived. The connector seen in the middle with a black ribbon has 24 contacts (plus 4 contacts in the extremities which are not counted, probably used for grounding). By comparison, the Priv connectors (male on top, female on motherboard) has 20 contacts despite the priv's trackpad function.
For those of you curious about the BB Passport, I've had a quick look inside and the connector is identical to the Q10's keyboard, although it works like the Priv. Rather confusing.
I'll be mapping the pinouts once the PCB and connectors arrive, unfortunately that's gonna be a long wait as they have to come to Germany from the U.S.

I finally have enough parts to start putting the encoder together. It is an SK5126 keyboard encoder from Sprintek. At just 7 x 7mm with 0.5mm pitch, it was not easy to solder on, but definitely doable with a bit of practice and common sense. The chip itself is not expensive (15usd a pop) but being in Germany, I had to pay through the nose for shipping and shameless customs. Sprintek's sales dept. have been very helpful though. Once I wired the PCB to an old USB cable (and a couple of resistors & capacitors), it was very much plug & play. I'm pleased.
Now it's time to wait again for the next bit of PCB and female connectors for the keyboards... It's at times like these that I regret the EU not having a trade agreement with the US.

The adapter PCB and Hirose female connector for the keyboard finally arrived today, but that's where the good news ends. Unfortunately the seller did not solder them together so I had to do it myself. That's when an obvious fact hit me in the face: the connector's melting point is lower than the solder paste's melting point. The first connector simply folded in a mess of molten plastic under the hot air. I tried the reballing method on the second (and last) connector, which simply pulled the individual legs of the connector apart.
Upon putting the PCB of the Encoder and the connector next to each other, it's clear that part of the success i had with soldering the encoder chip lied in having a footprint with nice long exposed contacts which allowed the surface tension of the solder to pull everything in place. That could not work on the much shorter footprint of the connector PCV. I've ordered some more connectors, it's gonna be a long wait, though I've yet to think of a proper way to solder without melting the connector.

So I've finally had a breakthrough. Some new PCBs arrived from Hong Kong and after a few molten connectors, I've managed to perfect the technique enough to not get any shorts. From there on, it was pretty straightforward. I mapped the keyboard's pinouts (red pcb) to the correct Row/Coloumn inputs of the encoder (green pcb) using the thin wires. It looks a bit messy until i figure out in which position the PCBs will sit inside the chassis.
I'm tempted to also try mapping the Priv's original keyboard, unfortunately, that's tricky, as there's no info about it online. It has a 20-pin connector (as opposed to 24 on the Q10) which also transmits touch input via a Synaptics microchip. I'll try going through it with a multimeter, if i can at least map out the button-matrix, then finding out the synaptics output will be a tad easier.
In the meantime, another issue is on my mind. I've been looking at teardowns of various snapdragon 7xx and 8xx phones and it's clear that some components (mostly the prox sensors) on most, if not all models, are soldered directly on the motherboard, which makes it difficult if I plan on putting the screen on the sliding portion of the chassis and the motherboard on the fixed portion of the chassis. I'm going to have to rethink the whole idea. If i put a lot of components on the sliding part of the chassis, then i risk making the phone top-heavy and thick. Unfortunately I do not have the technology to change this.
There is probably going to be a compromise somewhere, and I need to decide where to draw that line before I order more expensive parts.

very (!) interesting idea(-s) !!
I am incredibly curious to see the outcome, afraid I cannot really provide any help.
it is a real shame that blackberry didnt even provide some use-at-your-own-risk stuff to boot unsigned code...
maybe you want to try shopping for parts in china directly, I almost never pay customs (value below ~€20) for stuff.
cheers!

elchmartin said:
very (!) interesting idea(-s) !!
I am incredibly curious to see the outcome, afraid I cannot really provide any help.
it is a real shame that blackberry didnt even provide some use-at-your-own-risk stuff to boot unsigned code...
maybe you want to try shopping for parts in china directly, I almost never pay customs (value below ~€20) for stuff.
cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate.
I already buy a lot of parts from China, however 1 thing I couldn't find online from there was an easy-to-use, low power encoder. I had to get it from Sprintek in California. Their products are really good and the price is also good. Unfortunately i had to pay a lot of money for customs (which of course is not Sprintek's fault). The encoder chips themselves cost me around $15 each, the programming software is free and the chip responds right away as soon as you plug it into the pc. They also have a good after-sale assistance.

Kyle M. said:
Thanks mate.
I already buy a lot of parts from China, however 1 thing I couldn't find online from there was an easy-to-use, low power encoder. I had to get it from Sprintek in California. Their products are really good and the price is also good. Unfortunately i had to pay a lot of money for customs (which of course is not Sprintek's fault). The encoder chips themselves cost me around $15 each, the programming software is free and the chip responds right away as soon as you plug it into the pc. They also have a good after-sale assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are living in Hamburg, Germany?
Maybe try looking for parts at pollin.de
They served rather rare items for me some times...

Project continued on https://hackaday.io/project/168387-physical-keyboard-for-any-android-phone

I can finally update with some good news. After ironing out all the issues (most of which concern the pesky Hirose connector which connects the keyboard to the PCB), I took the 2 boards off the metal frame and made myself a little box from PVC sheets which I then glued to an old Xiaomi phone cover. The reason I am testing it this way rather than just building the slider I wanted to build is to prevent having to mod the Xiaomi phone while testing (I've grown quite attached to this phone despite having bought it cheap).
I have also put a small switch on the side which directly cuts off the power to the chip (this way it saves power and seems to work pretty fine).