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

[kms108]

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

Ok, just trying to get all the pieces together for this...

Touchstone dock, check.
Touchstone internals (specifically from the Pre not the Pixi), check.
Copper tape - would this do?
Rare earth magnets - these are a wee bit bigger at 8mmx1mm than the 1/4"x1/32" you used but they should be ok, right?

edit: knew I'd forget about something... the guitar picks.
I've never played guitar so I don't have any kicking round, when looking into them it seems there are various different thicknesses, any particular one I should go for? Would thinnest be best to avoid damaging the handset or would that just make them liable to snap?


Also, trying to keep it all as low-profile as I can in the battery cover, would superglue be ok for holding stuff in place?
It should be fine for the magnets at least, what about the coils?


Thanks.

I think anything that is thin and stong to replace the guitar pick, I think a credit card may work or those phone opening tools.

 

[ohiomoto]

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

i'm still thinking if it's your method or mine, since i do have the spart part, also when you say about the status as USB charging, do you plug direct to PC or a wall charger.

with wall charger it shouldn't say usb charging.

The USB port on a PC won't power the Touchstone. You must use a power block that charges at at least 1A to power the Touchstone. When the phone is on the Touchstone using a wall charger, it will show that it's charging USB, same as if it's plugged into a PC. This is controlled by the phone and none of the current MODs will get AC charging from a Touchstone.

 

[kms108]

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

thanks for letting me know.

 

[ohiomoto]

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

No problem. Also I should say that as far as I know, none of the MODs will get AC charging.

 

[ScooberJake]

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

I suspect the charging rate is largely dependent on the strength of the electromagnetic field supplied by the Touchstone. If it isn't strong enough to provide ~1A of current through the coil, then no amount of phone mods will change that and you will never register AC charging, even through the USB port. That seems to match with Ohiomoto's experience with the Fascinate.

The other thing regarding the guitar picks that I didn't understand from the OP is that you need to work one pick all the way around the phone first. There appears to be a bit of a bond that must be broken. Once that is done you can wedge multiple picks between the two pieces (as shown in the linked picture) to get the two pieces apart. A very thin guitar pick works well for breaking that bond as it will slide around the corners easily.

 

[Step666]

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

I think anything that is thin and stong to replace the guitar pick, I think a credit card may work or those phone opening tools.

Looking at the phone and at a dead credit card I have to hand, I think I'm going to get myself one of those iPhone toolkits that has the little plastic pry tools.
They come to a sharp/thin edge, so I think they'll be better for opening it up.

I used one a few years for opening up an mp3 player, the plastic on them is soft, so less risk of scratching the Nexus as well.
Unfortunately, the flip-side of soft plastic is it was blunted after one use.



I'd still like to hear feedback on the tape and the magnets from someone who's a bit more au fait with all this...

Copper tape - would this do?
Rare earth magnets - these are a wee bit bigger at 8mmx1mm than the 1/4"x1/32" you used but they should be ok, right?

I suspect the charging rate is largely dependent on the strength of the electromagnetic field supplied by the Touchstone. If it isn't strong enough to provide ~1A of current through the coil, then no amount of phone mods will change that and you will never register AC charging, even through the USB port. That seems to match with Ohiomoto's experience with the Fascinate.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it pretty similar to the likes of a transformer? A magnetic field transferring current from one coil of wire to another?
If so, then doesn't the number of coils will have an effect on the output?

If I'm correct, the kit could be designed to only provide a USB level of power.

 

[ohiomoto]

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

Ok, just trying to get all the pieces together for this...

Touchstone dock, check.
Touchstone internals (specifically from the Pre not the Pixi), check.
Copper tape - would this do?
Rare earth magnets - these are a wee bit bigger at 8mmx1mm than the 1/4"x1/32" you used but they should be ok, right?

edit: knew I'd forget about something... the guitar picks.
I've never played guitar so I don't have any kicking round, when looking into them it seems there are various different thicknesses, any particular one I should go for? Would thinnest be best to avoid damaging the handset or would that just make them liable to snap?


Also, trying to keep it all as low-profile as I can in the battery cover, would superglue be ok for holding stuff in place?
It should be fine for the magnets at least, what about the coils?


Thanks.

The tape looks fine and I think the magnets should fit. You could use epoxy for the magnets, but make sure you have them where you want them. The tape is nice because you can make adjustments and once everything is put together it holds fine. It was good enough for Palm. The magnets and PCB are the thickest items you'll be installing. The thickness of the tape isn't an issue.

I just went to my local music store and grabbed a bunch of picks. I used ones that were on the thicker side and they worked fine. You could get an assortment if you wanted to try thinner ones. I don't think it matters much.

 

[ScooberJake]

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

Looking at the phone and at a dead credit card I have to hand, I think I'm going to get myself one of those iPhone toolkits that has the little plastic pry tools.
They come to a sharp/thin edge, so I think they'll be better for opening it up.

I used one a few years for opening up an mp3 player, the plastic on them is soft, so less risk of scratching the Nexus as well.
Unfortunately, the flip-side of soft plastic is it was blunted after one use.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it pretty similar to the likes of a transformer? A magnetic field transferring current from one coil of wire to another?
If so, then doesn't the number of coils will have an effect on the output?

If I'm correct, the kit could be designed to only provide a USB level of power.

I have read multiple accounts that the iPhone tool works but guitar picks are easier.

I believe you are correct about the USB power. It is probably dependent on the Touchstone hardware, not on the input point on the GNex.

 

[Step666]

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

Well, the toolkit I paid a whopping 99p for comes with a couple of picks as well as a couple of the tools with the thinner edges.
So hopefully that should be fine.

I shall order the tape and the magnets now.

Last thing left to sort out is the extended battery and cover...

 

[kichard]

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

...do you think this would work without the final solder..?

 

[Step666]

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

Oh, one other thing...

I know that you have to be pretty careful where you mount the coil to ensure NFC works ok.
But what about GPS?

I only ask because I know that the after-market metal battery covers out there not only kill NFC but have an effect on GPS performance too and I just wanted to see if it was the same for this too.

 

[ScooberJake]

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

...do you think this would work without the final solder..?

My guess is it will, but I haven't tried it. Maybe Ohiomoto will respond, he might know.

 

[ScooberJake]

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

Oh, one other thing...

I know that you have to be pretty careful where you mount the coil to ensure NFC works ok.
But what about GPS?

I only ask because I know that the after-market metal battery covers out there not only kill NFC but have an effect on GPS performance too and I just wanted to see if it was the same for this too.

I didn't notice any change in GPS, but I haven't done any testing. My guess is it will not affect GPS. The coil goes right over the battery, which is where the NFC chip is housed, so it makes sense that it could affect that. I don't know where the GPS radio is mounted, but it's not on the battery, so I don't think the coil will affect it.

 

[Step666]

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

I didn't notice any change in GPS, but I haven't done any testing. My guess is it will not affect GPS. The coil goes right over the battery, which is where the NFC chip is housed, so it makes sense that it could affect that. I don't know where the GPS radio is mounted, but it's not on the battery, so I don't think the coil will affect it.

I didn't think it would but it was worth asking - if a metal battery cover can affect it, it must be pretty near to the battery.

 

[CBMC]

I didn't notice any change in GPS, but I haven't done any testing. My guess is it will not affect GPS. The coil goes right over the battery, which is where the NFC chip is housed, so it makes sense that it could affect that. I don't know where the GPS radio is mounted, but it's not on the battery, so I don't think the coil will affect it.

I used gps a little bit. No effect with the 1/4 inch magnets mentioned in the op.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[ohiomoto]

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

GPS works fine for me.

As for soldering to the coil's PCB, I found it was needed. The adhesive side of the copper tape is supposed to be conductive, but when I tested it with the volt meter, it wasn't conducting the current to the tape without the solder.

 

[Step666]

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

As for soldering to the coil's PCB, I found it was needed. The adhesive side of the copper tape is supposed to be conductive, but when I tested it with the volt meter, it wasn't conducting the current to the tape without the solder.

That's a bit weird - it wasn't conducting on the adhesive side for the coil but it was fine for the contacts at the other end...

 

[ohiomoto]

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

The way it's taped down on the other end, the shiny side makes contact with the pins on the board and the sticky side is on the pogo pin contacts. That's why I noted that you might want to solder that end if you plan on using the pogp pins. I also added that you could try folding the tape so that the shiny side made contact with both sides when you assemble the phone.

 

[kichard]

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

Dang, that'd be perfect if I could skip the solder. I don't own a gun, my friend has one but he's too lazy to dig it out from the depths. I guess giving it a shot couldn't hurt.

 

[ohiomoto]

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

Velleman VTS20U High Quality 20 Watt Soldering Iron