HW mod the device to install a microsd holder

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zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
2,151
281
Guys, do you know if it's possible to install an internal microsd holder connecting it to the usbpin of 30pin connector?
 

zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
2,151
281
But it's still possible to use the internal connector and slot, ready for the microsd holder.

This is the holder:
201112211935395264.jpg


And below is the mainboard of the tab
 

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RavenY2K3

Senior Member
Nov 13, 2006
1,459
439
Where is that from, where can you get it etc... I'd pop my tab open if I knew I could do that to it.

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zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
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Search on ebay: p7500 memory holder
The only problem is the missing connector on the mobo. It's the same as the one of jack3,5 and similar.
You have to find that micro connector and then airsolder it on the mobo, hoping that is not missing also some resistor around.
 

RavenY2K3

Senior Member
Nov 13, 2006
1,459
439
Ahh, looked at the image again, I thought it was a zif socket, so on second thoughts, soldering components to my tabs mobo is beyond my capability. Shame really, I would probably pay to have it done if there were a place capable of doing it for me.

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jacampb2

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2012
115
18
Beaverton
www.rollmeover.com
Thank you for the awesome nudge in this direction! I am going to take a stab at this and I will report back.

I bought one of the SD holders on ebay, took my tab apart to verify the original idea-- while the card reader will fit in the place circled in the photo above, I don't think that it is going to be ab absolutely perfect fit. Again, I will report on what it takes.

As to the 10 pin connector, I believe that I have found the correct parts. I ordered some a few days ago, and they should be here by the 24th. I will know for sure then, and share the part number if I got it correct. If anyone else wants to hunt for them though, they are known as board to board connectors, as well as mezzanine connectors by some manufacturers.

Although they are SMD, they should be just barely large enough to solder with a real iron, a hot air rework station would be awesome, but I have been doing SMD work/rework with a normal iron for years. It takes lots of magnification, a steady hand, and tweezers, but ultimately it can be done.

The only big question I have, is where did these SD readers come from originally-- it say's p7500 on the silk screen on the reader, but as far as I can tell neither the 7500 or 7510 ever came with external SD... hopefully it will be plug and play, but I am going to refrain from hacking my tab's back up until I verify it does work.

Thanks again for the idea!

Later,
Jason
 

zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
2,151
281
You're welcome mate, please post the link where you have found the 10pin connector and let me know if my find was workable.
Cheers

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jacampb2

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2012
115
18
Beaverton
www.rollmeover.com
zooster, I will happily post the part number once I verify it is the correct one. I don't want to put it out there, have it be wrong, and then have people upset with me. I also ordered both the "male" and "female" halves, mostly because the connector is kind of a "hermaphrodite", I suspect the half we need is the male half, but the manufacturer drawings are the same for both plug and receptacle (go figure, stock drawings...), so I ordered both. The part I am hoping is correct is from Molex, and part of their "slimstack" series. That and measurements will get you to where I am at ATM, or PM me and I will let you know number, or just wait for Tuesday and I will let you know.

There are literally dozens if not hundreds of similar style connectors out there, so this is kind of a best guess right now. It does seem like this style is somewhat standardized anymore, so hopefully there are a lot of manufacturers simply making the same things. Seeing as Molex is one of the worlds largest supplier of interconnects, it is a pretty good starting point.

So far I am out about $20, and I have poured more money down the drain after other projects that didn't pan out, so bare with me and I'll let you know what happens.

Later,
Jason
 

johho

Senior Member
Sep 11, 2007
292
18
Mainz
www.maklerhofmann.de
Very very interesting and I'm looking forward to hear about you're results.
Small question the pictures above show.the 3g model, right? I think I can figure out the Sim slot left from the possible sd reader slot.
I have the wifi one, how the hw mod will work there too.


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jacampb2

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2012
115
18
Beaverton
www.rollmeover.com
I don't know about the pics, those are zoosters. The picture of the back side of the tab though is named p7500-- so maybe. All I can say, is that I took mine (GT-P7510) apart again a few days ago, and it looks virtually identical to the pic. I didn't hold the tab next to the monitor and compare-- but it looks like it has the same amount of room along the top as the one in the picture.

The reason I said that it didn't look like it was going to be 100% drop in, is that the card reader does not sit flat in the area marked. In fact, there is a small foam pad with a silver jacket right below that spot, the card reader was on top of that. I removed it, and it still did not lie quite flat. Definitely not like any of the other assorted little components in there that are not retained by any kind of screws or adhesive, just a form fitting cavity. My instinct is that there is going to be a bit involved in getting the card reader to stay in place. The other challenge was that it appeared it might sit to far inside the case to be able to easily insert and remove cards. You are of course limited to the layout of the parts that are there, so there is not a lot of room to come up with a better mounting scenario. So, first and foremost we need to see if even when populated, if the reader works. If it does, then I will move on to trying to figure out mounting solutions.

Later,
Jason
 

zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
2,151
281
Very very interesting and I'm looking forward to hear about you're results.
Small question the pictures above show.the 3g model, right? I think I can figure out the Sim slot left from the possible sd reader slot.
I have the wifi one, how the hw mod will work there too.


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If it's not 3g, the sim holder, although correctly inserted, will be unuseful

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drhunter

Senior Member
Jan 5, 2012
53
22
The other challenge was that it appeared it might sit to far inside the case to be able to easily insert and remove cards.

I'm following this with interest too.

Is the SD card slot spring loaded? If it's going to sit too far inside pop some tape on the front and back of the sd card so that the two pieces stick together and give you a tab to pull on.

I do this to my camera memory cards so that I can keep track of different cards when I'm out shooting.
 

jacampb2

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2012
115
18
Beaverton
www.rollmeover.com
Yes, the card slot is spring loaded-- at least the one that I got is. I like the tape idea though, if worse comes to worse, that might be a solution. Now I wish I had snapped some pictures when I test fit this the other day. I didn't think about it, was just excited to see if it was going to really be possible. The thing is, it looked to me that it might be more than just a little to low in the position it appears to go. I say "appears to go" based on the original picture, and the length of the flexible printed cable. There is a certain alignment/orientation that has to be with what there is to work with. I can't really explain it any better than that, but hopefully you guys understand.

It is certainly possible that it is just the looks that are deceiving, but like I mentioned earlier, I am going to verify working hardware before I deal with making it accessible and stably mounted.

I sure might be dense, but where is the sim card slot in the original pictures? zooster, would you mind circling and uploading again? Or just a good description. I thought that it was supposed to be right next to the SD holder, but I must be missing it if that is the case.

I did find that these SD card holders were *only* in the pre-release/testing p7500's. I found a very few pictures of the units in tact online. It would be awesome if anyone with the development tab and the SD slot would shoot some internal pics for us!

Thanks,
Jason

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:25 PM ----------

NM on the sim card reader location. I just figured it out. Found a Utube video of a tech tearing down a p7500 because the owner stuffed an SD card in the sim card slot :eek:

Anyhow, I'm thinking the tab in the picture on the first page might be a p7510 as well. You can see that there is no flexible printed cable coming from under the metal cover that holds the sim reader in place. I also am quite sure that my tab had that cover as well. That cover might be the solution to mounting the SD card reader. Dollars to doughnuts they used something similar to that, if not the exact same as that one to hold the SD card reader in place.

I'm so excited I could squirt! I am really looking forward to UPS tomorrow or tuesday.

Later,
Jason
 

zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
2,151
281
Yes it is a 7510. As you figured out the sim card holder is located at the top left of the picture behind the metallic grid.
Pay attention in soldering without an air station solder, you could destroy pads and tracks.
I'd say that the holder with the cable fits 99% the slot, the pads for microzif connector are a the right distance, the only one remaining doubt is if you are able to solder it safely and correctly, and if it will just work. My concern is only about the possible lack of some resistor in the connection with the chipset.

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streetrider nick

Senior Member
Oct 23, 2010
62
3
I am going to be paying close attention to this thread, I am interested to see the results. I am interested in this even if the micro sd was not accessible from the outside of the device. I would just pop in a 32GB card and let it stay there.

Having 48GB of storage on my tab would be sweet, especially if a good working Ubuntu port becomes available!
 

jacampb2

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2012
115
18
Beaverton
www.rollmeover.com
No joy guys, connectors were right, soldering was a *****, but went ok. Installed card and nothing, tablet doesn't seem to recognize it at all, so either disabled in the software, or it needs more than just the connector. In the pics you can see where they're is a large unpopulated area next to the sd card connector. i think we need a service manual, or someone top get values from one of those rare pre release tabs...

Sorry for the bad news, I'm going to bed, midnight shift tonight...

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tghockey07

Senior Member
May 10, 2010
182
21
MN
No joy guys, connectors were right, soldering was a *****, but went ok. Installed card and nothing, tablet doesn't seem to recognize it at all, so either disabled in the software, or it needs more than just the connector. In the pics you can see where they're is a large unpopulated area next to the sd card connector. i think we need a service manual, or someone top get values from one of those rare pre release tabs...

Sorry for the bad news, I'm going to bed, midnight shift tonight...

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Maybe someone needs to write the drivers for it. Are you sure it's getting power as well?
 

zooster

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2007
2,151
281
Well, don't loose hope. Yes, there could be some resistor or some bridge to be shortened, but I think that the problem could lie somewhere else.
The tab has already a "sd", it's the internal one. Maybe it cannot see 2 sd at the same time. So we should swap from the internal one to the external or turn the internal sd into internal storage. Or maybe there is some flag in the software to enabled.
Maybe a porting of the firmware of the new tab, with sd slot, will help.
Btw did you check with a tester if the soldering has gone fine?

Sent from my GT-P7310 using XDA
 

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    But it's still possible to use the internal connector and slot, ready for the microsd holder.

    This is the holder:
    201112211935395264.jpg


    And below is the mainboard of the tab
    1
    My next step....

    XDA is no longer worth my time.