Dell Inspiron 700m internal bluetooth mod completed 6 May 2006, 03:45
Posted by Orhan in : Geeky Techy Stuff , 19 commentsWell, not exactly as planned, but a successful internal bluetooth addition is completed for the Inspiron 700m laptop. Although the chipset allows three usb ports, since there were no traces on the motherboard, I could not figure out where the unused usb port had its terminals. So I decided to pull a parallel line to the upper usb port. The first few figures show how the laptop is dismantled and how the usb port terminals are accessed on the motherboard.
4 wires are needed to carry the usb to another location. I used a usb receptacle just to keep the standard usb jack on the bluetooth dongle. Also, I think it is good to have a flexible system, maybe I might need it for something else in the future.
I added a power on/off switch to the +5v lead. This way I was planning to make the usb port usable while not using the bluetooth dongle. Well, it didn’t work as expected too. It turns out that I need a 3-pole switch to cut the data lines too. Anyways, having a power switch is still good for saving the battery. I am planning to change to a 3-pole switch in the future.
I figured the best place for the on/off switch is the front panel, near the optical drive bay. I opened a “window” with the help of a friend and made the switch accessible.
The usb dongle sits in the area where 700m has the wifi mini-pci card and the phone modem. Insulating it from the shiny protective sheet under the plastic cover is necessary. I used a simple tape for that.
Everything works OK for the time being. I am down to 1 usb port as of now, but it really makes no difference since I will not need one for the bluetooth!
Let me know if you have any questions..