cellphone http://tumbleweed.org.za/taxonomy/term/33/atom/feed 2008-01-04T13:45:03+00:00 The Brick http://tumbleweed.org.za/hardware-hacking/the-brick 2007-12-29T19:31:42+00:00 2008-01-04T13:45:03+00:00 tumbleweed You know what happens with old phones, right?

The battery slowly dies, and it needs charging all the time.

So we modded this old brick by attaching the charger to the battery, increasing the phone’s usability by 1000%.

Now you never need to worry about the battery running out, just plug it in. AND because it has a 3-pin plug, you never need an adapter.

Details:

  • The Nokia 2110 in question had a broken charging socket, so it was unchangeable
  • We smashed the charger case open, and took out the PCB.
  • Then we soldered the 3-pin plug’s wires, and the 6V out wires on to the PCB.
  • The PCB was superglued into the blue box, which was cut to fit onto the battery, and holes were gouged for the wires.
  • Then we superglued the box to the battery, leaving the wires poking out.
  • The plug had a hole cut in the top (for the wires) and was attached to the base of the battery & box (superglue again), and wired up.
  • The negative wire was soldered straight onto the battery negative terminal (and the wire embedded flush into the battery).
  • The positive wire was soldered to a copper clip superglued to the battery, that hits the +ve desktop charging contact. (well it just missed, so we enlarged the contact…)
  • Everything got another dollop of superglue, and all the contacts got a good filing.
  • That was it!

It is was in use everyday by Nicholas Abbot for a couple of years (although he had to enlarge his trouser pockets <grin>).

Updates:

  1. The brick has lost it’s aerial. It now has an internal ‘piece of wire’…
  2. One of the clips that holds the battery to the phone has broken, it is now held on by a shoelace.
  3. It has a modular (ie. removable) alarm clock attached to the back, above the battery.
  4. It has suffered beer immersion, but it still works like a bomb (make that ‘works like a brick’).
  5. Unfortunately, due to the beer (and some brandy & coke), the superglue holding the alarm clock dissolved, and the alarm clock is no more.
  6. The ‘piece of wire’ aerial was ineffective (as it was shielded on three sides by the phone), so it has been externalised. The wire has been coiled up and superglued into a little stub aerial above the aerial hole. A strip of bookbinding cloth tape was superglued around the coiled aerial for support and strength.

The ultimate mod!

Pictures:

In Use Profile Battery Removed

]]> You know what happens with old phones, right?

The battery slowly dies, and it needs charging all the time.

So we modded this old brick by attaching the charger to the battery, increasing the phone’s usability by 1000%.

Now you never need to worry about the battery running out, just plug it in. AND because it has a 3-pin plug, you never need an adapter.

Details:

  • The Nokia 2110 in question had a broken charging socket, so it was unchangeable
  • We smashed the charger case open, and took out the PCB.
  • Then we soldered the 3-pin plug’s wires, and the 6V out wires on to the PCB.
  • The PCB was superglued into the blue box, which was cut to fit onto the battery, and holes were gouged for the wires.
  • Then we superglued the box to the battery, leaving the wires poking out.
  • The plug had a hole cut in the top (for the wires) and was attached to the base of the battery & box (superglue again), and wired up.
  • The negative wire was soldered straight onto the battery negative terminal (and the wire embedded flush into the battery).
  • The positive wire was soldered to a copper clip superglued to the battery, that hits the +ve desktop charging contact. (well it just missed, so we enlarged the contact…)
  • Everything got another dollop of superglue, and all the contacts got a good filing.
  • That was it!

It is was in use everyday by Nicholas Abbot for a couple of years (although he had to enlarge his trouser pockets <grin>).

Updates:

  1. The brick has lost it’s aerial. It now has an internal ‘piece of wire’…
  2. One of the clips that holds the battery to the phone has broken, it is now held on by a shoelace.
  3. It has a modular (ie. removable) alarm clock attached to the back, above the battery.
  4. It has suffered beer immersion, but it still works like a bomb (make that ‘works like a brick’).
  5. Unfortunately, due to the beer (and some brandy & coke), the superglue holding the alarm clock dissolved, and the alarm clock is no more.
  6. The ‘piece of wire’ aerial was ineffective (as it was shielded on three sides by the phone), so it has been externalised. The wire has been coiled up and superglued into a little stub aerial above the aerial hole. A strip of bookbinding cloth tape was superglued around the coiled aerial for support and strength.

The ultimate mod!

Pictures:

In Use Profile Battery Removed

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