Raspberry Pi laptop

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 16:58:59 GMT

I have got to thank you big time. I read the information you provided and it was very helpful! I had an Atrix 4G for quite some time and tried different methods of getting the Pi to work with it. When I read your post about the HDMI cable I purchased a better HDMI cable and better USB cable from Amazon. I hooked it up and opened the lid. Nothing happened! I did get a message that there was no HDMI signal! I never had that pop up before. I moved the USB connection slightly and it started. You cannot imagine how happy I was! Thank you! It is working great. I actually have a Pi laptop. My next goal it to get it working with Gentoo.

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 01:09:05 GMT

I finally got all the parts to try this out, everything powers up fine, but I can't use the trackpad or the keyboard? Any thoughts?

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 03:25:31 GMT

I am very interested in doing this, though does the Motorola Lapdock 100 have the same conectors? Its a ten inch, so a better fit for me. Thank you for your help!

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Lapdock-100-Smartphones-Packaging/dp/B006PD4LJC/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379128191&sr=1-5&keywords=Motorola+Atrix+Lapdock

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:39:28 GMT

Here's one of the images:

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 10:35:07 GMT

Earlier I posted a note about mounting a Pi on the back of a Lapdock with magnetic sheet. After that I set about making a much smaller and neater Pi. You can see the current result at http://www.kappa.me.uk/raspberry_pip.htm.

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:25:04 GMT

Has anyone had trouble with their keyboard? Everything seems to work fine, but when I get to the Raspberry Pi Configuration screen, none of my keys work. I've heard people say that sometimes this is caused by insufficient power, but I don't think this is the case when using a lapdock. Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated!

P.S - I followed these instructions for my setup: http://rpidock.blogspot.com/2012/05/raspberry-pi-and-motorola-lapdock.html

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

kendall.green@gmail.com — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:10:12 GMT

I have a Atrix 4g upgrade cables (micro usb male female and micro HDMI male female) and a micro HDMI female to regular HDMI male adapter. When I plug the cables into the Lapdock and power port and HDMI (via the adapter) on the Raspberry, I get the Raspberry to boot and display on the Lapdock screen. BUT I don't get the Raspberry to respond to the Lapdock keyboard or trackpad. Do I need a USB Type A to Type A cable? Other suggetions?

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:37:21 GMT

Hi Drew,

I got a quick question. I got the Raspberry Pi with no F1/F2 pads, so I can go the cable route without soldering like you mentioned on your blog. I got almost all of the cables for my Atrix Lapdock. I'm still waiting for my HDMI Male to Micro HDMI Female Adapter from Deal Extreme (really slow shipping)

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.

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

johnbeetem — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:23:35 GMT

I just got my Lapdock working! I used the same cables and adapters as Drew's first list, except for a short USB A male to A male adapter as in Update #2. I also used a different HDMI micro male to HDMI full-size male from Drew's. They're all the same, right?

Well, it didn't work at first. I didn't want to send the Lapdock back, since I didn't know if the problem was the Lapdock or one of the HDMI cables or adapters. I was easily able to test the USB cables and adapters -- they were fine.

So I opened up the Lapdock and figured out how it detects that an HDMI source is connected. It turns out that it uses the DDC/CEC/Ground line and sees if it's shorted to another ground.

Here's the problem: not all HDMI cables are the same. A lot of cheap HDMI cables do not implement the individual ground signals. Instead, they just have a common foil shield that's connected to the connector shells at both ends. This works in most HMDI applications, but if your application requires individual ground lines -- like Lapdock -- it won't work.

My solution? Well, rather than wait for and try another cable I added a tiny solder bridge to a tiny connector in the Lapdock so now it thinks there's always an HDMI cable attached. Now Lapdock works great with RasPi. I added a switch to USB +5V to prevent power from getting to RasPi when Lapdock is closed.

I'm going to write up my findings in another 'blog post, probably tomorrow. I'd hate for all the work I did analyzing the Lapdock connector to go waste by not sharing it.

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

fustini — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:03:38 GMT

A tip for overclockers: it's probably best to turn it off when powering the Pi from lapdock's micro USB port. My "Model B Revision 1.0 + ECN0001 (no fuses, D14 removed)" Pi reset when I had overclocking set to Turbo mode (up to 1GHz) and started a level in Quake. My suspicion is that it tried to pull more current than the lapdock can supply. I disabled overclocking and the Pi was to run Quake ok. (Quake + Turbo mode does work fine if power via 1A power supply)

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 01:52:34 GMT

I completely agree. One of my favorite videos to show off the lapdock is the 2012 New Years fireworks form London. I just love watching them shoot out of Big Ben. Although the clip is 720, I think it looks great. Especially for the price paid. My phone can't handle the video, but for the Pi it's no problem.

Next, I am looking at a laptop fan. Not so much for the fan, but a place to mount the Pi and accessories. I think this one looks functional. It has many good reviews, and there are lots of photos of it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003I4FD9I/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[View:/resized-image/__size/512x384/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-beaa5492-0ba5-4d20-9c37-42a160d849b1/contentimage_5F00_176385.jpg:512:384]

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

fustini — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:58:42 GMT

The lapdock really does shine when playing HD video. Using Raspbmc, I just played the new Superman trailer at lunch to show my co-workers how smooth HD playback is.

[View:/resized-image/__size/640x480/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-beaa5492-0ba5-4d20-9c37-42a160d849b1/contentimage_5F00_176384.jpg:640:480]

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:31:09 GMT

I found it useful to add an on/off switch to the USB power cable - the lapdock cycles the power when you close the lid: http://kimondo.co.uk/2012/07/14/raspberry-pi-modmypi-case-motorola-atrix-lapdock-raspberry-pi-laptop/ the 'brick' the switch fits into was from a screwdriver holder I found in poundland. All held together with a bit of sugru too.

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:41:12 GMT

After further review, I realised that I didn't need this cable.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/micro-usb-female-to-micro-male-female-adapter-cable-for-blackberry-9900-black-30cm-107901#open

but, instead your cable

female micro type B to female USB type A USB cable

and a male to male usb cable with the red power cord clipped.

For power, I used a usb male to micro usb plugged in the back of the lapdock.

Now when I close the lapdock, the power is completely shut off. In my previous configuration the power would remain on (but not do anything), and it would reboot when I reopened the lapdock.

Thank you for your posts, as I enjoy learning all I can about this setup, As well as the RPi itself.

Cheers

Rich

RE: Raspberry Pi laptop

Former Member — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 06:17:46 GMT

Nice blog.

I am doing just about the same as you.

This lapdock is working great for my use. I ordered one about a month ago, but had to wait for all the cables. In the meantime I modded the connectors to face the other way so I could plug in my Motorola Photon 4G Android phone.

Overall I am very pleased, it charges my phone while using it.

Has Firefox browser built in, although you cannot update it or install plugins.

I can use it at home with WiFi, or on the road with 3G. (no 4G in my area yet).

I think part of it's demise was that some cellphone carriers were charging a monthly fee as if it were a real laptop. Fortunately for me, mine doesn't. So even if I didn't have a RPi it would have been a good deal for me.

But alas, I do have a RPi, and this is what I've done with mine so far.

For HDMI I used theese

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170875544143?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Had to shave one of the sides for it to fit.

For my USB connections I'm using this

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/micro-usb-female-to-micro-male-female-adapter-cable-for-blackberry-9900-black-30cm-107901#open

and the two usb connectors you are using. Unfortunately, I have an old version of the Pi. So I cut the red power cord on the male to male usb cable. I can power the Pi from the lapdock, or as you demonstrated, another power source. It all seems to work pretty well, but I still have bugs to work out.

I just ordered a powered usb hub, as one avilable usb port isn't going to cut it. I tried connecting a usb mouse to the back of the lapdock, but it didn't work for me.

I'm also trying to get this WiFi dongle to work, but so far without success.

http://www.amazon.com/Esky-150Mbps-WIRELESS-ADAPTER-802-11/dp/B0058XSZGU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1347428977&sr=8-5&keywords=wifi+dongle

I was impressed with the quality of the HD videos with Raspbmc displayed on this lapdock, and haven't even overclocked it yet.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with this, and best wishes to all that try this project.