Using a wifi dongle on an XO-1(.5) -- another dongle

[James Cameron]

On Thu, May 01, 2014 at 07:37:10PM -0400, John Watlington wrote:
> 
> On May 1, 2014, at 6:32 PM, James Cameron wrote:
> 
> > On Thu, May 01, 2014 at 03:56:32PM -0400, Nathan C. Riddle wrote:
> >> Found another Ralink device that works: RT5370.   [...]
> >> Now, is there a device based on Ralink chips to replace the internal
> >> Libertas wireless module ? :)
> > 
> > No, certainly not.
> > ...
> > And, if I'm reading the schematics right, there's also two voltage
> > variants, so the modules for XO-1.5 (3.3V) can't be swapped with the
> > modules for XO-1.75 and XO-4 (1.8V).
> 
> Only cards built before we added the ESD protection (very early in
> production) are limited to operation at +3.3V.   Most of the cards used
> in XO-1.5 operate at either +3.3V or +1.8V, and are identical to the
> 88W8686 modules were used for XO-1.75 and XO-4.

Thanks.

> > The XO-1.5, XO-1.75, and XO-4 main board wireless socket is a
> > Mini-PCIe connector, but the electrical interface is custom, and
> > carries SDIO, wireless indicator LED, and wakeup signals, so any
> > new module must be custom made for the hardware.
> 
> The miniPCIe form factor is frequently used for USB-based wireless cards as
> well, and XO laptops do provide USB signals at the appropriate pins although
> the shipped wireless card doesn't use it.

I couldn't prove they were connected, on the XO-1.5 schematic (Rev M),
as the signal name didn't appear elsewhere.

They are tied to the USB hub on XO-1.75 and XO-4.

> Power, ground, and some auxiliary signals use standard pins.
> But we did reuse the actual PCIe signal pins to provide the SD interface
> so you might need to cut some wires to avoid conflict.
> The pinout is available at:
> http://wiki.laptop.org/images/d/d9/XO_4_Pinouts.pdf

Thanks.

Are you aware of any replacement USB cards that have been made to work?

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.linux.org.au/