In continuation of this topic http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=284909, i used all the information collected in this forum and other forums and i will briefly present you the procedure i used to modify XGPS car kit, so that it provided me with audio/microphone outputs, so that i can connect it to my car stereo, using it's line-in OR using an RF modulator.
First of all, i disassembled my car kit, using just a screwdriver
Then, using a soldering iron, i removed the integrated speaker (since i will not need it).
After that, i removed the existing 2.5mm connector, and i cut all the wires that lead to it. I used some plastic welding epoxy, to give strength to the plastic base that the PDA "sits". I then drilled a hole, in order to insert the new 2.5mm 4 conduct plug!
This is the new plug, taken out off my old handsfree
And this is how it looks inserted into its place
Then, i screwed it back on the car kit, and i used my "Wizard" in order to assure that it fits as before. With the "Wizard" still in place, i put some plastic welding and finished!!! Wait for 15 minutes for the epoxy to dry, and my 2.5mm 3 conduct factory plug, is replaced with a 4 conduct taken out of my old unused handsfree
I prepared 2 small "boxes", for holding speaker/microphone connectors(rear box) and for adding some small blue leds to give my mod a more "artistic" look(front box)!!! I mainly used some acrylic sheet(2mm) and aluminium sheet(1mm). I curved acrylic by heating it, using a heat gun i had. Generally, i had almost all the necessary tools/material already from my previous PC mods.
Acrylic boxes and alluminium covers, we painted black using a spray gun. The rear box, was(i have to admit) better prepared. I'm already planning to redesign the "front" box.
Rear and front boxes are screwd on the factory cradle.
Some more pics!!!
Here are the connectors i'll use. 2 for speakers(stereo-black) and 2 for microphones(mono-beige). I'll explain more on my decision in next posts
Here are the connectors mounted on the rear box
Here is my hand!!!
Alright!!! It took me some practise in order to solder the small wires of my old handsfree. In fact, i extended them using some wires i had, so that soldering on the connectors would be easier-and it was!!!
Now, why did i use more connectors than needed? The reason is simple. The connectors are setup as master-slave(at least in Computer hardware, this is how it's called). That means, one of each 2 connections of each type (speaker/microphone) come first. So, i'm planning to connect the 2nd connector to my car stereo(maybe using an RF transmitter). If i need to make a private call(that means cancel audio from my car stereo), then i simply plug in a stereo headset. This way, i can hear from the headset, without having audio from my car stereo! If i change my mind, i simply unplug the headset, and audio is directed again to my car stereo. Hope i didn't make it very complicated!!! The same applies for microphone (i already bought a small cheap microphone from ebay).
Now, on the picture below, you may notice a greenish layer(actuall it's ocean blue). This is actually some sort of UV acrylic. Some leds are inside the front box, so that when connected to the car, it displayes a light blueish color (Uv acrylic makes it look fantastic!!!)
Now, you can preview the back cover(made off 1mm aluminium) of my cradle. It's also painted the same black color. 4 holes will be used to insert 4 black rivets to secure it in place
Unfortunately no more pictures for now... I'll try to post more in the next days, as the cradle is ready and already installed in my car. I get power from my car's switch(12V) to drive the cradle and an RF transmitter (Monster Radioplay 300). My stock head unit doesn't have an audio-in, so this explains my decision. Sound is perfect when using it for handsfree (no echo, great sound). Now, when playing music, it sounds as it gets from a strong radio station, so i guess this means success!!! Plus, i have the option to connect it to my future head unit (if it has a line-in of course!!!).
Now, my next steps;
1)I'll redesign the front cover, so that it looks more tidy(i used some ugly screws-paint also is very glossy)
2)I'll make a small stand for my car, to mount the RF transmitter and the microphone.
3)Prepare my "Wizard" for speach recognition, used to make calls-play songs etc-Do you have any suggestions on that?
So.... more pictures to come in the next days!!! Pls ask for any questions or any help you need if you want to make something similar or better OR if you have any suggestions/questions
First, let me say I'm a bit more of a hack than a hacker. My soldering skills are based on a heathkit I built 20 years ago, and my dremel is old an out-of-balance. Still, I'm getting a new car (well, truck, actually) and wanted a good mount to go with my 8525.
Cutting right to the chase, I took an 8125 mount ($35), a martin fields stereo adapter ($10), the dual adapter that came with the kit, an FME male antenna adapter ($10), a radio shack panel mount stereo 1/8" socket ($4), and $1 worth of epoxy, and cut, ground, spliced, soldered, epoxied, and reassembled to get the net result below. Total time was about 2 hours, but most of that was spent running between my office in the house and the workshop to get various tools / drill holes (I have a cheap drill press, which made drilling for certain parts marginally easier).
If I can find another hour, I'll try to write up a step-by-step if anyone is interested, along with a linked list of parts.
I'm very much interested!
Not to burst your bubble but.......
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=15879&cat=2380&page=1
or
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=12660&cat=1801&page=1
And they are only 28.00 bucks
fresh801 said:
Not to burst your bubble but.......
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=15879&cat=2380&page=1
or
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=12660&cat=1801&page=1
And they are only 28.00 bucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
those dont have audio out.. and the 2nd one is for the 8125/wizard, not the 8525/hermes... i am very interested in this project since i have one of those cradles laying around from my 8125... never thought about using the Y adapter.. good call since i dont use it for anything else..
fresh801 said:
Not to burst your bubble but.......
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=15879&cat=2380&page=1
or
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=12660&cat=1801&page=1
And they are only 28.00 bucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, aside from the audio out and antenna connector, the more unusual hack in this is the landscape format with the ability to open the keyboard (or, more exactly to leave it open) while it is docked.
Since I'm running short of time this weekend, the key to getting this to work is to open the back of the 8125 cradle and pop off the connector (gently) and remove the glue that holds it in place. You'll need to dremel out the "top" of the cradle to allow the 8525 to fit.
To get the new connector, I just - carefully - stripped the plastic away from the 2-in-1 connector that came with the unit. Of course the connector is in a different place than the 8125, so you have to cut a new one. I used a marble-sized wad of play-doh rolled and flattened into a 1cm x 3cm patty and pushed it gently into the bottom (connector side) of the cradle. Then I gently slid my 8525 into the cradle so that the connector would make an impression in the playdoh. I them removed the 8525 (keeping the playdoh in the cradle) and "marked" the corners of the connector location with a pin (just push thourhg to make a dot). I heated a utility knife (xacto-like) in my gas stove and gently scored from point to point. A dremel with a fine tip then hogged out the area so that the coneector would fit. I also drilled the location for the antenna at this point (same playdoh trick, but just a single pin prick in the center of the hole area).
Now, to secure the conenctors in the right place, I put the 8525 in the cradle, flipped the whole think upside-down, pushed in the connectors into place, and then put epoxy on both connector areas.
***warning*** the epoxy is likely to "leak through" the old connector location, and around the connectors if your holes aren't pretty tight. BEFORE you put the unit in the cradle for the epoxy step, cover the bottom and antenna area with scotch tape, and just cut out the exact connector area with a knife. This will keep any errant epoxy from making the cradle a permanent fixture on you unit!
I did need to use scotch tape to make a "dam" around the usb connector because it was so thin it wouldn't mound up (set too slowly).
Everything else was just connecting up wires (the M-F conenctor was tough to strip cleanle and I broke the ground wire, but just soldered another one on).
Warning . This DIY is not for the inexperienced. If you have never disassembled a laptop( and get it back together working) or worked with custom DC power applications you'll want to follow the "do not try this at home" rule. It will require some fabrication skills as well, drilling and making brackets. Once I have this perfected I'll be offering a send in MOD service.
First I need to get a Dock, I have to keep mine intact as I use it daily with my demos and android integration services. If you want yours modded for free let me know. I will guarantee you will get yours back either in the condition it was sent or working with the MOD.
For the modders following along, assumed steps.
1. Remove feet from bottom of dock. Guessing assembly screws are there.
2. Disassemble dock and look for space somewhere along the edge to add a small barrel adapter.
3. Find power leads to the battery and solder extension wires.
4. Test that extension takes charge and that factory connector still works to charge
5. Fabricate bracket for connector
6. Drill edge of case to expose connector.
Let's hope it is this simple. =]
DevCake said:
Warning . This DIY is not for the inexperienced. If you have never disassembled a laptop( and get it back together working) or worked with custom DC power applications you'll want to follow the "do not try this at home" rule. It will require some fabrication skills as well, drilling and making brackets. Once I have this perfected I'll be offering a send in MOD service.
First I need to get a Dock, I have to keep mine intact as I use it daily with my demos and android integration services. If you want yours modded for free let me know. I will guarantee you will get yours back either in the condition it was sent or working with the MOD.
For the modders following along, assumed steps.
1. Remove feet from bottom of dock. Guessing assembly screws are there.
2. Disassemble dock and look for space somewhere along the edge to add a small barrel adapter.
3. Find power leads to the battery and solder extension wires.
4. Test that extension takes charge and that factory connector still works to charge
5. Fabricate bracket for connector
6. Drill edge of case to expose connector.
Let's hope it is this simple. =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a dang good idea...I should have thought of this earlier! Looking at the dock, it looks like the bezel is clipped in as well. Also, the "clamp" part of the dock has some screws in it. Mechanism might be a little bit more complicated but hopefully not. You're going to need an awfully thing barrel connector to make this work. The Bezel is about the same thickness as the TF's bezel.
verkion
It is an excellent idea!
But I'm thinking. If you can do this on the dock, couldn't you also do it on the TF itself?
glg
glgehman said:
It is an excellent idea!
But I'm thinking. If you can do this on the dock, couldn't you also do it on the TF itself?
glg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there will be no room in the tab to do it, would be great if you could though!
Think I am going to try this mod. Ordered 2nd dock. If I go over-my-head I will contact DevCake for help.
The issue with barrel plug on TF tablet is what to do when dock is attached?
The advantage of barrel plug on dock is charging both dock and tablet, eliminating the need for any proprietary 40 pin cable (because doc has its own), and if you want to screw around the dock costs less (still $150USD is a lot, but less compared to a spare $40USD charger). Still need to consider what to do if barrel plug charging and something plugs into 40pin connector.
I also plan to put in a slide switch to disconnect the dock battery from the tablet entirely to save juice when shut down. E.g. reports of doc losing power when attached. This could extend the stand-by life of the dock for a week or more.
Once the thing is opened up, it might be a good time to discuss placements. Everyone has different and great ideas. I have a digital caliper to measure stuff.
Bob Smith42 said:
Think I am going to try this mod. Ordered 2nd dock. If I go over-my-head I will contact DevCake for help.
The issue with barrel plug on TF tablet is what to do when dock is attached?
The advantage of barrel plug on dock is charging both dock and tablet, eliminating the need for any proprietary 40 pin cable (because doc has its own), and if you want to screw around the dock costs less (still $150USD is a lot, but less compared to a spare $40USD charger). Still need to consider what to do if barrel plug charging and something plugs into 40pin connector.
I also plan to put in a slide switch to disconnect the dock battery from the tablet entirely to save juice when shut down. E.g. reports of doc losing power when attached. This could extend the stand-by life of the dock for a week or more.
Once the thing is opened up, it might be a good time to discuss placements. Everyone has different and great ideas. I have a digital caliper to measure stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for it Bob,
I don't think installing the barrel connector on the Tablet is a good idea either.
I wouldn't place the connector on the front so the sides IMO are the best location but that will become clear when we see the innards.
The addition of the 40 pin connector while the barrel connector is charging is a big part of the mod. Bridging the power over to the barrel puts both power sources in parallel and this can be bad. When you attach 2 power sources in parallel that are of different voltage the voltage actually will travel to the lower voltage supply source and overload it. Remember any PC USB is 5V, not the 12 or 15 you will supply to the barrel so if the barrel is connected to the charger and the 40 pin is connected to the charger you will send more voltage back to the PC and BOOM! The universe will implode upon itself =/.
So how do we address the possibility of multiple power sources? either with a switch or an additional circuit that shuts one off when it see voltage from the other. The 3rd option is to disconnect power from the 40 pin which IMO is not an option, you want to keep that intact.
Bob if you frequent any DIY forums that deal with these kind of power MODS ask around about a circuit that will do this for you. You might want to start with RC forums, those guys know DC like no other. I'll start looking around but whatever we find needs to be small for sure.
Have you sourced some barrel connectors?
I would vote switch, just in case the circuit failed somehow. With a switch, you simply cant use both at the same time no matter what.
Good news.
I received my 2nd dock, and opened it. There are only two screws, under the rubber feet in the back by the hinge. These screws help support and hold the hinge in place. Run a plastic separator tool around the edge to open. I started in one back corner. It is tight in a few places. Do not bend the metal by the socket positions, where the metal is very thin and flexible. The front edge separates last (most difficult) using leverage of flapping open and closed the top/bottom pieces, and starting separation on one side.
I will post pictures soon. I took some and in the process of uploading. I have my digital caliper at the other office so measurements later.
There is a great position for a female socket for a barrel plug charger, behind the current charger and pointing to the back. It is between the hinge and a circuit board, so there is no leeway in width. The width is narrow, just under 5mm, so a socket needs to be thin. If we find a 4mm wide barrel socket, maybe 7mm or less high it should fit. Of course that makes a slim barrel.
UPDATE: On further consideration, we might trim up to 3-4mm of the hinge plate, giving up to 7-8mm square barrel socket.
The area between the battery (centered under the keyboard) and the back hinge is wide open. Literally room to drop in x4 sd cards end to end, and stack another row of x4 on top, with space left over. The entire space is about 5-10mm height. A switch can go anywhere in this area, mounted on the bottom face, which is protected by the protruding hinge.
I was thinking with all the USB ports, it might be worth considering loading up some internal USB devices later.
Bob Smith42 said:
Good news.
I received my 2nd dock, and opened it. There are only two screws, under the rubber feet in the back by the hinge. These screws help support and hold the hinge in place. Run a plastic separator tool around the edge to open. I started in one back corner. It is tight in a few places. Do not bend the metal by the socket positions, where the metal is very thin and flexible. The front edge separates last (most difficult) using leverage of flapping open and closed the top/bottom pieces, and starting separation on one side.
I will post pictures soon. I took some and in the process of uploading. I have my digital caliper at the other office so measurements later.
There is a great position for a female socket for a barrel plug charger, behind the current charger and pointing to the back. It is between the hinge and a circuit board, so there is no leeway in width. The width is narrow, just under 5mm, so a socket needs to be thin. If we find a 4mm wide barrel socket, maybe 7mm or less high it should fit. Of course that makes a slim barrel.
UPDATE: On further consideration, we might trim up to 3-4mm of the hinge plate, giving up to 7-8mm square barrel socket.
The area between the battery (centered under the keyboard) and the back hinge is wide open. Literally room to drop in x4 sd cards end to end, and stack another row of x4 on top, with space left over. The entire space is about 5-10mm height. A switch can go anywhere in this area, mounted on the bottom face, which is protected by the protruding hinge.
I was thinking with all the USB ports, it might be worth considering loading up some internal USB devices later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice!
Get some pics up !
One thing I would do is install another USB port and connect it directly to the battery so you can use the battery to charge other 5V devices without having to connect the TF.
I removed the circuit board, now, and pulled back some of the covering tape.
I will post pics tomorrow. Sorry. I want good sunlight of circuit board stuff, because I think that is where we will need to attach the barrel plug charger wires.
The charging socket on the dock has 20 solder points and it looks like up to 3? power lines (visual inspection). With my sub-mm solder iron I can attach wires to charge via a plug. At some point we will need to know at least the power positions on the cable/plug, especially the grounds.
I think we can simply cut into the x2 red and 2x black battery lines for a switch, or aux power. There are total 8 lines on battery, exactly like the tablet, and about 4 inches of exposed wires.
Full list of photos:
Plug showing depth behind battery & rubber spacer (7mm depth; 5.0mm battery, 2.0mm rubber spacer):
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Circuit board removed showing full hinge (back left):
Full keyboard under side:
Full bottom of dock with keyboard removed (large space between battery and back hinge):
Closeup of back left hinge and charging port (4.75mm between circuit board and hinge metal, 8mm between circuit board and hex nut on hinge):
Opposite to left hinge on keyboard side:
Back left hinge and charging port:
Keyboard under side (right half keyboard):
Keyboard under side (middle keyboard):
Keyboard under side (left half keyboard, side with power plug):
Bottom of dock (middle):
Bottom of dock (left):
Bottom of dock (right):
Bottom of dock (middle):
Bottom of dock (left):
Full keyboard underside with touch pad:
Full bottom of dock with keyboard removed:
Bottom of dock (left side, with power plug):
Bottom of dock (right back side, with USB port, large space between battery and hinge):
Bottom of dock (left back side, with power plug):
Under side of keyboard:
Bottom of dock, with keyboard removed:
Can u try to see if u can follow the usb ports to the 40 pin connector to see what points are for usb connection? That way we can follow up to the tablet and install a usb port in the tablet. There is plenty of room for one inside it
since the keyboard dock is opened, whats the battery rating in mah inside?
mlbl said:
since the keyboard dock is opened, whats the battery rating in mah inside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery says:
ASUS LI-polymer Battery Pack C21-EP101
Rating: +7.4V =~ 3300mAh, 24Wh
It is 5.0mm thick, 137mm long, 104mm wide. It is wrapped in a black plastic bag-like cover, and the length at top seems empty when pressed - so about 20mm at the top is just a cover and not *battery*. The battery inside is closer to 5mm x 117mm x 104mm. There are two 2.0mm thick rubber spacers on top of the battery, running the full length and 29mm wide each.
Good to hear that. Thanks for the info
cowballz69 said:
Can u try to see if u can follow the usb ports to the 40 pin connector to see what points are for usb connection? That way we can follow up to the tablet and install a usb port in the tablet. There is plenty of room for one inside it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to use my fingers to easily slide out the battery plug on the circuit board. I will try to get some detailed photos of the circuit board today.
There are two groups of wires from the circuit board to the tablet plug. The silver colored is a shield and the black is unshielded. I was assuming the unshielded was USB, because USB lines do not *require* shielding - but, USB lines do require about 1 twist every 20mm or so. Also, I was assuming the shielded bits were keyboard & trackpad. But, I could be entirely wrong with these guesses.
One partial approach is to unplug both silver and black groups of wires and test continuity of each line from the tablet plug.
Tracing lines on the circuit board might be a good approach.
I was also going to test my cable, the USB end continuity against the 20 pin connector, and then plug in my cable to the port and test the matching solder points under the connector on the circuit board. Slightly safer now with battery removed.
Suggestions welcome as we go.
I am going to try something like this for the power jack: (See UPDATE below for correct component)
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1052051-conn-pwr-jack-0-65x2-6mm-smt-pj-038-smt.html
IMAGE REMOVED (I suggest you do NOT use the component seen in link above)
I ordered a variety of jacks to test. The "DX-UA Universal" has a 0.7mm ID, 2.35mm OD - Plug tip. I noticed the Motorola 10.1 tablet has a similar power plug, but unsure of their voltage.
==
UPDATE: I do *not* like the socket listed above, because it has an open bottom (hard to glue in place) and it is *not* tall enough. It is too short so if the charging plug is pushed up and down the socket can be pried loose, no matter how good it is glued in place.
Rather I prefer this other component:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=CP-031HPJCT-ND
I reviewed about 10 various component models. The new choice, CP-031HPJCT-ND is:
(1) cheaper, shielded costs more and no benefit.
(2) taller, it fills the space between top and bottom of dock. Therefore, the screws holding the dock top/bottom together also hold it in place in addition to glue, e.g. it cannot be pried loose by impact on the charging plug.
(3) the hole is centered in the component, giving max strength to each side (other similar have a hole off center, which some might prefer but I do not, e.g. this CP1-022PJCT-ND is not as good in my opinion).
I will attempt to mount the preferred CP-031HPJCT-ND in the next few days, and advise of results. There are some mounting details that are required to successfully use these components, e.g. hole placement, electrical connection, positioning, etc..
guys... if we're already this in depth then why not just wire the power leads from the existing usb port in the dock over to the power/charging leads on the proprietary connector?
it would be far eaiser than adding a new connector/modding the case of the dock and would be even more "universal" since you could still charge with any usb adapter out there...
dmc971989 said:
guys... if we're already this in depth then why not just wire the power leads from the existing usb port in the dock over to the power/charging leads on the proprietary connector?
it would be far eaiser than adding a new connector/modding the case of the dock and would be even more "universal" since you could still charge with any usb adapter out there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good point but with some cons.
1. You still need to make or buy a cable to use an off the shelf universal charger.
2. That port will no longer supply power to any USB device you connect to it.
The main purpose of this mod is to be able to use almost any universal charger that is available so the extra work adding the new connector is worth it IMO.
Bob Smith42 said:
Full list of photos:
Plug showing depth behind battery & rubber spacer (7mm depth; 5.0mm battery, 2.0mm rubber spacer):
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, looks like plenty of room in there.
So were you between flossing or is that flosser thing for something else =]
First I made my custom car dash mount.
Now, I made a custom wall mount. But this one I made from total scratch using another design I saw on the web as my inspiration, and then improving upon it. I used aluminum from an old cookie sheet - yes, a baking pan. Perfect material as it had the modern look I wanted and easy to work with (strong yet flexible and easy to cut & bend). I drew up my design, cut out a template on paper and transfered it to 2 templates (left side and right side) on the cookie pan and cut them out using a jewelers saw slowly by hand to get precise lines and cuts. I then sanded and buffed it down to get than neat brushed aluminum feel that runs throughout my house. I then bent up the folds by hand and with a vise. I then epoxied in some scrap rubber pieces I cut to fit and that I had from another project to make some protective bumpers on the inside of each mount. I then spent $2.50 and bought some of the large sized 3M Command Strips and leveled it up on my wall and presto.. 1.5 hours later I had this setup.
It's a little raw up close and personal if you examine them close, looks a little more polished standing back, but it's hard to be perfect by hand on this as I totally did it on the fly in my garage after literally thinking about it for 7 minutes, sketching out my patterns and then started cutting at 10pm at night. But all in all, I saved over $20 and got something out of metal (not plastic) and I made it myself and it fits the vibe of my house.
Now I can have my tablet up off the kitchen counter and on the wall in a more usable, easier to access method.
And yes, next to it you will see a dual USB wall outlet I also installed so I could charge this or my phone. I got that off Amazon for about $15.
That's pretty cool. I like the wall USBs.
Sweet! Good work man!
Now you need to mod the USB supply with the Asus specific voltage logic used in our USB 3.0 chargers! haha I know that would be QUITE the pain - but that would be amazing!!!
Yeah the USB outlets are more for phones than the tablet
I've read many horror stories about magnetic chargers tearing off the port from Z3's. I don't want to go there so I thought I ask if anyone had some DIY tricks to prevent such issues.
I have a cheap noname cable which has a decent magnet. It keeps the thing in place, the phone charges, but I have no idea if its strength is considered too strong or not. The phone is standing in a home made "dock" (an opened 8mm cassette case so probably doesn't really need that much adhesion to keep things attached.
My best idea is to fix the charging cable to the case so the stiff-ish cable holds up the head at level with the port. Then I'd file the magnet on the head until it's just enough to snap the head the right place when the phone is pushed against it. What do you think?
I bought a weaker magnetic that still took a bit of pull or wiggle to remove. Funny enough the magnetic charger itself broke, I just avoid them now
I've just compared the noname z3 mag cable to the one from the DK31 dock for the Z1: While their physical dimensions are exactly the same the 3rd party cable sports a decidedly stronger magnet.
It charges my Z1 fine, even from a PC usb port. (The DK31 doesn't have a limiter apparently so through it the phone tries to suck as much power as it can which makes the mobo turn off that USB port.)
I've just finished filing the magnet, now it's like an up side down arch, so has a curved valley in the middle, deep down to the level of the plastic casing. ~2mm (0.08 in) left untouched on both ends. It's keeps things in place roughly as strongly as the cable from a DK31 dock. And that is rather weak as the cable pushing against the table can twist off the head. Interestingly since the magnet now has two "feet" at the ends and is not a continuous surface it comes off more "softly", more gradually, kind of rolls off as opposed to the DK31 cable which you pull pull and suddenly the whole thing fully pops off.
I tried and the 3rd party cable fits nicely in the DK31 box. The only thing preventing me from using it to charge the Z3 is that the holder insert is 2mm too wide. It shouldn't be too much of a problem gluing textile in there to secure the phone but for now I'll see how the weakened head works just lying on the table.