[chewy]

hi guys.

I am close to finising my "mod pod". this will be a clear plastic box attached to the back of the mini that contains 3 usb devices, probably 2 flash drives and a CF card reader.

HODA's TS/hub kit is really nice. plugs into camera port, has wires long enough for varying placements, and the TS and controller board with double stick attached. I think the rubber strips applied around the edge of the screen protect it from cracking. no bulges at all on this install.

the hub has the female connector for the camera plug, if you want to retain a functional webcam.

the combined hub/TS controller board is quite small, so I was able to place it in the WWAN slot with an extra internal usb plug next to it (has a usb BT in it for now, may add GPS).

hub power comes from the camera port, and I don't need a camera, so I think the power will be sufficient. if not, I plan to wire into the bluetooth plug for the extra internal usb, and I could take power from there, if needed. (these are only 3.3 v sources, but all my tested devices have worked so far)

I am waiting for the bluetooth plug and longer case screws to come. when I get the whole pod assembled, I will post final pix.

p.s. I thought about painting the box black (would look like a battery bulge), but I thought it would look more interesting with the devices showing and the LEDs visible.

[faber78]

sweet.

[grassle]

cool!
If you need more space, put the hub under the palm rest.

[chewy]

@ grassle - I did see your post about putting the hub under the palm rest. very clever. I recall that someone put their GPS there, too.

I was concerned about the heat, as my previous hubs got very warm. also, I wanted to access the spare usb from underneath, and possibly add a switch from the bottom, too.

so far, though, it hasn't seemed to drain my battery too badly.

current draws are about (from eeePC forum)

webcam draws > 250 mA
bluetooth draws > 250 mA
flash drives use ~ 100 mA
touchscreen uses ~ 125 mA

the hub itself maybe 50 mA?

[grassle]

Yeah, the hub gets really to direct touch. Under the palm rest you can feel it still, but not too much. Maybe you can put it there testwise and see if you find it acceptable.

I had decided to go for more passive cooling (heat bridge from heat spreader to keyboard) (read the whole thread for more background, also there are some controversial opinions on the use of thermal paste) and the hub was not much of an addition to the heat from the motherboard (I had the hub not thermally connected to the palm rest).

Combined with SpeedStep and Throttling, it gets even cooler plus I get more battery life.

[chewy]

I will leave the hub where it is now, thinking it will "breathe" better under the door, and I can see the LED to show that it is on.

I used SpeedStep and it made a HUGE difference on the CPU temperature. I did not throttle anything, but using the basic setup helped a lot. (I was singing my thighs, it was so hot after I first upgraded to SL)

I had installed a couple small fans on my eeePC, but it ran even hotter than the dell, and I installed a hub, a TS controller board and 2 flash drives internally. It may be my imagination, but I think this new combined hub/controller board runs cooler than the old ones from last year.

[grassle]

with all that extra space -- how about one of these?

[chewy]

that's a really cute fan. where could you buy one?

I used these that I found surplus, strapped on the bottom, but they are a little noisy.

also, the macintosh titanium PB had a very small fan, if you ever see parts for one of those.

p.s. I am loving this touch screen... forgot how nice it was to have one. hadn't used my eeePC in about a year.

[null_x86]

Just one question: is the mod pod OS X (10.5 and 10.6) compatible? I would love to give my Mini 9 hackintosh OSX-tablet status

[chewy]

sure thing. forgot to mention in the post that I am running SL 10.6.1

the latest OS X touchscreen drivers are linked in my sticky, courtesy of grassle.

someone did make their mini into a mac tablet, but switched back to win 7 b/c it has better tablet support.

i did find a handwriting recognition for os X at the axiotron website, called quickscript. it takes your written input and converts to text to put into the window that the cursor is in. kinda cool, but a little slow.

next I plan to find a cheap drawing program for doodling, maybe graphic converter?

also, the harlequin mod added a second screen via usb. I thought this would be a nice way to make a tablet: have a second screen that could clip over the lid of the mini... would be thicker than a tablet where people removed the keyboard and flipped the LCD, but I have to have my keyboard.

let me know if you have any other questions about this mod. I just love having a touchscreen, it makes input so much easier.