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adding external antenna to xps m1710 internal wireless card

post #1 of 12
3/23/09 at 4:23pm
Thread Starter 
Hey everyone, by the title I'm sure you can tell what I am asking.

I found a thread here, is basically the last post exactly what I need?
http://www.wirelessforums.org/hardwa...top-29537.html


This is what I am working with:

Computer rig:
Dell XPS M1710 Review (pics, specs)

Wireless card intel specs:
http://download.intel.com/network/co...f/31079601.pdf

And I think this is the external antenna I would like to get (would love any suggestions):
5 dBi Magnetic Mount Omni Antenna - Omnidirectional Antennas for 2.4GHz - Antennas - Fleeman, Anderson & Bird, Corp.



The pdf says the wireless card antenna is, "Hirose* U.FL-R-SMT mates with cable connector U.FL-LP-066"

So basically is all I have to do is buy one of these, 4 inches U.FL Pigtail:U.FL to MMCX WiFi 2.4GHz 802.11g - eBay (item 160119011606 end time Apr-09-09 01:58:22 PDT)

Drill a hole in my laptop case and install one of these connected to the first adapter that is connected directly to the card:
MMCX to N-Male, Pigtail 19" 100-Series - CA-MMNMCN19

Now the n-female from the antenna can then connect to the now adapted laptop wireless external antenna?


I am presenting all of this as a question because I think this is what I need to do but I would like to double check with some knowledgeable people first that this can work, is feasible, will bring desired results (increased range) etc.

Suggestions, comments welcome!

Thanks in advance

Edit: It appears that with this laptop you might be able to add a third antenna? Any ideas?
http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&gl=us
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post #2 of 12
3/23/09 at 10:34pm
I did this exact same mod you're wanting to do on my old Inspiron 8200. I removed my PS/2 port to make room for a Hi-rose to TNC pigtail. The port fit with only a little amount of modification. I had to trim the TNC connector a bit so it wouldn't make contact with the motherboard and I had to enlarge the hole in the I/O shield just a hair for the connector to fit through. Worked fantastic compared to the mediocre internal antenna.

I got the pigtail from http://www.netgate.com and for an antenna I just used an old Linksys Rubber duck antenna (but any antenna with an RP-TNC connector would work) off a dead AP.

Unfortunately I sold the 8200 2 years ago and I don't have any pictures of the mod itself.
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post #3 of 12
3/25/09 at 7:28pm
Thread Starter 
Awesome, thanks for the encouragement. I think I am going to go through with it but I appreciate it to know that it is possible.

Hopefully all goes well, and I will make sure to post pictures of the mod (success or failure) in this thread so in the future other people with this question can be directed here hopefully for the benefit of all wardrivers, err um I mean, all home net-workers everywhere!

Wish me luck
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post #4 of 12
3/25/09 at 10:58pm
You should have plenty of room in a 17" laptop to bore a new hole and place the connector. Remeber now, the base of the M1710 is metal, so drilling will take a bit more patience and should probably be done with a drill press.

The pigtails are 18" long, so that should be plenty of length to get from the Wi-Fi card to the edge.
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post #5 of 12
3/26/09 at 12:06am
I did a how to on my i9400/E1705 over here and you can find all sorts of stuff for WLAN upgrades over here
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post #6 of 12
3/26/09 at 12:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrEvil View Post
You should have plenty of room in a 17" laptop to bore a new hole and place the connector. Remeber now, the base of the M1710 is metal, so drilling will take a bit more patience and should probably be done with a drill press.

The pigtails are 18" long, so that should be plenty of length to get from the Wi-Fi card to the edge.
Check this one out:



So I finally got the computer opened up to do a preliminary inspection and my idea is instead of drilling holes in the computer but do something else.

Run the pigtail starting from the outside of the laptop and run it through the express card expansion slot (I have never used the express card expansion nor do I ever plan on it) into the laptop.

From there, I saw, after I pulled off the panel for the wireless card, a space or a gap where I could run the pigtail from the topside of the mobo area to the bottom side where I could directly connect to the aux. antenna.

No drilling required and I would just need to figure out a way to secure the n-male end of the pigtail to the laptop.

The other plan is instead of using the express card slot, use that same side as before but clip a piece of the air intake screen off and go through that instead; that way I get to keep the expansion slot for future use. That way I still don't have to drill a hole into the case.

Probably one of those two.
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post #7 of 12
3/26/09 at 12:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pieter View Post
I did a how to on my i9400/E1705 over here and you can find all sorts of stuff for WLAN upgrades over here
You are awesome, thank you for both of those links.

::Internet-high-five::
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post #8 of 12
3/26/09 at 3:09am
This got me looking into doing this sorta thing, look forward to seeing pics!
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post #9 of 12
3/26/09 at 3:45am
Thread Starter 

remove crappy s-video

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrEvil View Post
I removed my PS/2 port to make room for a Hi-rose to TNC pigtail.
You sir are brilliant.




Remove crappy s-video out connection and use new empty hole.

I don't know what sort of post-apocalyptic hell hole has only s-video and not dvi, but whichever one does I don't want to be a part of it.

I don't think I'd miss the s-video connection too much.
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post #10 of 12
3/26/09 at 5:01am
I was going to suggest removing the S-video connection, but I prefer to just let people decide for themselves what to do. The Mini-DIN's hole is just a few mm shy of being large enough for a RP-TNC bulkhead connector to fit through. However, the part that's too small is actually the metal RF shield that's attached to the mainboard when you remove it from the chassis. Enlarge it with a drillbit and you'll be good to go. However, always test-fit prior to drilling. You may not need to. You WILL need to grind-off or cut off some of the backside of the connector so it'll clear the circuit board. I nipped it off myself with a cut-off wheel.

And the reason I suggest you use RP-TNC instead of the other connector types is A) It's just the right size for that hole, and B) Most of your external antennas will use this connector.
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post #11 of 12
4/3/09 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 

mod complete

Hello everyone,

Plans changed as they always do, but the mod is finished.

Basically instead of going from u.fl to mmcx to whatever, I found a u.fl to an n male connection. This is good because all of my antenna's that I wanted to get (and got ) are all n female; with less adapters comes less loss of DBi.

Secondly, I did not remove the s-video from the motherboard, as the physical hole is smaller than the n connection and it cant be used as a holder. What I did is I ran the line itself up around the hinge and made a very small notch in the thing as you can see in the slide-show. The hole is the perfect size and the connector is in their solid, so I didn't need to glue it or mount it to the case.

I would normally mount it to the case but it worked beautifully as it is; also I made sure the cord is wrapped around some stuff before it attaches to the wireless card so tugging on the n connection does not result in tugging on the u.fl connector internally.

Check it out, questions, comments, concerns are welcome

Slide-show





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post #12 of 12
4/3/09 at 8:25pm
Not bad, not bad at all.
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