[PLUG] Thinkpad hacking Re: DIY Thinkpad BMS and battery modules

Keith Lofstrom keithl at kl-ic.com
Mon Nov 18 17:18:14 UTC 2019


On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 2:41 PM tom <tgrom.automail at nuegia.net> wrote:
> Has anybody got any details on the specifications for the communication
> between the embedded controller and the battery module for the ThinkPad
> T430? Also perhaps some CAD schematics of the battery module enclosure?

On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 09:34:18PM -0800, Jason Barnett wrote:
> While someone here may be able to help you, you will likely have better
> luck on the thinkpad subreddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/  Check
> the links on the sidebar, there are some serious thinkpad enthusiasts on
> some of those other thinkpad subreddits.
 
Fooling with batteries and then carrying them on airplanes
is illegal and can get you in trouble.  Or not, but please
don't get caught and make life difficult for other modders.

IBM and Lenovo designed outstanding laptops that were not
too difficult modify - I'm using a T60 with the original
REAL keyboard and trackpoint "nipple-mouse", but hacked
with an added third-party 2048x1536 resolution screen; I
hacked the BIOS to permit that, and I would love to hack
it further to escape "permission" entirely.

My travel X61 can be radically modified with an upgrade
motherboard from the 51nb user group in Shenzhen China.
Also a replacement "daylight" LED backlight and a 1450x
1050 ISP screen:

https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/

So, old-style keyboard and trackpoint, 4x3 /bright/ screen,
i5 CPU, 32 GB RAM, and /no/ vendor-lockin crippleware.

Sadly, the recent trade war and Hong Kong demonstrations
interrupted my negotiations with 51nb.  I had hoped to
buy enough motherboards to upgrade a stack of X61 machines
to last me and my wife for life.  Sigh.

Perhaps we can arrange to get the artwork from 51nb to
make copies of those motherboards, and use local resources
to assemble our own.  Used X61s are about $100 on ebay.  

Not sure how we can repay 51nb;  perhaps donations to
politicians who will END the tradewar.  But that shades
towards plug-talk, so those who disagree can suggest a
better way to thank our Shenzhen buddies for helping us.

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com



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