[GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phone!!

[imomperousse]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD for Palm Touchstone without solderin

I added 4 more magnets to the back. Works really well and the pull is very, very, very strong. The only problem I can see is it might pull the battery cover off when you pick up the phone!

Click to view quoted image

Very nice, I did this to my phone after seeing your setup, it holds real nice and tight

 

[Step666]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

I tell you, prying the handset open was a nerve-racking.

Got the replacement set of magnets - powerful little buggers.

 

[Pr3mier]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

This is my set up for the Touchstone + Car Mount
also posted on XDA

NFC and GPS seem to still work fine.
One thing I would have done differenty: get a thicker/less wobbly metal plate to support the phone.

[UPDATED] with Parts List

1. Palm Touchstone
Amazon.com: Palm Touchstone Charging Dock for Palm Pre: Cell Phones & Accessories
2. Palm Pre Touchstone Compatible Back Cover
Amazon.com: Palm Pre Touchstone Back Cover: Cell Phones & Accessories
Or you can just get both 1&2:
Amazon.com: Palm Touchstone Kit for Palm Pre: Cell Phones & Accessories

3. Epoxy or JB Weld, whatever you like to glue stuff.
Instant Mix 0.47 fl. oz. Epoxy-1365868 at The Home Depot

4. Garmin Back Plate (anything with the Garmin socket will do)
I'd go with the first one just for convenience.
For the 2nd one, you will have to trim off the angled parts to have a flat back to glue it to the bottom of the Touchstone puck.
RPH: RAM Bracket to Garmin Socket Adapter | eBay
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
5. Garmin Suction Cup Base Mount or Air Vent (anything with the Garmin ball will do)
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
GA-WXWM2: Car Suction Cup Windshield Mount for Garmin Nuvi GPS | eBay
Garmin Nuvi 1200 1250 1260T 1300 Vent Mount (GN047) | eBay
Personally, I will be using the base taken from this:
Arkon MG178 Flat Surface Smartphone Mount Suction Attaches to Flat Sur
Or you can get both 4&5:
IG-PSTARA+BKT200: Sticky mount & Bracket for Garmin Nuvi 200 205 200W 265WT 275T | eBay
GA-WXWM2+BKT200: Garmin Nuvi 250 255w 265w 270 275T 285WT Mount + Bracket Cradle | eBay
Garmin Car Mount Suction Cup Windshield Holder Nuvi 255 255W 260 260W 265 265T | eBay
IG-A03+BKT200: Spring vent mount & bracket for Garmin Nuvi 205W 255W 265WT 275T | eBay

Optional
5. Extra Magnets (as discussed earlier in this huge thread)
6. Scrap Metal Plate (For support, in case you feel the need. Most will not need this)
7. Art Supply Foam with adhesive back (to prevent scratching the phone if you do use a metal support plate)

Of course, not all of these are the best prices. Also, look around you might find better solutions.
Like this: Amazon.com: Arkon CM018-ST-AMPS Pedestal - Freedom Mount 5 Inch Windshield Suction Mount with AMPS Head: Electronics
All you need is some epoxy and you're done.
Good luck

 

[ohiomoto]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Nice. Did you spray the Touchstone with Plastidip? I've noticed a few people trying to rubberize their phones for grip and thought that it might help keep the phone on the Touchstone, but it never crossed my mind to spray the puck instead. I no longer see the need now that we've doubled up the magnets (see updated OP). It holds really well now. So well that you could get by without the support you added to your stand.

 

[ohiomoto]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Got zero volts!

After I mounted the coil on the back I had 5.6 volts.

After I soldered the tape to it I now have zero.

Do you think heat damaged the little circuit board?

Thanks.

I haven't had that happen to me yet, but maybe. Have you had any luck getting it to work?

 

[Step666]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

To those having problems with their coils, do you have the silver foil-ish sticker from the Palm battery cover stuck over the top of it?
Because whilst putting together my battery cover, I just discovered that it won't work without that.

At best it sits at zero and occasionally jumps to maybe 1.5-2v.

 

[Pr3mier]

Nice. Did you spray the Touchstone with Plastidip? I've noticed a few people trying to rubberize their phones for grip and thought that it might help keep the phone on the Touchstone, but it never crossed my mind to spray the puck instead. I no longer see the need now that we've doubled up the magnets (see updated OP). It holds really well now. So well that you could get by without the support you added to your stand.

Actually I was trying to hide the upside down palm logo with sandable primer and black paint but got impatient with the multiple sprays.
I don't think I'll plastidip any surfaces nor will I add any additional magnets. (I don't have either)
If I do find some magnets to put on, I'll make sure to follow your tips. Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[imomperousse]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

This is my set up for the Touchstone + Car Mount
also posted on XDA

NFC and GPS seem to still work fine.
One thing I would have done differenty: get a thicker/less wobbly metal plate to support the phone.

Could you possible give us a part list(weblinks too ) of everything needed for the mount setup?

 

[ohiomoto]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

If you do the parts list, please edit the original post because I put that one in the post #3 for others to reference. Otherwise it will get lost in here after a while.

 

[barchamb]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD for Palm Touchstone without solderin

For those of you wanting to charge at AC speeds instead of USB, Fast Charge Mod is here!

1) Install Franco Kernel (Milestone 1)
2) Run this script to activate it from the terminal (minus quotes): "echo 1 > /sys/kernel/fast_charge/force_fast_charge"

To turn off:

echo 0 > /sys/kernel/fast_charge/force_fast_charge

Has anyone else tried this yet? This works for me, but if I reboot the phone, it goes away and I have to do it again. Is there a way to make it stick?

 

[ohiomoto]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Same thing for me. I don't know how to make it stick. Keep in mind that you can't use your I'm using the latest Codename ROM and there is a toggle and I THINK it sticks on reboot.

 

[Knolly]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD for Palm Touchstone without solderin

Has anyone else tried this yet? This works for me, but if I reboot the phone, it goes away and I have to do it again. Is there a way to make it stick?

If you buy the Franco kernel updater in the market:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...s/details?id=com.franco.kernel&token=2sD3m_MY

It has a toggle so you can switch it really easily, plus it stays on reboot.

 

[comprocket]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD for Palm Touchstone without solderin

If you buy the Franco kernel updater in the market:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...s/details?id=com.franco.kernel&token=_lDwt0TM

It has a toggle so you can switch it really easily, plus it stays on reboot.

How is your battery life on Franco? I am on AOKP stock kernel and get about 10-12 hrs with the extended battery. When I load Franco, I can just about cut that in half! I would rather charge more slowly and get 10+hrs battery...

 

[mikemck]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

I haven't had that happen to me yet, but maybe. Have you had any luck getting it to work?

I am assuming I did damage the little circuit board when soldering. I have ordered a new Pre back to try again.

Meanwhile, when I peel away the damaged coil assembly I will take the opportunity to add 4 more magnets. I am a little afraid the the 4 inner magnets will hit the coil.

Thankfully I won't have to go through the removing the glass routine again.

I am up to 5 touchstones now. They are so cheap that we can put them everywhere now.

I am going to do something similar to the car mount above using an original Droid car mount.

I am going to do a vent mount for my new Fiat using an old Centro mount.

 

[mikemck]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

I am wondering if some kind of sticker could cover the (sometimes upside down) Palm logo.

 

[mikemck]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Speaking of magnets, there is another thread about Tetrax magnetic mounts.

On the Tetrax website there is an interesting video about why they use 4 magnets together rather than just one. I don't understand why it is so, but with one magnet holding the mounting disk there is still magnetic attraction to other things. With 4 magnets holding the disk there isn't any attraction to other things.

This may, or may not, be relevant to how our 4 or 8 magnets could affect the compass or other phone stuff.

 

[Step666]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Hmm, first attempt works but can't get the (extended) battery cover to fit with the extended battery - so currently using the stock battery and the extended battery cover.

Thankfully, when I ordered the extended batter, I ordered a second cover with it, so I think I've worked out where I went wrong and should be able to adjust my methods with the second cover.

 

[eandcent]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Just wanted to say a big thank you to the OP and the rest of the folks in this thread. I was able to successfully complete this mod.

The biggest difficulty I had was making sure that the battery cover came into good contact with the phone. If you put it all together and it's not working, definitely check your connections one piece at a time. I found out the hard way that the copper tapes inside the phone weren't as solid as they should be so I had to take apart the phone again.

Here are some additional hints to try to help out other folks, esp the more novice electronics folks:

• Learn to use the continuity function of your multimeter to make sure all of your tapes and connections are good.
• Before putting the phone back together, test your copper tape connections by using the continuity function. The easiest way is to put one probe on the appropriate external pogo pin on the outside of the back cover and the other probe on your copper tape where it's wrapped around to the other side. This will ensure you don't have to take apart your phone again.
• Also before putting the phone back together, put together the battery cover (with the inductive coil already installed) with the back cover and use the continuity function to check that you have one continuous circuit from the pogo pin all the way to the inductive coil.
• The foam suggestion is pretty important. Go ahead and use half of the foam for each tape. I do wish I had more foam to use on the battery cover side and automotive foam is pretty expensive so I just ended up winging it with some extra folded bits of copper tape instead. That doesn't work as well as foam but it'll do.
• If you have it, needle noise electronics tweezers would be very helpful, esp for those of us with less dexterous fingers.

I used an extended battery with the extended battery cover and although the fit is a bit tight and there is a tiny opening near the camera, the cover closes and I can live with it for the sheer coolness of this mod.

I used 4 of the stronger magnets that the OP listed. On the desk, it works perfectly. However, if you plan on mounting the Touchstone vertically (e.g., in a car), you'll need more magnets. With only 4 magnets, the phone definitely will not stay on the Touchstone vertically. Simply holding the Touchstone vertically with the phone on it and very lightly shaking the combo will cause the phone to fall off.

Issues that I currently have:

• It seems that the stronger magnets screw up the compass as the compass app goes haywire with the cover on. There were some comments out there regarding magnets that might negate that issue but I haven't had a chance to review those comments.
• I haven't gotten the Touchstone to work in my car yet. The same cable/touchstone works at home but not in the car. [SOLVED] Per the recommendation of another post later in this thread, I picked up the Palm Car Charger and the Touchstone works perfectly in the car now.
• Sometimes, the Touchstone doesn't initiate charging. In those cases, I plug the USB directly in the phone, see that it works, then plug the USB back into the Touchstone. I'm not quite sure why this happens.

 

[ohiomoto]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

Thanks for contributing. I agree about the foam. I've been experimenting with using foam on both sides of the connection and though it's pretty tight, It does make a more reliable connection. I'm starting to think that it may be more beneficial to use the foam on the back cover than the phone. It would be easier to double up the copper tape on the phone and then use the foam on the back cover. Ideally we want the best connection without adding any unnecessary thickness.

A couple of notes on the charging. With some ROMs, it can take 10 seconds or more for charging to start. Also, every once in a while is seems as though it need to move the phone slightly to get the charging started. Not sure why this would help, but I think it does. The last thing would be to try another charging block in the car. Maybe the one your using doesn't put out enough juice.

 

[eandcent]

Re: [GUIDE] Galaxy Nexus MOD/Palm Touchstone-No soldering on phon

You're welcome. Just wanted to give a little back.

I haven't gotten around to adding a custom ROM and I'll have to order another puck so either of those may be the issue with charging in my car.

Generally speaking, I found that the phone charges almost immediately. Well, the little lightning bolt shows up almost immediately and the battery widget shows charging soon after. In cases when charging wouldn't occur, which thankfully is actually pretty rare at this point, I tried moving it around as you suggest because I thought it was a contact issue but moving around the phone wouldn't help. I even tried pressing down on the battery cover with the assumption I'd get a better contact but that also wouldn't help. In those cases, so far, doing the plug directly into phone, unplug phone, and plug into touchstone procedure works right away.