Modding the Asus 701 (Eee) - Bluetooth
Last week I researched how to subvert the Asus 701 (Eee)!
Last year I documented adding internal USB Bluetooth to another sub-notebook…
Now I’ve combined the two - I’ve added internal USB Bluetooth to my Eee without interfering with the built-in wireless, using the empty mini PCIe card slot, or disabling any the available USB ports :)
First, I stripped the casing and USB connector off a small USB Bluetooth module (Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR):
After soldering 30 ga. flexible insulated wire to the USB Bluetooth module, I wrapped it in Kapton tape:
Then I connected the USB Bluetooth module to a 5V trace (off in standby) and a nearby ground trace - I used the USB signals available on the mini PCIe card slot occupied by the Atheros mini PCIe wireless card:
Finally, I decided to install the USB Bluetooth module in the area between the track pad and the status lights under the palm rest. I picked this location because there’s no shielding over the front edge of the palm rest to interfere with the PCB antenna on the USB Bluetooth module:
The end result in Xandros Linux:
The end result in Windows XP:
Here I have a Bluetooth mouse connected as well as my Sony Ericsson K850i which is being used both as an HSDPA modem over Bluetooth and as the camera taking these pictures:
641 Kbps dpwn and 264 Kbps up - pretty good for an HSDPA modem over Bluetooth, especially indoors, right next to a wireless router:
Just remember, kids… Don’t try this at home!
November 28, 2007 at 7:11 am
Now… if we could only add a GPS module in there… :)
There are new GPS chips coming out, with just a few mm… Could we fit one of those in there as well?
Sort of these ones:
http://www.edn-europe.com/50channelgpsmoduleseriescanacquiresignalin1sec+article+1906+Europe.html
And the new 3.5G mobile internet access USB dongles are as small as a USB flash disk… I think we could squeeze in there as well.
With Mobile Internet connectivity and GPS, the Eee PC would be nearly perfect.
Now… if we could only fit a 10″ 1024×600 LCD in there…
:)
November 28, 2007 at 7:28 am
Just for reference, that uBlox GPS module I was talking about:
It’s a complete, standalone GPS receiver in just 17 x 22 mm
(available for under 100 Eur as a sample from UBlox or for 150 Eur as a complete evaluation kit)
November 28, 2007 at 8:02 am
[...] [tnkgirl via jkOnTheRun] [...]
November 28, 2007 at 9:05 am
Now the real question, if I buy all the parts and fedex it to you, will you make it for me? :D
November 28, 2007 at 9:50 am
[...] Mobile gives us a look at how Bluetooth can be added to an EEE PC for additional connectivity [...]
November 28, 2007 at 11:58 am
Tnkgrl: you’re a rockstar! Can a newbie like me actually do this myself?
November 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Congratulations on another great bluetooth hack. I haven’t decided to pick up on of these laptops yet but this would have been the first thing I did to it.
November 28, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Im with you carlosmmartins - gps should be able to work. i guess space is the problem. Y not a ripped apart usb gps?
Im also thinking this should work on any umpc. Might try both on my q1u.
November 28, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Very impressive way to implement bluetooth !
I’m not sure I’ll perform same thing on my “future” eeePC ;-0
November 28, 2007 at 6:17 pm
[...] Finally, one of the first and fairly easy to do mods for the Eee has come to light. While this does require some soldiering it isn’t hard or expensive. All you need is a soldiering iron, a small USB bluetooth dongle and some quality time with your Eee. I plan on trying this mod out tonight on my Eee and I will be sure to report on its success. Hopefully this is the first of many such mods for the Eee. Read [...]
November 29, 2007 at 2:46 am
Nicely done, can you post some details about how easy it is to fit into the casing with your mod? Maybe some pictures? :)
November 29, 2007 at 4:50 am
Kwong, It looks like as long as you have some steady hands for the “surgery”, the only part you should practice is the soldering. You’ll still need steady hands judging from the size of the circuitry.
And, if you open your eee and find that things aren’t like they are in the pictures, it’s okay to bail on the project.
November 29, 2007 at 6:02 am
There are some very small gps units available.
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8291
Although it will need a serial to USB chip and an antenna it’s still probably possible to fit it in the case.
November 29, 2007 at 6:11 am
[...] More information [tnkgrl Mobile] [...]
November 29, 2007 at 6:56 am
Good Find Pete I may give it a try!
November 29, 2007 at 8:49 am
[...] ab. Kaum sind die ersten eeePCs ausgeliefert, gibt es erste Hardware-Mods. Im Weblog von tnkgrl findet sich eine englisch-sprachige,detaillierte und bebilderte Anleitung, wie man Bluetooth [...]
November 29, 2007 at 8:52 am
Wow, that’s great. I’ve linked to this article in my Weblog (german). Hope, it’s ok to use of one of your pics.
November 29, 2007 at 9:38 am
Nice mod dude, too bad Eee does not have AMD processor in it :(
November 29, 2007 at 10:46 am
[...] your creative mind and love to hack eee pc, then you can try this hack which was demonstrated by tnkgrl . Utilize a standard Bluetooth dongle, tnkgrl stripped it down and connect it to a mini PCIe slot [...]
November 29, 2007 at 11:10 am
Oh, Kapton tape is what that stuff is!
Any opinion about which of the thicknesses (1,2,5 Mil) is best to have on hand?
November 29, 2007 at 12:21 pm
[...] Add Bluetooth to your Eee Filed under: Uncategorized — 0ddn1x @ 2007-11-29 19:21:35 +0000 http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/modding-the-asus-701-eee-bluetooth/ [...]
November 29, 2007 at 1:58 pm
[...] hazaña fue realizada por un usuario de nick tnkgrl, quien la publico en su blog. Este modder utilizo un dongle Bluetooth USB, al cual despojo de su [...]
November 30, 2007 at 12:19 am
[...] Modding the Asus 701 (Eee) - Bluetooth « tnkgrl Mobile (tags: toread) [...]
November 30, 2007 at 12:55 am
Thanks for the article. Of course I have questions.
1.
Are you connecting to the same USB lines as one of the external ports or is this a spare USB port?
2.
I’m wondering if this impacts the use of the external USB ports?
3.
The Mini-PCIe slot; have you tried any cards in there? Especially Flash cards and possibly a cell modem card?
Having a Cell modem card in one of these would be just the nuts and I’ve heard that ASUS was going to offer up such a combo.
Dave
November 30, 2007 at 9:59 am
This sounds really awesome, but does it have any big effect on the battery life?
November 30, 2007 at 11:09 am
You modded the OQO to have HSDPA, why not do the same thing with the eee pc. Would it work to yank the pcie wireless module and slot a hsdpa one instead?
December 2, 2007 at 6:29 pm
[...] super-sexy Asus Eee PC is pretty nicely loaded up as delivered, but hackers are already working on mods to “improve” the device. Man, I want one of this little beauties (via [...]
December 3, 2007 at 6:31 pm
[...] the Asus Eee PC. Over at tnkgrl there are extensive pictures of the internals, and now a new post with detailed instructions on adding a USB Bluetooth adapter to it without losing the USB [...]
December 5, 2007 at 7:23 pm
[...] forum showing us how to install additional software on this Cute laptop ans last week tnkgrl give us a guide to install internal bluetooth to this Asus UMPC.And now, Eee PC forumshow us how to [...]
December 5, 2007 at 10:36 pm
If you are using Xandros do you have to use the command line every single time you want to use your mouse?
when i connect my dongle and mouse via the command line it’s reset and doesn’t respond after start up or standby.
are you getting around this somehow?
December 7, 2007 at 8:45 am
this is cool, could you theoreticlally wire in any USB device you wanted as long as it would fit? i am going to be buying an Eee pretty soon and i plan to put windows on it, but when i do i need to put the paging file somewhere besides the flash HD, if i could strip down a high speed USB flash drive and put it in there like that it could use it for the paging file, or maybe as extra memory. either way it would be sweet did anybody find out if it affects the external USB ports? great article thanks!
December 7, 2007 at 5:13 pm
[...] It doesn’t come with bluetooth built in , but three usb ports mean that you can always use a usb bluetooth if you need that feature. Or if you are very brave and don’t mind voiding your warranty, tnkgrl has posted instructions for modding it for internal bluetooth! [...]
December 11, 2007 at 3:18 pm
[...] Derefter skal jeg have fundet ud af, hvordan jeg får noget Bluetooth smidt i den. Det skal bruges til headset og ikke mindst kommunikation med min mobiltelefon, så jeg kan gå på nettet. Det kunne godt være sådan en her eller også skulle man bare gå efter det totale mod. [...]
December 17, 2007 at 3:55 pm
does that mean if you get a 16 or 32 Gb usb stick you could possibly add that much internal storage aswell, or am i wrong?
December 17, 2007 at 3:58 pm
also considering 4g from the uk or 8g from taiwan via ebay, which one do you recomend?
December 21, 2007 at 5:20 pm
[...] Modding the Asus 701 (Eee) - Bluetooth (tags: eeepc hardware) [...]
December 30, 2007 at 11:18 am
[...] Dopo i mod per inserire porte USB supplementari nel vano per la MiniPCIe, i mod per aggiungere un dongle bluetooth interno e per installare un touchscreen sopra al monitor standard, ora è stato installato anche un [...]
January 7, 2008 at 7:03 am
To everyone wanting to add GPS - well now you have put bluetooth inside. why not use a bluetooth GPS receiver? THey are small and can be placed in the car for optimum reception, and then you can place the Eee where you can best see it (rather then perched precariously on the dashboard)
January 11, 2008 at 2:13 pm
So would it be possible to connect the bluetooth antenna to the internal wifi antenna and boost the range?
January 14, 2008 at 11:44 am
[...] thing actually fits inside the cover of a standard iPod dock connector.Bonus: [tnkgrl] added a USB bluetooth adapter to her eeePC after her circuit tracing [...]
January 17, 2008 at 5:53 am
Does it also work on the black model?
January 20, 2008 at 1:11 pm
[...] was impressed when I read TnkGrls Bluetooth EEE hack, but THIS guy is even more keen (via EEE Hackers). Powered by Gregarious (42) Share [...]
February 4, 2008 at 2:18 am
I’ve also successfully completed this mod, but I put the bluetooth module in the screen bezel because the body of the case seemed to be painted inside with some conductive shielding paint.
http://jamesholden.net/2008/01/31/asus-eeepc-internal-bluetooth/
February 12, 2008 at 11:56 am
wow, another no fear discovery!
February 14, 2008 at 2:29 am
[...] ada yg mencobanya dan berhasil kok. 2. Yg kedua, ini kalau udah punya keberanian sih.. saya mau instal internal bluetooth module buat koneksi internet di manapun selama ada jangkauan GSM, atau install internal HSDPA modul aja [...]
February 14, 2008 at 7:18 pm
[...] started with the extra 16GB SSD, followed by internal bluetooth. Then there comes the ASUS EEE touchscreen and now the internal High Speed 3G capability. And there [...]
March 10, 2008 at 2:32 am
This is so great, cause now I can “mod” my Asus EEE PC with a internal USB Bluetooth! perfect! great documentation! Thanks for helping - dani!
April 8, 2008 at 5:36 am
[...] Modding the Asus 701 (Eee) - Bluetooth « tnkgrl Mobile I’ve added internal USB Bluetooth to my Eee without interfering with the built-in wireless, using the empty mini PCIe card slot, or disabling any the available USB ports (tags: hardware hacks bluetooth) [...]
April 11, 2008 at 2:33 am
[...] Tnkgrl mods the Asus to have internal Bluetooth [...]
April 12, 2008 at 3:01 am
Thanks - great how to!
April 15, 2008 at 7:44 pm
tnkgrl, this is a very nice presentation of bluetooth tech.
To answer some questions about the mods….
I have a 4g EEE PC with full Linux and have so far added:
1. three internal USB
2. Bluetooth USB (your post helped :D)
3. Garmin GPS navigator (fits nicely in the screen)
4. internal SD HC card (12 Gb)
5. digital thermometer (to measure how hot the EEE runs)
6. internal FM transmitter (also fits in screen case)
7. AND a dial-up modem (because my parents haven’t yet gotten high speed…)
So, no worries abut space then right?
April 21, 2008 at 12:47 am
Nice how to! Thanks a lot!
April 23, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Tnkgrl, I thought I’d stop by and say thanks for the info. Following your pictures I was able to install my D-link Bluetooth module yesterday. I choose to mount it in the screen bezel; I figured there would be less shielding there to get in the way. The hardest part of the mod was getting the windows drivers working properly but it’s all sorted now.
Thanks again
Bandit
May 22, 2008 at 9:41 am
Looking for the cheapest version with SD HC 8 GB
May 26, 2008 at 7:00 pm
[...] and inspiration on how to upgrade your Eee PC can be found here. addthis_url = [...]
June 8, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Can I add a bluetooth to a EEE PC -900?, does it have an empty mini pciex slot?
June 23, 2008 at 10:14 am
great work, i´ll try this at mine!
July 4, 2008 at 6:42 am
Hey tnkgrl, (hope you read this, or perhaps someone else can help?)
I while ago (about 3 yers, sight how time flies) you did a similar mod to a Averatec 1050 when you installed a Bluetooth USB module onto the “3′d” onboard USB port. I picked up on that and did the same mod on my 1050 and it worked great, THANKS FOR THE INFO!!!
I’m just wondering, if you perhaps still have the info on how to do it available and more specifically, where that 2′nd USB dataline goes, let me explain:
If you remember, the +5V and 0V and one of the datalines were on the top side of the mainboard, the second dataline was on the underside of the mainboard, under the HD, it was actually a “test point” on the board that you showed to solder to. If I’m not mistaking you even mentioned that you couldn’t find a point for the second dataline on the top side of the mainboard. Anyway, this “testpoint” on the underside of my mainboard has fallen off and as the board is multilayer which meansthat I can’t find that point to the second dataline and I’m just wondering if you happen to know another point that I could find that second dataline to solder to?
Any help would REALLY be appreciated
BTW The Averatec forums are down and have been so for a while now, hence I can’t find your pics and comments any more.
Thanks in advance!
/Pete
July 4, 2008 at 2:18 pm
@Peter Hmmm… I you read this post again carefully you will notice that I linked to the AV1050 mod!
July 4, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Ah yes, there it is, can’t beleive I missed it… Thanks!
I don’t suppose you remember or perhaps can still check if there is another “test point” for the “USB Data 2″ ? (The one underneath the HD)
As mentioned, that particular testpoint, has been working for 3 year now on my AV1050 but has now fallen off (no doubt due to my bad soldering) and it’s the actual “metal solder point” that has fallen off together with the wire, so I need to find another place to solder a wire onto the “USB Data 2″
The other 3 connection points (USB Data 1 and 5V and 0V) are just fine…
Thanks again for the quick reply, this really was a fantastic mod!
July 4, 2008 at 3:38 pm
@Peter, I see :/ I’m afraid there’s not much you can do. You can try to follow the trace the test pad was attached to in the hopes of finding another test pad or a component to solder to, or (this is what I’d do) scrape the varnish off the trace and solder directly to it.(this is very delicate work, though).
July 4, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Thanks again tnkgrl! After I read your article again (and refreshed my memory) the “scraping the varnish off” the trace seems like the best suggestion, so I guess I should be looking for the 3 pair of traces (near pin A20) identify the pair that is “USB3″ and then scrape off the varnish of “DATA USB2″ right? I haven’t had a close look at my mainboard yet, but looking at your pictures, are there really 3 pairs of traces, they look more like 3 single traces to me… Or are they so microscopical that there really are 6 traces all together but on the picture it just looks like 3?
Thanks again! This really does help, at least there is still hope :)