This mod is designed to add the ability to enable/disable the HDMI output on the speaker dock. The reason i thought of this was because the xoom acts as though it is connected to the TV even when the tv is off, therefore routing audio to the tv and not the speakers
I apologize in advance for the picture quality as i only have my Thunderbolt to take pictures with. it still did a great job on most macro shots but my lighting wasn't the best.
This mod is not terrible complicated to those who has some experience soldering and wiring.
What you will need:
an exacto knife
soldering gun
fine solder
Torx head bits
about 1.5 feet of fine wire
Step 1.
First we need to take the dock apart. start off peeling the rubber mat off the bottom of the dock. The easiest way to do this is to use a hair dryer and heat the rubber up and peal it off. Set the rubber aside so it the sticky tape doesn't get messed up , you will want to put it back on at the end.
Now that you have the rubber mat off you have access tot he screws that hold the dock together. remove all of these with your torx bit.
Step 2.
after removing the screws, pull the unit apart. Now you have access to the inside.
You will need to remove the HDMI cable, this is pretty easy so i wont go into detail. here it is removed
Step 3.
Ok next we need to tap into the "Hot Plug Detect" wire in the HDMI cable
Type A receptacle HDMI
Pin 1 TMDS Data2+
Pin 2 TMDS Data2 Shield
Pin 3 TMDS Data2–
Pin 4 TMDS Data1+
Pin 5 TMDS Data1 Shield
Pin 6 TMDS Data1–
Pin 7 TMDS Data0+
Pin 8 TMDS Data0 Shield
Pin 9 TMDS Data0–
Pin 10 TMDS Clock+
Pin 11 TMDS Clock Shield
Pin 12 TMDS Clock–
Pin 13 CEC
Pin 14 Reserved (HDMI 1.0-1.3c), HEC Data- (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with Ethernet)
Pin 15 SCL (I²C Serial Clock for DDC)
Pin 16 SDA (I²C Serial Data Line for DDC)
Pin 17 DDC/CEC/HEC Ground
Pin 18 +5 V Power (max 50 mA)
Pin 19 Hot Plug Detect (All versions) and HEC Data+ (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with Ethernet)
Number 19 is the one we are looking for. I did the hard work and located that wire on the cable
It is the White Wire.Strip back the casing very carefully. once you stripped the black wire casing off you will need to cut through the metal mesh shield surrounding the inside wires. i used the exacto knife to cut through this. after you strip all the shielding back you should easily see the white wire. It is very small so this is where soldering experience comes it handy. cut the wire and VERY carefully strip back a tiny portion of the white casing to expose the wire inside. you'll need to solder one wire to each side as shown below
Step 4.
Set the HDMI cable aside, It's time to mount the switch.
I went to radioshack and bought a 2 pack of switches for $3
As for mounting locations, there was only one spot that i could think to mount it with the tools i had available ( i have no dremmel tool which i'm sure would have made this project easier)
You need to make a hole big enough for your switch. I made my hole with an exacto knife attachment for my solder gun.
Basically i used a hot exacto knife to burn through the back plastic. This is probably one of the toughest parts of this mod.
Next i used Stage 2 epoxy to secure the switch to the plastic . Its a good idea to use something abrasive to scub the plastic so the epoxy can get a good hold on it
Step 5.
Next we need to connect everything together. Reinstall the HDMI cable , and make sure to tape the wires that you soldered to the HDMI detect wire so they are secure and wont come off or touch anything else.
Now you need to connect those wires to your switch. I forgot to get a picture of the wires connected to the switch but all you need to do it solder the wires to any 2 pins that are next to each other
good configs
Pins
1 2 3
Pins
1 2 3
Bad configs
1 2 3
It really doesn't matter which wire goes on which side because all we are basically doing is completing a connection of those 2 wires.
Now in order to route those wires to the switch and gett he while thing to close i had to cut a channel for the wires to sit in
Now tape the wires going to the switch into the channel and put everything back together. Now plug in an HDMI cable and dock your xoom and try it out
Here is how mine came out. All in all im very happy with the results. I wish i could have cut a nicer looking hold but i lacked the proper equipment
