Flush connector (Y'mean with a flex sneaking back under the kickstand?); don't think so; but it's rumored that there's USB on the back; if so, a replacement battery door could work wonders.

Thanks for the comments peeps


I had thought about a wraparound connector, that's how it was originally.


Unfortunately the kickstand covering the port forces people to keep the unit open at all times, having the connector flush on the back makes it awkward to plug things in and out. [I also like to see the flashing bl000 LED on the microsd reader, heh.]


I have an idea in mind. My idea is a thin box that snaps to the back of the N810and is flush with the N810 dimensions. This box contains a high-power lithium ion battery (akin to the N810's), a small charge circuit, a small 5V regulator, USB hub circuitry, USB->SATA convertor, a 2.5" hard drive, and the contents of a small Huwaei E168 modem. External connectors include 2*USB-A, a small charge socket, and a small charging plug... [SATA may be overkill, I may just stick with as many SD Card reader circuits (or just the two, or maybe just a CF card reader) as that may be smaller, lighter, cheaper, better on battery life, better OTG as less damage to moving parts, and quicker!]


This is only an idea mind you, I need to see if OTG supports USB hubs. iirc it doesn't which is the main downer in my plans for world domination



Here's another idea, this time scuppered by the simply fact that the MicroAB plug was too large ... Micro-AB plug with a Flat Flex Cable running to the back of the N810, secured to the MicroSD card reader [or a tiny SD Card reader to give more memory options]. Hopefully there's enough space between the kickstand and the N810 body to allow for an FFC to run between them. Like I said though - the microAB plug itself sticks out so this won't work. One workaround is to get an FFC with the same pitch as the MicroAB socket, then secure a small bit of foam/polystyrene to the back of the FFC [enough to push it securely against the MicroAB socket] - the remaining FFC running behind the N810 as described before.

If Benson's right about USB on the back, then it opens up a LOT more possibility! Namely, no faffing with kickstands, FFC's and the like!

The spec, I think, doesn't require support of hubs; the implementation on the N8x0 does. (It sends an annoying message that it is unsupported, but it works anyway.)

Using flex that way, yeah, it could work... 0.65mm pitch for micro; 0.8 for mini. If such cable could be found, that'd work nicely.

What I prefer for things like this is epoxy. I get the moldable epoxy putty, and you can shape it however you like. After it sets up you can use files, sandpaper, or whatever you like to sculpt it further. I've used it on several electronics projects, and it works great for me. It's non-conductive, strong and hard, and it's paintable if you want.

I should've just tried it! You're right Benson - it complains the hub isn't supported (also complains the microSD reader isn't supported, methinks someone screwed up the error messages since they both work!)


So yeah - it worked and it worked well! I'll take a picture of the frankenstein setup later.

N810->USB-A OTG dongle->hacked FlexUSB Power Injector with Camelion battery->USB 4-port hub==>Huwaei E220 & microSD card reader & another microSD reader.

Huwaei modem (this one is the E220, not E168 I was after) was detected in dmesg [still need to find a way to set it all up though, will do so later] - the modem draws 500mA from the port so wouldn't work direct from the N810 without the injector.

microSD readers both worked as expected in addition to the above, showing 2 "removable drives" in the file-manager. Better yet - even without the power injector, both microSD readers + hub worked well drawing power from the N810 [should be simple enough to basically add an extra 2 microSD cards to the N810 without bulky addons that basically sit flush on the back of the N810!]



As for FFCs, I see a LOT of companies out there that would do an order made to measure. However I doubt very much they'd offer something to an end-user such as myself They'd probably want an order in the thousands. I'll keep scouring the likes of RS Electronics, Farnham, Maplins, EPO, etc


Without knowing more about the battery USB connections (you sure they're not JTAGs like on the N800?) I think FFC is the way to go.

Also instead of a custom lithion ion battery + charger + regulator setup, I reckon we could get away with a hacked Camelion battery + custom snap in AA battery connector [something that can accomodate 1 or 2, or maybe more depending on dimensions AA or AAA batteries]. The batteries can be wired in parallel to provide more amperage; and since they're standard you can charge them anywhere.


How much interest do you reckon people would have in a few solutions like this? I need money to fund a PhD *grin*



Some typically needed measurements for FFCs: http://www.imperial-connect.co.uk/pr...c/FFC_info.asp

sgosnel: I'll have a ganders at epoxy putty. I've tried the polywhatsisface plastic you melt and mould but it hardens too quickly [looks so amateurish at the end of the day.]

My info on USB in the battery compartment is from here, and nowhere else. It merits further investigation, IMHO.

(Note Texrat specifies those pins are used for something else shortly below, but if you read on, Igor contradicts him. And Igor knows some serious stuff about hardware... but he didn't say they are USB, either. So it's still rather inconclusive.)

Not anymore, it ain't. Just keep on a-readin', stranger; there's USB in them hills.

Hmmm, texrat implied they were used for factory firmware flashing - which would indicate they're JTAGs for the flash chip? I'd have assumed there would be 5 exposed pads (one for ID) if it were USB.

Where are those high-rez pictures of the N810 PCB? We can probably follow the traces back


I wonder if a simple continuity test with the USB port is in order?

There's heat-shrink tubing and compound, too

Hi Guys,
Sorry I'm a bit late getting to the table on this one! Neat little setup btw, like the concept! I've been rather swamped recently with other things, but my mind is still working away on these N8X0 projects in the background ;o)
A few thoughts. First off, while a flexible cable that wraps around under the kickstand sounds cool in theory, it really would be quite impossible both due to the connector size itself, but more importantly the fact that once you plugged it in, if it was flush so that the kickstand would still close... that bad boy is NOT coming back out... which as cool as it would be is definitely not an acceptable way to go for most people! (Ever tried pulling on something that's connected just via a FFC? lol don't!).
As for the Pinouts in the battery compartment, as far as I know nobody's actually got around to confirming things... I've got all the parts to try it out, I'm just in the middle of moving and things right now so I haven't had a chance to. Basically on the N800 there are two sets of pads, one is definately the JTAG, the other is a set of 4 or 5 almost directly beside the USB port... which strangely enough, when you put the device into OTG Host mode, one of those pins goes to 5V+... and when in device mode, it sits at 0, so that's a pretty good indication that they at least have SOMETHING to do with USB... I've got the pogo pins to try it, but the problem I ran into was getting them aligned properly, determining the correct pinouts, and having them stay in place without building some kind of box that was twice the thickness of the N800 itself to attach to the back of it. Now, granted, if you're going for that whole "hard drive and USB hub and battery packs and....etcetc" you're going to end up with more of a "laptop to wrap around the N800/N810", so the size thing might now be an issue; If I can help out in any way let me know!

One other thing worth mentioning... You can now also get "360 degree" USB adapters that will let you plug things in backwards (i.e. a flash drive facing back beneath the tablet instead of straight out). I would love to be able to find one with a mini-port on one end to modify up (how sweet would that be?!?) but I think the chances of that are slim to non-existent right now; however coupled with the OTG adapter it would work, though still a bit bulky. I'll post up a pic of what I mean this evening if anyone's interested (the adapters are a bit pricy though, something like $10-12 I think).

Thanks,
-Rob