[N120] My 3G installation

[strombom]

I bought a 3G module and discovered that no connectors were assembled.



Bought a connector (JAE - MM60-52B1-E1-R650):



Soldered:



Added tape for insulation:



Glued the module in place since there were no threads available for screws:



No SIM card socket mounted:



SIM components pinout:



SIM card socket mounted:



I will mount a pull-up resistor for the card-detect pin, just in case. The rest of the unmounted components to the right in the picture are all connected to ground, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to mount any other components, I will try to run without them to begin with.

Still waiting for antenna and SIM card socket to arrive...

The netbook booted just fine with the new card installed and ubuntu remix loaded a 3G wizard.

Edit: Are there any high resolution photos available of the circuit board near the SIM card connector? It would be interesting to see which components are mounted.

Edit2: Added SIM card pinout.

Edit3: Added SIM socket photo.

[snipe]

Nice mod (at least the beginning), impressive. Could you write the price tags as well? Do you just have to plug in the connector or is additional work required?

[jeepers01]

strombom - well done very good soldering - thanks for sharing your mod
For pics of the sim card sub board have a look at my post in this thread [NC10]Found a nice suprise in my NC10 Special Edition
One of the links gives the sim card pinout lines but these will have to be matched to the 8 solder pads on the sammy motherboard
If you get stuck with the connections I will be opening up my sammy with hsdpa soon and will check out the connections. From what i've seen the sim card is on a small carrier pcb held on with 2 x screws, but I'm not sure how it connects with the solder pads below. It may just be a press contact?

[maniac3389]

nice job! i wasn't aware the N120's came sans the HSDPA/SIM slots, what model number is that and from what vendor?

on a side note, you're not alone, the only reason i had the parts to do my install was because when i bought a Dell Mini 9 it also shipped without the components... you, my friend, are braver than i to install all that :-P

Edit: Soon I will take some hi-res pics of Sammy's motherboard. Not tonight, maybe tomorrow? (All depends when I get home from work tomorrow)

[maniac3389]

i lied :-P i decided to go ahead and take the pics tonight, here's a link to where i posted them. i didn't really label them, just sifted through and picked the ones that didn't look too bad.

Samsung N120 Hi-Res Internal Pics

[jez]

Thanks for sharing!

Would you mind if I highlighted this post on the front blog and use a pic or two

[strombom]

Snipe:
The connectors must be soldered.

Prices:
Mini PCI express connector: 1.90 euro
SIM card holder: 2.65 euro
SIERRA MC8775 WWAN module: 35.80 euro
Antenna: 6.80 euro

jeepers01:
I dont think there will be any problems mounting the SIM card holder, but we will see

maniac3389:
Thanks for all pictures! I see that PWR (power), RST (reset), CLK (clock) and CD (card detect) all have a passive component mounted on your board. I am pretty sure card detect has a resistor mounted, I will mount 100k. If I may guess I would say the other three components are capacitors, but I will try without them to begin with.

Model number: NP-N120-KA06SE
Vendor: www.webhallen.com

jez:
You are free to use the pictures for any purpose

The SIM card connector should arrive tomorrow, so I guess I will add a picture when its mounted. I have no idea when the antenna will arrive though.

[maniac3389]

jez: you are welcome to use any and all of my pics, after all, why would i take pics of the inside of my netbook if not to share lol

strombom: that 60cm antenna is gonna be fun routing, i had to get creative as you can see from my pics. let us know if you find a better routing solution because i'm all for re routing mine to make it look nicer. its not the lcd part thats hard to route, its the hinge and base where you have to find a perfect route for that is hard.

as for the model on mine, its a NP-N120-KA01US, perhaps its a later rev? and also perhaps the SE in your model stands for you country? (SE is Sweden right? forgive me for my ignorance, but usually its bliss hehe)

also, if you need any extra close ups of my motherboard let me know exactly what spots so i can get them to compare. (although I've never removed my keyboard or seen the other side of the motherboard)

Edit: I have to wonder, does anyone else have a 3G modem installed in their Sammy's? (Or can we claim spots one and two? hehe)

[strombom]

maniac3389: Yes SE is for Sweden. The netbook is only a week old, so I guess it is a newer revision, they probably decided to save some money by removing the connectors.

The antenna routing will be interesting

[strombom]

I have a couple of extra sets of connectors, so if anyone needs them I could send them to you for a symbolic fee.