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  • Author Author: fustini
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Views 17960 views
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  • Comments 48 comments
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Raspberry Pi laptop

fustini
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My last post showed how I assembled a portable Pi using a 3.5" composite LCD.  Well, I've got a better option this time around, the Motorola Atrix lapdock!

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The Atrix lapdock was originally intended for Motorola's Atrix Android smartphone.  It didn't sell very well for it's original purpose, so you can pick one up for around to $50 to $100 on eBay and Amazon.  I ordered mine from eBay for $50 (shockingly my seller is now listing at $199).  It was listed as refurbished but is in great condition.  The beauty of its 11.6" HD display is a stark constrast to my 3.5" composite LCD:

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I recommend checking out this insightful blog which details how to use it with the Pi: Raspberry Pi and Atrix Lapdock.  Adafruit also has a helpful video from Becky Stern on how to hack together an appropriate USB cable:

 

 

However, the USB cabling described in the above blog and video is only needed for Raspberry Pi's that have F1/F2 polyfuses.  "Fresher" Pi's now have either 0-ohm resistors on F1/F2 (Model B Revision 1.0 + ECN0001) or no F1/F2 pads at all (Model B Revision 2.0).  More info on the board revisions is on the Foundation's blog.  I got a Pi from MCM Electronics last week, and it has 0-ohm resistors (labelled "000" in the upper right corner of the board):

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With those polyfuses gone, the Pi can be powered via it's USB host ports as an alternative to the micro USB jack.  This is great for the Atrix lapdock as it was designed to both power the Atrix phone and connect it to USB devices over the same connected.  This means that no USB cable modifications are needed at all.  Here's my setup:

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A close-up of the back of the lapdock with micro HDMI on the right and micro USB on the left:

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My cables and connectors (from left to right):

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I highly recommend buying an Atrix lapdock while they are still available for cheap.  Beyond the Pi, it can be used as a HDMI display for an array of other devices, too.

 

[UPDATE: check out Raspberry Pi lapdock tricks]

 

[UPDATE: I received a male Type A to male Type A adapter from Amazon and a HDMI Male to Micro HDMI Female Adapter from DealExtreme.  Along with the micro HDMI extension cable that came with my lapdock, the result is a more compact setup without long HDMI or USB cabling:

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Cheers,

Drew

http://twitter.com/pdp7

 

 

 

Product Name*DescriptionSupplier
Raspberry Pi Model B Raspberry Pi model BRaspberry Pi
Buy Now
Pre-Programmed 4GB SD Card 4GB Class 4 SD card preloaded with Debian 6 LinuxSamsung
Buy Now
Motorola Atrix Lapdock w/included cablesSelf contained battery powered unit with display, keyboard and trackpadMotorola
HDMI Male to Micro HDMI Female AdapterMale standard HDMI to female micro HDMI adapterImported
USB A to A Male CouplerUSB type A to A male couplerDistributed By MCM
Buy Now

 

*Products and resources listed are listed to help members build their own Pi Projects. They are suggestions and listed for educational purposes. For substitutions of any parts, please post a question asking the original author.

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Jay Lasoff wrote:

     

                           

     

    ... I'm utilizing the efficient cable configuration (RPI Model B rev 2.0) in your last picture.  Do you have control of the Lapdocks keyboard/touchpad? So far I haven't been able to get that operational.

    First, the obvious comment just to make sure:  In the last picture, the USB cable goes from the Lapdock's Micro USB plug to one of RasPi's full-size USB A ports.  Make sure you have it hooked up that way.  It won't work to use one of Lapdock's full-size USB A ports or RasPi's Micro USB power jack.

     

    Otherwise, there are three likely possibilities: (1) the RasPi USB A port is bad, (2) the USB cable and/or adapter is bad, or (3) the Lapdock itself is bad.

     

    1.  Try hooking up a keyboard to the unused RasPi USB A port and see if that works.  If it doesn't, RasPi may have a bad LAN9512 chip or a bad connection.  You might also try hooking up a USB hub to RasPi to see if a keyboard and mouse both work.  This verifies that RasPi knows how to talk to an external USB hub, so it should be able to talk to Lapdock's internal hub.

     

    Try both RasPi USB A ports.  I have heard of RasPis with only one working USB A port due to faulty connections.  I have also heard of RasPi USB ports that worked with a mouse but not with a Lapdock cable -- probably a case of an iffy contact on a RasPi USB port.

     

    2.  Test your Micro USB female to USB A male cable + adapter.  The easiest way to do this is to plug a Micro USB male cable into the Micro USB female end of your cable and see if you can use the combined cable (plus any other adapters you need) with a USB keyboard or mouse on a PC.  You might have a broken data line in your USB cable or adapter so power gets through fine but data doesn't.

     

    3.  I have heard of Lapdocks with a broken keyboard and/or trackpad.  User "o19" at the RasPi Forum found a loose connection inside his Lapdock and was able to fix it: I made a Raspberry PI Laptop.

  • in reply to johnbeetem

    Yes very nice setup.  I'm utilizing the efficient cable configuration (RPI Model B rev 2.0) in your last picture.  Do you have control of the Lapdocks keyboard/touchpad? So far I haven't been able to get that operational.

    thanks,

    J

  • in reply to johnbeetem

    Thanks for the quick responses everyone. I figured that was the case, but wasn't 100% sure. Now I just have to keep waiting for that adapter from Deal Extreme.

     

    John, nice work on updating the wiki. Very useful info for me.

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Ron Mervine wrote:

     

                           

     

    I'm curious if I hook up the Pi to the lapdock with the usb connector and forgo the HDMI connection, does your Pi still boot up at all? I got this Lapdock off of eBay and I can't determine if it is faulty or the lapdock is not designed to provide power unless HDMI is connected.                   

    The Lapdock only powers up if the HDMI cable is connected to something, otherwise the Lapdock USB ports are powered off.  Lapdock detects connection by seeing if the connected HDMI device grounds the HDMI DDC/CEC ground wire.

     

    I recently added a summary of Lapdock lore to the RasPi Wiki, with links to details (including this 'blog entry).

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Hi Ron, I believe the lapdock won't do anything until HDMI is connected.  John Beetem wrote about this in his blog post: http://www.element14.com/community/groups/raspberry-pi/blog/2012/09/27/raspberry-pi-lapdock-hdmi-cable-work-around  He discovered this because his HDMI cable didn't have individual ground pins and the Atrix design relies on that.