A couple of months ago i bought the No.1 Sun S2, only to discover that bluetooth on that watch just about sucks. Every 30 seconds or so it disconnects, then reconnects, then disconnects, and so on. Like many people, i disabled bluetooth and udes the watch like a normal one. Perfect. But i coudn't just let this go. I recently read the teardown-article of the No.1 Sun S2, and noticed that the bluetooth-antenna is a foil-type, glued to the back cover. This offered some possibilities.
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I already knew that extending a bluetooth-antenna can offer a really dramatic reception improvement, so i switched off my watch, opened it up and soldered a thin, flexible, 31 mm long wire to the end of the foil antenna. To be able to do that, i carefully pulled the foil from the backplate with a pair of tweezers. Carefully, because the foil easily tears. I the scratched the black paint from the tip at the end of the foil and soldered the wire to it. Then i put the foil with the antenna back into the backplate and used a small piece of tape to hold the wire in place at the outer rim of the backplate:
Then i closed up the watch again and switched it on. I paired the watch with my smartphone and tested the connection: i had my watch around my wrist like normal and put my phone on a table. Then i started walking. after 10 or so metres, i still had a perfect connection! Before i made the antenna extension mod, the watch already disconnected when i had the watch around my wrist and my phone in my pocket.
I didn't want to hold this great result for myself and therefore here it is.
Oh yes, one other thing. If your phone has bad bluetooth connection, then open up the back and glue 2 pieces of 5 cm long and 1 cm wide strips of alu foil in the plastic backplate you just removed: 1 vertically at the left, one vertically at the right. One of these may also be L-shaped, as long as you keep a minimal gap between the 2 strips of 1 cm. This will improve bluetooth reception dramatically, as i found out when i bought a bluetooth audio receiver and had frequent disconnects with my galaxy S3. I wondered why newer phones didn't have this problem, until i looked closer at the inside of the backplates of these phones: they all have conductive foil glued at the inside, the exact same thing as i now advise in this article! This works with capacitive extension of the built-in bluetooth antenna in your phone, giving you a better bluetooth connection. Together with the watch modification, you should be fine and no longer have these disconnects. I will start prolonged field testing the watch mod starting tomorrow. Will keep you posted.
cheers and have fun!
Richard
EDIT: A small update, as promised.
The extended antenna works exactly as i said! This should also work on other watches and devices, because bluetooth is generic and not limited to this type of watch. Without walls, i get a range of 8 - 10 metres. With a wall between the watch and myself, the range drops to 3 - 5 metres, but this is no surprise. All in all a very decent performance. I'm happy with this result and hope other people are too.
Related
As I've been lurking for a while, I thought I would sign up and ask a question as well as donate something in the way of pics as I noticed other members asking..
My xda2 loses it's speaker function a few minutes after I reset it.. I've done hard and soft resets, flashed another rom (127.181 currently), cleaned and checked speaker connection and it still loses all sound after a couple of mins. I'm sure it must be software problem, but what?? anyone got any ideas? I've read back through a lot of threads here but no joy with what I've tried so far.
These pics are me taking my xda2 apart to clean the contacts and thought I would photo my progress, excuse my camera and PS skills, not that clever, hope they are of some use to members;
There's 6 intial screws to remove after taking off back and battery:
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This is how I removed the antenna cover using a thin screwdriver:
Second phase of lifting antenna cover:
The two Torx 6 screws holding on the antenna:
Removing the back, stage 1
Removing the back, stage 2
General board layout, highlighting the 3 very small crosshead screws you need to remove:
Showing Audio connector, This can cause 'contact' problems when headphones are removed:
On board battery, showing you what needs de-soldering if you have to replace it:
The screen connecting cable.. NOTE how it is butted up to the white part of the connector:
Raising the board over, observe anti static caution (Unlike me lol):
Lower section of the board:
Microphone assembly:
Speaker assembly:
Side switches:
Just a caution when re-assembling!:
Update: after playing with the xda2 all day, I've realised it loses sound when it goes into standby.. if I soft reset the sound is fine untill it goes into standby, then when I press the power button to wake it, there's no sound again?! Can't understand it as I reflashed with image from o2 site as well. Maybe a registry setting, but I'm not that clued up as to how to look at the registry, let alone know what I'm looking for. I'm running MS pocket pc version 4.20.0 (Build 14053). Thanks
Hi Scratch, i experience this problem before, when i broke my CONNECTORS (21 pin), i also did disassemble my XDA 2 and cleaned the speaker terminals,but to no avail. I think the Connectors has something to do with the speaker sounds. Have you tried using your headphone or headset? had you recently dropped your XDA 2 with the charger connector on it? Maybe there could be some pin desoldered from the motherboard. check it.
Please can anybody post the pictures, how to unscrew O2 XDA Neo or Mini, I-mate jamin, i-mat jam, any one with this shape
Thx u scratch i was open my device,but i really dont know how to change backup battery (Pic9),do you tell me more how to remove backup pin!Thx u
Resistance (Ohms) across working Microphone
Next time somebody has their Himalaya apart, I'd appreciate it if they could take the time to measure the resistance (Ohms) across their working microphone. I'm trying to troubleshoot a broken mic. and I'm not sure if it's the mic. itself or something else.
I was getting by just fine using the "wired" jack, however, I managed to break the jack in two. Since this happened after the mic. quit, I'm more inclined to think its the mic. itself. I've ruled out a software problem and I've taken the phone apart once already to clean the mic. contacts. Does anybody have any ideas?
Okay. I've looked at a lot of cases. I want a case that exposes the miniusb port. I need a side case. This is just to plug in my headphones. If I can't find one like that. I think these two should work?:
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+
I would've bought a A2DP bt headset, but it made no sense to me since most of the time my phone is in my pocket.
I am looking for the EXACT SAME THING!
BUMP
I spent about three hours today on the google and ebay looking for the exact same thing. Does anybody have any ideas? All the ones I found completely block the USB port.
I'm a bit particular though. I want a magnetic snap. The OEM velcro case actually has an exposed USB if you put the phone in head-first (assuming you have the case on your right hip), but I don't like the velcro. It's too noisy for in taking the phone in and out in quiet meetings and such. Not to mention that the OEM case is pretty cheap feeling compared to OEM cases for previous HTC devices (such as the Mogul, which had the PERFECT magnetic snap case with exposed USB).
Also, not only do I want exposed USB, but I want to be able to take the phone out without unplugging the USB. I've seen cases with a hole in the middle (but not for the Pro), but this sucks because you have to unplug the USB before taking the phone in and out of the case.
I'm tempted to get another OEM Mogul case and just dealing with the fact that the TP is "loose" in the case (not form fitting) because the USB port is exposed pretty nicely even though the case is not designed for it.
thx1200 said:
BUMP
I spent about three hours today on the google and ebay looking for the exact same thing. Does anybody have any ideas? All the ones I found completely block the USB port.
I'm a bit particular though. I want a magnetic snap. The OEM velcro case actually has an exposed USB if you put the phone in head-first (assuming you have the case on your right hip), but I don't like the velcro. It's too noisy for in taking the phone in and out in quiet meetings and such. Not to mention that the OEM case is pretty cheap feeling compared to OEM cases for previous HTC devices (such as the Mogul, which had the PERFECT magnetic snap case with exposed USB).
Also, not only do I want exposed USB, but I want to be able to take the phone out without unplugging the USB. I've seen cases with a hole in the middle (but not for the Pro), but this sucks because you have to unplug the USB before taking the phone in and out of the case.
I'm tempted to get another OEM Mogul case and just dealing with the fact that the TP is "loose" in the case (not form fitting) because the USB port is exposed pretty nicely even though the case is not designed for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really looking for a side case, but for you if you don't mind, just get a pouch /w belt clip. It can have the end exposed, put in headfirst and that would work. But I want a side case. I was really looking for a side case that fits, this one has elastic on the end so I wouldn't be able to cut it. If it has leather on the sides (instead of form fitting). I'm just looking to be able to connect my headphones through it and this setup will work nicely. I'm probably ordering by next week if I can't find a better solution.
Bah I give up! Too many cases. Now I'll just decide. I'm gonna need the headphone adapter and I don't really want to carry my phone on my belt being a 15 yr old >.> I'm just getting this pouch:
Here's the link: [Link]
Here's a youtube vid of it: [Link]
Note the difference is the case I'm ordering won't have a belt clip
I found out today after taking apart my DHD's (one is north american ATT the other is from softbank Japan). The hole IS NOT just for easy access to the cover, there is in FACT a second microphone for noise cancellation, I know this was a hot topic in the past and it is true. I know because one of my phones has it and the other does not. In fact i've been told numerus times that people can hear alot of wind noise with my Softbank DHD, I never had this problem with my ATT handset.
As you can see the little black box is missing form my Japanese Phone, at the bottom of that is a small microphone
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Sh*t,my sim-free DHD doesn't have it...Oh well,I'll survive!
Nice find though man!Well done!
I don't have one either However, no one has complained of background noises when I call them.
How do you remove that cover? Mine is always bulging out.
Nice find.
My DHD doesn't have this second mic and my girlfriend is always complaining of background noise when it's windy outside.
I have it <3
That's actually a really cool feature, I am glad to see HTC putting something as simple as that in, that I am sure would actually have some effectiveness without adding much cost.
ozaghloul said:
I don't have one either However, no one has complained of background noises when I call them.
How do you remove that cover? Mine is always bulging out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have the hole its as simple as inserting a pin and turning towards the left until the cover pops. DO NOT turn toward the right or you WILL snap the cover.
If you DONT have the hole, its a lot more difficult (I scratched my phone) but you need a VERY thin flat head screwdriver to insert into the right side of the cover and ply SLIGHTLY to get a little space *jewlers would work great* then get something larger so you dont bend the cover, pry SLOWLY until the cover pops off.
WARNING: I find this very difficult to do without scratching your phone.
PS. The reason I pulled my cover was to clean the gps contacts and bend them upward for better contact. It worked great for me so if you take your off, do yourself a favor and do this.
On one of the disassembly videos, they used a tool from inside the battery slot to push it off from inside, I certainly wouldn't attempt to remove it without a very good reason.
do you think it is possible to identify the part and retro-fit one?
rossysaurus said:
do you think it is possible to identify the part and retro-fit one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly no.
This is my first post here and I hope to make it a good one which someone somewhere will find useful.
Basicly I had my Note for just 1 day before the stylus started acting up, the screen would sense the stylus upto about 8mm away from the screen, very irritating! I actually found a video online about how to combat the problem by wrapping foil around the pen to block the signal, while this may work for some its very tempermental and doesnt allow the pen to work as its designed.
I dismantled my pen, mole grips adjusted correctly with some cloth on the jaws to stop any scratches and the end popped out easily enough, once thats out press the nib on a hard surface so the button raises and prise it out with a pin and then everything will just slide out from the back.
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once apart i was faced with these components plus a tiny mangled piece of rubber, i assume it was a o-ring between the magnet and the coil to stop them from touching, after some testing with the pen apart it was quite clear to me that I needed something to replace the o-ring.
First I pulled the coil off and found there is an o-ring under there, i glued the coil on with silicone gasket sealant to repace the o-ring so I could use it to replace the broken one, however this didnt go to plan as the o-ring wasnt thick enough, all wasnt lost as the silicone gasket sealant was doing a better job of mounting the coil than the o-ring was so I left it in place.
I began a quick search for something else to give some resistance yet still allow the magnet to touch the coil when the nib was pressed down, i tried many things but they all failed and made it very hard to get the screen to pickup the stylus, eventually I pulled some cotton from an ear bud only a very small amount is needed and make sure you don't squish it or roll it up, leave it fluffy and wide enough so it cant fall out of place, yet thin enough so the magnet can touch the coil when pressure is applied, experiment with different amounts I managed to get it perfect on my third try.
When the time comes to reassemble I decided to glue my magnet to the nib, partially because it made it a hell of alot easier to assemble but mostly because im sure the magnet fell out of position and this was what destroyed the o-ring in the first place, Id advise against using superglue to put the cap back on as it tends to dry when youve only pushed the cap half way down.
After you're done go an enjoy your working s pen again, as you can see I edited all the photos using my modded s pen without any hassle, i'll update the thread if it ever stops working again.
And yes the pressure sensitivity is still working!
What you do with your stylus is down to you, if you choose to follow my guide you accept all resposibility for anything that happens as a result.
If anyone out there still uses a Droid X...
This problem has been driving me crazy for a long time. My DX would only have wifi reception with a case on or by pressing on the case in certain areas. I've looked all over the web trying to find an explanation or fix, but no one seemed to know for sure what the problem was. I disassembled and reassembled the DX a few times, each time taping over a contact pin until pressing on the case no longer fixed wifi reception, thus narrowing down where exactly the problem was.
It turns out at the top right of phone (when looking at the screen) there is a small pressure pin on the motherboard and a copper pad with a small flex on the back case (the part you remove to access the board). This flex disappears into the side of the case, which I assumed to be the antenna. If you're looking at the inside of the back case, you'll see three contact pads for the camera flash and just outside of that is another copper pad. This is the wifi antenna. On the motherboard you'll see three spring pins for contacting the camera flash pads, and a small spring pin outside of that. This is the wifi contact pin.
The problem is that as the case wears out and spreads, the spring pin on the motherboard no longer makes contact with the copper wifi pad. Only by squeezing the case will they make contact.
THE SOLUTION: I added a small solder dot to the copper wifi pad to add a little height, being VERY CAREFUL not to overheat the board or flex! It is very easy to cook a small PCB and flex like this and burn through the board. If you're not comfortable with soldering (I solder flexes at work all the time), you can try to add a copper shim on top of the pad on the case to increase the thickness. You can also try to pop the PCB off the case and add a shim underneath it, but that little PCB seemed to be on there pretty tight. I wouldn't mess with the spring pin, if you break it off the motherboard you're pretty much screwed.
And now for the pics:
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Nice job. :good:
Luckily I haven't had to tear mine apart yet. Small solder jobs can be tricky. I've had to solder and or reflow a bunch of first gen xbox 360s and everyone was a pita.
Nice ... I love hard ware hacks.
This totally worked! I just soldered my Droid X per instructions and now my Wi-fi connection is surging like I've never seen it do (got the phone not to long ago as a hand-me-down). Before if not in the same room as the wireless router I barely even get a signal, now I'm able to detect signals from all around the neighborhood. Great advice! Thank you!
Cool fix