Dell Inspiron 700m microphone input noise problem and fix 20 January 2006, 04:53
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , trackbackI have a Dell Inspiron 700m laptop that I love and frequently use for VOIP applications (like Skype). However, the 700m has an inherent design flaw that causes the microphone to capture electrostatic noise from its components, especially the harddrive. You can check www.recall700m.com
and
www.tinyscreenfuls.com/index.php?s=700m
for more info.
While 700m users are still waiting for an official fix from Dell, Jesse at www.jumboprawn.net has come up with a fix that works like a charm (I have done it on my computer) :
Yes! There is a Fix for the Noisy Mic Input | Dell Inspiron 700m
Remember, you need a little soldering experience, right tools and some magnifiers.
Also you will be doing this at your own risk, and should be aware that it will void your warranty..
I did it using a surface mount 680 ohm resistor that I took from an old soundcard and one 47 uf capacitor from RadioShack. Jesse says it performs better with 47+1 uf but I think one 47 uf is pretty good. My version looks like this:
The middle picture is the close-up shot of the area, taken from Jesse’s website Yes! There is a Fix for the Noisy Mic Input | Dell Inspiron 700m. The rightmost picture is the edited version that shows how I mounted the components.
Comments»
do you have any more pictures of your version of the fix? It would help greatly, thanks.
Alfonse, I did not have any close-ups but I sketched my version on Jesse’s close-up pictures. Let me know if you have any questions.
Orhan
Hi, thanks for the diagram. But would you mind to show me the picture for the resistors and Capacitors, pls? I want to make sure I get the right parts to weird on my 700m.
Thank you very much!
Samuel, the resistor is a simple 680 ohm surface mount resistor. If you cannot find a surface mount, you can go with the smallest possible resistor you can find.
The capacitor on the other hand is a pretty big (smallest non-surface mount but still big as seen in the picture) one. It is the blue cylindrical component in the leftmost picture. The resistor is by its right leg. Kind of hard to see. Get the smallest 47 uf capacitor you can find at RadioShack.
Thanks for the reply. One more question, do you actually connect the capacitor to the board? or it is connected to the resistor, which connected to the board?
Sorry, there is no RadioShack in my country and Im not a expert on this kind of things… but I really want to DIY as DELL support doesnt help at all…
Thank you!
Yes, the capacitor is connected to the points shown on the board, so is the resistor. They do share a connection though.
You do not need a RadioShack. You can even get the resistor from an old electronic printed circuit board. You should be able to find the capacitor at an electronic parts store.
Hi, thanks for your reply again…
I found something similar to this in my country:
http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2160231w345.jpg
with a description of 680Ω ±5% 1/4W…
It’s not a surface mount but can I use this instead?
Thanks!
If you can connect it to the joints, and fit it in that tight area yes. Technically, it should work.
Thanks for your comment. Im going to try it next week. I hope that I wont blow off my 700m.
does anyone know if theres like shells for my 700m i can get? or outside covers for it? its all marked and discolored. i searched it on google and only found stuff about buying a 700m. if anyone finds anything just email me crazy_person_808@hotmail.com thanks.
I don’t. I wonder too if anyone else knows of any.