Hello members of the Ben Heck show. I have been enjoying your exploits for many years now and would like to lend some insight if possible.
After watching your most recent episode where you talked about using an Atrix display in a project i felt i should give some insight on them as i have been using them for different things for a couple years now. I do not use facebook or twitter so i was unsure where to send this.
When i started out there was no info on the lapdocks. Here are a few things that i ran into and to be on the look out for. I'm sure you all have done research, but i hope i can offer some insight.
- There are couple of different versions of the lapdock models mainly the 100 version and 300 version. Rather one for Atrix phones and one for other motorola phones.
- The 300 versions (generally a darker color and a lot thinner) operate more like a normal HDMI monitor and you can plug in just about any HDMI and it will work. The main board inside the dock is actually really small and nice layout. The biggest problem i ran into is that the cable into the board is connected by what i can only call a board interconnect. Which you really can't monkey with to much or else it will quit out on you. The way i came to connect with cable was to buy a micro HDMI adapter from monoprice and cut the sheath off revealing a small PCB that can be soldered to quite easily. Also remember that the micro USB that is along with the HDMI the 5v+ line is OUTPUT on the connector. It will connect as a usb hub with keyboard and mouse attached otherwise. Everything is supplied with its own voltage from the inside so you do not need this line, but it is quite useful for projects as i have powered up to 1 amp devices off this line.
- The 100 versions (generally thicker and lighter color) are mostly the same as the 300s however the biggest problem with these and why i would advise against them is that they require a signal on the USB data line to tell the screen to display the HDMI signal. I lacked the equip to actually figure out a good way around this. The "bad" work around for this is to press the battery check button repeatedly as your device is turning on. Somehow this will trick it into power on the display.
Other than that if there is any other questions or photos that would help i would be more than happy to lend a hand.
Thanks for the years of fun and inspiration.