MAC EVDO Upgrade
Learn More About Getting Your Business Listed First
A huge shout out to Engadget, TUAWespecially to our "Curious Explorer"!
The question is: Why would anyone do this!?
The answer: The nature of my business leads myself and my sales team to in-house presentations. If I'm going to show a small business how they'll get listed first, I'd better be able to show some real time examples!
Online and in office... no strings attached! I tried using an EVDO WIFI Router, but it just wasn't reliable enough. Here I have an extremely portable unit, which I can simply hold in my hand and present online! (Plus it's a Mac!)
Of course I needed to start by opening it up.
I most certainly couldn't have done this if I hadn't known where to find the USB connection!
Here's the card cracked open.
The card on the bottom is the USB720 (Which has nothing more than a Mini PCIe card) If anyone know how to wire up the Mini PCIe Card to the USB bus without the adapter, things will go much smoother!
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I started by ripping apart the Verizon USB727 Aircard and soldering up the connections with USB colored wires.
Here's a closeup of the connection
I figured a great place to get power would be from the actual USB Port
Opening up the port give you access to the solder points
Silly me, I switched the Red and Black wires, Ground is to the Left, +5v to the right (I didn't want to solder them again, so I just crossed the wires later)
A little tape makes it nice and insulated
Screwed back in place
Then came the fun part, Tiny tiny little solder points (Don't worry, the colors are correct for D+ D- this time!)
All Wired up and ready for a test
It turns on, and no smoke!
Here it is in action! The only problem is, once that aluminum case closes, the signal will be lost!
I used an broken Airport Extreme card to get the antenna ports
They stick very nicely to the Aircard!
Next, I needed to get rid of three of the airport supports, nothing like a Dremel!
I left one of the screw connections intact, as it works nice to help the USB727.
The wires seem to have enough clearance under the battery, so I put it in place
Hooked up the antenna ports, and added a bit of tape for good measure. After I put the base back on, there was a little too much thickness, I ended up having to remove the MicroSD reader, just plain busted it off and covered the leads with electrical tape. I also cut the bottom of the thermal pad (the grey rectangle) on the USB727 making it about 1/3 the size, but since it's in direct contact with the chassis, it is plenty sufficient.
Here is a screenshot showing the system info and a speed test of the card
Screwed on the bottom
And enjoyed the fruits of my labors!
I consistently get about 1,400-1,700Kbps vs. 1,800-2,000 when it was external, The hardest hit was the upload, I would get around 500Kbps, now I'm closer to 380Kbps
I upgraded the firmware and activated the USB727 whilst still in USB form, and after I set-up and activated it I simply use the network controls under System preferences to "connect automatically when needed" which works like a charm when I close the lid to sleep, open to resume, and as soon as I make an internet request, a few seconds later I'm online!
I've opened a Thread on the InsanelyMac forums for Q&A and general discussion. Feel free to join in and ask questions!
And if your business could use more customers, check out the link at the very top to see how you can get listed first!
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=101957