Hot-Rodding A Bluetooth Adapter

carbolic writes "Remember the Bluetooth records where we 'modded an adapter' and connected to a cell phone first from 1 kilometer, then from 1 mile away? Popular Science has the hack in the November issue (or online now) with instructions. Additional step-by-step is laid out here for USB, and and here for PCMCIA. Soldering is required, but come on - you can't be a true geek without learning to solder."

Comments

Re:We need useful hacks

[The Swedish Guy]

You mean like this hack?

Solder globbing

[nolife]

you can't be a true geek without learning to solder.

The bigger the glob, the better the job!

Basic soldering tips.

Burrrrr!

[wowbagger]

OK, I don't know what scares me more:

The fact that these guys are using what looks like their kid brother's woodburning kit as a soldering iron (just look at the size of this thing compared to the size of the pad they are working on), the fact that they didn't prepare the coax (tin the leads) BEFORE they put it into place, or the fact that they are blithly ignoring the part 15 regs which DO NOT ALLOW an external antenna to be installed on a device like this.

Oh, let us not forget that the cable they are using is not rated for the Bluetooth frequency range, and will have a pretty significant attenuation at those frequencies, that the connectors they are using will not have a good impedance match at Bluetooth frequencies...

Re:Burrrrr!

[russotto]

The antenna IS the right frequency.

another slashvertisement

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

What really cracks me up is that Carbolic even links to his previous submission even though another reader had already outed him there
Dude, if you're going to post a story that's entirely within your online store, at least say so! You're making nifty stuff, geeks are likely to want it, but don't do this kind of astroturfing crap.

Re:Woodburning iron

[ElysianAudio]

No kidding on that soldering iron. I'm surprised he didn't just destroy the whole board immediately. He should have had a proper chisel tip in the thing at least. Now if he wanted to do an actual good job, he should have had a nice Metcal solder station like this MX500. I've used these things for years and it is impossible for me to ever touch a normal soldering iron again. Just make sure to keep the tips nice and clean.

WLAN jammer

[Blittzed]

Fantastic. You've just invented a brilliant 802.11b and g jamming device. This thing should prevent the use of WLANs within a fairly significant radius. Although it uses FHSS, it will appear as all band noise to a DSSS system like the 802.11 2.4GHz devices. Why do you think there are already workplaces with "No Bluetooth Allowed"? And thats just for the short range bluetooth devices. Boosting the power on one of those things just aint clever.

-1, Parent poster is a shithead

[Gordonjcp]

LMR-100 *is* microwave cable, and N connectors are suitable for microwave.

Re:-1, Parent poster is a shithead

[wowbagger]

Sorry, but I didn't look closely at the cable or connectors. You are correct.

Re:They don't work

[RedShoeRider]

The point about current leakage from the tip of an iron (either intentionally or just due to shitty design) isn't something to be lightly considered when screwing around with IC's. Simply put, they don't tolerate it well. So that iron (I've seen the ad, too) is more than a joke. It's downright dangerous when it comes to IC work. One company I worked for (we made pacemakers) only used ESD-safe butane irons for rework. Completely eliminated the chance of an electric iron doing damage.

As for Radio shack, they make (well, someone makes it for them) a decent 23-watt pencil iron for about 10 bucks. Get a 3 pack of different sized tips and some 60/40 solder(or they have thinner 60/38/2 (silver is the 2%), which is GREAT for a lot of delicate work), some 18 or 22 gauge wire, a sponge, some desoldering wick, and a cheap stand. You'll be out about 25 bucks, but it'll pay for itself over time.

As for practice....soldering is not something learned overnight. The iron is a lot like firearms: respect what it can do to you, but don't be scared of it. Yes, you will burn the shit out of yourself at least 20 times (hint: if the soldering iron rolls off of the table, DON'T GRAB FOR IT!. You WILL grab the wrong end. Every time. It's a law of physics). I found playing with old ISA cards is a great place to start learning. They have lots of big components to practice both soldering and de-soldering, and you can use the wire you bought to solder on to pins of components for practice. Give a half-hour here and there, and soon enough you'll know enough not to be dangerous. Not to say this is the hardest thing in the world, but good soldering is a skill that takes a little finesse.

Yes, you can go get a fancy Weller or Metcal workstation, but you never loose the need for a good standard pencil. Still have mine, after all these years.

And no, it doesn't impress anyone but your geek friends. But saying you can solder is like a badge sometimes. Word gets around. (Remember the original Playstation mod chips? I can't tell you how many I did when work got around the dorm that I could solder. I had laundry money forever!)